Etymonline English Dictionary vs Flashword
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Etymonline English Dictionary
Explore the origins and history of English words with this comprehensive dictionary app. It offers instant search, related word suggestions, and an offline mode for premium users. Enhance your vocabulary and understanding of word roots.
- Word origin exploration
- Instant search with suggestions
- Related words by root
- Offline dictionary (Premium)
- Ad-free experience (Premium)
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The official, complete app of Douglas Harper's Online Etymology Dictionary, with useful features to help you understand the origins of words as well as improve your vocabulary. • From etymonline.com, the internet's top choice for quick, reliable, comprehensive yet comprehensible English word origins • Instantaneous search with spelling suggestions works fast on your iPhones • Offline Dictionary - find out word origins anytime, anywhere (Premium only) • Universal app - works on your iPhones and iPads • Related Words - easily access words that share the same origin/root. For example, you can check out all the words with root –logy, such as agriology, anthropology, biology, cardiology, choreology, Christology, chronology, cosmology, etc. Get even more with ETYMONLINE PREMIUM: • No Ads - Enjoy a calm, ad-free reading environment • Offline dictionary - Search and view etymology without the need of an internet connection - Privacy Policy: https://www.etymonline.com/legal/privacy - Terms of Use: https://www.etymonline.com/legal/terms
Flashword
Easily save new words you encounter, look them up in system dictionaries, and add personal notes for context or translation. Organize your vocabulary into custom categories for efficient learning and retention.
- Save new words
- System dictionary lookups
- Personal notes for words
- Categorize saved words
- Organize vocabulary
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Ever heard a word you did not know, looked it up, and then quickly forgot about it? If that is the case, Flashword comes to the rescue! With Flashword, you can save new words you hear or learn in any way. You can look them up using the system's dictionaries and you can take notes for every word, maybe to jot down a translation, maybe to remember the context you first heard that word in, maybe to highlight interesting use cases. You can also divide the words into categories of your choosing to quickly organize the words you save!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: Flashword at none against Etymonline English Dictionary's shown. Etymonline English Dictionary's advantage is ratings volume (12K vs 9) and rating (4.9 vs 4.7). On price, review sentiment, update cadence and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Etymonline English Dictionary sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and Flashword sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Etymonline English Dictionary holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Etymonline English Dictionary has 12K ratings behind it against 9, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 94% of Etymonline English Dictionary's written reviews are positive against 100% of Flashword's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Etymonline English Dictionary ships an update every 9 days, Flashword every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Etymonline English Dictionary | Flashword |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.9 (12K ratings) — better | 4.7 (9 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 94.2% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 12K — better | 9 |
| Update frequency | Every 9 days — better | Every 2 weeks |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 64 MB | 20 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | 崇伟 柳 | Alessio Mason |
Customer experience
Etymonline English Dictionary
Flashword
Bugs and requests
Etymonline English Dictionary
Reported bugs
3 issues- Bottom of related words list cut off
- Search bar not always visible
- App version not compatible with dark mode
Requested features
3 requests- Dark mode option
- Offline access to full entries
- One-time purchase option instead of subscription
Flashword
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Etymonline English Dictionary
- Etymonline Premium 1 Month7 Days trial$4.991 Month
- Etymonline Premium 6 Months14 Days trial$13.996 Months
- Etymonline Premium 12 Months1 Month trial$17.991 Year
Flashword
- Small tip$0.99






