Japanese Ruby vs Furigana Camera
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Japanese Ruby
This app automatically adds furigana (ruby characters) to Japanese text. It supports input via camera, photos, pasting, and handwriting, making it ideal for beginners learning Japanese. You can also export text with furigana to PDF via email.
- Add furigana to Japanese text
- Input via camera
- Input via photo library
- Handwriting recognition for kanji
- Export to PDF with furigana
- Study with hiragana or English
Read full descriptionHide full description
This is an APP that add ruby characters (furigana) to Japanese inputted by camera, photo, pasting, handwriting for Japanese beginner automatically. Usage 1: You can copy characters from Safari, and paste them into the text box, and study Japanese with hiragana or English characters. Usage 2: You can study Japanese by camera or photo library. Usage 3: You can input unknown kanji by handwriting and check how to read it. Usage 4: You can input text with keyboard, and send the text with ruby in PDF by mail.
Furigana Camera
This app uses your device's camera to add furigana (pronunciation guides) and romanized characters to Japanese text in photos. It supports both vertical and horizontal layouts, with adjustable font sizes and a dark mode option for comfortable reading.
- Add furigana to kanji via camera
- Convert text from photos and camera
- Supports vertical and horizontal text
- Adjustable font size
- Dark mode support
- Romanized character conversion
Read full descriptionHide full description
Japanese book reading support app. Add furigana/hiragana on kanji via camera. [Features] -Convert text in photos from your album (gallery) or camera into furigana and romanized characters -Supports both vertical and horizontal text formats -Adjustable font size for characters and furigana (ruby) -Dark mode support [Usage Examples] -When encountering difficult kanji while reading -When coming across unfamiliar words in newspapers -As a companion for studying Japanese -To assist with homework -For speech support, when you need furigana for kanji -When struggling with kanji in textbooks and needing furigana -To support foreigners by providing furigana -When picking up a difficult, thick, kanji-heavy book or one with a complex writing style -When wanting to read a kanji-heavy manga smoothly with furigana (though this may vary) -When introducing this app to IT supporters and ICT education supporters *Internet connection required Web Services by Yahoo! JAPAN (https://developer.yahoo.co.jp/sitemap/)
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Furigana Camera at 60% against Japanese Ruby's 0%. Furigana Camera also leads on update cadence (every 2 months vs every 4 months). Japanese Ruby's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and ads (none vs shown). On price 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. Furigana Camera sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Japanese Ruby asks for nothing beyond the download.
Japanese Ruby ships an update every 4 months, Furigana Camera every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Japanese Ruby | Furigana Camera |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | 4.0 (5 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 0.0% of reviews | 60.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | — | 5 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Every 2 months — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 10.0 — better | 13.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 102 MB | 95 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Microstone Inc. | Koji Watanabe |
Customer experience
Japanese Ruby
Furigana Camera
In-app purchases
Japanese Ruby
No in-app purchases
Furigana Camera
- Premium Feature Subscription$2.991 Month
- Premium Feature Subscription$29.991 Year
- Donate$4.99
Questions
Is Japanese Ruby free?
Is Furigana Camera free?
Do Japanese Ruby or Furigana Camera have ads?
Which is updated more often, Japanese Ruby or Furigana Camera?
Other comparisons















