Best vocabulary builder apps
Apps and sites for growing your vocabulary in a language you already speak, mostly English: daily words, spaced-repetition review and word games, not foreign-language courses.
11 apps, ordered by visits from AppBreakup and how often our research lists each one as an alternative. Open any app to see its alternatives.
All vocabulary builder apps
- Alternatives to Word of the Day (Vocabulous)
Editor-picked daily word with illustrations, Lock Screen widgets, 1-minute quizzes, word games and crosswords.
Free plan + paidiOS, macOS - Alternatives to Membean
Vocabulary trainer built on spaced retrieval and word roots, sold to schools and to individuals by the month.
PaidWeb - Alternatives to Vocab First
iPhone app that puts a short English word lesson in front of the apps you open on autopilot.
PaidiOS - Alternatives to WordPal
Synonym quizzes with spaced repetition that resurface the English words you keep getting wrong.
Free plan + paidiOS, macOS, Android - Alternatives to Vocabulary.com
Learner's dictionary plus an adaptive question trainer covering 18,000 English words, run by IXL Learning.
Free plan + paidWeb - Alternatives to Vocabulary Builder by Knudge
Five-minute vocabulary sessions with adaptive flashcards, 10+ word games and exam-level word lists.
Free plan + paidiOS, Android - Alternatives to Atlas Vocabulary Builder
Placement-tested English vocabulary curriculum from beginner to native level, with daily words and spaced review.
Free plan + paidiOS, macOS - Alternatives to Vocabulary - Learn words daily
Scroll-through word-of-the-day app from Monkey Taps, with Lock Screen widgets and paid review games.
Free plan + paidiOS, Android - Alternatives to Zann WordUp
Ranks the 25,000 most common English words by what you don't know yet, with spaced review and a Chrome extension.
Free plan + paidiOS, Android, Browser extension - Alternatives to Merriam-Webster Dictionary
Free dictionary and thesaurus app with Word of the Day, vocabulary quizzes and offline definitions.
Free plan + paidiOS, Android - Alternatives to Elevate
Brain-training app with 40+ short games for reading, writing, speaking, memory and math, including vocabulary.
Free plan + paidiOS, Android
Our picks by need
Best for most people
Word of the Day (Vocabulous)Best for Mac
WordPalBest for iPhone and Android
Vocabulary Builder by KnudgeCommon questions
What are the best vocabulary builder apps?
Based on how often our research lists them as alternatives and visits from AppBreakup, the leading vocabulary builder apps right now are Word of the Day (Vocabulous), Membean, Vocab First, WordPal and Vocabulary.com.
Are there free vocabulary builder apps?
Yes. Word of the Day (Vocabulous) (free plan + paid), WordPal (free plan + paid), Vocabulary.com (free plan + paid), Vocabulary Builder by Knudge (free plan + paid) and Atlas Vocabulary Builder (free plan + paid) have a free option, out of 9 free or freemium apps we track.
Which vocabulary builder apps are open source?
None of the apps in this category is open source.