Lexo vs Beelinguapp: side-by-side texts or tap-to-translate?

Beelinguapp and Lexo both pair reading with listening, and both have classic stories on the shelf. Where they differ is in how they help you understand. Beelinguapp puts a story in two languages side by side, the one you’re learning and one you know, with narration and text that scrolls along with the audio. Lexo puts only the language you’re learning on the page, rewrites the book to your level, and explains any word you tap.

We make Lexo, so read this with that in mind. We’ve tried to describe Beelinguapp the way its own readers would and to be plain about what Lexo doesn’t do. It was checked in October 2026 against Beelinguapp’s site, FAQ and App Store listing; apps change, so check Beelinguapp’s site for its current library and plans.

The short answer

Choose Beelinguapp if you like having a full translation in view, enjoy short pieces such as stories, news and songs, want flashcards and quizzes, or use Android. It’s a gentle place to start, and there’s a free tier. Choose Lexo if you’re at A2 or above and want to read whole classics in the language itself, pitched at your level, with help on tap, narration with character voices, and explanations in your own language, on iPhone or iPad.

At a glance

	Beelinguapp	Lexo
What you read	Short stories, classics, fairy tales, news, children’s books and songs	About 100 classics, rewritten at your level
How the text appears	Side by side with a translation in a language you know; you can hide it	The language you’re learning only, with help on tap
Levels	Kids, Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced	CEFR A2 to C2, chosen per book
Help with words	Long-press a word or phrase for its translation and pronunciation	Tap any word: its meaning in this sentence, base form, part of speech, idiom, and a translation of the sentence
Audio	Narration with karaoke-style scrolling text and speed control	The whole book narrated, with character voices and word-by-word highlighting; every word playable
Review	A glossary and flashcards, with pronunciation practice	A saved Words list you can go back over; no spaced repetition
Quizzes	Comprehension questions after texts	None
Your own stories	AI story creation on Premium	No
Languages	More than 20	About 80 to learn, with explanations in your own language
Offline	Downloaded texts	Yes; books download to your device
Platforms	iPhone, iPad and Android	iPhone and iPad (iOS 18 or later)
How you pay	A free tier with ads; Premium subscription	$4.99 a book, or Lexo Plus at $4.99 a month for two book credits (planned US launch prices)
Can you use it today?	Yes	Not yet; in beta, launching on the App Store soon

What Beelinguapp does well

Beelinguapp is made by Beelinguapp UG, a Berlin company founded by David Montiel, and its core idea is simple and appealing: read a story in two languages at once, and listen while you do.

You never get lost. With the translation beside the text, every sentence can be checked at a glance. For a beginner that’s a real comfort, and as you improve you can hide the translation and use it only when you need it.

Reading and listening go together. Stories come with narration, and the text scrolls along with the audio, karaoke style. Beelinguapp says many of its stories are read by native speakers, and you can slow the audio down. Hearing a sentence while you see it is a habit worth building; Webb and Chang (2015, “Second language vocabulary learning through extensive reading with audio support”) found substantial vocabulary gains in learners who read and listened to graded readers. More in reading while listening.

There’s a lot of variety. The library runs from fairy tales and children’s books to classics, mysteries, biographies, science, daily news and songs, and many pieces are short enough to finish in one sitting.

It has study tools. Long-press a word or phrase to see its translation and hear it, collect words in a glossary, practice them as flashcards (with a microphone check on your pronunciation), and answer comprehension questions at the end of a text. On Premium you can have the app write a story for you, choosing its length, difficulty and vocabulary.

It’s easy to start. There’s a free tier, the apps run on iPhone, iPad and Android, and downloaded texts work offline.

What Lexo does differently

Lexo puts one language on the page: the one you’re learning. Instead of a full translation beside every line, it rewrites the book so that most of it is within reach, then helps with the rest. Each of about 100 classics, from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland to The Jungle Book, exists at five levels: A2, B1, B2, C1 (close to the original, lightly condensed) and C2 (the complete novel).

When a word stops you, tap it. The card shows what it means in this sentence, its base form and part of speech, the meaning of any idiom it’s part of, and a translation of the whole sentence into your own language. When a passage is just beyond you, the sentence-by-sentence mode shows one sentence at a time with its audio and translation. The whole book is narrated, with different voices for different characters and each word highlighted as it’s spoken, and you can play any single word to hear it on its own.

Lexo covers about 80 languages to learn, with explanations in your own language, and books download for offline reading. There’s no account. The adaptations, glosses and narration are produced with AI models, guided by the CEFR level descriptors and checked automatically. Most editions are written on request: the first reader of an edition waits a few minutes for chapter 1, and the rest follows while they read.

Side by side, or one language at a time

Parallel text and tap-to-translate are two answers to the same question: what should happen when you don’t understand?

A parallel text answers in advance. The translation is already there, so you never stall. The familiar risk is that the eye drifts to the side that’s easy, and you end up reading the translation with the original as decoration. Beelinguapp’s option to hide the translation is a good way to manage that.

Lexo answers on request. Hu and Nation (2000, “Unknown vocabulary density and reading comprehension”) found that most readers needed to know about 98% of the words in a story to understand it adequately without help, which is why Lexo rewrites each book at your level rather than printing a translation beside it. When you do get stuck, a tap gives you the word in context or the whole sentence translated, and then you’re back in the language you’re learning. See the 98% rule.

Neither approach is right for everyone. A reasonable rule of thumb: lean on parallel texts early, and switch to tap-to-translate once you can read on your own.

Who should choose Beelinguapp

• You’re a beginner and want a translation in view while you read.
• You like short pieces: stories, news, children’s books and songs you can finish in one sitting.
• You want study tools such as flashcards, pronunciation practice and comprehension quizzes.
• You’d like to create your own stories at a chosen difficulty.
• You use Android, or you’d like to start free.

Who should choose Lexo

• You’re at A2 or above and want whole books. Lexo’s books are complete classics retold at your level, so you live with the characters for a while.
• You want to read in the language, not next to it. The page stays in the language you’re learning, and help appears only when you ask for it.
• You want explanations, not just translations. A tap tells you what a word means in this sentence, its base form and any idiom it belongs to.
• You’re learning a less widely taught language. Lexo covers about 80, from Albanian to Vietnamese.
• You read on iPhone or iPad, sometimes offline.

Lexo is in beta and launching on the App Store soon. Get notified at launch. For more on combining text and audio, see reading while listening, or compare Lexo vs LingQ.