Kanji Ryokucha vs Immersion Reader
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- Spaced repetition flashcards
- Kanji drawing practice
- Stroke order videos
- Kanji Koohii sync
- Guest mode available
- Study phase control
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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!
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.
- One-tap word lookup in Japanese ebooks
- Import Yomichan and frequency dictionaries
- Export vocabulary to Anki
- Light and dark mode themes
- Lookup neighboring words
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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
Verdict
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
Both are free to download. Immersion Reader sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Kanji Ryokucha asks for nothing beyond the download.
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.
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.
| Parameter | Kanji Ryokucha | Immersion Reader |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.9 (96 ratings) — better | 4.0 (26 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 92.3% of reviews — better | 61.5% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 96 — better | 26 |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Every 6 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 11 MB | 80 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | German Buela | Mathew Chan |
Customer experience
Kanji Ryokucha
Immersion Reader
In-app purchases
Kanji Ryokucha
No in-app purchases
Immersion Reader
- Immersion Reader Premium$4.99
Questions
Is Kanji Ryokucha free?
Is Immersion Reader free?
Which has better reviews, Kanji Ryokucha or Immersion Reader?
Do Kanji Ryokucha or Immersion Reader have ads?
Which is updated more often, Kanji Ryokucha or Immersion Reader?
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