LingQ Alternatives: 6 Options Compared (2026)

Prices and features below were checked on October 31, 2026. Apps change, so check the date on anything you read about software, this article included.

Should you leave LingQ?

Maybe not. LingQ gives every word you meet a status, from new to known, keeps that status across everything you read in it, and sends the words you are learning to spaced-repetition review. Your known-word count is the main measure of progress. If that is what you want, look closely before you leave: Readlang, Beelinguapp, Eppika and Simply Fluent turn what you save into flashcards, but none of their own pages describe a status on every word you read.

So first, which of these is your reason?

1. The price. LingQ Premium is $14.99 a month on the US App Store (October 2026), the most expensive app here. Its prices vary by region; on its website it is €14.99 a month.
2. There is too much app around the text. Lessons, statuses, statistics and review are all part of reading in LingQ. Some people want that. Some want a book.
3. You spend more time looking for something to read than reading.
4. You only want the review, not the reader.

Each of these has a different answer.

The options at a glance (October 2026)

If the problem is the price

Readlang

Readlang Premium is $6 a month or $48 a year (October 2026), less than half of LingQ. You read, click a word for its translation, and the words you translate become flashcards with spaced repetition.

It works in the browser. Its Chrome extension and bookmarklets let you read or import almost any website, and you can upload whole novels as TXT or DRM-free EPUB. If most of your LingQ time goes to imported articles, Readlang does that for less.

The free plan gives unlimited single-word translations and 10 phrase translations a day.

What you give up: Readlang has no phone app, and it does not work offline. Its pricing, about and features pages describe flashcards and spaced repetition, but not a status on every word or a known-word count like LingQ's. I compare the two in LingQ vs Readlang.

Simply Fluent

This is mine. After a 30-day free trial of Premium, it costs €7.99 a month or €59.99 a year (October 2026), about half of LingQ's €14.99 a month.

It is built the other way round from LingQ: the reading comes first, and the language learning is inside it. More about how it works in the next section.

If there is too much app around the text

If what you want is to sit down with a book and read it, you want an app built around the book.

Simply Fluent

It reads to you. You can hear a single word, its translation, or the whole page, in Slow, Normal or Fast. Switch on the page-turn button on the audio bar and the reader moves to the next page when the audio reaches the end of one, so you can listen like an audiobook and follow along on the page. It uses your phone's own voice, so it reads any book, including the ones you add yourself, without a connection.

You see the meaning in that sentence. Select a word or phrase to see what it means in that sentence. Every translation you save is shown above that word or phrase in every book you open in that language, so you don't look the same word up twice, and it becomes a flashcard.

You decide when you know a word. Mark a translation memorized and it is hidden; the word stays highlighted, so you can open the translation again if you forget it. Over a few books there are fewer translations on the page, because you keep hiding the ones you've learned.

You can read your own books, or the library. Add EPUB, TXT or Markdown files, or paste in text; PDF needs Premium. The library has short stories you can filter by level from A1 to C2, and classic novels by writers such as Jane Austen, Jules Verne and Arthur Conan Doyle, rewritten in modern, everyday language. It has books in 45 languages, and translation works in 134. It runs on iPhone, iPad and Android, and you can read offline.

Where LingQ is better: Simply Fluent doesn't keep a status on every word you have ever seen or count your known words. If that record is why you use LingQ, stay. There is a longer comparison on the LingQ comparison page.

Kindle

If you already read on a Kindle, you may need nothing new. What it does and does not do for a language learner is in its own article: is a Kindle any good for language learning?

If the problem is finding something to read

If you spend more time browsing for material than reading it, a different app may not fix that. What helps most is one book you want to finish.

Eppika

If the books you want to read are still too hard, Eppika offers bestselling books across different genres, adapted to your level. Its features page says the adapted versions run from A1 to C1; its App Store listing says A1 to B2. You read a version rewritten for your level, not the author's text, and many books include audio.

On its website, Premium is $19.99 a month or $89.99 a year (October 2026). Eppika needs an internet connection to read. There is a longer comparison in Simply Fluent and Eppika.

Beelinguapp

Beelinguapp shows a story in two languages side by side, and many of its stories are narrated by native speakers. The library is its own: classics, cultural guides, daily news and children's books, so there is always something ready to read. At the very start, seeing the whole translation next to the text can be easier than looking up one word at a time. Simply Fluent has short stories at A1 and A2 too; the difference is the format.

The US App Store lists $7.99 a month and $49.90 a year (October 2026), among several promotional prices. There is a longer comparison in Simply Fluent and Beelinguapp.

If you only want the review

Then you don't need a reading app. You want Anki.

Anki is a flashcard app with no reader: you add the words yourself, and it schedules each review for when you are most likely to forget. The computer version, AnkiWeb and AnkiDroid are free; the iPhone app costs $24.99 (October 2026). Pair it with any reader above.

When should you stay on LingQ?

Stay if the vocabulary system is the point. A status on every word across everything you read, a known-word count, and review built in. None of the other apps here describes all of that on its own pages. If you use those and they work for you, the price buys something the cheaper apps don't sell.

Leave if you are paying for a system you don't use, and what you wanted was to read.

Related reading

• LingQ vs Readlang, the direct comparison
• The best apps for reading books in another language, the full comparison
• Readlang alternatives
• How to pick your first book in another language

Sources

All checked on October 31, 2026.

• LingQ on the US App Store: apps.apple.com/us/app/lingq-learn-languages/id379385811
• LingQ plans and prices: lingq.com/en/signup
• How LingQ statuses work: forum.lingq.com/t/how-lingq-statuses-work/6841
• LingQ statistics: forum.lingq.com/t/lingq-statistics/8184
• Readlang pricing: readlang.com/pricing
• About Readlang: readlang.com/about
• Readlang features: readlang.com/features
• Uploading novels to Readlang: forum.readlang.com/t/upload-novels-to-read-including-ones-with-drm/39
• Readlang offline: forum.readlang.com/t/anyone-here-use-used-lingq-or-any-other-alternatives/123/24
• Installing Readlang on your home screen: forum.readlang.com/t/install-readlang-on-your-iphone-ipad-or-android-home-screen/45
• Beelinguapp on the US App Store: apps.apple.com/us/app/beelinguapp-language-learning/id1225056371
• Beelinguapp home page: beelinguapp.com
• Beelinguapp FAQ: beelinguapp.com/faq
• Eppika pricing: eppika.com/pricing
• Eppika features: eppika.com/features
• Eppika on the US App Store: apps.apple.com/us/app/eppika-read-learn-languages/id6744357399
• What is Eppika: eppika.com/en/support/what-is-eppika
• Reading offline in Eppika: eppika.com/en/support/read-offline
• Anki: apps.ankiweb.net
• AnkiMobile on the US App Store: apps.apple.com/us/app/ankimobile-flashcards/id373493387
• Simply Fluent: FAQ and home page