Best Apps to Read English Books: Beelinguapp, LingQ, dicto Compared
Four good apps, four different ideas of what reading practice should be. Here is how to choose.
7 min read
The short answer
We make SeoJae Story, so read this with that in mind. We have tried to be fair: each of these apps is good at something, and the right one depends on what you want from reading.
- Want to read classic books at your level, with Korean support? SeoJae Story.
- Want side-by-side stories in many language pairs? Beelinguapp.
- Want to read anything you find online and track every word you know? LingQ.
- On iPhone and want adapted English books with tap-to-translate? dicto.
Side-by-side comparison
Features as listed by each app at the time of writing (October 2026). Apps change quickly, so check the store page before you subscribe.
| SeoJae Story | Beelinguapp | LingQ | dicto | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | Finishing real classics in English, A1 to B2 | Reading short stories with the translation beside them | Turning any text into a lesson | Adapted and original English books on iPhone |
| What you read | Classic novels as whole books, philosophy, money classics, biographies, Korean literature | Stories, news and audiobooks across many languages | Its own lessons plus anything you import | Adapted and original English books at several levels |
| Translation | Every sentence translated into Korean by people, plus tap-any-word meanings | Full parallel text, side by side | Tap words for meanings and save them | Tap a word or phrase to translate it |
| Listening | Narration for every story, female or male voice, 0.5–1.5× speed, follow-along highlight | Audio with karaoke-style highlighting | Audio on many lessons | Audio and shadowing features listed |
| Languages | English (with Korean help), and Korean for English speakers | Many language pairs | Many languages | English, with translation into many languages |
| Platforms | Android app and web (works on iPhone in the browser) | Android and iPhone | Web, Android and iPhone | iPhone |
| Account to start | No — open a story and read | Check the app | Yes | Check the app |
SeoJae Story: classics you can actually finish
SeoJae Story retells famous public-domain books — Treasure Island, Dracula, The Great Gatsby, The Wind in the Willows — in clear English graded on the CEFR scale. Long novels are split into three-minute parts, so one a day takes you to the last chapter.
Its strongest point is support for Korean speakers: every sentence has a natural Korean translation written by people, and the tap-any-word dictionary works offline. Beyond novels there are shelves for philosophy and money classics, and when you are ready you can open the author's original text. It also works the other way round, with Korean folktales and classics for English speakers learning Korean.
Where it is weaker: it covers two languages, not dozens, and you cannot import your own texts. The library is curated and growing, but it is smaller than the open-ended apps.
Beelinguapp: parallel text in many languages
Beelinguapp shows a story in your target language with the translation right beside it, and narrated audio that highlights as it plays. If you are learning a language other than English, or want to switch between several, its range of language pairs is the main reason to choose it.
The side-by-side layout is the whole idea of the parallel-text method, and it works well for intermediate learners. Complete beginners may find a full parallel page more than they need.
LingQ: read anything
LingQ is built around importing: articles, e-books, transcripts, whatever you want to read. Every word you tap can be saved, and the app tracks how many words you know over time. For self-directed learners with a clear idea of what they want to read, it is the most flexible of the four.
The trade-off is that imported content is not graded for you. Real articles are often far above a learner's level, so LingQ suits upper-intermediate readers best. Our guide on how many words you need to read explains why level matters so much.
dicto: adapted English books on iPhone
dicto offers a library of adapted and original English books at several levels, with tap-to-translate for words and phrases and offline reading. Its listing names audio, listening and shadowing among its features. At the time of writing it is an iPhone app.
If you are on iPhone and mainly want adapted fiction with quick translations, it is worth a look. If you are on Android, or want a full Korean translation of every line, SeoJae Story covers that.
How to choose
Pick the app whose content you will actually want to open tomorrow. Reading only works if you do a lot of it, and that only happens when the stories pull you back. Whichever you choose, keep the text easy enough that you can follow the story without stopping every line — see how to learn English by reading for a simple routine.
Every story on SeoJae Story is free to try with no account, so the quickest way to decide is to read one: start with a classic at your level.
Put it into practice