Comparison

Immersion Reader vs Kanji Reader

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

Head to head
About

Immersion Reader

Easily look up Japanese words while reading ebooks with a single tap. Import custom dictionaries and export saved vocabulary for spaced repetition learning. Offers customizable themes for a comfortable reading experience.

Highlights
  • One-tap word lookup in Japanese ebooks
  • Import Yomichan and frequency dictionaries
  • Export vocabulary to Anki
  • Light and dark mode themes
  • Lookup neighboring words
Features
Read full description

Look up Japanese words as you read! Features - One tap to look up words in Japanese Ebooks. Tabs to help you look up neighboring words - Import Yomichan dictionaries and frequency dictionaries - Export saved vocabulary to Anki via Anki Dojo - Light mode, dark mode, and other themes for the dictionary

About

Kanji Reader

Features
Read full description

Point your camera at Japanese text and read it right away. Kanji Reader is a furigana app for people learning Japanese: scan a textbook page, a manga panel, a sign or a letter, and every kanji reading appears in hiragana above the line. WHAT IT DOES • Scan and read — take a photo or pick one from your photo library. OCR pulls out the Japanese text and AI writes furigana over the kanji, like 調(しら)べます. • Understand the meaning — tap Explain and AI tells you what the passage actually says, in your own language. Grammar, context and background, not just the readings. • Hear it — tap play and listen to the Japanese out loud while you follow the text. • Scan several pages at once — do a whole chapter instead of one photo at a time. • Copy the text — one tap puts the extracted Japanese on your clipboard. STUDY WITH BOOKS Anything you scan can be bound into a Book. Pages keep their order, get a table of contents, and turn like a real book so you can read them again tomorrow. Export a Book as a PDF and take it to your tablet or e-reader. PRACTICE PROBLEMS Choose chapters from a Book and AI writes short written-answer questions from that exact text. Read the question, think, then turn the page for the answer and the explanation. You practise on the Japanese you actually care about instead of someone else's word list. GOOD FOR • Learning Japanese from a textbook or workbook you already own • Reading manga, novels, games and song lyrics in the original • Living in Japan: mail, forms, notices, menus, station signs • Japanese work documents, slides and handouts • Anyone who speaks some Japanese but gets stuck on kanji Free every day: 1 scan and 1 explanation. Premium removes the daily limits, lifts the caps on books and practice problems, and unlocks PDF export. Terms of Service: https://shofj.com/en/apps/furigana-ai/terms-of-service Privacy Policy: https://shofj.com/en/apps/furigana-ai/privacy-policy

Screenshots

Immersion Reader4 screens
Kanji Reader4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Immersion Reader at none against Kanji Reader's shown. Immersion Reader also leads on update cadence (every 6 days vs every 3 months) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 16.4). On price, in-app purchases and device support 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

Both are free to download. Immersion Reader sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Kanji Reader sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $3.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Immersion Reader ships an update every 6 days, Kanji Reader every 3 months. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Immersion Reader versus Kanji Reader: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterImmersion ReaderKanji Reader
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (27 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews61.5% of reviews—
Number of ratings27 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 6 days — betterEvery 3 months
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS13.0 — better16.4
Further details — not scored
Size80 MB69 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMathew ChanSho Fujimoto

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Immersion Reader

One-time1
  • Immersion Reader Premium$4.99
1 purchases

Kanji Reader

Subscriptions1
  • Premium Plan$3.991 Month

Questions

Is Immersion Reader free?
Immersion Reader is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Kanji Reader free?
Kanji Reader is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Immersion Reader or Kanji Reader have ads?
Kanji Reader shows ads; Immersion Reader does not.
Which is updated more often, Immersion Reader or Kanji Reader?
Immersion Reader ships an update every 6 days, and Kanji Reader every 3 months. Most recently, Immersion Reader was updated on October 24, 2026 and Kanji Reader on October 24, 2026.

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