Umi vs Fluency Tool
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Umi
Master a new language through engaging TV clips, from beginner to fluent in a year. This app offers a fun, scientifically backed immersion method with vocabulary, listening, and reading practice. Learn from native speakers in real-life contexts without textbooks or lectures.
- Learn languages from 0 to fluency
- Watch TV clips for learning
- Vocabulary, listening, and reading practice
- Immersion method
- Learn from native speakers
- 24 free lessons
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Learn a language from 0 to fluency in 1 year, by watching TV clips! 24 lessons for free! Learn Japanese, Korean, Spanish, French, German or English! Vocabulary, listening, and reading all in one app... and it's fun! A revolutionary scientifically backed method; natural exposure with short videos is the best way to gain REAL comprehension. No textbooks. No boring lectures. Learn from native speakers! Understand how people talk in real life situations. Start learning today with the revolutionary immersion method, and actually achieve fluency! Privacy: https://www.umiapp.co/privacy/ Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Fluency Tool
Practice Japanese speaking with a hands-free shadowing loop and AI-powered speech recognition. Build vocabulary with flashcards and grammar guides, and reinforce learning with vocabulary games. Designed for intermediate learners looking to improve their spoken fluency.
- Hands-free shadowing loop
- Speech recognition scoring
- SM-2 flashcards (Anki-compatible)
- JLPT grammar reference
- Vocabulary games
- Progress tracking dashboard
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Speak Japanese out loud, not just read it. Fluency Tool plays a native speaker saying a sentence, opens your microphone, records you saying it back, and shows you what you said and what you need to improve. Shadowing means repeating a native speaker right after you hear them. It trains pronunciation and rhythm, the part of Japanese that textbooks and flashcards leave out. HOW A SESSION WORKS A JLPT-graded sentence plays in a native voice. The microphone opens on its own, you say the sentence, and your recording plays back so you can hear the difference. Speech recognition scores the attempt, and sentences you miss come back later in the same session. This hands-free loop is called Echo Fluency. WHAT IS INSIDE Flashcards with spaced repetition Rate cards Again, Hard, Medium, or Easy. The SM-2 method sets the next interval from your rating and each card's ease factor. JLPT decks for all five levels are preloaded; long-press any kanji for on'yomi, kun'yomi, and meaning. JLPT Grammar Guide, N5 to N1 Every pattern in one reference, native audio on each example, a quiz on tap. Status tracks as Learning, Reviewing, or Mastered. Vocabulary games from your own decks Fever Pitch, kanji Hangman, matching, and crosswords, generated from the words you are actively studying. Dashboard Your daily goal, a 7- or 30-day activity chart, and a roadmap across all 25 sub-levels. WHO IT IS FOR Learners who can already read Japanese and want to start speaking it. JLPT candidates get speaking practice organized by the same levels as the exam, which tests reading and listening only. If you read Japanese but hesitate to say it, this is the missing half. Learning English instead? Choose English as your target language and practice speaking the same way. HOW IT STARTS Pick a JLPT level and sub-level (25 in total) in onboarding, then say your first sentence within a minute. Speaking, flashcards, grammar, and games all draw on that level's content, so progress in one shows up in the others. BEFORE YOU START You will want to have some understanding of hiragana and katakana; the app does not teach them. Echo Fluency and speech recognition need an internet connection. Flashcards, games, and crosswords work offline. Core features are free, with no subscription and no trial. One optional one-time in-app purchase removes banner ads.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Fluency Tool at 100% against Umi's 53%. Umi's advantage is rating (4.8 vs 3.0) and ratings volume (2.8K vs 2). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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. Umi sells 15 in-app purchases, starting at $12.99 per month and Fluency Tool sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Umi holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Umi has 2.8K ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 53% of Umi's written reviews are positive against 100% of Fluency Tool's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Umi ships an update every 10 days, Fluency Tool weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Umi | Fluency Tool |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (2.8K ratings) — better | 3.0 (2 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 52.8% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 2.8K — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 10 days | Weekly — better |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #169 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 — better | 16.4 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 79 MB | 74 MB |
| Age rating | 9+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Immersely Inc. | MY SENPAI LLC |
Customer experience
Umi
Fluency Tool
Bugs and requests
Umi
Reported bugs
3 issues- Frequent app crashes and loading issues
- Inability to delete account or access full free version
- Inconsistent performance and playback problems
Requested features
4 requests- Add more language options like Mandarin and Russian
- Improve spaced repetition and word review system
- Provide more detailed grammar and conjugation explanations
- Add a search function to find specific vocabulary
Fluency Tool
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Umi
- Umi Plus + Monthly7 Days trial$12.991 Month
- Umi Plus - Monthly3 Days trial$12.991 Month
- Umi Premium - Monthly3 Days trial$14.991 Month
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- Umi Pro - Monthly3 Days trial$17.991 Month
- Umi Professional - Monthly3 Days trial$19.991 Month
- Umi Plus - 6 months3 Days trial$34.996 Months
- Umi Plus + 6 Months$34.996 Months
- Umi Premium - 6 Months$39.996 Months
- Umi Plus + Annual7 Days trial$49.991 Year
- Umi Plus - Annual3 Days trial$49.991 Year
- Umi Pro - 6 months$59.996 Months
- Umi Premium - Annual3 Days trial$59.991 Year
- Umi Pro - Annual3 Days trial$69.991 Year
- Umi Professional - Annual3 Days trial$79.991 Year
- Umi - Plus$149.99
Fluency Tool
- Ad-Free Limited-Time Offer$11.00
- Remove In-App Native Ads$14.99









