Kanji Book vs Ringotan
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Kanji Book
This app helps you learn Japanese kanji at your own pace by creating a personalized workbook. It tracks your progress visually and allows you to practice all aspects of kanji, including readings, drawing, and recall. You can use it as flashcards or take quizzes to reinforce your learning.
- Personalized kanji workbook
- Visual progress tracking
- Practice readings, drawing, recall
- Flashcard functionality
- Randomized quizzes
- Compound kanji vocabulary building
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I built Kanji Book to aid in my own learning of kanji. I wanted something that would let me learn the 2136 jōyō kanji at my own pace. I was inspired by Japanese style journals which extensively use highlighters and stickers to brighten up the otherwise dull contents. In Kanji Book, you'll build your own workbook which tracks your progress visually. You can learn as many kanji as you want each day. I find that 2 or 3 is a good cadence. I tend to play 3 or 4 times a day, whenever I can find a spare 5 minutes. I try to use my phone as a tool, not a distraction. I hope you find some value in Kanji Book. Let me know how many you learn! As you play, the language of the workbook changes to reflect your knowledge. Practice all aspects of kanji: readings, drawing, recall, definition, and recollection. Use your Kanji Book as simple flashcards or test yourself with 25 random questions. Once you have enough kanji to form compound kanji vocabulary words, you'll end each session with a grid of kanji which you can use to form vocabulary words.
Ringotan
Master Japanese Kanji by practicing writing. This app uses advanced input detection and spaced repetition to help you learn quickly and effectively. Focuses on the physical act of writing characters, not just recognition.
- Learn Kanji by writing
- Advanced input detection
- Spaced repetition system (SRS)
- Focus on writing, not just reading
- Frequent updates with new features
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Learn Kanji by actually writing it! Ringotan is the first app built from the ground up to teach you how to WRITE Japanese Kanji, not just read them. By combining advanced input detection with industry-standard SRS (spaced repetition) algorithms, Ringotan ensures you learn as fully and quickly as possible. ----------------- Ringotan is free for a limited time. We update frequently, so be sure to check back for new features!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Ringotan at 4.9 against Kanji Book's 4.6. Ringotan also leads on ratings volume (574 vs 102). Kanji Book's advantage is iOS requirement (10.0 vs 12.2). 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Ringotan holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Ringotan has 574 ratings behind it against 102, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 90% of Kanji Book's written reviews are positive against 96% of Ringotan's.
Kanji Book ships an update every 2 days, Ringotan every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Kanji Book | Ringotan |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (102 ratings) | 4.9 (574 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 90.0% of reviews | 95.7% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 102 | 574 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 days — better | Every 3 days |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 10.0 — better | 12.2 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 210 MB | 206 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Bird Cartel LLC | Daniel Pflughoeft |
Customer experience
Kanji Book
Ringotan
User reviews
Kanji Book
From 102 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Easy to use and navigate
- ✍️ Practice writing kanji
- 💡 Links to Jisho for info
- 🧠 Effective for memorizing kanji
- 📚 Good for beginners
Room to improve
- 📚 Limited reinforcement of readings/vocab
- 🧱 Hits a wall for reading/speaking
- 🎛️ Inflexible modes (e.g., writing)
- 🔊 No audio pronunciation
- ❓ Unclear On/Kun usage in compounds
Ringotan
From 574 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Effective kanji learning system
- 👍 Intuitive and easy to use
- 🔓 No ads or paywalls
- 💡 Customizable settings and integration with other resources
- 🎨 Visually pleasing and engaging
Room to improve
- 🔍 Keyword hints not always clear enough
- 🔀 Limited ability to customize word lists
- 🔆 Light mode only, no dark mode option
- 🔍 Difficulty identifying which kanji is being tested at times
Bugs and requests
Kanji Book
Reported bugs
4 issues- Screen stays stuck on opening screen
- Other glitches occur
- Font can make some kanji look odd and similar
- App sometimes glitches while writing
Requested features
14 requests- Improve reinforcement of Kun/On and vocabulary
- Add setting to adjust learning reinforcement
- Ability to turn off certain modes like writing
- Show compound words in Hiragana under English
- Allow reviewing and testing specific kanji
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- Add pronunciation of each kanji (audio)
- Add radical information
- Ability to edit list and add kanji learned outside the app
- Provide the name of each kanji
- Make Kun and On pronunciations plainer
- Add grammar lessons
- Allow users to add previously learned kanji to their notebook
- Add furigana readings for compound kanji
- Option to display Japanese word for compounds before dismissing
Ringotan
Reported bugs
2 issues- Occasional issues with stroke order recognition
- Some kanji pronunciations not accurately represented
Requested features
5 requests- Add dark mode option
- Allow users to create and save custom kanji lists
- Provide more detailed keyword hints before writing
- Implement device sync to continue progress across platforms
- Add notification system to remind users of upcoming reviews
In-app purchases
Kanji Book
No in-app purchases
Ringotan
No in-app purchases








