# Simple Furigana vs Japanese Ruby

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Simple Furigana at 59% against Japanese Ruby's 0%. Japanese Ruby's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 4) and iOS requirement (10.0 vs 17.6). On price, update cadence, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Simple Furigana sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Japanese Ruby asks for nothing beyond the download.

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Simple Furigana | Japanese Ruby |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.5 (271 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/simple-furigana/id924351286/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **271** | — |
| Positive reviews | **59.1% of reviews** | 0.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Every 4 months |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Free** |
| Size | 23 MB | 102 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.6 | **10.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [telethon k.k.](https://appshunter.io/developer/699508003) | [Microstone Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/791918315) |

## What reviewers say

### Simple Furigana

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/simple-furigana/id924351286)

Easily add ruby characters (furigana) to Japanese text. This app supports both hiragana and romaji annotations for kanji, and works with both vertical and horizontal layouts. Share or print your annotated text, or use the extension to add furigana directly within other apps like Safari.

**Highlights:** Add furigana to Japanese text, Supports hiragana and romaji, Vertical and horizontal layouts, Print or share annotated text, In-app extension for Safari and other apps, Offline annotation

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (4)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Ipadic Dictionary | Free | one-time |
| Unidic | Free | one-time |
| NAIST JDic | Free | one-time |
| Jumandic | Free | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Easy to use
- 🚀 Fast and efficient
- 💡 Helpful for learners
- ✅ Does its job well
- 💯 Very useful

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Furigana accuracy issues
- 🐛 App crashes frequently
- 🐛 Incorrect furigana
- 🐛 Doesn't recognize Kanji well
- 🐛 Not working after updates

**Reported bugs**

- Furigana is only 70% accurate
- Cannot copy text entirely
- Sometimes makes mistakes
- Does not recognize kanji words more than two when clicked or highlighted
- Only reads numbers, not all of them

**Requested features**

- Add UX for 1 tap and 2 taps for immediate furigana
- Add furigana for vertical documents
- Import photos for furigana generation
- Option to set language to Chinese
- Ability to select specific character ranges for manual pronunciation alteration


### Japanese Ruby

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/japanese-ruby/id1437026891)

This app automatically adds furigana (ruby characters) to Japanese text. It supports input via camera, photos, pasting, and handwriting, making it ideal for beginners learning Japanese. You can also export text with furigana to PDF via email.

**Highlights:** Add furigana to Japanese text, Input via camera, Input via photo library, Handwriting recognition for kanji, Export to PDF with furigana, Study with hiragana or English

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Simple Furigana free?

Simple Furigana is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Japanese Ruby free?

Japanese Ruby is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Do Simple Furigana or Japanese Ruby have ads?

Neither Simple Furigana nor Japanese Ruby shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Simple Furigana or Japanese Ruby?

Simple Furigana ships an update every 4 months, and Japanese Ruby every 4 months. Most recently, Simple Furigana was updated on October 26, 2026 and Japanese Ruby on October 24, 2026.

---

*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*