Soroban Drill vs Abacus Lesson
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Soroban Drill
Practice Japanese abacus calculations with this app. It offers exercises for addition, subtraction, sums, multiplication, and division. Advanced features like multiplication, division, and mock exams are available via in-app purchase.
- Arithmetic drills
- Multiplication practice
- Division practice
- Mock soroban exams
- Addition and subtraction exercises
Read full descriptionHide full description
This is a soroban practice app for soroban beginners. Easily practice multiplication and other arithmetic anywhere, or try a mock soroban exam. - Addition - Subtraction - Sums - Multiplication - Division - Mock exams * Multiplication, division, and mock exams can be unlocked through in-app payment.
Abacus Lesson
Learn the simple and fast method of division using an abacus. This app focuses on developing mental calculation skills by leveraging the abacus technique. It's recommended to master addition, subtraction, and multiplication with an abacus first.
- Learn abacus division techniques
- Develop mental calculation skills
- Focus on Soroban method
- Step-by-step division instruction
- Builds on addition, subtraction, multiplication
Read full descriptionHide full description
An abacus is named "Soroban" in Japan. Do you know what an abacus is? The abacus is very simple calculator used in China, Japan, Korea and so on. Some people may say "Isn't it an unnecessary tool if you have a calculator such as a smartphone?". Answer would be "No". The biggest difference between electric calculators and the abacus is whether you need to hold it in your hand when calculating. Because of its simplicity, you will be able to easily use the abacus in your mind. In the app, we will explain simple and fast method of the division using the abacus. To learn division, it is essential to be able to add, sub, and multiplication with an abacus. If you are new to them, we recommend that you learn addition subtraction multiplication with the app in my app list first. This app will give you the skill of calculation of division.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Abacus Lesson at 5.0 against Soroban Drill's 4.4. Abacus Lesson also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 65%) and update cadence (monthly vs every 3 months). Soroban Drill's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and ratings volume (66 vs 8). 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
Both are free to download. Soroban Drill sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Abacus Lesson sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Abacus Lesson holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Soroban Drill has 66 ratings behind it against 8, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 65% of Soroban Drill's written reviews are positive against 100% of Abacus Lesson's.
Soroban Drill ships an update every 3 months, Abacus Lesson monthly. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.
| Parameter | Soroban Drill | Abacus Lesson |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.4 (66 ratings) | 5.0 (8 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 64.5% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 66 — better | 8 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Monthly — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 | 11.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 30 MB | 132 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Junichiro Komizo | Hirokazu Komatsu |
Customer experience
Soroban Drill
Abacus Lesson
In-app purchases
Soroban Drill
- 全ての機能をアンロック$3.99
Abacus Lesson
- Donation Lv1 for hiding Ad$1.99
- Donation Lv2 for hiding Ad$3.99
- Donation Lv3 for hiding Ad$8.99
Questions
Is Soroban Drill free?
Is Abacus Lesson free?
Which has better reviews, Soroban Drill or Abacus Lesson?
Do Soroban Drill or Abacus Lesson have ads?
Which is updated more often, Soroban Drill or Abacus Lesson?
Other comparisons
