Comparison

First Words Japanese vs Starfall Numbers

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • Learn hiragana and katakana
  • 100 toddler-friendly words
  • Animal, vehicle, color, shape categories
  • User interface for young children
  • Customizable game options
  • Interactive learning experience
Features
Read full description

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!

About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read full description

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

First Words Japanese4 screens
Starfall Numbers4 screens

Verdict

The call

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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

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.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

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.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

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.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
First Words Japanese versus Starfall Numbers: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFirst Words JapaneseStarfall Numbers
Price$2.99 — better$4.99
Rating3.9 (17 ratings) — better3.3 (36 ratings)
Positive reviews75.0% of reviews — better25.0% of reviews
Number of ratings1736 — better
Update frequencyEvery 25 monthsEvery 11 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.212.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size31 MB78 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLearning Touch LLCStarfall Education Foundation

Customer experience

First Words Japanese

All ratings17 ratings
Positive70.6%
Neutral0.0%
Negative29.4%
Written reviews8 reviews
Positive75.0%
Neutral12.5%
Negative12.5%

Starfall Numbers

All ratings36 ratings
Positive52.8%
Neutral8.3%
Negative38.9%
Written reviews16 reviews
Positive25.0%
Neutral6.3%
Negative68.8%

In-app purchases

None

First Words Japanese

No in-app purchases

None

Starfall Numbers

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is First Words Japanese free?
First Words Japanese costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Starfall Numbers free?
Starfall Numbers costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, First Words Japanese or Starfall Numbers?
First Words Japanese is rated higher. First Words Japanese averages 3.9 out of 5 from 17 ratings, while Starfall Numbers averages 3.3 from 36 ratings.
Do First Words Japanese or Starfall Numbers have ads?
Neither First Words Japanese nor Starfall Numbers shows ads.
Which is updated more often, First Words Japanese or Starfall Numbers?
First Words Japanese ships an update every 25 months, and Starfall Numbers every 11 months. Most recently, First Words Japanese was updated on November 1, 2026 and Starfall Numbers on November 3, 2026.

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