Comparison

Learn Japanese vs Mochi Invaders

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

Mochi Invaders

Practice Japanese hiragana and katakana through an engaging, retro-style arcade game. Select specific character groups or entire alphabets to reinforce your reading skills while enjoying interactive gameplay.

Highlights
  • Kana recognition gameplay
  • Hiragana, katakana, or both options
  • Customizable character group practice
  • Review mistakes
  • Retro arcade style
Features
Read full description

The Mochi Invaders game is designed to help users practice Japanese kana interactively. Drawing inspiration from classic space invaders gameplay, Mochi Invaders lets you review both hiragana and katakana, with the option to select specific character groups or practice entire alphabets. Features: - Gameplay focused on kana recognition - Choice of hiragana, katakana, or both - Customizable practice sets by character group - Review mistakes Mochi Invaders is suitable for anyone wanting to reinforce their kana reading skills while playing a game.

Screenshots

Learn Japanese4 screens
Mochi Invaders4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Mochi Invaders at 5.0 against Learn Japanese's 4.5. Mochi Invaders also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 7) and review sentiment (100% vs 74%). Learn Japanese's advantage is ratings volume (226 vs 6) and device support (4 vs 2). On price, ads and iOS requirement 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. Mochi Invaders asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Mochi Invaders holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Learn Japanese has 226 ratings behind it against 6, 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 100% of Mochi Invaders's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Learn Japanese ships an update every 11 days, Mochi Invaders every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 18, 2026 and October 21, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Learn Japanese versus Mochi Invaders: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLearn JapaneseMochi Invaders
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (226 ratings)5.0 (6 ratings) — better
Positive reviews73.6% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings226 — better6
Update frequencyEvery 11 daysEvery 3 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better16.6
Further details — not scored
Size202 MB2 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperJohn A EhlkeXenodium Ltd.

Customer experience

Learn Japanese

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

Mochi Invaders

All ratings6 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

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
None

Mochi Invaders

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Learn Japanese free?
Learn Japanese is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Mochi Invaders free?
Mochi Invaders is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Learn Japanese or Mochi Invaders?
Mochi Invaders is rated higher. Learn Japanese averages 4.5 out of 5 from 226 ratings, while Mochi Invaders averages 5.0 from 6 ratings.
Do Learn Japanese or Mochi Invaders have ads?
Neither Learn Japanese nor Mochi Invaders shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Learn Japanese or Mochi Invaders?
Learn Japanese ships an update every 11 days, and Mochi Invaders every 3 days. Most recently, Learn Japanese was updated on October 18, 2026 and Mochi Invaders on October 21, 2026.

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