Comparison

Learn Japanese vs Satori Reader

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Learn Japanese

Learn Japanese vocabulary through engaging, visually-driven mini-games. Daily five-minute lessons make learning addictive and effective, focusing on practical words and essential scripts like Kanji and Kana. Build a consistent learning habit with this fun, illustrated approach.

Highlights
  • Illustrated vocabulary learning
  • Daily 5-minute lessons
  • Quick swipe and tap games
  • Focus on practical words
  • Teaches Kanji and Kana
  • Habit-building approach
Read full description

Play with your words! Drops makes language learning effortlessly fun. Essential vocabulary is bound to your memories through beautiful illustrations and quick mini-games. Take the daily 5 minute lessons and ease yourself into the beautiful world of Japanese language! 
 Ingredients of the secret sauce? 100% illustrated: Pictures directly carry the meaning - you don’t have to use your native language at all! No intermediary. Faster, more effective and of course more fun for the Japanese learning process! :) 5 min sessions: limiting practice time sounds crazy but it makes it incredibly addictive - which is a cool thing for learning. The barrier of entry is close to zero so you can’t have any excuses: you’ll have 5 minutes even on the busiest day! Effortless play: We know why games are fun and addictive and distilled the essence into Drops. The result is a truly immersive experience but it’s not a waste of your time while you play because you build valuable knowledge. Quick: Keyboard typing is painfully slow. Welcome rapid swipes and taps! Trust us, you’ll need those extra seconds during the quick learning session ;) Vocabulary only: Zero grammar, just handpicked practical words. That’s our focus and we do it extremely well. The app teaches the Japanese “alphabets” Kanji and Kana (hiragana and katakana) too! Forge a habit: Drops wants to make you language learning addict. Effectiveness is nothing without a well established habit. We can help you build one! We are extremely proud of our lovely word pronunciations by seasoned voice talents! Drops is free for casual learners: more than 3300+ words in 150+ topics are all available for everyone. Hardcore language learners can subscribe for premium to progress faster with unlimited Japanese language learning time. Our goal is to empower people of the world via language knowledge by providing a special tool that utilizes the universal language we all speak: pictures. ----------------- Keep tuned as even more languages are in the works! Payment information: Length of subscriptions: - 1 Month - 12 Months Price of subscriptions: - 1 Month – $12.99 per month - 12 Months – $89.99 per year - Payment will be charged to your iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase - Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period - Account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period, and identify the cost of the renewal - Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user's Account Settings after purchase - No cancellation of the current subscription is allowed during active subscription period Have questions? Feel free to contact us at sup@languagedrops.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/language_drops Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LearnwithDrops Blog: https://medium.com/languagedrops Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/language_drops/ Privacy Policy and Terms of Use: http://languagedrops.com/privacypolicy.html

About

Satori Reader

Enhance your Japanese reading and listening skills with engaging stories written by native speakers. Features adaptive kanji, smart definitions, and spaced repetition to build vocabulary. Get clarity with friendly annotations and human feedback.

Highlights
  • Compelling stories by native speakers
  • Audio narration by voice actors
  • Adaptive kanji presentation
  • Smart word definitions
  • Friendly annotations
  • Spaced repetition vocabulary review
  • Human feedback and support
Features
Read full description

Ready to take your Japanese reading and listening comprehension to the next level? Welcome to Satori Reader. COMPELLING STORIES Read from a growing library of engrossing stories written by native speakers for intermediate students, across genres such as fantasy, slice-of-life, thrillers, documentaries, news, and more. AUDIO Tap any sentence to hear it read aloud by native voice actors (no robots!). ADAPTIVE KANJI USAGE Crack the chicken-and-egg problem of reading kanji with our unique presentation engine, which adjusts the Japanese text to accommodate your actual knowledge. This allows you to challenge yourself for the kanji you should know without being overwhelmed by what you don't. SMART DEFINITIONS Tap any word for a definition. This is more than just an automated lookup. Satori Reader shows the actual sense of each word as it's being used in the sentence. For example, the particle の has many uses: it can indicate possession; it can turn the preceding verb or phrase into a noun; it can stand in for another word; and more. We show you exactly what is happening in every instance of every word. FRIENDLY ANNOTATIONS Gray underlines indicate longer annotations that break down tricky expressions, provide cultural background, or help you to read between the lines. Our editors work hard to anticipate what might be confusing and proactively help you to make sense of things. Good-bye, confusion. Hello, clarity! SPACED REPETITION SYSTEM (SRS) The built-in spaced repetition review system helps you to build your vocabulary. Create review cards instantly as you read. Each card you create takes along a snapshot of the sentence in which you encountered the word, further helping to cement it in your memory. You can even play back the audio of that sentence while reviewing the word! HUMAN FEEDBACK Still confused about something? Just ask in the discussion section below each episode. Our team of friendly human beings is ready to help. Satori Reader is built by a team that cares. Our goal is to bring satori (enlightenment) into your Japanese reading life. Set up a free account today, and let's get started. SUBSCRIPTION DETAILS ▪ OPTIONS: Download the app for free and enjoy unlimited access to the first two episodes of each series (new series released regularly), plus complete access to special series such as Closeup: Obon Society. Subscribed for unlimited access to the entire Satori Reader library of more than 1200 episodes (new episodes released each week), including crystal-clear audio, helpful annotations, and real human feedback. Try your first month FREE (limit one per customer; cannot be used in combination with other introductory offers; offers subject to change). ▪ EXTRAS: Your subscription to Satori Reader comes with complimentary web access, as well as access to Satori Reader on all your smartphones and tablets. ▪ PRIVACY POLICY: https://www.satorireader.com/privacy ▪ TERMS OF SERVICE: https://www.satorireader.com/terms ADDITIONAL SUBSCRIPTION DETAILS ▪ Payment will be charged to your iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase (following any trial period). ▪ Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. ▪ Account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period, and identify the cost of the renewal. ▪ Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user's Account Settings after purchase. ▪ Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription to that publication, where applicable. ▪ Cancel your subscription at any time. If you cancel, you will retain full access to Satori Reader for the period you paid for and you will not be billed again. If you have any questions, write to support@satorireader.com for speedy assistance. Thank you for your business!

Screenshots

Learn Japanese4 screens
Satori Reader4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Learn Japanese at every 9 days against Satori Reader's every 3 months. Learn Japanese also leads on ratings volume (2K vs 215) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 15.0). On price, rating, review sentiment and ads there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Learn Japanese sells 12 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per month and Satori Reader sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $8.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Learn Japanese against 4.8 for Satori Reader. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Learn Japanese has 2K ratings behind it against 215, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 91% and 90% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Learn Japanese ships an update every 9 days, Satori Reader every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 20, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Learn Japanese versus Satori Reader: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLearn JapaneseSatori Reader
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (2K ratings)4.8 (215 ratings)
Positive reviews90.9% of reviews — better90.2% of reviews
Number of ratings2K — better215
Update frequencyEvery 9 days — betterEvery 3 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS11.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size207 MB79 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperPLANB LABS OUBrak Software, Inc.

Customer experience

Learn Japanese

All ratings2,009 ratings
Positive96.2%
Neutral2.4%
Negative1.4%
Written reviews484 reviews
Positive90.9%
Neutral4.1%
Negative5.0%

Satori Reader

All ratings215 ratings
Positive94.9%
Neutral2.3%
Negative2.8%
Written reviews173 reviews
Positive90.2%
Neutral2.3%
Negative7.5%

Bugs and requests

Learn Japanese

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Satori Reader

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Login issues and account creation problems
  • Syncing and loading delays on some devices

Requested features

4 requests
  • Dark mode option
  • Ability to loop audio playback
  • Kanji lookup/learning tools integration
  • More advanced/diverse content selection

In-app purchases

12 purchases

Learn Japanese

Subscriptions12
  • Unlimited time!$7.991 Month
  • Premium$9.991 Month
  • Premium$11.991 Month
Show 9 more
  • Unlimited time for all Languages!$12.991 Month
  • Premium$12.991 Month
  • Daily 10 minutes bonus$22.991 Month
  • Premium Yearly$29.991 Year
  • Premium$39.991 Year
  • Premium$47.991 Year
  • Premium7 Days trial2 variants$69.991 Year
  • Premium7 Days trial$79.991 Year
  • Premium7 Days trial2 variants$89.991 Year
3 purchases

Satori Reader

Subscriptions3
  • Satori Reader Monthly1 Month trial4 variants$8.991 Month
  • Satori Reader Annual1 Month trial$89.991 Year
  • Satori Reader Annual1 Year trial3 variants$89.991 Year

Questions

Is Learn Japanese free?
Learn Japanese is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Satori Reader free?
Satori Reader is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Learn Japanese or Satori Reader?
Learn Japanese and Satori Reader are both rated 4.8 out of 5 on the App Store, from 2K and 215 ratings respectively.
Do Learn Japanese or Satori Reader have ads?
Neither Learn Japanese nor Satori Reader shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Learn Japanese or Satori Reader?
Learn Japanese ships an update every 9 days, and Satori Reader every 3 months. Most recently, Learn Japanese was updated on September 23, 2026 and Satori Reader on September 20, 2026.

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