Concise English Dictionary HD vs Alpus
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Concise English Dictionary HD
This comprehensive reference app offers an extensive English dictionary and thesaurus with detailed definitions, pronunciations, and word origins. It provides offline access and a user-friendly interface for quick look-ups and vocabulary expansion.
- Comprehensive dictionary database
- High-quality audio pronunciations
- Extensive pronunciation guides (IPA)
- In-depth word origins
- Detailed definitions and examples
- Thesaurus integration
- Offline access
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Discover the power of words with Concise English Dictionary & Thesaurus, an exceptional all-in-one reference app designed to elevate your language experience on iOS and iPadOS. Key Features: • Comprehensive Database: Access one of the largest English dictionary databases, featuring up to 591,700 entries and over 4.9 million words, ensuring you find exactly what you need. • High-Quality Audio Pronunciations: Hear words pronounced in American, British, and Australian English, with options for both male and female voices. • Extensive Pronunciation Guides: Includes 134,000 guides in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) with easy-to-use symbol assistance. Just tap the guide to understand pronunciation details. • In-Depth Word Origins: Discover the etymologies of words to better understand their histories and how meanings have evolved. • Detailed Definitions and Examples: Get clear, precise definitions along with sample sentences to see words in context, enhancing your writing and speaking skills. • Thesaurus Integration: Expand your vocabulary with word links that provide synonyms and related terms. • Diverse Lexical Entries: Beyond everyday words, find biographical and geographical data, technical and scientific terms, idioms, prepositions, conjunctions, determiners, interjections, abbreviations, contractions, common misspellings, irregular forms, and even Old English words. • User-Friendly Experience: Enjoy fast look-ups and a snappy user interface with smooth-scrolling screens, specifically designed for iOS and iPadOS devices.` • Customizable History and Bookmarks: Keep track of your search history and bookmark favorite words for quick reference. • Fun and Educational Word Shake: Shake your device to discover random words and expand your vocabulary in an enjoyable way. • Offline Access: Use the app anytime, anywhere, without needing an internet connection. • Privacy-Focused: Rest assured, there are no analytics, spying, or tracking features in the app. Your privacy is fully respected.
Alpus
Access and search multiple dictionary formats offline. Supports various file types and offers advanced search options like wildcard and fuzzy matching. Easily manage and synchronize your dictionaries across devices.
- Offline dictionary access
- Supports multiple dictionary formats
- Advanced search (wildcard, fuzzy, full-text)
- In-page popup translator
- History and bookmarks
- Dictionary synchronization
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Alpus is a viewer application for dictionaries in StarDict, DSL, XDXF, Dictd, and TSV/Plain formats ¹. Features: • Fast and fully offline operation • Searches ignoring case, diacritics, and punctuation • Wildcard search • Fuzzy search • Full-text search • In-page popup translator • History and bookmarks • Customization options Compatibility: Alpus is compatible with the following dictionary/file types: • StarDict dictionaries (*.idx) • DSL dictionaries (*.dsl) • XDXF dictionaries (*.xdxf) • Dictd dictionaries (*.index) • TSV/Plain dictionaries (*.txt, *.dic) • Hunspell dictionaries (*.aff) Setting up dictionaries: • Connect your mobile device to your computer. • Copy dictionary files to the app's documents/files folder on device ². See iOS help ² for details. • Select the dictionary index file as listed in the compatibility section above (or an archive of it) using the "Import Dictionary" option of the "Manage" menu. • Select multiple indexes/files, with each selection assumed and analyzed as one dictionary. (optional) • Select resource ZIP files (if any) to copy during importing. (optional) • Edit properties of the dictionary such as visible name using the "Edit Properties" option of the dictionary menu. (optional) • Create a full-text search index of the dictionary using the "Upgrade" option of the dictionary menu. (optional) • Create profiles to group and organize dictionaries. (optional) Resource files: Resource files of a dictionary can be put into multiple ZIP files with arbitrary sizes and file names. The resource ZIP files placed into the root folder of a dictionary (beside Main.props file) will be detected and indexed automatically. Full-text search: The app supports searching full-text of all dictionaries for exact matches. The feature requires a one-time upgrading ("Upgrade All" option of the "Manage" menu) of a dictionary which can take a very long time to complete, since every single word anywhere on the dictionary is made searchable during the process. Synchronizing between devices: Copying/moving dictionaries between devices is done using one of the two available methods: • "Export Dictionary" to an *.aaf file on the first device and then "Import Dictionary" that *.aaf file on the second • Copy/move whole "Alpus.Config" folder or individual dictionary folders using a file manager or built-in file operations Search types: There are five kinds of searches you can perform on dictionaries. • Regular search: Shows results exactly matching the query. • Extended matching search: Shows results matching the query with case, diacritics, and punctuations ignored. Suggestions include in-phrase and phonetic matches. • Full-text search: Shows list of articles containing exact matches of the query. The scope of search is not limited to headwords and includes all text in all articles (definitions, synonyms, examples, etc). • Fuzzy search: Shows list of articles most similar to the query. The search works like a spell checker for words you're not sure how it's written/spelled. • Wildcard search: Shows list of articles that match the criteria set with a wildcard query. Help and Support: • https://alpusapp.com ¹ No dictionaries are bundled with the application. You will need dictionaries in supported formats to use with the application. ² https://support.apple.com/HT201301
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Concise English Dictionary HD at 71% against Alpus's 0%. Concise English Dictionary HD also leads on price ($1.99 vs $5.99) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). Alpus's advantage is update cadence (every 3 months vs every 13 months). On ads, in-app purchases, monetization model and device support 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
Concise English Dictionary HD costs $1.99 and Alpus $5.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Concise English Dictionary HD ships an update every 13 months, Alpus every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Concise English Dictionary HD | Alpus |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $1.99 — better | $5.99 |
| Rating | 4.2 (9 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 71.4% of reviews — better | 0.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 9 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 13 months | Every 3 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 317 MB | 34 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | JDMI Kft. | Ismail Alper Yilmaz |
Customer experience
Concise English Dictionary HD
Alpus
In-app purchases
Concise English Dictionary HD
No in-app purchases
Alpus
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Concise English Dictionary HD free?
Is Alpus free?
Do Concise English Dictionary HD or Alpus have ads?
Which is updated more often, Concise English Dictionary HD or Alpus?
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