First Words Japanese vs Starfall Numbers
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
First Words Japanese
This game helps young children learn Japanese hiragana and katakana characters and common words. It features toddler-friendly visuals and an interface designed for little hands, offering 100 words across various categories.
- Learn hiragana and katakana
- 100 toddler-friendly words
- Animal, vehicle, color, shape categories
- User interface for young children
- Customizable game options
- Interactive learning experience
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The best-selling reading game for kids is now available in Japanese! FirstWords: Japanese is the funnest way to give your child a head start on learning hiragana and katakana while gaining exposure to the Japanese language. First Words: Japanese is toddler-tested and approved, with a user-interface designed specifically for the littlest of fingers. The game includes 100 toddler-friendly words, including + 38 Animals + 16 Vehicles + 12 Colors + 15 Shapes + 19 words from Around the House. A wide range of options let you tune the game to match your child's current skills and abilities. Kids can play this game by themselves, but they also enjoy bringing their adults along, talking about the animals and letters, seeing them spin and make their animal noises, and learning how to say the words in Japanese. If your child is old enough to ask for your phone, they're old enough for First Words: Japanese!
Starfall Numbers
This app uses interactive activities and songs to help children learn number recognition and counting skills. It connects numbers to real-world objects and introduces basic math concepts for early learners.
- Number symbol and value recognition
- Counting activities
- Interactive introductions for numbers 0-100
- Coin counting and math expressions
- 15 animated math songs
- Closed captioning for songs
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Explore numbers through the magic of curiosity and the power of motivation: the Starfall way! With this app, your child will learn to recognize number symbols and values by connecting them to real-world objects (such as 1 sun, 5 fingers, and 10 toes). Your child will then apply these concepts with counting activities and songs! Starfall Numbers includes interactive introductions for numbers 0-20, 25, 50, and 100. Counting activities introduce coins, math symbols, and simple expressions while building counting skills from 0 to 100 in entertaining and practical ways. Your child will also enjoy singing along with 15 Starfall math songs! Counting song favorites and calendar concepts are animated playfully, with a closed caption option to display song lyrics. Each activity and song reinforces simple language and basic vocabulary, making this app an excellent choice for pre-readers, emerging readers, and English language learners alike.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: First Words Japanese at 75% against Starfall Numbers's 25%. First Words Japanese also leads on rating (3.9 vs 3.3) and price ($2.99 vs $4.99). Starfall Numbers's advantage is update cadence (every 11 months vs every 25 months). On ratings volume, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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
First Words Japanese costs $2.99 and Starfall Numbers $4.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
First Words Japanese holds the better App Store score, 3.9 against 3.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 17 and 36 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 75% of First Words Japanese's written reviews are positive against 25% of Starfall Numbers's.
First Words Japanese ships an update every 25 months, Starfall Numbers every 11 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | First Words Japanese | Starfall Numbers |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $2.99 — better | $4.99 |
| Rating | 3.9 (17 ratings) — better | 3.3 (36 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 75.0% of reviews — better | 25.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 17 | 36 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 25 months | Every 11 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 12.2 | 12.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 31 MB | 78 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Learning Touch LLC | Starfall Education Foundation |
Customer experience
First Words Japanese
Starfall Numbers
In-app purchases
First Words Japanese
No in-app purchases
Starfall Numbers
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is First Words Japanese free?
Is Starfall Numbers free?
Which has better reviews, First Words Japanese or Starfall Numbers?
Do First Words Japanese or Starfall Numbers have ads?
Which is updated more often, First Words Japanese or Starfall Numbers?
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