# Duolingo vs Japanese Dictionary + ©

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Japanese Dictionary + © at 100% against Duolingo's 65%. Japanese Dictionary + © also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.7) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). Duolingo's advantage is update cadence (every 5 days vs every 2 months) and ratings volume (5.5M vs 2). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Duolingo sells 16 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month and Japanese Dictionary + © sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Japanese Dictionary + © holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Duolingo has 5.5M ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 65% of Duolingo's written reviews are positive against 100% of Japanese Dictionary + ©'s.

Duolingo ships an update every 5 days, Japanese Dictionary + © every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 22, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Duolingo | Japanese Dictionary + © |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.7 (5.5M ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/duolingo-learn-languages/id570060128/reviews) | **[5.0 (2 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/japanese-dictionary-plus/id1298593570/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **5.5M** | 2 |
| Positive reviews | 64.7% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| Update frequency | **Every 5 days** | Every 2 months |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | **#1** | — |
| Size | 490 MB | 77 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | **15.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Duolingo, Inc](https://appshunter.io/developer/570060151) | [Ascendo Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/320494153) |

## What reviewers say

### Duolingo

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/duolingo-learn-languages/id570060128)

**Currently charting:** #1 Top Free · Education, #1 Top Grossing · Education, #28 Top Grossing, #85 Top Free (US App Store)

Learn languages, math, music, and chess through fun, bite-sized lessons. Build vocabulary, grammar, and real-world skills with a science-based methodology. Track progress and stay motivated with a global community.

**Highlights:** Bite-sized language lessons, Speaking, reading, listening, writing practice, Math skills development, Music reading and playing, Chess strategy and gameplay, Progress tracking and rewards

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (16)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Super Duolingo | $9.99 | per month |
| Super Duolingo | $12.99 | per month |
| Super Duolingo | $12.99 | per month |
| Super Duolingo | $59.99 | per year |
| Super Duolingo | $79.99 | per year |
| Super Duolingo | $83.99 | per year |
| Super Duolingo | $83.99 | per year |
| Super Duolingo | $95.99 | per year |
| Super Duolingo | $119.99 | per year |
| Super Duolingo | $119.99 | per year |
| Chest of Gems | $0.99 | one-time |
| Barrel of Gems (1200) | $4.99 | one-time |
| Chest of Gems (1200) | $4.99 | one-time |
| Cart of Gems (3000) | $9.99 | one-time |
| Barrel of Gems (3000) | $9.99 | one-time |
| Cart of Gems (6500) | $19.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🤩 Fun and entertaining learning experience
- 🎉 Motivating streak and league features
- 🎨 Cute and engaging animations
- 📚 Effective for learning vocabulary and basics
- 🤖 Useful AI-powered features like voice lessons

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🤖 Issues with voice recognition and pronunciation feedback
- 🤑 Aggressive monetization tactics and paywall for key features
- 🤯 Frustrating heart/health system that penalizes mistakes
- 🤔 Lack of grammar explanations and focus on just memorizing phrases
- 🤷‍♀️ Inconsistent app experience across platforms

**Reported bugs**

- Freezing or crashing during lessons
- Incorrect translations or answers marked wrong
- Inconsistent behavior of certain features like leagues

**Requested features**

- Add more languages, especially less common ones
- Improve grammar lessons and explanations
- Allow more flexibility in navigating the course content
- Provide better feedback and corrections for mistakes
- Sync progress and features consistently across app and web


### Japanese Dictionary + ©

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/japanese-dictionary-plus/id1298593570)

This comprehensive Japanese-English dictionary app offers offline access to millions of entries, a powerful verb conjugator, and a phrasebook. It includes vocabulary quizzes, flashcards, and pronunciation guides, making it an ideal language learning companion.

**Highlights:** Offline Japanese-English dictionary with millions of entries, Comprehensive verb conjugator, Phrasebook with categorized phrases, Vocabulary quizzes and flashcards, Offline pronunciation in Japanese & English, Apple Watch support with voice lookups

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

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Premium Features | $9.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Duolingo free?

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

### Is Japanese Dictionary + © free?

Japanese Dictionary + © is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Duolingo or Japanese Dictionary + ©?

Japanese Dictionary + © is rated higher. Duolingo averages 4.7 out of 5 from 5.5M ratings, while Japanese Dictionary + © averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.

### Do Duolingo or Japanese Dictionary + © have ads?

Both Duolingo and Japanese Dictionary + © show ads.

### Which is updated more often, Duolingo or Japanese Dictionary + ©?

Duolingo ships an update every 5 days, and Japanese Dictionary + © every 2 months. Most recently, Duolingo was updated on November 1, 2026 and Japanese Dictionary + © on October 22, 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.*