Comparison

Kanji Memory vs Sumigo

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

Head to head
About

Kanji Memory

Features
Read full description

Learning Japanese Kanji has never been this minimal and effective. Kanji Memory strips away the clutter and gives you a pure space for focus. Powered by an advanced Spaced Repetition System (SRS), the app predicts exactly when you are about to forget a Kanji and tests you on it, ensuring it stays in your long-term memory. WHY KANJI MEMORY? • 30 Kanji a Day: Avoid burnout. The app serves you exactly what you need to review daily, making steady progress achievable in just 15 minutes. • Full JLPT Coverage: Master over 2,000 Kanji required for the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) from N5 all the way up to N1. • Contextual Learning: Understand how to use each Kanji with provided Japanese vocabulary and real-life example sentences. • Native Text-to-Speech (TTS): Listen to the correct Japanese pronunciation of words and sentences instantly. • Smart Dictionary: Instantly search for any Kanji by its character, reading, or English/Turkish meaning. • Progress Tracking: Watch your knowledge grow with elegant progress bars for each JLPT level and stay motivated. Ready to unlock your memory? Start your Japanese journey with Kanji Memory today!

About

Sumigo

Read full description

Study Japanese your way with an offline dictionary, adaptive flashcards, focused learning paths, quick games, and classic stories—no account or ads required. Japanese dictionaries are good at telling you what a word means. They are not always as good at explaining when to use it. Sumigo helps with both. Alongside definitions, many entries include practical usage notes covering nuance, formality, similar words, and common mistakes. When you find a word you want to remember, save it and study it with the built-in spaced-repetition system. DICTIONARY • More than 200,000 Japanese–English dictionary entries • Search using kanji, kana, romaji, or English • Draw unfamiliar kanji directly in the search field • View furigana and complete conjugation tables for verbs and adjectives • Learn how words are actually used through detailed usage notes and examples FLASHCARDS AND LEARNING PATHS Review saved vocabulary with adaptive flashcards, or start with First 100 words in five small groups. Study kanji, grammar, and kana in separate paths. Choose what to practice, track progress, and set the length of each session. GAMES Practice your selected words, kanji, and kana in quick games. Catch the matching word, find the kanji missing from a Japanese word, or test your kana recognition. Build combos and see your score at the end of each session. KANJI • Explore more than 13,000 kanji with readings, meanings, and JLPT levels • Follow animated stroke-order diagrams • Practice writing kanji with a guide and optional writing grid • Study complete groups by school grade or JLPT level GRAMMAR Browse more than 800 grammar points from N5 to N1. Each entry includes its meaning, formation rules, explanations, and example sentences. EXAMPLE SENTENCES Read tens of thousands of Japanese sentences with furigana and English translations. Tap any word in a sentence to open its dictionary entry. JAPANESE STORIES Read classic folk tales such as Momotaro and Urashima Taro. Follow the Japanese text with line-by-line audio, word lookup, and English translations. MADE FOR FOCUSED STUDY Choose focused reviews when you want a quiet study session or optional games when you want a change of pace. Core study content works offline, and handwriting recognition works offline after a one-time model download. No account or ads are required.

Screenshots

Kanji Memory4 screens
Sumigo4 screens

Verdict

The call

Kanji Memory and Sumigo are too close to call on the numbers: across 6 compared parameters — price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.

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

Kanji Memory ships an update weekly, Sumigo every 2 weeks. Both last shipped on November 5, 2026.

ScorecardNo meaningful differences
Kanji Memory versus Sumigo: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterKanji MemorySumigo
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 2 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS17.617.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size2 MB757 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperEngin BalikciLion Knoche

In-app purchases

None

Kanji Memory

No in-app purchases

None

Sumigo

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Kanji Memory free?
Kanji Memory is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Sumigo free?
Sumigo is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Kanji Memory or Sumigo have ads?
Neither Kanji Memory nor Sumigo shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Kanji Memory or Sumigo?
Kanji Memory ships an update weekly, and Sumigo every 2 weeks. Most recently, Kanji Memory was updated on November 5, 2026 and Sumigo on November 5, 2026.

Other comparisons