Readlang vs Language Reactor: text or video?

Side by side

Three columns, because the question people actually have is usually a three-way one: video in the browser, text in the browser, or text on the phone. The Readlang column was checked on 14 September 2026 at readlang.com and the Readlang forum; the Language Reactor column against languagereactor.com and its Chrome Web Store listing in August 2026.

Prices in USD. Readlang from readlang.com/pricing on 14 September 2026; Language Reactor Pro has no public pricing page we could verify, so confirm it in the app.

Readlang on YouTube and Netflix

Readlang can import a YouTube video. What you get is the video with its transcript alongside, synchronized to playback, and every word in the transcript clickable the same way as in a text. Words you click go to the same flashcard pile as everything else you read. For a learner who already lives in Readlang, that is a comfortable way to add listening without a second tool.

It is a side feature, and it shows. In 2026 the Readlang forum has complaints about imported transcripts arriving as one long paragraph, which makes following along harder than it should be. There are no dual subtitles and no controls built for video. It is a reader that happens to play a video, not a video player.

Netflix is not supported at all. There is no Readlang integration, extension or workaround for Netflix; searches for "readlang netflix" are almost always people looking for Language Reactor. If Netflix is your material, that decision is made for you.

Language Reactor for reading

Language Reactor is not only video. It can import text, including books and web pages, into a reader in the browser, with the same popup dictionary. On a laptop that covers part of what Readlang does, and if you already have it installed for Netflix it is worth trying before adding a second subscription.

Two limits, both from what we could verify. It is a browser tool: on a phone that means a tab in mobile Safari, not a reading app that keeps your place in a novel. And saving words is a Pro feature, so the read-then-review loop that is free on Readlang is paid on Language Reactor. We could not find a public pricing page for Pro; check inside the app. The Language Reactor alternative page goes through the reading side in more detail.

Which to pick by habit

Set the feature lists aside for a moment and look at the hour of the day when you actually learn.

Evenings with a series

Language Reactor. Dual subtitles over Netflix, a dictionary on click, precise replay with keyboard shortcuts. The free tier covers it, and around two million people use the Chrome extension. Nothing in Readlang competes with this.

The commute with a book or an article

Readlang, if the reading happens at a desk or in a desktop browser: the extension makes every site clickable, and the hundred-plus languages mean it will have yours. On a phone, Readlang is the website on the home screen, which works and feels like a website; the iPhone page is honest about that. A native reader is the other option, and the last section of this page is about one.

Both

The common case. Video on the laptop with Language Reactor, text with Readlang, and one review habit rather than two: review in whichever tool you use more and let the other be input. Readlang exports words to CSV and Language Reactor exports to Anki on Pro, so Anki is the place the two vocabularies can meet if you want a single deck. The Readlang vs LingQ page covers the other comparison people run before settling on a reader.

Where Readlang Mobile fits

Readlang Mobile is the reading half only, built for the phone. It is a native iOS app for iPhone and iPad: a library of public-domain books graded A1 to C1, some narrated with the current word highlighted; articles by pasting a link; your own EPUB on Premium. Tap a word and the translation appears in the text. By default, translation comes from Google Translate through the app's server; in Settings you can switch to Apple Translate, which runs on the device.

It has no video at all. No YouTube, no Netflix, no transcripts. It covers about twenty languages rather than a hundred, and it does not export words. If you were weighing Language Reactor, none of that replaces it; the app belongs in the same slot as Readlang, on the device where Readlang is a website. It is free for 30 translations a day, with Premium at $8.99 a month or $59.99 a year through the App Store. The download page explains what is and is not in the App Store under the Readlang name; the alternatives page lists the wider field.

Questions people ask