# Gengou vs Widget Now

The clearest difference is price: Widget Now at Free against Gengou's $0.99. Widget Now also leads on update cadence (every 5 days vs every 30 months). Gengou's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and review sentiment (66% vs 50%). On in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Widget Now is free to download; Gengou costs $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Gengou ships an update every 30 months, Widget Now every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Gengou | Widget Now |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $0.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | **[3.8 (4 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/gengou/id288968943/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **4** | — |
| Positive reviews | **66.1% of reviews** | 50.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | Every 30 months | **Every 5 days** |
| Monetization | Paid | **Ad-supported** |
| Size | 3 MB | 52 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.0** | 16.4 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Masayuki Akamatsu](https://appshunter.io/developer/284722836) | [Naoto Tazawa](https://appshunter.io/developer/1866843317) |

## What reviewers say

### Gengou

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/gengou/id288968943)

Quickly convert between Japanese era names and Christian era years. Features include era and year searches, period and era pickers, and the ability to display text 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, Dual Language Support (JP/EN)

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

**In-app purchases:** none


### Widget Now

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/widget-now/id6757424091)

This app displays Japanese calendar information, including the Japanese era name, lunar calendar, and traditional holidays, directly on your iPhone's lock screen. It also provides daily historical facts, anniversaries, and detailed astrological data. Customize your widget to show the information you need most.

**Highlights:** Real-time Japanese era name display, Daily historical facts and anniversaries, Lunar calendar and astrological data, Second-level time updates, Customizable widget layouts, Age and birthdate calculator, Japanese era to Gregorian calendar converter

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

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Gengou free?

Gengou costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Widget Now free?

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

### Do Gengou or Widget Now have ads?

Widget Now shows ads; Gengou does not.

### Which is updated more often, Gengou or Widget Now?

Gengou ships an update every 30 months, and Widget Now every 5 days. Most recently, Gengou was updated on October 24, 2026 and Widget Now on October 25, 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.*