Cakeword vs Kinako
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Cakeword
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Cakeword — snap the world, learn the words. Point your camera at anything around you, tap, and Cakeword turns it into a cute sticker with its name in the language you're learning and your own — spoken out loud. Learning vocabulary becomes a treasure hunt through your own home, garden, and neighborhood. How it works 1. Snap any object — a banana, a teddy, a key, a car. 2. Cakeword recognizes it and cuts it into a collectible sticker. 3. See the word in two languages and hear it spoken. 4. Collect it into your Word Dex and watch your collection grow. Why you'll love it • Learn real words from the real world — the things you actually touch every day • Hear correct pronunciation on every catch • A Pokédex-style "Word Dex" of everyday objects to complete, across Food, Animals, Home, Toys, Nature, Clothes, School & Vehicles • Earn badges, build daily streaks, level up, and hunt for rare "shiny" catches • A "Catch of the day" to keep the habit going • Catch the same thing more than once — every photo is saved • Tap to correct any word, and it re-speaks instantly • Playful, friendly design with no ads and no clutter Learn in 9 languages English, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, Korean, Japanese, and Chinese — pick what you're learning and your native language. Private by design Cakeword runs on your device. Recognition and translation happen locally — no account, and your photos are never uploaded. Your collection syncs privately across your devices with iCloud. Cakeword Pro Unlock every language and all the practice games to turn your collected words into play. A simple one-time-style upgrade — no subscriptions to babysit. Snap something. Learn its word. Catch them all. Cakeword adhere's to Apple Standard End User License Agreement: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Kinako
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Kinako is a private, local-first flashcard app with no ads, no account, and no tracking. Build unlimited decks, import existing material, and study with a quiet two-button spaced-repetition system. STUDY WITHOUT LIMITS • Unlimited decks and cards • Create, import, share, and lossless full-library export • FSRS spaced repetition in both directions • Flip, typed-answer, and multiple-choice study modes • Progress and statistics • Private iCloud sync through your own Apple account • Per-card read-aloud for every deck • Daily reminder, Home Screen widget, share extension, Apple Watch app, and Siri shortcuts LISTEN HANDS-FREE Listen Mode reads a deck aloud—term, pause, definition—with playback controls on the Lock Screen and supported headphones. The 40 Words Worth Knowing starter deck and the first-run demonstration are always available for trying Listen Mode. Kinako Complete expands Listen Mode to every deck. ON-DEVICE SPEECH Natural English and Japanese speech models ship inside the app and work offline from first launch. Speech content and model execution stay on your device. Other supported languages use voices managed by iOS. Kinako never uploads cards, recordings, transcripts, or study audio. YOUR LIBRARY STAYS YOURS • No Kinako account or login • Private iCloud sync • Full export whenever you want • Recently Deleted keeps deletions recoverable for 30 days • Curated packs are read-only, but your notes and study progress remain yours KINAKO COMPLETE Kinako Complete is one non-consumable purchase. It unlocks: • Listen Mode on every deck • Scan to Card after ten successful scans • Spoken answers • Sticking Points • Medical Terminology • SAT® Vocabulary Travel Japanese remains available to own and study. Everything needed to study your own material—including unlimited decks and cards, every study mode, progress, iCloud sync, per-card read-aloud, export, reminders, widgets, sharing, and the Watch app—remains available without Complete. There is no subscription, time-based trial, account, advertising SDK, analytics SDK, or developer-operated backend. Passive Listen Mode never changes scheduling progress. SAT® is a trademark registered by the College Board, which is not affiliated with, and does not endorse, Kinako.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Kinako at none against Cakeword's 2. Kinako also leads on iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.4). On price, update cadence, ads 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
Both are free to download. Cakeword sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Kinako asks for nothing beyond the download.
Cakeword ships an update every 4 days, Kinako every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Cakeword | Kinako |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Every 4 days — better | Every 5 days |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — better |
| Requires iOS | 26.4 | 17.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 4 MB | 209 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Worathiti Manosroi | Phu Ho |
In-app purchases
Cakeword
- Object AI Pro Monthly$1.991 Month
- ObjectAI Pro Yearly$14.991 Year
Kinako
No in-app purchases









