Gloss · Compared · Vocabulary.com
Gloss vs Vocabulary.com
Vocabulary.com is a learning machine: 50,000 word lists, adaptive questions, points and badges, built for people studying for a test. Gloss is for everything else you read. One word a day, explained in your style, and practice that is over in a minute.
What Vocabulary.com does better
- Exam preparation. If you have a test date, the lists are what you need.
- Volume. Thousands of words, thousands of questions, a leaderboard if you like one.
- Teachers and classes, with assignments and progress tracking.
What Gloss does differently
- A word a day instead of a list. Gloss picks one word worth having each morning, at your level and in your topics.
- Six styles. Vocabulary.com writes one friendly definition; Gloss writes it in the style you pick.
- Practice that fits a commute. Four games, a minute each, scheduled by spaced repetition so a word returns right before you would lose it.
- Paste anything. A contract clause or a paragraph from a paper, read in plain English.
Side by side
| Gloss | Vocabulary.com | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $39.99 a year after three days free; $5.99 a month; or pay once, $129.99 | Free to download; individual learner subscriptions are sold on the website |
| Ads | None, and no free tier | Not stated on the listing |
| How a word is explained | Six styles you choose, rewritten per word; a line with the word in use; origin; close synonyms; the classic definition where one exists | Conversational definitions with usage tips and example sentences, one style for everyone |
| Word of the day | One gloss every morning, with three questions; only answered days count toward the streak | No daily word; you work through lists |
| Practice | Four games on spaced repetition, a Sunday review | Adaptive multiple-choice questions, points, achievements, leaderboards; about 50,000 lists including SAT, GRE and TOEFL |
| Offline | Today’s gloss, this week’s words and your saved words; new lookups need a connection | Not stated on the listing |
| Languages | English, with the menus in English and Spanish | English |
| Where it runs | iPhone (iOS 18 and up); the share sheet; widgets | iPhone, iPad; Android; the web. The iPhone app was last updated in 2021 |
| On the App Store | New in 2026, by PixelPaw SRL | Curiosity Media, Inc.; rated 4.3 from about 5,000 ratings; age rating 4+ |
Which one?
If you have a GRE date, use Vocabulary.com. If you want to know the word when it comes up at dinner, that is Gloss.
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Facts about Vocabulary.com were read from its App Store listing in October 2026 and may have changed since. Prices are in US dollars. Nothing here is endorsed by its publisher. Corrections: support@gloss.day.