Comparison

Kanji Ryokucha vs Immersion Reader

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

Head to head
About

Kanji Ryokucha

This flashcard app uses spaced repetition to help you learn kanji. It syncs with your Kanji Koohii account, allowing you to review kanji on your device or the website. Features include drawing practice, stroke order videos, and study phase control.

Highlights
  • Spaced repetition flashcards
  • Kanji drawing practice
  • Stroke order videos
  • Kanji Koohii sync
  • Guest mode available
  • Study phase control
Features
Read full description

Kanji Ryokucha is a flashcard-based spaced repetition review app backed by the Kanji Koohii site. Important: a Kanji Koohii account is required! however you can try out entering as guest. Features: * Ability to draw each kanji as you remember it on the card's front, and then flip to compare with the actual kanji. * Kanji readings on the card's back. * Stroke order video — when available from KanjiAlive * Access to check out Kanji Koohii study page for current kanji during reviews * Study Phase (see below) * Free study: choose an arbitrary range of kanji for a cram session * Don't have a Kanji Koohii account yet? A guest mode is available simulating an account with 10 due cards for review * Free, no ads, no strings attached :) The Study Phase feature gives you control over what goes into the "red pile". When you submit your answers to a review, all your No answers are set aside for restudy, so you can then open the study page for each and mark them as learned at your pace. Only those marked (and submitted) as learned are included in the "red pile" for a future review. You can turn off the feature in Settings if you'd rather skip this step. Once you log in with your account, the app will be in sync with your cloud data. You will be able to do your daily reviews with Kanji Ryokucha on your iPhone or iPad, as well as with the site itself: whatever is most convenient for you each day. Note that the app is not a replacement of the site! You will still have to go there for flashcard and story management. But, conveniently, when the app is showing you a study page, it will let you jump right to Safari. Happy reviewing!

About

Immersion Reader

Easily look up Japanese words while reading ebooks with a single tap. Import custom dictionaries and export saved vocabulary for spaced repetition learning. Offers customizable themes for a comfortable reading experience.

Highlights
  • One-tap word lookup in Japanese ebooks
  • Import Yomichan and frequency dictionaries
  • Export vocabulary to Anki
  • Light and dark mode themes
  • Lookup neighboring words
Features
Read full description

Look up Japanese words as you read! Features - One tap to look up words in Japanese Ebooks. Tabs to help you look up neighboring words - Import Yomichan dictionaries and frequency dictionaries - Export saved vocabulary to Anki via Anki Dojo - Light mode, dark mode, and other themes for the dictionary

Screenshots

Kanji Ryokucha4 screens
Immersion Reader4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Kanji Ryokucha at 4.9 against Immersion Reader's 4.0. Kanji Ryokucha also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 1) and review sentiment (92% vs 62%). Immersion Reader's advantage is update cadence (every 6 days vs monthly) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 16.0). On price, ads and device support 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. Immersion Reader sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Kanji Ryokucha asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Kanji Ryokucha holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 96 and 26 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 92% of Kanji Ryokucha's written reviews are positive against 62% of Immersion Reader's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Kanji Ryokucha ships an update monthly, Immersion Reader every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 17, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Kanji Ryokucha versus Immersion Reader: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterKanji RyokuchaImmersion Reader
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (96 ratings) — better4.0 (26 ratings)
Positive reviews92.3% of reviews — better61.5% of reviews
Number of ratings96 — better26
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 6 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size11 MB80 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperGerman BuelaMathew Chan

Customer experience

Kanji Ryokucha

All ratings96 ratings
Positive99.0%
Neutral1.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews13 reviews
Positive92.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative7.7%

Immersion Reader

All ratings26 ratings
Positive76.9%
Neutral3.8%
Negative19.2%
Written reviews13 reviews
Positive61.5%
Neutral7.7%
Negative30.8%

In-app purchases

None

Kanji Ryokucha

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Immersion Reader

One-time1
  • Immersion Reader Premium$4.99

Questions

Is Kanji Ryokucha free?
Kanji Ryokucha is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Immersion Reader free?
Immersion Reader is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Kanji Ryokucha or Immersion Reader?
Kanji Ryokucha is rated higher. Kanji Ryokucha averages 4.9 out of 5 from 96 ratings, while Immersion Reader averages 4.0 from 26 ratings.
Do Kanji Ryokucha or Immersion Reader have ads?
Neither Kanji Ryokucha nor Immersion Reader shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Kanji Ryokucha or Immersion Reader?
Kanji Ryokucha ships an update monthly, and Immersion Reader every 6 days. Most recently, Kanji Ryokucha was updated on October 15, 2026 and Immersion Reader on October 17, 2026.

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