# N4 vs Sumiyomi

The clearest difference is price: Sumiyomi at Free against N4's $9.99. Sumiyomi also leads on update cadence (every 5 days vs every 6 months) and iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.0). N4's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2). On ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Sumiyomi is free to download; N4 costs $9.99 up front. Sumiyomi sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. N4 asks for nothing beyond the download.

N4 ships an update every 6 months, Sumiyomi every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | N4 | Sumiyomi |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $9.99 | **Free** |
| Positive reviews | 0.0% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 6 months | **Every 5 days** |
| Monetization | Paid | — |
| Size | 19 MB | 21 MB |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | **17.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Yamase & Touwa Japanese Insititute](https://appshunter.io/developer/442115304) | [昶 黄](https://appshunter.io/developer/1882273731) |

## What reviewers say

### N4

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/n4/id495496641)

Master JLPT N4 grammar with this app. It organizes sentence patterns with clear explanations in Chinese and provides practice questions. Easily mark difficult words for review to improve your exam performance.

**Highlights:** JLPT N4 grammar organization, Detailed sentence pattern explanations, Chinese language explanations, Word marking for review, Over 300 practice questions

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


### Sumiyomi

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sumiyomi-japanese-reader/id6761248040)

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

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Premium Monthly | $1.99 | per month |
| Premium Yearly | $14.99 | per year |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is N4 free?

N4 costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Sumiyomi free?

Sumiyomi is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Do N4 or Sumiyomi have ads?

Neither N4 nor Sumiyomi shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, N4 or Sumiyomi?

N4 ships an update every 6 months, and Sumiyomi every 5 days. Most recently, N4 was updated on October 7, 2026 and Sumiyomi on October 28, 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.*