SerialectLanguage-learning stories for iPhone
How Serialect compares
What sets it apartIt writes each episode from the words on your own list, tests every word and tells you how close it came.
Serialect is an iPhone app, coming soon, for learning Spanish, French, German, Italian or Portuguese by reading, once you’re past the beginner stage. A test of about two minutes, or your own flashcard deck, builds your word list. Each episode of its serial is then written on the phone, almost entirely in words you know.
Why choose Serialect
- Each episode is tested word by word against your list, with a target of about 96% words you know, and it shows its true figure.
- It's a serial: the same cast through a season of 12 episodes, with an ending that leads to the next.
- Read a whole episode aloud and it marks, word by word, what the phone didn't hear.
- A new episode every week for free, in one language, with no trial to cancel.
- No account, and your words come with you: import a flashcard deck (.apkg) or a CSV, and export on either plan.
What a page looks like
Marta abrió el palacio municipal a las siete en una mañana fría y brillante. El aire era frío y sus manos temblaban un poco. Tomás llegó poco después, con una sonrisa en la cara.
The opening of a Spanish Episode 1, as the app wrote it, unedited. New words are underlined, and you tap any word for its meaning. An episode runs to about 200 words, a few minutes' reading, and the other four languages work the same way.
Side by side
From each app's UK App Store page and its own site. "Not listed" means we couldn't find it on either. Serialect isn't out yet, so its column comes from the app itself.
| Feature | Serialect | LingQ | Gradia | Beelinguapp |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What you pay | Free: a new episode a week, in one language. Plus £3.49 a month or £24.99 a year | Free: 20 saved words, 5 imported lessons. In the app, Premium £15.49 a month, £80.99 for 6 months or £124.99 a year; Premium Plus £27.99 a month or £249.99 a year | Free to download. Reader £4.99 a month, Listener £12.99 a month | Some stories free, with ads. In the app, monthly £5.99 or £7.99, yearly from £18.99 to £44.90 |
| Writes each story from your own word list and says how many you should know | Yes | Shows how much of a lesson is new | Writes to a language level (CEFR) you choose | A library sorted by level |
| A serial that carries on, episode by episode | Yes: 20 seasons of 12 episodes | Library lessons, and Mini Stories | Stories generated on demand | A library of stories and news |
| Marks what it didn't hear when you read a whole text aloud | Yes, word by word | Not on its store page or plans; its forum describes a speaking check on Premium | Not listed | Not listed |
| Account, and what its App Store page says it collects | No account. Planned answer: Data Not Collected | Account needed. Lists contact info, content, location, purchases and usage, linked to you | Has accounts. Lists name and email, linked to you | Sign-in by Google, Facebook or Apple. Lists data used to track you |
| Languages | 5 | More than 50, by its App Store page | 50 or more | 23 |
| Read your own articles, books and video | No | Yes, imported: 5 lessons free, unlimited on Premium | Not listed | Not listed |
| Devices | iPhone only. Writing needs a 15 Pro or newer, on iOS 27; samples run on any iPhone with iOS 27 | iPhone, iPad, Android and the web, iOS 17 or later | iPhone, iPad and the web, iOS 13 or later | iPhone, iPad and Android, iOS 16.6 or later |
On the UK App Store: LingQ, Gradia and Beelinguapp.
What you pay. Serialect Plus is £24.99 a year. In their apps, LingQ Premium is £124.99 a year and Beelinguapp lists yearly plans from £18.99 to £44.90; Gradia's Reader, at £4.99 a month, comes to £59.88. LingQ's own site sells Premium for less, at £103.99 for 12 months. Plus adds the next episode as soon as you finish the last, in all five languages.
Another app may suit you better if
- You want real books, podcasts and video, or your own articles. LingQ does that, and Serialect writes only its own stories.
- You want human narrators, or your own language beside the story. Beelinguapp has both, with every story and a change of language on Premium.
- Your iPhone is too old for Apple Intelligence, or you use Android. All three run on more iPhones, and LingQ and Beelinguapp on Android.
What people ask for, and what Serialect does
A page that leaves the text alone
Reviews of reading apps complain of colour panels and statistics competing with the text. Serialect puts a pencil line under each new word, a lighter one under words you're learning, and keeps everything else behind a tap.
A story from my own words, without the chatbot
Some learners paste their word lists into a chatbot and ask for a story. Serialect does that checking itself.
No trial to remember to cancel
Being charged after a trial is a common complaint about language apps. Serialect has no trial: the free episode each week is how you try it.
Questions
Is there an app that writes stories from the words I already know?
Yes. Serialect writes each episode from the words on your list and tests every one. The default target is about 96% words you know. In our tests most misses were a point or two, and each episode shows its true figure.
Are the stories any good?
They're practice stories in plain sentences, written by the small language model on your iPhone. Expect simple prose, some repeated phrases and the odd slip: more like a graded reader than a novel.
How much is Serialect?
When it's out it's free to download, with a new episode every week in one language. Serialect Plus is £3.49 a month or £24.99 a year, for the next episode as soon as you finish the last, in all five languages.
Does Serialect need an account?
No. Stories are written by Apple's on-device model and speech is heard on the iPhone, so nothing reaches us unless you send it. Your words and stories stay on your phone, and in its backup if you use one.
Will Serialect correct my pronunciation?
No. Read back marks, word by word, what the phone didn't hear when you read an episode aloud. It can miss words and it can guess, so it's a guide, with no score.
Checked 7 November 2026. Other apps change; if something here is out of date, tell us.