Free guide
The best apps to read books in a foreign language are parallel-reading apps that show the original text beside a translation, add audio, and turn the words you tap into review material. The strongest options are Lingo7, LingQ, Beelinguapp. They differ most in whether you can read your own books and how many languages they cover.
Ranked for reading real books. As of July 2026.
| App | Your own books | Parallel translation | Synced audio | Vocabulary trainer | Speaking practice | Languages | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lingo7 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 49 languages | Free + premium |
| LingQ | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Limited | 50+ (some in beta) | ~$10-15/mo |
| Beelinguapp | No | Yes | Yes | Limited | No | About 20 languages | Free + ~$7/mo |
| EWA | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | 3 languages (EN, ES, FR) | ~$4-16/mo |
| Readlang | Limited | No | Limited | Yes | No | 100+ (web-based) | Free + ~$6/mo |
| Readle | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | 6 languages | ~$10-15/mo |
Lingo7 lets you read any book, the built-in catalog or your own upload, with the original and a sentence-by-sentence translation side by side, native-narrated audio, and a tap to send new words to a review deck.
Coverage is where these apps differ most. Pick your language for a ranked list of the apps that actually support reading in it.
This guide is about one job: reading real books in a foreign language. We ranked each app on how well it does that, in order: whether you can read the book you actually want (your own upload, not just a fixed catalog), whether it shows a parallel translation, whether it has audio to read and listen at once, whether it turns reading into vocabulary you keep, and how many languages it covers. This guide is published by Lingo7, so compare the columns yourself. Every fact is checked against each app's own store listing and site as of July 2026.
Beyond dedicated learning apps, a general e-reader like Kindle with a bilingual dictionary, or an open-source reader like Lute, will let you read almost any book in almost any language, just without the parallel translation, graded catalog or synced audio these apps add.
For reading full books with the original and a translation side by side, Lingo7 is the most complete: Read any book in your target language with a sentence-by-sentence parallel translation, native-narrated audio and a built-in vocabulary trainer. The best choice for you depends on your language and whether you want to read your own books or a fixed catalog of graded stories, which the comparison covers. Pick your language above for a ranked list.
Reading builds vocabulary and grammatical intuition through repeated exposure in real context, and it is one of the most efficient ways to grow a language once you have the basics. It works best when the text is a little above your level, you can check meaning instantly with a tap or a parallel translation, and you add audio so you connect the written word to its sound.
Lingo7 and LingQ let you import your own files, such as EPUB or PDF, and read them with translation support. Many popular reading apps only offer a fixed catalog of stories, so if reading a specific book matters, check that first.
They do different jobs. Flashcard apps drill isolated words; reading apps teach words in context and build the ability to actually read, which is the point. The best results come from combining them: read real content, tap the words you do not know, and let a spaced-repetition trainer review them. Some apps, including Lingo7, do both in one place.
Compare Lingo7 with LingQ, Beelinguapp and other reading apps →