Comparison

Kana Trainer vs Looplingo

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

Head to head
About

Kana Trainer

Master Japanese hiragana and katakana with an intelligent algorithm that focuses on your weak spots. Practice reading, writing, and vocabulary with interactive tests. Learn Japanese characters and words efficiently.

Highlights
  • Adaptive learning algorithm
  • Focuses on forgotten characters
  • Learn Japanese vocabulary
  • Reading and writing tests
  • Character drawing practice
Features
Read full description

Learn hiragana and katakana thanks to Kana Trainer algorithm. This intelligent application will show you kanas and present to you the ones you more often forget so you can learn them better and faster! Discover also numerous simple words from the Japanese vocabulary. Test your knowledge by finding the kana shown by the application, or in reverse by finding the romaji. Test your writing knowledge by drawing kanas directly on the screen and let Kana Trainer tell you if you got it right.

About

Looplingo

Features
Read full description

Discover and learn Japanese with complete, real sentences. 180 themes of 10 sentences each, from the classics to the unexpected — 1,800 sentences in total. Free to download, no account, no ads. ONE SENTENCE AT A TIME Most learning methods drown you in vocabulary lists. Looplingo works differently: one sentence, one context, one score. Every review is rated, and the system prioritizes whatever keeps slipping away. The more you practice, the less time you waste. EVERYDAY THEMES Restaurant, transport, hotel, family… Pick a theme, review its sentences, and track your progress card by card. A fully mastered theme gets validated — but stays replayable anytime. THREE REVIEW MODES • Cards: flip the card and rate yourself honestly. • Multiple choice quiz: pick the right translation out of four options, with visual and haptic feedback. • Priority: a smart session that gathers your difficult sentences and your favorites. SIMPLE, HONEST PROGRESS No black-box algorithm: every correct answer brings a sentence closer to being acquired, every mistake pushes it back. And each direction is tracked separately — understanding a sentence and producing it are two different skills. When a sentence reaches your mastery threshold (adjustable from 1 to 100), it's acquired. Slow memorizer? Raise the threshold. Want to move fast? Lower it. YOUR FAVORITES FIRST Tap the heart on sentences that keep tripping you up. Priority mode puts them at the front of the session, together with the sentences the app automatically detects as fragile. BUILT FOR JAPANESE Display in hiragana or kanji, optional romaji under the cards, and text-to-speech to hear every sentence with the right pronunciation. CONSISTENCY OVER INTENSITY Daily progress rings, streak, daily goal, and an optional daily reminder: five minutes a day beats an hour on Sunday. FREE TO ACTUALLY TRY The free version is not a demo: 4 full themes, all language pairs, and every review mode, with no time limit. LOOPLINGO PRO, ONE-TIME PURCHASE FOR LIFE Unlock 100% of the themes (all 180, 1,800 sentences), add your own custom sentence packs (JSON, loaded from a simple URL), and export or restore your database anytime. One single purchase, no subscription. Your data stays on your device, and deleting a pack never deletes your learning history. 5 LANGUAGES, EVERY COMBINATION French, Japanese, English, Chinese and Korean are all built in — and every pair works both ways: French → Japanese, Japanese → French, Chinese → Korean, English → Chinese… Learn in whichever direction you want, from whichever language you already speak. More languages are on the way — feel free to tell us which ones you'd like to see first. Open a theme. Flip a card. Come back every day. That's the whole secret.

Screenshots

Kana Trainer4 screens
Looplingo4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Looplingo at none against Kana Trainer's shown. On price, in-app purchases, device support 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. Kana Trainer sells 2 one-off in-app purchases and Looplingo sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
Kana Trainer versus Looplingo: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterKana TrainerLooplingo
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.2 (13 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews80.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings13 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 5 months—
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size19 MB5 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperArthur RousselJulien Dutto

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Kana Trainer

One-time2
  • Unlock Katakanas$1.99
  • More words$1.99
1 purchases

Looplingo

One-time1
  • Unlock Pro Version$3.99

Questions

Is Kana Trainer free?
Kana Trainer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Looplingo free?
Looplingo is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Kana Trainer or Looplingo have ads?
Kana Trainer shows ads; Looplingo does not.

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