# Almanac website vs app: free reading or a personal offline collection?

Read the complete public idiom library on the website without an app purchase. Choose the iPhone or iPad app for offline reading, saved idioms, flashcards and Home Screen widgets, with 20 free entries and optional Pro.

Published by Chinese Idioms Almanac · Published November 3, 2026 · Updated November 5, 2026

Almanac · website vs app · offline reading

![Chinese Idioms Almanac artwork with Chinese characters, pinyin and an English meaning.](https://chinese-idioms.yudis.dev/assets/social-card.webp)

## Key takeaway

The website makes the full public idiom library readable without buying the app. The native app includes 20 free complete idioms; a one-time Pro purchase unlocks the full collection. Choose the app for offline reading, local saved/review progress and widgets. There is no account-based progress sync.

An idiom can be freely readable on the **[Chinese Idioms Almanac website](https://chinese-idioms.yudis.dev/) ** while being outside the **app's 20-entry free collection**. These are different access arrangements. Reading a website lesson does not unlock an in-app purchase.

## Which version fits your task?

| What you want to do | Start here | Access or limitation |

| --- | --- | --- |

| Open a complete lesson from a shared link | Public website library | No app purchase required for website reading |

| Read, search and review while offline | Native iPhone or iPad app | 20 free entries; Pro unlocks the full app collection |

| Save idioms and revisit them in flashcards | Native app | Local learning progress within your accessible collection |

| Keep an idiom on the Home Screen | Native app widgets | All four styles are included free; entries follow app access |

| Continue the same saved progress across devices | Check the limitation before choosing | No account-based cloud progress sync |

## Website reading and app ownership are separate

The [public library](https://chinese-idioms.yudis.dev/idioms) provides complete lessons at shareable idiom URLs, with search, topic collections and related lessons. You can use it to read an idiom without purchasing the native app. This does not establish offline website availability, native widgets or progress synchronization.

The app starts with 20 complete idioms. Its optional, permanent Pro in-app purchase unlocks the full collection of more than 1,000 idioms and topic browsing. Free access already includes saved idioms, flashcards and all four Home Screen widget styles within the free collection. Daily idioms repeat through the collection you can access. There is no subscription or advertising in the native app.

## When the app is useful

Use the app when your task needs offline reading and search, local saved idioms or flashcards, or a Small or Medium Home Screen widget. Widget updates are scheduled by iOS; an exact refresh time is not guaranteed. The released App Store version checked for this comparison is **1.0.2**, supporting iPhone and iPad, with iOS 16.4 or later listed as the minimum.

Pronunciation uses Mandarin voices on the device. Voice quality and offline availability vary, so offline text access is not a promise that every voice works without a connection. Buying or restoring Pro needs internet access and the App Store. Learning progress and preferences stay on each device; no account is required and there is no account-based cloud sync. Native-app privacy statements do not describe every website request or Apple's purchase processing.

## A concrete access check

Open [水滴石穿 on the website](https://chinese-idioms.yudis.dev/idioms/shui-di-shi-chuan) to read a full lesson. If a different lesson appears locked in the app, check whether it belongs to your free collection and whether Pro is active. A freely accessible web page is not evidence of a failed app purchase. For a purchase you already own, follow [Almanac support](https://chinese-idioms.yudis.dev/support) rather than buying again to test access.

## Evidence and disclosure

Reviewed November 3, 2026 against the public library, website support and live App Store version 1.0.2. We make Almanac and have a commercial interest in the app. This compares released access and workflow descriptions; it is not a measured learning-outcome study or a cross-device synchronization test.

Next, use the website link if reading one lesson is enough. Choose the native app when its offline, local review or widget workflow is useful to you; decide on Pro only if you need the full collection inside the app.

## Sources

- [Almanac public idiom library](https://chinese-idioms.yudis.dev/idioms)

- [Almanac app and free/Pro overview](https://chinese-idioms.yudis.dev/)

- [Almanac support](https://chinese-idioms.yudis.dev/support)

- [Chinese Idioms Almanac – App Store](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/chinese-idioms-almanac/id6819590452)

[Back to guides](https://chinese-idioms.yudis.dev/blog)