Comparison

Learn Japanese vs Bilingual Reader Pro

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

Bilingual Reader Pro

This app transforms any text into an immersive language learning experience. Paste content, and it reads it aloud sentence by sentence in the original language, followed by a translation. It's designed to enhance vocabulary and listening skills using real-world materials.

Highlights
  • Hands-free language lessons
  • Text-to-speech in original and translated languages
  • Automatic language detection
  • 65 supported languages
  • Independent speed control per language
  • Background audio playback
Features
Read full description

Bilingual Reader turns any text into a hands-free language lesson. Paste an article, a book excerpt, a recipe, anything you want to read — and the app reads it back to you sentence by sentence, first in the original language, then in your chosen translation. It's the fastest way to build vocabulary and listening comprehension at the same time, using real content you actually care about. HOW IT WORKS Paste your text on the main screen. The app automatically detects the source language. Choose which language you want to hear the translation in from a list of 65 supported languages. Tap Start Reading and let the app take over. For each sentence, you will hear it spoken in the original language, then immediately hear the translation. Visual cards on screen highlight which language is currently being read so you can follow along at a glance. FEATURES Automatic language detection — no need to specify what language your text is in 65 supported languages for translation and audio playback Independent speed control for each language — set the original between 0.5x and 2x, and the translation separately, so you can slow down for a language you are still learning while keeping your native language at normal speed Play, pause, skip forward, and skip backward between sentences Background audio — keeps playing while your phone is locked or when you switch to another app, so you can listen on a walk or during a commute Your target language and speed preferences are saved and restored automatically WHO IT IS FOR Bilingual Reader is built for language learners, students, travelers, immigrants, and anyone who wants to absorb a second language naturally through listening. It works especially well with news articles, blog posts, and short stories. Privacy: Bilingual Reader does not collect or store any text you enter. All translation and text-to-speech is processed through Google Translate's public API and no data is retained on our servers.

Screenshots

Learn Japanese4 screens
Bilingual Reader Pro4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Learn Japanese at 74% against Bilingual Reader Pro's 0%. Learn Japanese also leads on price (Free vs $0.99) and device support (4 vs 2). Bilingual Reader Pro's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 7). On 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

Learn Japanese is free to download; Bilingual Reader Pro costs $0.99 up front. Learn Japanese sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Bilingual Reader Pro asks for nothing beyond the download.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Learn Japanese versus Bilingual Reader Pro: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLearn JapaneseBilingual Reader Pro
PriceFree — better$0.99
Rating4.5 (233 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews73.6% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings233 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 11 days—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.0 — better15.1
Further details — not scored
Size202 MB41 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperJohn A EhlkeFinn Moe

Customer experience

Learn Japanese

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

Bilingual Reader Pro

Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral100.0%
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

Bilingual Reader Pro

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Learn Japanese free?
Learn Japanese is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Bilingual Reader Pro free?
Bilingual Reader Pro costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do Learn Japanese or Bilingual Reader Pro have ads?
Neither Learn Japanese nor Bilingual Reader Pro shows ads.

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