NoaLingua Recommended
The best LingQ alternatives, led by NoaLingua
People leave LingQ for two reasons: the subscription, and the import step.
If the subscription is the problem, NoaLingua does the same core job — learn from real content, keep the words, review them — with every feature free and no account. If you want the library and the known-word count specifically, nothing else replaces those, and staying is reasonable.
Free, and every feature works on the free plan. No account, no sign-up — the extension installs and works. What the paid plans change.
Why this one
Why we put NoaLingua first here
We make it, so read this as the argument it is — and then check it against what it cannot do, which is on the site for the same reason.
- No import step. You study the page, video or PDF where it already is, instead of pulling it into a reader first.
- Every feature is on the free plan, including both PDF modes, shadowing and every export format. Paid plans raise the deck-size cap and nothing else.
- No account at all — the deck lives in your own Chrome profile, and there is nothing to log into or sync.
- It covers video properly, with dual subtitles on YouTube and Netflix and pronunciation scoring, rather than treating video as another text to import.
The shortlist
What to use
Every entry carries a reason not to pick it, including ours. Descriptions of other tools come from those tools' own pages, dated below each one.
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NoaLingua Our pick
A Chrome extension that turns YouTube, Netflix, any web page and PDFs into study material: dual subtitles, click any word for its meaning in that sentence, and a spaced schedule that brings it back.
Best for. Learning from content where it lives, free, with no account and no import step.
Not for. It is a 0.2 release with a very small user base, and it is built by one person. If you want something mature and widely used, that is a real reason to pick something else. Where it does and does not run is below.
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LingQ itself
A platform for learning from books, podcasts, TV and imported content, with a known-word count, a large library and apps on desktop and mobile. It describes a free tier with premium features on subscription.
Best for. The library and the known-word count. If those are why you are there, no free tool replicates them, and staying is the honest answer.
Not for. The subscription, and the fact that content has to be imported into its reader.
LingQ itself website · Described from LingQ, official site, read 2026-09-10
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Readlang
A web reader and click-to-translate extension, long-established and simple.
Best for. Readers who want the click-to-translate layer without a platform around it.
Not for. Reading only — no video, no pronunciation practice, no PDF layout handling.
Readlang website · Described from Readlang, official features page, read 2026-08-10
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Lute
A free, open-source, self-hosted reader for learning from your own texts.
Best for. People who want LingQ's reading model with no subscription and complete control of their data.
Not for. You host and maintain it yourself, which is a real amount of setup most learners will not want.
Lute website · Described from Lute, project repository, read 2026-09-10
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Anki
The open-source spaced-repetition program, free on desktop and Android.
Best for. Keeping the vocabulary, once you have somewhere else to collect it from.
Not for. It does not collect anything for you. Anki reviews the cards you make; making them from what you watch and read is the part it leaves to you and to whatever tool you pair it with.
Anki website · Described from Anki, official site, read 2026-09-10
Where this recommendation stops
Anyone who needs it on a phone. LingQ has mobile apps and NoaLingua does not — it is desktop Chrome 138 or newer, full stop. There is also no known-word count across a library, because there is no library; it counts what you saved.
The full list is on what NoaLingua cannot do, and the per-language detail is on supported languages.
Questions about best LingQ alternatives
Is there a free LingQ alternative?
NoaLingua is free for every feature, and Lute is free and open-source if you are willing to self-host. Neither reproduces LingQ's content library.
Can I bring my LingQ words across?
Not directly — there is no LingQ importer. NoaLingua exports to Anki, CSV, spreadsheet and JSON, but bringing an existing deck in is not something it does.
Does NoaLingua track known words like LingQ?
It tracks how many times you have met a word and what you have saved, and it does not maintain a known-word count across a whole library, because it has no library. The counting model is genuinely different.
Read next
Install it and try this on the next thing you watch
Free, with every feature. No account, nothing to cancel, and your deck stays on your machine.
Add to Chrome — Free Add to Chrome Opens the Chrome Web Store listing NoaLingua — beyond dual subs: video, web, PDF — free, no account, Chrome 138 or newer.- Free, and not a trial Every feature on the free plan — both PDF modes, shadowing, all 30 practice formats.
- No account, no email Nothing to sign up for and nothing to cancel. There is no login screen at all.
- Two dropdowns to set up Pick what you are learning and what you want translations in. That is the whole setup.
- Your words stay yours Export to Anki, CSV, a spreadsheet or a full JSON profile — free on every plan.