ABBYY Lingvo vs Van Dale Online

ABBYY Lingvo provides electronic dictionaries for work and study on Android, iOS, macOS, and Windows. Its Windows multilingual version covers 10 languages, while the multilingual Professional edition includes more than 80 general, explanatory, and specialist dictionaries. Listed specialist subjects include law, economics, finance, engineering, oil and gas, chemistry, medicine, and biology. Windows can translate words under the cursor in pictures, web pages, and subtitles. On macOS, translation is available through Services or keyboard shortcuts, with cursor translation in Safari. The mobile apps state that all functions work offline. Android supports photo and video translation and grammatical word forms; iOS can translate photographed text and sync user-created vocabulary cards across devices. Mobile pages offer five basic free dictionaries across English, German, French, Spanish, Latin, and Russian, with more available for purchase. Lingvo Tutor provides exercises for word meanings and spelling. The Windows x6 trial offers full access for 15 days from first launch. Listed Windows licenses are priced per edition and have a three-year term.

Van Dale Online provides access to online dictionaries for professionals, secondary and higher education, and NT2 learners. A search checks all available sources together, with further searching available within results. Van Dale says it continues to add words and improve definitions, translations, expressions and example sentences. The professional workspace brings dictionaries in major European languages and professional reference sources onto one screen. The school edition covers Dutch, English, French, German and Spanish, with spelling, meanings, translations, examples, idioms and grammatical explanations. Its school environment has no distracting advertisements and is described as a safe learning environment. The service runs on web, iOS and Android. The mobile app requires a Van Dale Online account and an internet connection; it does not let users download dictionaries. An account can be used on one mobile device at a time, although it can be installed on multiple devices. Eligible students and staff at participating Dutch higher education institutions can sign in through SURFconext without registering. Plans include a school licence at €3 a year and professional dictionary subscriptions at €19.80 a month or €198 a year.