Abacus Lesson vs drillio
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Abacus Lesson
Learn addition and subtraction using a virtual abacus, also known as a Soroban. This app helps you develop mental calculation skills, enabling you to perform calculations without physical tools.
- Learn addition
- Learn subtraction
- Virtual abacus (Soroban)
- Develop mental calculation skills
- Perform calculations without physical tools
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This is an app that you can learn addition and subtraction using an abacus. 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. Imagine that you can use calculations of about 3 digits in your life without physical tools. This app will give you the skill of calculation.
drillio
Enhance your calculation abilities with engaging mental math exercises. This app offers customizable practice cards for addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, along with progress tracking to keep you motivated.
- Mental math cards for calculation techniques
- Customizable practice modes
- Progress tracking via stats tab
- Engaging brain-boosting exercises
- Covers addition, subtraction, multiplication, division
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drillio helps you build real mental math skills with soroban-style flash anzan and arithmetic drills. 41 flash anzan levels (from beginner to 20th dan) and 278 arithmetic lessons. All core learning is free. FLASH ANZAN - 41 levels: beginner, 20th kyu to 1st kyu, then 1st to 20th dan - Master a level by answering correctly 10 times, and earn a certificate - Frame-accurate display timing, so even the fastest flashes are shown precisely - Custom mode: choose your own digits, number of terms and display time - Your fastest answer is saved automatically ARITHMETIC DRILLS - 278 lessons in addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, from basic to advanced - 2-digit x 2-digit, 3-digit problems, fill-in-the-blank problems and more - Earn more points the faster you answer, and see your progress for each lesson CHALLENGES - Time Attack: solve as many problems as you can before time runs out - Oni Calc: answer the problem from N steps back, training memory and calculation together KEEP GOING - Daily streaks, study time and points - Reminders before your streak ends drillio PRO (optional) - No ads - Dark mode - Streak recovery - Priority support Subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled. Terms of Use: https://gist.github.com/aviciida/c635fb7d61c24c8df4f39506902f3ca6 Privacy Policy: https://gist.github.com/aviciida/f9dd03234fa3de0b23aa536073abcca4
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Abacus Lesson at 4.9 against drillio's 4.5. Abacus Lesson also leads on ratings volume (839 vs 8) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 16.0). On price, review sentiment, update cadence and ads 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. Abacus Lesson sells 3 one-off in-app purchases and drillio sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Abacus Lesson holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Abacus Lesson has 839 ratings behind it against 8, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 93% of Abacus Lesson's written reviews are positive against 90% of drillio's.
Abacus Lesson ships an update every 3 weeks, drillio every 2 weeks. Both last shipped on November 7, 2026.
| Parameter | Abacus Lesson | drillio |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.9 (839 ratings) — better | 4.5 (8 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 93.3% of reviews — better | 90.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 839 — better | 8 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Every 2 weeks — better |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 11.0 — better | 16.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 138 MB | 33 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Hirokazu Komatsu | Ryo Iida |
Customer experience
Abacus Lesson
drillio
Bugs and requests
Abacus Lesson
Reported bugs
4 issues- Accidental app closure on iPhone during bead swiping
- Error in lesson 3 addition summary
- Sloppy English translation causing confusion
- Lessons difficult to read visually
Requested features
6 requests- Add Chinese Abacus (Suanpan) option
- Landscape view support
- Level skip functionality
- Better English translation/editing
- Clearer problem presentation with equation format
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- Improved lesson readability
drillio
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Abacus Lesson
- Donation Lv1 for hiding Ad$1.99
- Donation Lv2 for hiding Ad$3.99
- Donation Lv3 for hiding Ad$8.99
drillio
- drillio PRO Monthly$1.991 Month
- drillio PRO campaign1 Year trial$14.991 Year
- drillio PRO Annual$14.991 Year
