Fluency Tool vs Okiru
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Fluency Tool
Practice Japanese speaking with a hands-free shadowing loop and AI-powered speech recognition. Build vocabulary with flashcards and grammar guides, and reinforce learning with vocabulary games. Designed for intermediate learners looking to improve their spoken fluency.
- Hands-free shadowing loop
- Speech recognition scoring
- SM-2 flashcards (Anki-compatible)
- JLPT grammar reference
- Vocabulary games
- Progress tracking dashboard
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Speak Japanese out loud, not just read it. Fluency Tool plays a native speaker saying a sentence, opens your microphone, records you saying it back, and shows you what you said and what you need to improve. Shadowing means repeating a native speaker right after you hear them. It trains pronunciation and rhythm, the part of Japanese that textbooks and flashcards leave out. HOW A SESSION WORKS A JLPT-graded sentence plays in a native voice. The microphone opens on its own, you say the sentence, and your recording plays back so you can hear the difference. Speech recognition scores the attempt, and sentences you miss come back later in the same session. This hands-free loop is called Echo Fluency. WHAT IS INSIDE Flashcards with spaced repetition Rate cards Again, Hard, Medium, or Easy. The SM-2 method sets the next interval from your rating and each card's ease factor. JLPT decks for all five levels are preloaded; long-press any kanji for on'yomi, kun'yomi, and meaning. JLPT Grammar Guide, N5 to N1 Every pattern in one reference, native audio on each example, a quiz on tap. Status tracks as Learning, Reviewing, or Mastered. Vocabulary games from your own decks Fever Pitch, kanji Hangman, matching, and crosswords, generated from the words you are actively studying. Dashboard Your daily goal, a 7- or 30-day activity chart, and a roadmap across all 25 sub-levels. WHO IT IS FOR Learners who can already read Japanese and want to start speaking it. JLPT candidates get speaking practice organized by the same levels as the exam, which tests reading and listening only. If you read Japanese but hesitate to say it, this is the missing half. Learning English instead? Choose English as your target language and practice speaking the same way. HOW IT STARTS Pick a JLPT level and sub-level (25 in total) in onboarding, then say your first sentence within a minute. Speaking, flashcards, grammar, and games all draw on that level's content, so progress in one shows up in the others. BEFORE YOU START You will want to have some understanding of hiragana and katakana; the app does not teach them. Echo Fluency and speech recognition need an internet connection. Flashcards, games, and crosswords work offline. Core features are free, with no subscription and no trial. One optional one-time in-app purchase removes banner ads.
Okiru
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Okiru is an alarm clock flashcard app built to make studying automatic. Set it for any moment, waking up, a study break, a reminder mid-afternoon, and the instant it rings, a flashcard session is one tap away. AN ALARM THAT ACTUALLY HOLDS YOU TO IT No digging through menus, no excuses. Whatever time you set, Okiru turns that moment into guaranteed practice, building the kind of consistency that's nearly impossible to fake your way through. PRACTICE ANYTIME, ALARM OR NOT Don't want to wait for an alarm? Jump into a practice session whenever you feel like it. The alarm is there for accountability, not a requirement. SMART REVIEW Spaced repetition shows the words you're about to forget, right before you forget them, so every session actually moves the needle. EVERY JLPT LEVEL, ORGANIZED N5 through N1 vocabulary, sorted by level, so you're always studying at the right difficulty for where you actually are. TRACK REAL PROGRESS See your streak build day by day, watch which words you've actually mastered, and spot the ones still giving you trouble before they slow you down. MAKE IT YOURS Add your own words and categories alongside the built-in vocabulary. STUDY ANYWHERE Your vocabulary and progress live on your device. There is no connection required to study. Set as many alarms as you want, whenever you want them. Okiru makes sure each one actually gets you studying, not just awake. Subscription Details: Okiru Pro is available as a monthly or yearly auto-renewing subscription. • Okiru Pro Monthly – $4.99/month (USD; price varies by region) • Okiru Pro Yearly – $39.99/year (USD; price varies by region) Payment will be charged to your Apple ID account at confirmation of purchase. Subscriptions automatically renew unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel anytime in your App Store account settings. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://www.playfuljapanese.com/privacy
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: Okiru at none against Fluency Tool's shown. On price, update cadence, 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
Both are free to download. Fluency Tool sells 2 one-off in-app purchases and Okiru sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Fluency Tool ships an update weekly, Okiru every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Fluency Tool | Okiru |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.0 (2 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 2 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Weekly | Every 3 days — better |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.4 | 15.1 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 74 MB | 74 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | MY SENPAI LLC | Langston Culpepper Hill |
In-app purchases
Fluency Tool
- Ad-Free Limited-Time Offer$11.00
- Remove In-App Native Ads$14.99
Okiru
- Okiru Pro Monthly7 Days trial$4.991 Month
- Okiru Pro Yearly7 Days trial$39.991 Year









