Comparison
Free LanguageCrush alternative for reading (2026)
A short list of LanguageCrush alternatives for reading your own texts, with free-plan prices for taihaa, LingQ, and Readlang as of late 2026.
A LanguageCrush alternative is another way to read a text you chose and look words up in place. LanguageCrush's free plan already covers lookups and uploading passages. People usually compare it when they do not want Supporter for export, full-page speech, or joining and splitting words.
Free plans compared
List prices and free-plan limits as published by each company (October 2026; LanguageCrush, November 2026). Prices change, so this is a snapshot, not a ranking.
| Tool | Price | Saved words | Imported lessons | Card to start |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| taihaa | Free; optional Plus $4.99/month or $39/year | Unlimited | Unlimited | No card |
| LanguageCrush | Supporter $6.99/month, $60/year, or $120 lifetime | Color-coded words on the free plan; vocab export is paid | Upload passages on the free plan; copying them is paid | Free plan needs no card |
| LingQ | Premium $14.99/month, $119.99/year | 20 on the free plan | 5 on the free plan | Free plan needs no card |
| Readlang | Premium $6/month or $48/year | 200 highlighted words on the free plan; 10 phrase translations a day | Free plan allows text uploads | Free plan needs no card |
taihaa
- Price
- Free; optional Plus $4.99/month or $39/year
- Saved words
- Unlimited
- Imported lessons
- Unlimited
- Card to start
- No card
LanguageCrush
- Price
- Supporter $6.99/month, $60/year, or $120 lifetime
- Saved words
- Color-coded words on the free plan; vocab export is paid
- Imported lessons
- Upload passages on the free plan; copying them is paid
- Card to start
- Free plan needs no card
LingQ
- Price
- Premium $14.99/month, $119.99/year
- Saved words
- 20 on the free plan
- Imported lessons
- 5 on the free plan
- Card to start
- Free plan needs no card
Readlang
- Price
- Premium $6/month or $48/year
- Saved words
- 200 highlighted words on the free plan; 10 phrase translations a day
- Imported lessons
- Free plan allows text uploads
- Card to start
- Free plan needs no card
taihaa, if the job is reading
- Free, no card. No cap on saved words or text imports.
- YouTube link with subtitles, 3 new video lessons a week free. Paste a transcript if the video has no subtitles.
- Mandarin and Cantonese: Split (Fix word split) on the free plan. Tap between characters to break a compound into characters or join characters into one word.
- Jyutping for Cantonese, pinyin for Mandarin, romanization for Korean, furigana and romaji for Japanese.
- Nine languages, listed on Languages. Not LanguageCrush's 100+.
- New AI word translations when the dictionary has no entry: 8 a day free.
Other reading tools
- LingQ: free plan allows 20 saved words and 5 imported lessons, as of October 2026. Premium is listed at $14.99 a month.
- Readlang: free plan allows 200 highlighted words and 10 phrase translations a day. Premium is $6 a month or $48 a year.
- Du Chinese and The Chairman’s Bao publish their own Chinese lessons. They are not import-first.
- LanguageCrush itself, if you want its forum, chat, and essay corrections, or languages taihaa does not offer.
How to choose
- Put one page you already care about into the app. A tour is not the test.
- Save more than a handful of words and see whether the free plan stops you.
- If the text is Mandarin or Cantonese, check whether you can fix a bad word break without paying.
- The head-to-head write-up is taihaa vs LanguageCrush.
Questions
What is a LanguageCrush alternative for reading?
taihaa is one option: a free reading app with no card, no cap on saved words or text imports, YouTube subtitle lessons, and Split for Mandarin and Cantonese. LingQ and Readlang are other reading tools with smaller free plans. LanguageCrush remains a fit if you want its community or its longer language list.
Is taihaa really free?
Yes. taihaa is free, with no payment card. There is no cap on saved words or text imports (paste, file, or URL), and all 9 languages are included. YouTube video lessons are 3 a week on the free plan. Taihaa Plus is optional and adds AI features and more natural voice.
Keep reading
Comparison
taihaa vs LanguageCrush: a free reading app
LanguageCrush alternative as of November 2026. taihaa is free with unlimited saves and text imports. Plus is $39 a year; Supporter is $60.
Comparison
Free LingQ alternative for reading (2026)
A free LingQ alternative as of November 2026: taihaa has no card, no cap on saved words or text imports, and 9 languages with Jyutping, pinyin, and furigana.
Comparison
Free Readlang alternative: taihaa vs Readlang (2026)
A free Readlang alternative as of November 2026: taihaa is free with no card and no cap on saved words or text imports, with Jyutping, pinyin, romanization, and furigana.