Comparison

Bunpo vs Nihongo

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

Head to head
About

Bunpo

Master speaking, grammar, and vocabulary in over 10 languages with advanced speech recognition and personalized study plans. Progress from beginner to advanced levels with clear explanations and interactive exercises. Learn anytime, anywhere, with features like offline access for some languages.

Highlights
  • Speech recognition for speaking practice
  • 10+ languages in one app
  • Detailed grammar explanations
  • Personalized spaced repetition reviews
  • Offline access for select languages
  • JLPT level grammar for Japanese
Features
Read full description

Learn languages with Bunpo! Learn Japanese, Korean, Spanish, French, German, Chinese, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Arabic, English and more! Master speaking, grammar, and vocabulary from beginner to advanced, trusted by over 5 million learners worldwide. From your first Hiragana あ to JLPT N1, from "annyeong" to a real Korean conversation, or any of our 10+ languages, Bunpo takes you from day one to fluency. ========= Why Bunpo works for language learning - Speak from day one: Start speaking from your very first lesson with advanced speech recognition technology. - 10+ languages, one app: Learn Japanese, Korean, Spanish, French, German, Chinese, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Arabic, and English, and switch between them anytime without juggling multiple apps. - Grammar that makes sense: Detailed explanations in plain English, plus exercises that make it stick. - Smart review: A personalized study plan powered by spaced repetition (SRS) so you remember more, faster. - From the alphabet to advanced: Start with your very first character and build all the way to advanced grammar, whatever language you choose. Whether you're learning for travel, a higher grade, JLPT, a career boost, or just to feel confident in a new conversation, Bunpo's got your back. ========= Japanese Course - Master the Japanese alphabets (Hiragana & Katakana) so you can read menus, train signs, and even your favorite manga without guessing. - Learn Japanese grammar for every JLPT level (N5 to N1) with clear, no-nonsense explanations because "This is a pen" will only get you so far. - Build real-world Japanese vocabulary and kanji knowledge you can actually use in daily conversations, not just in textbooks. - Practice with 1,800+ Japanese example sentences and 8,000+ interactive quizzes designed to make new grammar and vocab stick. - Search any topic instantly in the Japanese grammar dictionary, perfect for "What does that mean again?" moments. - Review smarter, not harder, with a spaced repetition system (SRS) that reminds you before you forget. ========= Korean Course - Master the Korean alphabet (Hangul) with a guided chart, listening, and writing practice. - Build Korean vocabulary you'll actually use in everyday conversations. - Practice reading, writing, listening, and speaking so every skill grows together. ========= Spanish Course - Learn Spanish offline - Master Spanish grammar from A1 to B1 level - Spanish verb conjugation - Perfect your Spanish pronunciation ========= French Course - Learn French offline - Master French grammar from A1 to A2 level - French verb conjugation - Perfect your French pronunciation ========= German Course - Learn German offline - Master German grammar from A1 to C1 level - German verb conjugation - Perfect your German pronunciation ========= Chinese Course - Learn Chinese offline - Master Chinese vocabulary and phrases - Listen, speak, and write Chinese ========= Privacy Policy and Terms of Use: https://bunpo.app/privacy.html Any feedback? Feel free to contact us at: iphone@bunpo.app

About

Nihongo

Master Japanese characters with interactive flashcards and quizzes. Track your progress and focus on areas needing improvement. Supports Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji, with an optional upgrade for full access.

Highlights
  • Flashcard-based character study
  • Practice quizzes
  • Progress tracking and analytics
  • Support for Hiragana, Katakana, Kanji
  • Accuracy indicator for focused study
  • Dark mode
Features
Read full description

Flashcards to study Japanese characters Learn how to read Japanese characters with this flashcard-based app. Study the characters, take practice quizzes and test yourself. View results and character accuracy. Learn the writing systems Select a writing system and study the characters using the grid-style view or swipeable cards. Quiz yourself Test yourself on either a subset of characters or the complete list in an easy-to-use flashcard quiz. Options to test on a subset of characters based on accuracy and options to retest yourself on the incorrect characters after the quiz is done. Characters are shuffled and answers are self-checked by tapping the card to show the answer. Mark your answer as correct or incorrect by swiping left or right. Practice mode is available if you don’t want the results to be saved. Track your analytics View your results and track your progress. Character accuracy is calculated from all your test results to help you know which characters to focus on studying. Use the accuracy indicator settings to help color-code cards that fall below your specified accuracy threshold. Learn to read the characters of the different Japanese writing systems. - Select the writing system you want to study: Hiragana, Katakana, Kanji - Learn and study the characters and the romanji (English alphabet/letters) using a grid-style view or swipeable cards (buttons also available to move back and forth between cards) - Tap a character in the grid view to study in the cards view starting with that character - Settings allow you to adjust font-size - Accuracy indicator allows you to specify a color to color-code cards that have an accuracy below your set accuracy threshold - Quiz yourself - select either to test yourself on a subset of characters or all of them - Quiz format is an easy-to-use flashcard style - Shuffled flashcards will show the Japanese character - tap to reveal the romanji - Swipe left (incorrect) or right (correct) to log the result using an honour system - Button icons can be used instead of swiping - Reset a quiz to start the quiz again (and reshuffle the cards) - Once you have finished a quiz, option to retest yourself on the characters that you answered incorrectly. The results of a retest do not impact your character accuracy score. - Ability to retest as many times as needed until you no longer have any incorrect answers. - Practice mode available to test yourself but not save the results - View results to track your progress - View the history of your quizzes and the results, including which characters you got correct and incorrect - View your character accuracy calculated from all your test results to know which characters to focus on studying - Options to reset results (for a specific writing system or all results) - Dark mode available for all your studying settings Free writing system: Hiragana Upgrade to unlock all sections for: Katakana, Kyoiku Kanji

Screenshots

Bunpo4 screens
Nihongo4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Bunpo at every 9 days against Nihongo's every 9 months. Bunpo also leads on ratings volume (18K vs 4). Nihongo's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 16.0). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases 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. Bunpo sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month and Nihongo sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for Bunpo against 5.0 for Nihongo. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Bunpo has 18K ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Bunpo ships an update every 9 days, Nihongo every 9 months. The most recent releases landed on November 14, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Bunpo versus Nihongo: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBunpoNihongo
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (18K ratings)5.0 (4 ratings) — better
Positive reviews72.2% of reviews—
Number of ratings18K — better4
Update frequencyEvery 9 days — betterEvery 9 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size247 MB4 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBunpo Language LearningAlysha Kwok

Customer experience

Bunpo

All ratings18,197 ratings
Positive98.0%
Neutral0.8%
Negative1.2%
Written reviews1,167 reviews
Positive72.2%
Neutral9.5%
Negative18.3%

Nihongo

All ratings4 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Bunpo

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • App crashes during lesson reviews
  • Incorrect answers marked as wrong
  • Text and keyboard issues on smaller screens
  • Audio playback problems

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add landscape mode support for tablets
  • Improve review options to revisit specific grammar points
  • Expand vocabulary lessons and practice
  • Add more languages beyond Japanese

Nihongo

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

8 purchases

Bunpo

Subscriptions6
  • Bunpo Plus Monthly2 variants$9.991 Month
  • Bunpo Platinum Monthly7 Days trial2 variants$19.991 Month
  • Bunpo Plus Yearly$29.991 Year
Show 3 more
  • Bunpo Plus Yearly$39.991 Year
  • Bunpo Platinum Yearly7 Days trial$79.991 Year
  • Bunpo Platinum Yearly7 Days trial$99.991 Year
One-time2
  • Bunpo Plus Lifetime$39.99
  • Bunpo Plus Lifetime$44.99
3 purchases

Nihongo

One-time3
  • Katakana$0.99
  • Bundle: Katakana And Kyōiku$1.99
  • Kyōiku Kanji$2.99

Questions

Is Bunpo free?
Bunpo is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Nihongo free?
Nihongo is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Bunpo or Nihongo?
Nihongo is rated higher. Bunpo averages 4.9 out of 5 from 18K ratings, while Nihongo averages 5.0 from 4 ratings.
Do Bunpo or Nihongo have ads?
Neither Bunpo nor Nihongo shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Bunpo or Nihongo?
Bunpo ships an update every 9 days, and Nihongo every 9 months. Most recently, Bunpo was updated on November 14, 2026 and Nihongo on November 3, 2026.

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