LingQ Premium
Import permitted text and audio, mark known words, and review vocabulary in context
The core loop is buildable, but a dependable replacement becomes a real weekend or multi-day project. For LingQ Premium, import permitted text and audio, mark known words, and review vocabulary in context. The hard boundary is content library, import pipeline, multi-device sync, community, tutors, and polish, plus content, pedagogy, and network.
Build verification: not recorded. How we judge buildability
What you give up
- content library, import pipeline, multi-device sync, community, tutors, and polish
- licensed course catalog
- expert curriculum
- human feedback
- large learner network and certification
Why people still pay
People still pay for LingQ Premium because the learning loop is buildable, while trusted curriculum, instructors, feedback, credentials, and community are not. The recurring cost buys curriculum quality, assessment validity, content rights, spaced-repetition tuning, speech models, sync, moderation, and support, not just the visible interface.
Your build guide
The stack, security requirements, and agent rules for a focused replacement.
Before you start
- A supported Node release, a writable local data directory and a separate backup location. Bind to localhost; remote use requires authentication and HTTPS first.
- Implementation components: Node.js, TypeScript and Express with server-rendered HTML and small browser modules. SQLite through better-sqlite3 with migrations, prepared statements and a single background worker.
- Scope boundary: content library, import pipeline, multi-device sync, community, tutors, and polish; licensed course catalog
Use these project rules and optional skill references alongside the prompt. Review each skill before adding it to your agent; the AGENTS.md export includes the same guidance.
Optional external skill: web-design-guidelines — Review web interfaces for accessibility, keyboard focus, forms, navigation and interaction quality. Review its instructions and compatibility before use; it does not grant deployment, data-access or publication permission.
Optional external skill: sharp-edges — Review security-sensitive APIs and configuration for dangerous defaults and easy-to-misuse interfaces. Review its instructions and compatibility before use; it does not grant deployment, data-access or publication permission.
Project rule — data model: permitted lessons, token offsets, vocabulary lemmas, known-word states, audio segments and review schedules
Project rule — preserve this invariant: Word offsets refer to a specific lesson revision; ambiguous tokenization can be corrected manually and audio alignment is not guessed as exact.
Project rule — acceptance evidence: Edit a lesson and review affected highlights; marking a word known removes future learning cards while retaining its past review history.
Implementation plan
Phase 1
Scope and fixtures. Implement this bounded workflow: Import text and optional aligned audio, mark words as known or learning and create review cards with their original sentence. Show reading progress and schedule retrieval practice without promising fluency. Record prerequisites, select representative user-owned fixtures and document the unsupported features: content library, import pipeline, multi-device sync, community, tutors, and polish; licensed course catalog
Phase 2
Durable model. Model permitted lessons, token offsets, vocabulary lemmas, known-word states, audio segments and review schedules Add migrations or a versioned document format, explicit validation, stable IDs and a visible import-error report. Preserve this rule: Word offsets refer to a specific lesson revision; ambiguous tokenization can be corrected manually and audio alignment is not guessed as exact.
Phase 3
Complete the first useful path. Implement the workflow's input, review and output interface, with clear controls and explicit empty/error states. Use short SQLite transactions and persist job state before starting work. Give retries stable operation IDs; report incomplete or unknown results instead of silently repeating them.
Phase 4
Permissions and integration failure. Reject unexpected origins and unbounded request bodies even on localhost. Keep credentials outside the database export and redact sensitive text from logs. Request integration credentials and permissions only for the enabled feature; show a disconnected state instead of mock results.
Phase 5
Portable handoff. Use a consistent SQLite backup and an attachment manifest. Export portable JSON/CSV, then restore to a new directory without overwriting the original data. Include setup, operating limits, fixture walkthrough and shutdown/restart instructions in the README.
Phase 6
Acceptance scenarios. Edit a lesson and review affected highlights; marking a word known removes future learning cards while retaining its past review history. Repeat the workflow after restart and with a denied permission or unavailable dependency; show recoverable failure rather than a success placeholder.
WORKING SLICE Import text and optional aligned audio, mark words as known or learning and create review cards with their original sentence. Show reading progress and schedule retrieval practice without promising fluency. Build this scoped LingQ Premium-inspired workflow with a documented data model and visible failure states. Architecture - Node.js, TypeScript and Express with server-rendered HTML and small browser modules. - SQLite through better-sqlite3 with migrations, prepared statements and a single background worker. Prerequisites and limits A supported Node release, a writable local data directory and a separate backup location. Bind to localhost; remote use requires authentication and HTTPS first. Outside this release: content library, import pipeline, multi-device sync, community, tutors, and polish; licensed course catalog Data model and correctness permitted lessons, token offsets, vocabulary lemmas, known-word states, audio segments and review schedules Invariant: Word offsets refer to a specific lesson revision; ambiguous tokenization can be corrected manually and audio alignment is not guessed as exact. Use short SQLite transactions and persist job state before starting work. Give retries stable operation IDs; report incomplete or unknown results instead of silently repeating them. Security and privacy Reject unexpected origins and unbounded request bodies even on localhost. Keep credentials outside the database export and redact sensitive text from logs. Recovery and export Use a consistent SQLite backup and an attachment manifest. Export portable JSON/CSV, then restore to a new directory without overwriting the original data. Implementation order 1. Phase 1 — Scope and fixtures. Implement this bounded workflow: Import text and optional aligned audio, mark words as known or learning and create review cards with their original sentence. Show reading progress and schedule retrieval practice without promising fluency. Record prerequisites, select representative user-owned fixtures and document the unsupported features: content library, import pipeline, multi-device sync, community, tutors, and polish; licensed course catalog 2. Phase 2 — Durable model. Model permitted lessons, token offsets, vocabulary lemmas, known-word states, audio segments and review schedules Add migrations or a versioned document format, explicit validation, stable IDs and a visible import-error report. Preserve this rule: Word offsets refer to a specific lesson revision; ambiguous tokenization can be corrected manually and audio alignment is not guessed as exact. 3. Phase 3 — Complete the first useful path. Implement the workflow's input, review and output interface, with clear controls and explicit empty/error states. Use short SQLite transactions and persist job state before starting work. Give retries stable operation IDs; report incomplete or unknown results instead of silently repeating them. 4. Phase 4 — Permissions and integration failure. Reject unexpected origins and unbounded request bodies even on localhost. Keep credentials outside the database export and redact sensitive text from logs. Request integration credentials and permissions only for the enabled feature; show a disconnected state instead of mock results. 5. Phase 5 — Portable handoff. Use a consistent SQLite backup and an attachment manifest. Export portable JSON/CSV, then restore to a new directory without overwriting the original data. Include setup, operating limits, fixture walkthrough and shutdown/restart instructions in the README. 6. Phase 6 — Acceptance scenarios. Edit a lesson and review affected highlights; marking a word known removes future learning cards while retaining its past review history. Repeat the workflow after restart and with a denied permission or unavailable dependency; show recoverable failure rather than a success placeholder. Acceptance Edit a lesson and review affected highlights; marking a word known removes future learning cards while retaining its past review history. Use real source data or clearly labeled fixtures. Explain unsupported input and provider failures; do not fabricate analytics, delivery receipts, accuracy claims or security guarantees. Optional agent guidance Optional external skill: [web-design-guidelines](https://github.com/vercel-labs/agent-skills/blob/main/skills/web-design-guidelines/SKILL.md) — Review web interfaces for accessibility, keyboard focus, forms, navigation and interaction quality. Review its instructions and compatibility before use; it does not grant deployment, data-access or publication permission. Optional external skill: [sharp-edges](https://github.com/trailofbits/skills/blob/main/plugins/sharp-edges/skills/sharp-edges/SKILL.md) — Review security-sensitive APIs and configuration for dangerous defaults and easy-to-misuse interfaces. Review its instructions and compatibility before use; it does not grant deployment, data-access or publication permission. Project rule — data model: permitted lessons, token offsets, vocabulary lemmas, known-word states, audio segments and review schedules Project rule — preserve this invariant: Word offsets refer to a specific lesson revision; ambiguous tokenization can be corrected manually and audio alignment is not guessed as exact. Project rule — acceptance evidence: Edit a lesson and review affected highlights; marking a word known removes future learning cards while retaining its past review history.
$ open in your agent (prompt prefilled, you press enter), copy the prompt or copy or download AGENTS.md
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Alternatives to building your own
LLuteImport text and audio, mark every word by familiarity and review it in context; this is the unusually exact one.open source↗LLearning with TextsThe older, homelier version of the same idea: imported texts, audio, known-word states and contextual review.open source↗no votes, no pay-to-list · just what's real
LingQ Premium pricing
| plan | monthly | annual (per mo) | what you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| free | $0/user | $0/user | 20 saved words/phrases; 5 imported lessons; 1 audio playlist; access to libraries in 50+ languages |
| premium, monthly | $14.99/user | — | Unlimited saved words, imported lessons, and playlists; full-sentence translation; flashcards; stats; challenges; offline access |
| premium, 12 months | — | $10/user | Same Premium limits; billed $120 upfront for 12 months |
| premium, 24 months | — | $8.99/user | Same Premium limits; billed $215.76 upfront for 24 monthsThis is a 24-month commitment, not an annual plan. |
| premium plus, monthly | $29.99/user | — | Premium features plus AI voices, advanced AI chat, and simplified lessons; AI usage quotas may applyOfficial US App Store price; the public web pricing page did not expose a stable USD amount. |
| premium plus, 12 months | — | $22.50/user | Premium Plus features; billed $269.99 yearly; AI usage quotas may applyOfficial US App Store price rounded to the nearest cent per month. |
free tier20 saved words/phrases, 5 imported lessons, and 1 audio playlist; library access in 50+ languages
billingPremium monthly, 12-month, or 24-month prepaid terms; Premium Plus monthly or annual; auto-renews by storefront
hidden costsThe 24-month discount requires the entire two-year term upfront; Premium Plus AI features can have usage quotas that the current public page does not quantify.
pricing sources checked 2026-08-12 · pricing source ↗
Questions about LingQ Premium
Can you build your own LingQ Premium with AI?
Partly. The core loop is buildable, but a dependable replacement becomes a real weekend or multi-day project. For LingQ Premium, import permitted text and audio, mark known words, and review vocabulary in context. The hard boundary is content library, import pipeline, multi-device sync, community, tutors, and polish, plus content, pedagogy, and network.
What does the LingQ Premium build prompt cover?
The prompt starts with this scope: Import text and optional aligned audio, mark words as known or learning and create review cards with their original sentence. Show reading progress and schedule retrieval practice without promising fluency. Full-product capabilities excluded from the comparison include: content library, import pipeline, multi-device sync, community, tutors, and polish; licensed course catalog; expert curriculum. Follow the implementation plan and its prerequisites before expanding the build.
How do I use the prompt, AGENTS.md and agent skills?
Start with the LingQ Premium prerequisites and stack, then copy the prompt into your coding agent. Save the project rules as AGENTS.md in the project root. Linked skills are optional packages or source instructions for specific tasks; review their current contents and install only those matching the chosen stack. A skill does not supply API credentials or verify the finished app.
How long will this LingQ Premium project take?
The catalogue estimate is multi-day for the limited scope. Setup, integration approvals, debugging, deployment and ongoing maintenance can add time. This is an estimate, not a delivery guarantee.
What would I give up by replacing LingQ Premium?
content library, import pipeline, multi-device sync, community, tutors, and polish; licensed course catalog; expert curriculum; human feedback; large learner network and certification. People still pay for LingQ Premium because the learning loop is buildable, while trusted curriculum, instructors, feedback, credentials, and community are not. The recurring cost buys curriculum quality, assessment validity, content rights, spaced-repetition tuning, speech models, sync, moderation, and support, not just the visible interface.
What price is this guide comparing against?
The recorded Premium plan is $14.99/mo (monthly), checked 2026-07-31. Check the linked pricing source before buying. Building your own also has hosting, API and maintenance costs; the recorded amount is not a guaranteed saving.
What can I use instead of building LingQ Premium?
Lute: Import text and audio, mark every word by familiarity and review it in context; this is the unusually exact one. Learning with Texts: The older, homelier version of the same idea: imported texts, audio, known-word states and contextual review. Check each option's license, hosting needs and feature limits.