Comparison

Kiku Mentor vs Inkday

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

Head to head
About

Kiku Mentor

Features
Read full description

Short Japanese listening passages from N5 to N1, read the way Japanese is spoken. PARTICLES PRONOUNCED CORRECTLY In Japanese, は is read "wa", を is read "o" and へ is read "e" when they are particles. Many listening apps read them the way they are spelled. Kiku Mentor reads them correctly, so your ear learns the real sounds. HOW IT WORKS 1. Pick your level. 2. Listen to a passage of 15 seconds to 2 minutes. 3. Follow the transcript. Tap any word to replay the audio from that word. 4. Slow the audio to 0.5x or speed it up to 1.5x. 5. Answer the comprehension questions. 6. Save new words to your review deck. WHAT YOU GET - 114 passages across N5, N4, N3, N2 and N1 - Daily conversations, announcements, news and two-person dialogues - Full transcripts with word-by-word breakdowns - Natural-sounding AI narration - Comprehension quizzes after every passage - Spaced repetition cards for the words you meet FREE N5 passages free for 7 days, then 3 a day. KIKU MENTOR PRO All levels from N5 to N1, unlimited listening, the full vocabulary review deck, and offline playback. - Annual: $39.99 a year, with a 7-day free trial - Monthly: $5.99 a month Payment is charged to your Apple ID when you confirm the purchase. The subscription renews automatically unless you cancel at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Your account is charged for renewal within 24 hours before the period ends. Manage or cancel it in your App Store account settings. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://archmob.com/privacy

About

Inkday

Features
Read full description

Inkday helps you remember Chinese characters: you review cards a little every day until each word sticks. Your words come from what you read. Select a word in Safari or a book and tap Share. Inkday fills in the pinyin and keeps the sentence as a note on the card, so you remember where you met the word. FLASHCARDS The character is on the front. Pinyin, meaning and an example are on the back. Answer Again, Hard, Good or Easy, and Inkday decides when to show the card next: in a minute or in a few days. If you skip a session, your cards wait for you. WHAT TO LEARN TODAY The Today screen shows how many cards are due, how many days in a row you've studied, and what's coming up tomorrow. ALL 214 KANGXI RADICALS The radicals come ready in themed decks: People and the Body, Actions and Movement, Nature and the Elements. Start right away, no need to make your own cards. Once you know the radicals, new characters are easier to break down. DICTIONARY Search by character, pinyin or meaning. Turn any word into a card with one tap. WRITING ON IPAD You get the meaning and pinyin, and you write the character from memory with Apple Pencil. Inkday checks each stroke for position and order. Stuck? Tap Hint. COPYBOOKS ON IPAD Build a copybook from a single character or a whole sentence. First trace the model, then write over the outline, then from memory, in a 田字格 grid like a school exercise book. IPHONE AND IPAD Decks, progress and copybooks sync through iCloud. Save a word on your iPhone during your commute and practise writing it on your iPad in the evening.

Screenshots

Kiku Mentor4 screens
Inkday4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Kiku Mentor at daily against Inkday's every 9 days. Kiku Mentor also leads on iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.2). On price, ads, 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Kiku Mentor ships an update daily, Inkday every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 6 level
Kiku Mentor versus Inkday: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterKiku MentorInkday
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequencyDaily — betterEvery 9 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad — better
Requires iOS17.0 — better26.2
Further details — not scored
Size61 MB33 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperArchmob Pte LtdYury Bogdanov

In-app purchases

None

Kiku Mentor

No in-app purchases

None

Inkday

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Kiku Mentor free?
Kiku Mentor is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Inkday free?
Inkday is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Kiku Mentor or Inkday have ads?
Neither Kiku Mentor nor Inkday shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Kiku Mentor or Inkday?
Kiku Mentor ships an update daily, and Inkday every 9 days. Most recently, Kiku Mentor was updated on October 31, 2026 and Inkday on October 29, 2026.

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