# Write It! Japanese vs Marukun

The clearest difference is ads: Marukun at none against Write It! Japanese's shown. Marukun also leads on monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases). Write It! Japanese's advantage is review sentiment (86% vs 67%). On price, update cadence, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Write It! Japanese sells 3 one-off in-app purchases and Marukun sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Write It! Japanese ships an update every 3 weeks, Marukun every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Write It! Japanese | Marukun |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.8 (2.3K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/write-it-japanese/id1268225663/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **2.3K** | — |
| Positive reviews | **86.2% of reviews** | 66.7% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | **Every 3 weeks** | Every 5 weeks |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Free** |
| Size | 64 MB | 147 MB |
| Requires iOS | **14.0** | 15.6 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Jernung](https://appshunter.io/developer/1268225656) | [Dimitriy Grigoriev](https://appshunter.io/developer/1448870635) |

## What reviewers say

### Write It! Japanese

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/write-it-japanese/id1268225663)

Master Japanese hiragana and katakana handwriting with this app. It uses advanced recognition technology for stroke-by-stroke guidance and timed tests. Learn efficiently with bite-sized lessons and track your progress.

**Highlights:** Handwriting recognition technology, Bite-sized lessons, Stroke-by-stroke guidance, Timed test mode, Progress tracking, Offline support

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Full Unlock | $6.99 | one-time |
| Full Unlock | $8.99 | one-time |
| Full Unlock | $9.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 💖 Excellent app
- 🎉 Great learning tool
- 📚 Helpful for learning to write kana
- 🧠 Effective for memorization
- 🤩 Amazing app

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Crashes or freezes
- 🤖 Robotic audio
- 🔍 Overly forgiving character recognition
- 🔀 Disorganized lesson structure
- 🔒 Paid features locked behind paywall

**Reported bugs**

- Freezes when drawing outside the box
- Inconsistent character recognition
- Resets progress after updates
- Crashes on launch for some users

**Requested features**

- Add kanji writing practice
- Ability to customize review content
- Provide more detailed performance tracking
- Include native speaker audio
- Add landscape mode support


### Marukun

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/marukun/id1540562535)

This Russian-Japanese dictionary app offers over 90,000 Japanese words with example sentences for daily use. It includes a favorites feature to create custom word lists and works offline without ads.

**Highlights:** 90,000+ Japanese words, Example sentences, Favorites list, Offline functionality, Ad-free experience

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Full version | $0.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Write It! Japanese free?

Write It! Japanese is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Marukun free?

Marukun is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Do Write It! Japanese or Marukun have ads?

Write It! Japanese shows ads; Marukun does not.

### Which is updated more often, Write It! Japanese or Marukun?

Write It! Japanese ships an update every 3 weeks, and Marukun every 5 weeks. Most recently, Write It! Japanese was updated on November 1, 2026 and Marukun on October 29, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*