Comparison

Real Soroban vs Mentalator

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

Head to head
About

Real Soroban

Features
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Experience the art of Japanese calculation with the most realistic soroban (abacus) simulator. Real Soroban brings a traditional 13-rod soroban to your iPhone with stunning realism: - REALISTIC PHYSICS Tilt your device and watch beads respond to gravity, just like a real soroban. The gyroscope-powered physics make every interaction feel natural and satisfying. - AUTHENTIC SOUND Every bead click is crafted to sound like real wooden beads striking the reckoning bar. - BEAUTIFUL DESIGN Warm wood tones, diamond-shaped beads, and traditional dot markers create an authentic soroban experience. - DIGITAL DISPLAY A built-in calculator display shows the current value, perfect for learning and verification. - SIMPLE & INTUITIVE Tap or slide beads to move them. No complicated menus โ€” just a beautiful, functional soroban.

About

Mentalator

Features
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MOST calculation apps make you stop what you're doing, stare at the screen, and tap. Mentalator doesn't. Say your answer out loud and keep going โ€” while you cook, fold laundry, work out, or take a walk. It's the only mental math trainer that fits into a life that's already full, instead of demanding a screen-only moment of its own. You can also use Mentalator the traditional way: looking at the screen and tapping your answers. HANDS-FREE, START TO FINISH Turn on Hands-Free mode and the whole session runs by voice: questions are read aloud, you answer aloud, and Mentalator listens and moves on. No taps required from start to finish. TWO WAYS TO TRAIN โ€ข Quick Mode: a question and four options โ€” tap or say the answer, perfect for fast reps. โ€ข Chain Mode: a string of operations spoken one after another ("plus 7... times 2... OK") that you keep running in your head, then say the final result. This is where real mental math strength gets built โ€” the kind you can't fake by scanning multiple-choice options. BUILD A HABIT, NOT JUST A SESSION Set up daily practice Plans with a time and days of the week, and get a gentle reminder when it's time to train โ€” pick how many rounds of each mode, and let it run. TRACK REAL PROGRESS Your Profile shows response times by operation and by mode, accuracy over time, and a daily trend โ€” so you can see mental math actually getting faster, not just guess. MAKE IT YOURS โ€ข Addition, subtraction, multiplication, division โ€” choose which operations and how many digits. โ€ข Adjustable difficulty as you improve. โ€ข Voice available in English and Spanish. Whether you've got five minutes between tasks or want a daily ritual, Mentalator turns "dead time" into real practice โ€” hands-free, voice-first, and built to fit around your day instead of interrupting it.

Screenshots

Real Soroban4 screens
Mentalator4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Real Soroban at none against Mentalator's shown. Real Soroban also leads on iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). Mentalator's advantage is update cadence (every 5 days vs fortnightly). On price, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Real Soroban ships an update fortnightly, Mentalator every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences ยท 3 level
Real Soroban versus Mentalator: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterReal SorobanMentalator
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyFortnightlyEvery 5 days โ€” better
AdsNo โ€” betterYes
In-app purchasesNoNo
DevicesiPhone, iPod โ€” betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.0 โ€” better17.0
Further details โ€” not scored
Size0 MB14 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developersatoshi amasakiJuan Jose Subotich

In-app purchases

None

Real Soroban

No in-app purchases

None

Mentalator

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Real Soroban free?
Real Soroban is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Mentalator free?
Mentalator is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Real Soroban or Mentalator have ads?
Mentalator shows ads; Real Soroban does not.
Which is updated more often, Real Soroban or Mentalator?
Real Soroban ships an update fortnightly, and Mentalator every 5 days. Most recently, Real Soroban was updated on October 29, 2026 and Mentalator on October 31, 2026.

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