Climb` Reviews

I have a decent vocabulary but Climb assessed me as native/beginner. Are you kidding? Inadvertent was the word of the day. Really? The words are too easy and there doesn’t seem to be a way to adjust my level. I can’t tell Climb that I already know words, can’t redo the assessment. Nothing! The games are strange. I don’t see how they help you with vocabulary. The hunt game for example. Just because I know big words doesn’t mean I can spot them as options on a grid of random and jumbled letters. I’m supposed to pull things like erudition out of the air? The gif game doesn’t change words. None of them were challenging: tiara, quicksand, etc.. these are words even young children know. And it keeps being the same set. I don’t see anything to indicate how words become “learned” and the subscription cost is high. Especially given the issues I’m having so far. The gifs associated with some words aren’t obvious in meaning. It’s frustrating to be marked wrong for a word I frequently use because I can’t tell if the gif matches. Zealous for example. The gif in question showed a drag queen performing. Could you say they were being zealous? Maybe? But I got it wrong. That gif doesn’t go with zealous.

September 2021 edit: It looks like what I wrote about isn’t an issue anymore. My thanks to the developers for listening to feedback!

Original review below FOR REFERENCE ONLY (some sections removed for brevity)

Climb description says “most of the this app’s functionality is free,” but what I see as the core feature is not: the ability to actually practice words. Without subscribing, I can browse categorized lists of words (without any definitions attached) or look up single words with this app’s dictionary. I got Climb because I wanted to quiz myself and actually learn the words in these categorized lists. I don’t see any remotely efficient way for me to do that without paying.

I do love the concept and features of this app and they seem very well-executed, from what I could see. My personal inability to pay doesn’t make Climb any less good; it just means I can’t use it.

The ability to add words and create lists and learn is done very well, Climb is almost revolutionary, except that the paygate is immediate, and although the vocabulary is broad and there is lots to learn in Climb, I seem to see way too many words and suggested list featuring currently controversial words like coronavirus, impeach, etc and along with those, gifs and actual examples from our american politics/media, which I dont understand why im recieving since I have no interest, so I have to wonder if the developer is trying to assert their views on others, or if the majority of users on Climb effect the recommended section (which would be more understandable.)

Climb does some things very well like using gifs to help the learner memorizes words. The definitions are simple to understand. The only issue I have with the practice exercises is the speech recognition feature doesn’t work very well. There were times when I’d pronounce a world clearly and Climb was way off the mark in recognizing it. This affects your progress because Climb tracks these words as incorrect. I think the folks at this app should just remove the pronunciation exercises altogether. It would be best to just have Climb give the correct pronunciation for each word without testing the user on it.

I love Climb! It really helps when I’m reading a new book or watching a new movie. I just make a list with the title and add all the words i don’t understand. Then I use the quiz feature to learn those words. Quizzing yourself is really great, because that’s exactly how people learn. It turns the process into active learning versus just passively looking up the definition of the word. Makes the words actually stick in your brain. Been looking for something like this for ages. Awesome job!

I really love Climb, makes learning new words fun and engaging. I would give Climb 5 starts, but when I say a word correctly 50-60% of the time it dictates my voice incorrect. Makes me annoyed. Please fix this function and I’d considering purchasing Climb . Overall, awesome creative vocab app!

The practice rounds are long enough to feed you several words at a time so that the definitions and understandings become easier to retain. I enjoy the different ways to learn vocabulary by use of multiple choice and typing in the word to best fit the definition. I DO NOT like the GIFs. Yes, they are fun starting out using Climb , but they are not always 100% accurate. They can be vague and throw off the meaning of some vocabulary.

I’m a sucker for vocab and this is a fun way to learn new words and keep the ones I know fresh in my mind and in rotation. I do really dislike the gif questions used in the practice tests; they’re generally confusing and too often subjective. It would be helpful if users were given the option to opt out of whole styles of questions, the audio ones for example. Also, perhaps I just haven’t located it yet but it would be useful to have all learned words automatically compiled into their own list to review and revisit at will.

Climb looks awesome. I’m not a native speaker but I have lived in North America for over 7 years. I found multiple words that I didn’t know and Climb thought it to me in a really fun way. You can also choose categories in which you would want to increase your vocabulary in. Overall I think it’s more fun to log in time to time and work on your vocabulary than dig through the dictionary.

Climb doesn’t allow you to play or practice unless you pay. It’s really really annoying that it keeps asking every 5 seconds to join the paid version. Honestly, the free version is quite boring, if I’m not allowed to practice what I’ve learned. Normally I’m the person that always ends up paying for apps but this particular app annoyed me so much with the insistence, that I can’t pay for it. I’m going to look for something better.

The reason behind a 1 star rating...

Unfortunately Climb is categorized as free on Climb Store, which don’t get me wrong, it is free, but you can’t use Climb for its CORE function without paying a subscription fee. Personally, I rather pay $3.99 (or roughly that amount) for Climb upfront than pay a reoccurring charge.

I understand that people have to make a living, there has to be some sort of profit margin for the developers and whatnot, but putting a price on education, AFTER, giving us Climb for free, that’s just a pity. Not to mention, there are only 3 mini games and the quiz function that actually teach you the vocabulary. Why not a matching game? Even Duolingo has a wider variety of ways for teaching its users.

In other words:
-Nicely designed
-Not a lot of variety
-Not worth having unless you are willing to pay for the service which STARTS at $9.99/ month.

Although I’m a native speaker, I still want to improve my academic vocabulary, and this app lets me do just that. My favorite feature is making customized lists that allow me to practice those specific words through quizzes. The GIFs make learning really fun and the explore section let’s you check out new lists. I’d recommend Climb because it’s so innovative & unique.

I am pretty fluent in English (as a second language) but I can definitely expand my vocabulary more. Climb is perfect for me and I learn new words much more efficiently with Climb than any other apps I’ve tried! I love that Climb gauge your level and customize your experience based on that!

This is kind of a doozy of language learning applications. That’s right, “doozy” is something I learned today haha. And so can you. One of my favorite features is a vocabulary counter. Good starting point to quantify your word base. Gifs (by the way, Do you say “jifs” or “gifs”? Find out on this app...) are cool and engaging. Nice work overall!

Pretty cool app, except it pauses any audio from other apps. When you try to resume the audio that this app felt the need to pause for you, it won't allow it. So if you're listening to a podcast, want to quickly read the definition for the word of the day, be prepared to have your audio hijacked and held hostage until you leave the this app app.

Climb is great... one of the best i have found so far. The only thing is there is no syncing of the data between multiple devices which I think can be a significant drawback.

Mute button on and volume all the way down but Climb still forces sounds to play, and when literally you’re doing is tapping buttons, it gets annoying fast.

Folks, for those visuals among us: gifs are the way to go. At least for associative language learning. I learn both Spanish and English, and this app helps me a lot with English. I miss the Spanish support though.

Any plans to extend to other languages?

It’s been helping me with words I did not know I was even missing, I like the two games they have on here, hope there are going to be more and I have recommended Climb to some friends too.

Many of the words of the day are useless to know. Today the word of the day was “impresario.” When am I ever going to use this word in my writing? When will I encounter it in professional writing? Never, so why make it the word of the day? I’ll be deleting Climb next week if the vocab doesn’t improve

When I saw Climb, I knew I must use it. Climb is teaching me all vocabulary I should learn. It makes tests all of time and I enjoy improving myself.

I love Climb so much. As a non native English speaker, Climb helped improve my vocabulary very much. The GIF’s and illustrations are beautiful, and make you want to keep learning!

Amazing language learning app that allows advanced speakers to expand their vocabulary in a fun and adventurous way. I love the way Climb is designed and the cool features such as the GIFs.

I’ve been looking for something like this for several years. Easy to add new words and learn

Great for learning new English vocabulary. Adds structure to learning and provides verbal and gif explanations as well as links to urban dictionary that showcases real world usage :) Love it so far!

Great app and a practical way to learn new words and expand your knowledge base regardless off your level

App quizes you on the builded vocabulary in different ways, so doesn’t feel repetitive. Lots of gifs!