Comparison

Bubuling Nihongo vs Pico

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

Head to head
About

Bubuling Nihongo

This app helps you learn Japanese vocabulary through curated paths and engaging quizzes. It offers instant word lookups, handwriting input for kanji, and progress tracking. Stay consistent with study reminders and sync your learning across devices.

Highlights
  • Curated vocabulary learning paths
  • Instant word lookup
  • Multiple quiz modes
  • Handwriting input for kanji
  • Progress tracking
  • Study reminders
  • Cross-device sync
Features
Read full description

Bubuling makes Japanese vocabulary study clear, fast, and consistent. Build your wordbook with curated learning paths, look up words instantly, and practice with quiz modes that keep you engaged every day. What you can do in Bubuling: - Study curated vocabulary, including JLPT-focused sets and beginner-friendly lists - Search by kanji, kana, romaji, or meaning - Learn each word with readings, examples, related words, and conjugation support - Use handwriting input to find kanji when you can’t type it - Practice with multiple quiz modes: spelling, meaning, listening, and conjugation - Save words to My Words and track your learning progress - Sync your progress across devices when signed in - Get study reminders so you stay on pace Bubuling Pro: - Unlimited bookmarks in My Words - Access to current and future Pro features - Monthly, yearly, and lifetime purchase options available as in-app purchases Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Pico

This app helps you learn English vocabulary by explaining words in your native language. It offers features like word lookup, sentence translation, pronunciation coaching, and spaced repetition reviews to aid memorization. It also provides ready-made lists and placement tests for structured learning.

Highlights
  • Multi-language word explanations
  • Spaced repetition reviews
  • Pronunciation scoring
  • Sentence translation with word extraction
  • Situation-based word lists
  • Photo lookup
Features
Read full description

Every English word you come across, explained in your language: Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Arabic and more, 31 languages in all. Keep it, and it comes back until you remember it. Pico Picks is an English vocabulary notebook for learners. Look up a word, read what it means in your language, save it, and short daily reviews make it stick. LOOK UP ANY WORD Type an English word, or a word in your own language. You get a card written for your level: pronunciation (IPA), the definition in English and in your language, examples, common phrases, word forms, synonyms, and each meaning on its own. The translation stays hidden until you tap, so you think first. TRANSLATE, THEN LEARN Translate a sentence and Pico picks out up to 3 words worth learning. One tap opens each word's card, explained in your language, and you keep it in your notebook: a sentence becomes vocabulary. The Translate tab covers every language Apple's translation supports, with a microphone, a history and read-aloud. On iOS 27 with Apple Intelligence, translation between your language and English uses Apple Intelligence. GET READY FOR A SITUATION A doctor's appointment, a job interview, a parent-teacher meeting: describe it and get 10 useful English words at your level. REVIEW A FEW MINUTES A DAY Every word you save comes back at the right moment thanks to spaced repetition (FSRS), through a dozen exercise types: multiple choice, matching, gap fill, spelling, free writing and more. READY-MADE LISTS 39 lists of 20 words: job interview, at the doctor, housing and renting, emails at work, phrasal verbs and more. PRONUNCIATION COACH Say a word aloud and get a score for each sound, with a tip from the coach. AND ALSO • Photo lookup and Visual Intelligence on iOS 27 with Apple Intelligence; the photo is analyzed on your iPhone • Widgets that show your saved words, and a word of the day • A placement test and a course from A1 to C2 inside Classroom (lessons in English; instructions and grammar translated into Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, Korean and Chinese) • Add a word from Safari or any app that shares text (1 a day on the free plan) YOUR LANGUAGE Explanations are available in 31 languages: Arabic, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian and Vietnamese. If yours is not on the list, the card still gives the definition in English at your level. Some screens are still in English. YOUR DATA No account, no ads, no tracking, no data resale. Your saved words are kept on your iPhone and synced to your private iCloud. The words you look up and the texts you translate are sent to our servers to produce the answer. Word cards are written by AI and may contain mistakes: you can report any card. FREE OR PREMIUM Free: 7 word lookups a day, 50 saved words, 3 lesson blocks a day in the course, all ready-made lists, and daily reviews with no limit. Premium (monthly or yearly, 7-day free trial for eligible users) removes the limits: unlimited lookups and saved words, the whole course, situation prep, word generation in Classroom and unlimited sharing. Payment will be charged to your Apple account upon confirmation of purchase. The subscription renews automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. You can manage and cancel your subscriptions in your App Store account settings. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://picopicks.com/privacy

Screenshots

Bubuling Nihongo3 screens
Pico4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is iOS requirement: Bubuling Nihongo at 16.4 against Pico's 18.0. On price, rating, ratings volume and update cadence 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. Bubuling Nihongo sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month and Pico sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Bubuling Nihongo against 5.0 for Pico. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 1 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Bubuling Nihongo ships an update fortnightly, Pico every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
Bubuling Nihongo versus Pico: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBubuling NihongoPico
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings11
Update frequencyFortnightlyEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS16.4 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size176 MB34 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperCodingmiao PTE. LTD.tudual lucas Huon

Customer experience

Bubuling Nihongo

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Pico

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Bubuling Nihongo

Subscriptions2
  • Pro (1 Month)$0.991 Month
  • Pro (1 Year)7 Days trial$5.991 Year
One-time1
  • Pro (Lifetime)$69.99
2 purchases

Pico

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Premium7 Days trial$9.991 Month
  • Annual Premium7 Days trial$49.991 Year

Questions

Is Bubuling Nihongo free?
Bubuling Nihongo is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Pico free?
Pico is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Bubuling Nihongo or Pico?
Bubuling Nihongo and Pico are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 1 and 1 ratings respectively.
Do Bubuling Nihongo or Pico have ads?
Neither Bubuling Nihongo nor Pico shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Bubuling Nihongo or Pico?
Bubuling Nihongo ships an update fortnightly, and Pico every 2 weeks. Most recently, Bubuling Nihongo was updated on November 3, 2026 and Pico on October 31, 2026.

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