Comparison

Simple Soroban (Abacus) vs Architecture Bites

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

Head to head
About

Simple Soroban (Abacus)

Learn and practice Japanese abacus calculations with interactive tutorials and multiple modes. Customize your abacus experience and improve mental math skills with this completely free educational tool.

Highlights
  • Interactive tutorials for arithmetic
  • Freeform, Relax, Challenge, and Anzan modes
  • Configurable 7 or 9-column soroban
  • Multiple color themes
  • No ads or in-app purchases
  • Mental calculation training
Features
Read full description

Simple Soroban is a complete Japanese abacus in your pocket. Whether you are discovering the soroban for the first time or training for serious mental calculation, everything is included and everything is free. It's multi-touch and configurable, so it feels like a real soroban. LEARN Step-by-step interactive tutorials teach you addition, subtraction, multiplication and division from scratch. No prior knowledge needed: you will learn how to read the beads, manipulate numbers, use complements, and carry across columns at your own pace. PRACTICE Freeform mode: a realistic soroban, for homework, checkout sums or just playing with numbers Relax mode: solve calculations at your own pace and earn badges as you progress Challenge mode: race the clock and push your calculation speed to the next level Anzan mode: hides the beads so you manipulate the soroban in your mind, a technique used by mental calculation champions in Japan MAKE IT YOURS Choose between a 7-column or 9-column soroban Multiple color themes Plenty of settings to adapt the abacus to how you practice FREE, REALLY No ads. No in-app purchases. No accounts. No data collection. Simple Soroban is completely free, with nothing to unlock and nothing tracking you. Already trusted by millions of learners on Android, now available on iPhone. Whether you are a student learning arithmetic, a teacher looking for a classroom tool, or an adult keeping your mind sharp, Simple Soroban gives you the full path from your first bead flick to calculating entirely in your head.

About

Architecture Bites

Features
Read full description

Architecture Bites brings great buildings to life, and does something no book and no other app does: collects humanity's greatest achievements in architecture, making them visible in precious, artistic three dimensional renders. Travel the world: there's a palace that floats on a lake in Rajasthan, and a hotel in Singapore that lays a ship across the tops of three towers - the world is full of architectural wonders that represent some of humanity’s greatest achievements. Every building also comes with its real story: what it is, the history behind it, the achievement of it. Architecture Bites is the classical grand tour - once reserved for the elite few - reimagined for the modern age. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Simple Soroban (Abacus)4 screens
Architecture Bites4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Simple Soroban (Abacus) at none against Architecture Bites's 2. Architecture Bites's advantage is iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.3). On price, rating, ratings volume and ads 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

Both are free to download. Architecture Bites sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Simple Soroban (Abacus) asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Simple Soroban (Abacus) against 5.0 for Architecture Bites. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3 and 2 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Simple Soroban (Abacus) versus Architecture Bites: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSimple Soroban (Abacus)Architecture Bites
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (3 ratings)5.0 (2 ratings)
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings3 — better2
Update frequency—Every 5 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS18.315.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size3 MB35 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBruno Takahashi Carvalhas de OliveiraKrishiv Singhal

Customer experience

Simple Soroban (Abacus)

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Architecture Bites

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Simple Soroban (Abacus)

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Architecture Bites

Subscriptions2
  • Pro Monthly$3.991 Month
  • Pro Annual$34.991 Year

Questions

Is Simple Soroban (Abacus) free?
Simple Soroban (Abacus) is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Architecture Bites free?
Architecture Bites is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Simple Soroban (Abacus) or Architecture Bites?
Simple Soroban (Abacus) and Architecture Bites are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 3 and 2 ratings respectively.
Do Simple Soroban (Abacus) or Architecture Bites have ads?
Neither Simple Soroban (Abacus) nor Architecture Bites shows ads.

Other comparisons