A private Readlang alternative for everyday browsing
Readlang and Phrase Flip both turn web reading into language practice, but they work in opposite directions. Readlang is built for reading articles written in the language you're learning and clicking words you don't know. Phrase Flip works while you read your normal English web pages, quietly flipping selected sentences into your target language.
The short version
| Phrase Flip | Readlang | |
|---|---|---|
| How you read | Normal English browsing with sentences flipped inline | Foreign-language pages or uploaded texts where you click to translate |
| What gets translated | Whole sentences automatically | Words or phrases you click |
| Where translation runs | On your device | Readlang's servers |
| Account required | No | Yes, to save words and use the web reader |
| Price | Free | Free (10 phrase translations/day); Premium from $6/month or $48/year |
| Browsers | Chrome, Safari on Mac, iPhone and iPad | Chrome extension; Safari via bookmarklet |
| Languages | 11 (Arabic is experimental) | 100+ |
Passive browsing vs active study
Readlang shines when you set aside time to read a Spanish newspaper or an uploaded novel. When you hit an unfamiliar word or phrase, you click or drag across it to see the English translation above the line, and Readlang saves it to a spaced-repetition flashcard deck.
Phrase Flip is for the hours you already spend reading in English. You don't pick a foreign article or switch into study mode. A percentage of the sentences on the page flip into your target language automatically, and you control how many with the intensity slider. If a sentence trips you up, hover over it (or tap it on a phone) to see the original English.
Many learners have room for both: Phrase Flip during normal daytime browsing, and a reader tool when sitting down with foreign-language books or news.
Privacy and accounts
Phrase Flip translates on your device and does not send page text away for translation. There is no account to create and no analytics.
Readlang syncs your reading library, looked-up words and flashcards across devices, so it requires an account and processes translations and saved sentences on its servers.
Safari on Mac, iPhone and iPad
Phrase Flip is a native Safari extension on Mac, iPhone and iPad, as well as a Chrome extension (Chrome 138 or newer).
Readlang's browser extension is for Chrome. On Safari, reading external web pages uses the Readlang Web Reader bookmarklet, which requires turning off Safari's "Prevent Cross-Site Tracking" setting so the bookmarklet can talk to your Readlang account, and some sites block bookmarklets through their security policies.
Price
Phrase Flip is completely free, with no daily limits or paid tiers.
Readlang's free plan gives you unlimited single-word lookups and up to 10 multi-word phrase translations per day. Unlimited phrase translations and additional AI explanations require Readlang Premium ($48/year or $6/month).
Which one should you pick?
Pick Readlang if you want to read full articles or EPUB books written in your target language, build flashcard decks from words you look up, or study a language outside Phrase Flip's 11.
Pick Phrase Flip if you want effortless sentence-level practice during your regular English browsing, want your reading to stay on your device without an account, or browse in Safari on a Mac, iPhone or iPad.
You can try the interactive demo on the Phrase Flip homepage, get Phrase Flip on the App Store for Safari (Mac, iPhone and iPad), or add Phrase Flip to Chrome.