DigMyGemDigMyGem vs Readlang: reading, lookups and flashcards compared
DigMyGem and Readlang both let you read a text, look up words and practise them as flashcards. DigMyGem is open source, can be self-hosted, and adds gems, seven built-in practice games and FSRS scheduling. Readlang runs on the web, with a browser extension and apps. This page compares price, Anki export, languages and flashcards.[1] Open DigMyGem
At a glance
- Open source under the AGPL v3 licence, and self-hostable
- 28 study languages in the language registry
- Free plan at $0, with unlimited reading, importing, saved words and practice
- No Anki link today; Settings exports your words as CSV
How do DigMyGem and Readlang compare?
| Topic | DigMyGem | Readlang |
|---|---|---|
| Hosting | Open source under AGPL v3. Use the hosted app, or run your own copy with Docker Compose: one service starts by default (the app), and a second, an article extractor, is optional. | Used on the web, through a browser extension or bookmarklet on other sites, and in iOS and Android apps.[1] |
| Price | Free plan at $0 with unlimited reading, importing, saved words and practice. Pro is $10 a month or $100 a year, Ultra $30 a month or $300 a year.[5] | Free plan with unlimited single-word translations, 10 phrase translations and 10 context explanations a day. Premium $6 a month or $48 a year; Premium Plus $15 a month or $120 a year.[3] |
| Languages | 28 study languages in the language registry. Other apps count languages their own way, so the numbers are not like for like. | Lists Spanish, German, French, English, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Dutch and Swedish, plus over 100 more.[1] |
| Looking up words | Tap a word in the reader for its meaning from an on-device dictionary, and save it. | Click any word or phrase to see its translation, with AI explanations in context.[1] |
| Flashcards | Cloze, dictation, flashcards, matching, picture to word, word to picture and listen and pick, scheduled by FSRS. Words practised to level 5 or higher become gems. | Translated words become flashcards, ranked by usefulness, with a spaced-repetition algorithm that adapts to your ability. Flashcard practice or export from specific books is a Premium feature.[2][3] |
| Anki | No Anki link today. The Anki add-on was removed, and DigMyGem does not read or write Anki packages. Settings exports your words as a CSV file with the columns text, type, sentence, translation, state and createdAt. | Its features page says you can export words and phrases to practice in Anki.[2] |
Can I move my Readlang words to DigMyGem?
Readlang exports your words and phrases, and DigMyGem’s word import takes a CSV or text file with a column named term or word, with optional meaning, sentence and status columns. This page has not checked how a Readlang export is laid out, so it does not say whether the two fit without editing.[2]
When is Readlang the better choice?
- You read on other websites and want to click a word or phrase there for its translation, through the extension or bookmarklet.[1]
- You want exports aimed at Anki: its features page describes exporting words and phrases to practice in Anki, and a forum post describes using the export to generate cloze flashcards for Anki.[2][4]
- You want a paid tier with unlimited context explanations and high-quality voices for words and phrases, at $6 a month or $48 a year.[3]
How does the DigMyGem gem game work?
Every word you save starts as a rough stone, and practice moves it up an eight-level ladder. Levels 1 to 4 are stones on the way (Rough, Forming, Refining, Shimmering). A word practised to the top of the stone ladder becomes a gem, and further reviews raise its tier: Brilliant (5), Flawless (6), Divine (7) and Jewelled (8), which is jewellery. The collection page shows the gems and jewellery you have earned, from a catalogue of 112 gemstones. Gems come from practice only: a word you already knew before you used the app, or marked known, counts as mastered. It is never a gem and is not in the collection.
- Cloze: fill in the blank.
- Dictation: type what you hear, for languages that have a voice.
- Flashcards: flip a card, then mark it Got it or Later. Each mark is a graded answer, like one in the other games, and flipping first counts as a hint.
- Matching: drag words to their meaning.
- Picture to word: see a picture, pick its word from four, for English words for now.
- Word to picture: read a word and its sentence, pick its picture, for English words for now.
- Listen and pick: hear a word, tap its picture, for English words for now.
Each answer is graded Again, Hard, Good or Easy from what you did: a wrong answer is Again, a correct answer after a hint or a first input slower than 2 seconds is Hard, a quick correct answer is Good, and the Too easy button, pressed before you answer, is Easy. On the stone ladder an answer banks 0.25, 0.5, 1 or 2 of a level for Again, Hard, Good or Easy. A miss never lowers a level, and the word comes back later. On a gem, any answer except Again counts as one more review towards its next tier. FSRS sets the next review, with a longest interval of 180 days.
A day counts when you look up a word, answer a practice question or read. The streak counts days in a row, and the stats page draws an activity heatmap. Reading worlds change the scenery behind the app: Crystal Pines, Candlelit Reading Room and Paper Hills are open from the start; Star Road opens with a 7-day streak, Ink and Wash opens after you finish 15 lessons and Japanese Onsen opens after you finish 3 lessons.
Related pages
- What is DigMyGem? An open-source language reader
- DigMyGem vs LingQ, Anki, Readlang and other language apps
- DigMyGem vs Anki: a reader with gems, or a flashcard program
- DigMyGem vs Clozemaster: reading and gems, or sentence drills
- DigMyGem vs Lute: two open-source readers you run yourself
- DigMyGem vs LinguaCafe: self-hosted reading apps compared
Sources and checks
Checked on . Statements about DigMyGem were written from its code; statements about other apps cite the page they were read from.