Comparison

Math Drills Mental Arithmetic vs Nihongo Chat

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

Head to head
About

Math Drills Mental Arithmetic

Features
Read full description

Build faster mental math skills with quick daily drills. Math Drills covers addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division with grade-friendly practice sets—no account required. Review mistakes in the wrong book, track practice history, unlock achievements, and create custom problem sets for homework or exam prep. Clear stats help students and parents see progress over time. Offline-first by design: your practice data stays on your device, with no login, no tracking, and no ads.

About

Nihongo Chat

Master Japanese vocabulary and grammar for all JLPT levels with a spaced repetition system. Build custom decks from a comprehensive dictionary and track your learning progress with daily check-ins and review calendars. Enjoy a privacy-focused, offline experience.

Highlights
  • Spaced Repetition System (SRS)
  • JLPT Level Selection (N5-N1)
  • Built-in Japanese Dictionary
  • Custom Deck Building
  • Daily Reminders & Streaks
  • Offline Functionality
  • Multiple-Choice Quiz Mode
Features
Read full description

Study Japanese vocabulary and grammar at any JLPT level — N5 through N1 — with spaced repetition that brings each word back just before you'd forget it. FREE TO START, AND FREE WHERE IT COUNTS 61 cards are yours immediately — 10 to 15 at every level — with no account, no time limit and no ads. The full 214,000-entry Japanese dictionary is free too: look anything up, any time, without hitting a paywall. PICK YOUR LEVEL Choose N5, N4, N3, N2 or N1 and study only that level. No advanced grammar thrown at a beginner, no basics slowing down an advanced learner. Switch whenever you're ready. 11,008 CARDS ACROSS FIVE LEVELS N1 4,262 · N2 2,593 · N3 1,954 · N4 1,202 · N5 997. Of those, 1,621 are hand-written cards carrying a usage note and two example sentences each — the N1 vocabulary and every level's grammar patterns. The rest are dictionary-verified word entries, 753 of which now carry an example sentence as well. STUDY THE WAY MEMORY ACTUALLY WORKS Grade each card Again, Hard, Good or Easy and the scheduler sets your next review. Every button shows you exactly when that card comes back, before you press it. Swipe right to move on, left to go back and re-read a card you have already graded. Set your session length right on the study screen, so ten free minutes is ten minutes of work instead of a wall of four hundred reviews. KNOW WHERE YOU ACTUALLY STAND The Stats tab reads your own review history and names the one thing most worth fixing — showing up, clearing your backlog, how much is sticking, or the balance between vocabulary and grammar — with the numbers behind it, and a projected finish date for your level at your current pace. No invented percentiles. No comparison against users who don't exist. BUILD YOUR OWN DECK Look up any word in the bundled dictionary and add it as a card. Edit any card in the app, including the built-in ones, and revert to the original whenever you like without losing your review history. Adding and editing one card at a time is always free. Filter your library down to just the cards you added, or just the ones you starred, and study only those. QUIZ, FILL IN THE BLANK, AND LISTEN Multiple-choice quizzes test recall under time pressure. Fill in the blank takes one word out of a real sentence and asks you to put it back. Tap any Japanese word or sentence to hear it read aloud, or let each card read itself as it arrives. ON IPHONE AND IPAD One app, both devices. On iPad the type and the layout are built for the larger screen rather than stretched to fit, the library grows from two columns to five, and it works in landscape. BACK UP FOR FREE Export your progress and your own cards at any time, at no cost. Your work is yours. ONE OPTIONAL UNLOCK A single one-time purchase opens the whole library — every card at every level — plus bulk import of your own word lists from CSV. Not a subscription. Nothing expires and nothing recurs. PRIVACY Everything runs on your device. No account, no login, no analytics, nothing transmitted anywhere. Dictionary data derived from JMdict, a project of the Electronic Dictionary Research and Development Group, used under their licence. Nihongo Chat is an independent study tool, not affiliated with or endorsed by the Japan Foundation or Japan Educational Exchanges and Services, administrators of the JLPT.

Screenshots

Math Drills Mental Arithmetic4 screens
Nihongo Chat4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Nihongo Chat at Free against Math Drills Mental Arithmetic's $1.99. Math Drills Mental Arithmetic's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 17.0). On ads, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Nihongo Chat is free to download; Math Drills Mental Arithmetic costs $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Scorecard2 real differences · 7 level
Math Drills Mental Arithmetic versus Nihongo Chat: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMath Drills Mental ArithmeticNihongo Chat
Price$1.99Free — better
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequency—Daily
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
Monetization—Paid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS13.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size25 MB32 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperXiamen City Fanyou Network Technology Co., Ltd.Tak Yan

In-app purchases

None

Math Drills Mental Arithmetic

No in-app purchases

None

Nihongo Chat

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Math Drills Mental Arithmetic free?
Math Drills Mental Arithmetic costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Nihongo Chat free?
Nihongo Chat is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Math Drills Mental Arithmetic or Nihongo Chat have ads?
Neither Math Drills Mental Arithmetic nor Nihongo Chat shows ads.

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