LingQ vs Migaku: text library or video mining?

LingQ and Migaku agree on the big idea: you learn a language from real content, not from drills. Then they disagree about almost everything else, starting with what "content" means.

LingQ thinks it means text with audio. Migaku thinks it means video with subtitles. If you know which of those your evenings actually contain, this decision is mostly made.

Side by side

	LingQ	Migaku
Home turf	A library of thousands of lessons with audio, plus anything you import	Netflix, YouTube, Disney+ and other streaming, through a browser extension
Reading the web	Import via extension, then read inside LingQ	Works on the live page, with word status colouring
Word tracking	Known/unknown state across everything you read	Same idea, colour-coded on subtitles and pages
Reviews	Built-in interval review of saved LingQs	Built-in SRS (Migaku Memory); Anki no longer required
Mobile	Real iOS and Android apps	iOS and Android apps for review and browsing
Languages	40+	11 (strongest for Japanese, Chinese, Korean)
Free tier	20 saved words for the lifetime of the account, 5 imports	10-day trial, then paid
Price	About $14.99/month, cheaper on long plans	About $10/month, higher for early-access features

Choose LingQ if

Your input is mostly reading and listening, and you need the content brought to you. The library solves the blank-page problem, the audio makes it work on a commute, and the known-word counter is the single best motivation device in this category.

Also choose it if your language isn't one of Migaku's eleven. Migaku is deep but narrow. LingQ is wide.

The honest downside: it's the priciest reading tool in the space, the interface is busy, and the free tier is a demo, not a plan.

Choose Migaku if

Your input is shows. If you're going to watch Japanese or Korean TV anyway, Migaku turns every episode into study material: dual subtitles, a lookup on every word, a card in your deck before the scene ends. For Japanese specifically, its parsing and pitch-accent support have no real equal.

The honest downside: it's a video tool that also reads pages, not a reading tool that also handles video. If you mostly read articles, you're paying for the half you don't use.

The question people actually ask on Reddit

"Which one is better?" comes up in every thread, and the answer is always the same shape: better for what input. Nobody who reads novels is happy in Migaku. Nobody who lives on Netflix is happy in LingQ. Pick the tool that matches what you already consume, and the ranking argument disappears.

The case where neither wins

Both tools assume you'll go to them. LingQ wants you in its reader. Migaku wants you on a streaming site with the extension on.

A lot of real reading is neither. It's a news article in a tab, a blog post someone sent you, a YouTube video you'd have watched anyway. You don't import it. You just open it.

Mossglen (full disclosure: ours) is built for that shape. It's a free Chrome extension: the page you're on becomes a clean reading view in the original language, and YouTube videos get the same treatment. Tap a word for the meaning, and it's saved with its sentence. A short quiz after reading keeps the next text at your level, and reviews run on FSRS, a newer spaced-repetition scheduler than the interval system LingQ uses. No account needed, 8 languages (EN, ES, FR, DE, IT, PT, JA, KO).

What it doesn't have: LingQ's library and audio lessons, or Migaku's Netflix support. The web is the library.

Deciding in one line

• Text and audio, need content handed to you, many languages → LingQ
• Shows are your study material, Japanese/Korean/Chinese → Migaku
• You read the open web and watch YouTube → a browser reader beats both

If you're leaving one of them, the switching paths are here: LingQ alternatives and Migaku alternatives. Wondering whether Migaku Memory lets you drop Anki for good? Migaku vs Anki. Comparing against the free video tool instead? Migaku vs Language Reactor and Language Reactor vs LingQ. And if you want the method rather than the tool debate, start with how learning a language by reading works.