# Gengou Free vs bookBeo

The clearest difference is rating: bookBeo at 3.0 against Gengou Free's 2.5. bookBeo also leads on ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 6 months vs every 44 months). Gengou Free's advantage is review sentiment (84% vs 74%). On price, ratings volume, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

bookBeo holds the better App Store score, 3.0 against 2.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 2 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 84% of Gengou Free's written reviews are positive against 74% of bookBeo's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Gengou Free ships an update every 44 months, bookBeo every 6 months. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Gengou Free | bookBeo |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [2.5 (2 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/gengou-free/id284830543/reviews) | **[3.0 (2 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bookbeo-qr-codes-reader/id306411453/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 2 | 2 |
| Positive reviews | **84.5% of reviews** | 74.1% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | Every 44 months | **Every 6 months** |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Size | 6 MB | 4 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | **12.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Masayuki Akamatsu](https://appshunter.io/developer/284722836) | [BookBeo](https://appshunter.io/developer/306411456) |

## What reviewers say

### Gengou Free

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/gengou-free/id284830543)

Quickly convert between Japanese era names and Christian era years. Features include era and year searching, period and era pickers, and the ability to display the current year in either system. Texts can be shown in Japanese or English.

**Highlights:** Era and year search, Period picker, Era picker, Christian era year picker, Japanese era year picker, Show this year button, Multi-language text display

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


### bookBeo

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bookbeo-qr-codes-reader/id306411453)

This app bridges the gap between print and digital content by reading QR codes and specialized BeoCodes. Access exclusive offers, interact with creators, and share multimedia content with friends. Download videos for offline viewing.

**Highlights:** QR code and BeoCode scanning, Access exclusive offers and content, Interact with creators and brands, Share content via social media and email, Download videos for offline viewing, Archive scanned content

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Gengou Free free?

Gengou Free is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is bookBeo free?

bookBeo is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Gengou Free or bookBeo?

bookBeo is rated higher. Gengou Free averages 2.5 out of 5 from 2 ratings, while bookBeo averages 3.0 from 2 ratings.

### Do Gengou Free or bookBeo have ads?

Gengou Free shows ads; bookBeo does not.

### Which is updated more often, Gengou Free or bookBeo?

Gengou Free ships an update every 44 months, and bookBeo every 6 months. Most recently, Gengou Free was updated on October 31, 2026 and bookBeo on November 6, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*