Comparison

KanjiBrush vs KotoVelluna

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

Head to head
About

KanjiBrush

Features
Read full description

Practice Japanese kanji by writing them. Trace with a guide, then write from memory and check stroke order, direction and shape. Start with 80 Grade 1 kanji free. Premium opens the remaining characters in the 1,257-kanji library. A FOCUSED FIRST ROUND Start with three characters. Continue with eight-character rounds as you build a writing routine. REVIEW YOUR RECALL Return to scheduled reviews that begin with a meaning prompt and a blank canvas. Guided tracing and unaided writing are recorded separately. Successful recall on later reviews builds your progress. YOUR OWN KANJI SETS Choose characters from your available content to follow a class, reading or personal study goal. Your sets, favorites and study history stay on your device. OFFLINE WRITING GUIDES Animated stroke-order guides and component breakdowns are bundled with the app. Use flashcards and quizzes to connect characters with meanings and readings. Hear Japanese readings using your device's text-to-speech voices. FREE & PREMIUM Grade 1 includes 80 free kanji. Optional monthly and annual Premium subscriptions unlock the rest of the library. Current regional pricing is shown before purchase. Payment is charged to your Apple account. Subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel in your App Store account settings. Restore Purchases is available in the app. No account required. No advertising or third-party learning analytics SDKs. Stroke and component reference data: KanjiVG, copyright Ulrich Apel and contributors, CC BY-SA 3.0. Source and license links are available in Progress. Privacy: https://kanjibrush-site.vercel.app/privacy/ Terms: https://kanjibrush-site.vercel.app/terms/ Apple Standard EULA: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

KotoVelluna

Features
Read full description

KotoVelluna is a playful vocabulary app for children from age 2. Look at pictures, listen to words, and connect them in a word-chain puzzle. The app supports learning Japanese, English, and Vietnamese. The interface and help are available in 36 languages: Japanese, English, Vietnamese, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Indonesian, Korean, Thai, Filipino, Hindi, Burmese, Malay, Brazilian Portuguese, French, German, Spanish, Nepali, Persian, Bengali, Urdu, Arabic, Polish, Swedish, Finnish, Lithuanian, Italian, Dutch, Turkish, Danish, Norwegian, Czech, Romanian, Sinhala, Tamil, Khmer and Mongolian. Learning content is available in three languages: Japanese, English and Vietnamese. β–  Learn with pictures and audio Tap a tile to see a picture and hear the word. Children can become familiar with words by looking and listening, even before they can read. β–  Play a word-chain puzzle Move neighboring tiles to connect the end of one word to the beginning of the next. Pictures and audio provide helpful clues while children play. β–  Choose settings for each child Listening levels and Japanese or English word-chain levels can be selected separately. Vietnamese word-chain play is not divided into levels. A letter-helper setting lets parents adjust the amount of support. β–  Make time to think in the age of AI As AI becomes part of everyday life, make time for children to think for themselves. Word-chain puzzles put your thinking to the test as you recall words and work out which ones connect. With pictures and audio as clues, children can ask, β€œWhich word comes next?” and enjoy that β€œI did it!” moment when the words fit together. Reduce the letter clues to enjoy the puzzle as a listening and memory game. It’s not just word play for childrenβ€”it’s a fun brain workout for adults, too. Why not put your heads together and enjoy some family puzzle time? The free version includes 15 listening words and 20 word-chain words in the base learning language. It is not a time-limited free trial. Premium is a paid monthly or yearly subscription that gives access to all words and levels in Japanese, English and Vietnamese. There are no ads. One-time purchases are not subscriptions. Each V1 learning purchase unlocks only that language’s words, levels and current V1 paid features, without an expiry date. Other learning languages are separate purchases. Choose among 36 display languages. This does not unlock learning content in other languages. Requires at least one V1 learning-language purchase. Switch with active Premium, or with a V1 learning-language purchase and the translation pack. Bug fixes and minor improvements may be provided. Maintenance, updates and support for new OS versions may end for older versions. Features added in V2 or later require a separate purchase. Buying V1 does not automatically cancel an active subscription. If you no longer need it, cancel or manage it separately in the App Store. Current prices are campaign prices. No end date or post-campaign prices have been decided. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://ray-app-lab.sakura.ne.jp/wordchain/privacy_policy.html#en

Screenshots

KanjiBrush4 screens
KotoVelluna4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: KotoVelluna at every 3 weeks against KanjiBrush's every 4 months. KotoVelluna also leads on iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.1). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

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

CostPrice Β· In-app purchases Β· Ads Β· Monetization

Both are free to download. KanjiBrush sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and KotoVelluna sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

KanjiBrush ships an update every 4 months, KotoVelluna every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences Β· 4 level
KanjiBrush versus KotoVelluna: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterKanjiBrushKotoVelluna
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 3 weeks β€” better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod β€” better
Requires iOS15.113.0 β€” better
Further details β€” not scored
Size34 MB163 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperGilad Ronenmasahiro ito

In-app purchases

2 purchases

KanjiBrush

Subscriptions2
  • Premium Monthly$4.991 Month
  • Premium Annual$29.991 Year
8 purchases

KotoVelluna

Subscriptions4
  • Monthly Premium$0.991 Month
  • Monthly Premium$1.991 Month
  • Yearly Premium$8.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Yearly Premium$14.991 Year
One-time4
  • V1 translation pack$2.99
  • Japanese β€” V1$9.99
  • English β€” V1$9.99
Show 1 more
  • Vietnamese β€” V1$9.99

Questions

Is KanjiBrush free?
KanjiBrush is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is KotoVelluna free?
KotoVelluna is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do KanjiBrush or KotoVelluna have ads?
Neither KanjiBrush nor KotoVelluna shows ads.
Which is updated more often, KanjiBrush or KotoVelluna?
KanjiBrush ships an update every 4 months, and KotoVelluna every 3 weeks. Most recently, KanjiBrush was updated on November 5, 2026 and KotoVelluna on October 31, 2026.

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