Comparison

Learn Japanese vs OCR KANJI

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

Head to head
About

Learn Japanese

Enhance your Japanese language skills by reading native content daily. This app offers one-tap word lookups with audio, automatic furigana, and flashcard creation to help you memorize new vocabulary. Track your progress with word and kanji tracking, and access curated reading materials or your own content.

Highlights
  • One-tap word lookups with audio
  • Automatic furigana
  • Flashcard creation and review
  • Word and kanji tracking
  • Curated and custom reading materials
  • EPUB ebook support
  • Offline-friendly
Features
Read full description

Expand your Japanese vocabulary and kanji comprehension by getting in the habit of reading short, native content daily. Manabi Reader makes it easy to jump into interesting material without having to worry about your level: just one tap on any word you don't know to see its reading and definition. Tap again to add flashcards into Manabi or Anki. Don't waste time trying to find engaging reading material—a curated selection of news feeds, online magazines, blogs, folktales and ebooks are collected here for you. You can of course also open any webpage or RSS feed in Manabi Reader to help you through it. Make a habit out of getting your news in Japanese and you'll find your skills multiply. With even a few minutes each day, reading is essential to picking up Japanese. Memory is one of those things where it sticks best when you're having fun, so dive in! • Read native texts. • One-tap word lookups (with audio!). • Word tracking: you'll see how much of an article's vocabulary is already familiar. New words are highlighted for you. • Kanji tracking: we'll also track the kanji you're familiar with as you read articles. Check your progress within JLPT levels. • One-tap flashcard creation: memorize the words you look up. • Review flashcards from an article once you're done reading it. • Automatic furigana. • BYOC (bring your own content) via URL or copy/paste; or, choose from our curated selection of reading materials. • EPUB ebooks. • 3rd-party dictionary apps are supported. • Offline-friendly. • Respects your privacy like a web browser. ========================= The core app is fully functional without payment. Word tracking behaviors are limited to a subset as a preview. The companion Manabi flashcard app is limited to 10 flashcard reviews per day. Full word tracking functionality as well as unlimited flashcard reviews in the companion app may be purchased as a subscription. You may purchase a subscription, which will be charged to your iTunes Account upon purchase and will auto-renew within 24 hours prior to the end of the purchasing period. You can manage this in your Account Settings after purchase. Manabi Reader subscriptions are offered on a monthly or annual basis, with free trials—the annual subscriptions offer a discounted rate. This purchase supports the ongoing development of Manabi. We offer a substantial discount for students, educators, and parents. Privacy Policy: https://manabi.io/privacy-policy/ Terms of Service: https://manabi.io/terms-of-service/ Chat with Team Manabi: https://tawk.to/manabi

About

OCR KANJI

This offline app recognizes Kanji characters from images, allowing you to search words in a dictionary or online. It saves your search history and helps you learn Kanji by simply scanning and tapping. An upgrade removes ads and unlocks full functionality.

Highlights
  • Offline Kanji scanning
  • Dictionary word search
  • Online word search
  • Search history archive
  • Learn Kanji by scanning and tapping
  • Ad-free upgrade
Features
Read full description

Simple OFFLINE OCR APP specialized for Chinese character KANJI. * Scan each word without internet. * Search word in dictionary. * Search word in internet. * Archive history of searched words. [How to use] 1. Place the target word in the frame and press the scan button. 2. APP will automatically reads characters and displays them on tags. 3. Tap the tag to open the dictionary. You can scan without internet after upgrading. This APP will help you to learn KANJI words easily only by scanning and tapping. [Privacy Policy] https://appdev-ang-web.herokuapp.com/privacy.html [Terms of Use] https://appdev-ang-web.herokuapp.com/terms.html [In-APP purchase] - Upgrade You can disable Ads and use full function by upgrading it. $1.49 per Month $15.99 per Year This application includes Apache License, Version 2.0 work. This application use icons related to below site. https://icons8.com/ Please use this application at your own risk. We will not be held liable or responsible for any damages caused by using this application.

Screenshots

Learn Japanese4 screens
OCR KANJI4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Learn Japanese at 4.5 against OCR KANJI's 3.0. Learn Japanese also leads on ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 11 days vs every 4 months). OCR KANJI's advantage is iOS requirement (11.4 vs 15.0). On price, in-app purchases, monetization model 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. Learn Japanese sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and OCR KANJI sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Learn Japanese holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Learn Japanese has 234 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 74% of Learn Japanese's written reviews are positive against 44% of OCR KANJI's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Learn Japanese ships an update every 11 days, OCR KANJI every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on November 11, 2026 and November 4, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Learn Japanese versus OCR KANJI: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLearn JapaneseOCR KANJI
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (234 ratings) — better3.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews73.6% of reviews — better44.4% of reviews
Number of ratings234 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 11 days — betterEvery 4 months
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.011.4 — better
Further details — not scored
Size202 MB86 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperJohn A EhlkeAceca Corp.

Customer experience

Learn Japanese

All ratings226 ratings
Positive87.6%
Neutral4.4%
Negative8.0%
Written reviews144 reviews
Positive73.6%
Neutral11.1%
Negative15.3%

OCR KANJI

All ratings1 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral100.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews9 reviews
Positive44.4%
Neutral22.2%
Negative33.3%

In-app purchases

7 purchases

Learn Japanese

Subscriptions7
  • Monthly Subscription (Student)$4.991 Month
  • Monthly1 Month trial$7.991 Month
  • Monthly$7.991 Month
Show 4 more
  • Annual Subscription (Student)1 Year trial$12.991 Year
  • Annual Subscription (Student)$14.991 Year
  • Annual Subscription$39.991 Year
  • Annual Subscription1 Year trial$39.991 Year
3 purchases

OCR KANJI

Subscriptions2
  • Upgrade (1 Month)$0.991 Month
  • Upgrade (1 Year)$9.491 Year
One-time1
  • Upgrade$12.99

Questions

Is Learn Japanese free?
Learn Japanese is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is OCR KANJI free?
OCR KANJI is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Learn Japanese or OCR KANJI?
Learn Japanese is rated higher. Learn Japanese averages 4.5 out of 5 from 234 ratings, while OCR KANJI averages 3.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Learn Japanese or OCR KANJI have ads?
OCR KANJI shows ads; Learn Japanese does not.
Which is updated more often, Learn Japanese or OCR KANJI?
Learn Japanese ships an update every 11 days, and OCR KANJI every 4 months. Most recently, Learn Japanese was updated on November 11, 2026 and OCR KANJI on November 4, 2026.

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