Migaku
Immersion (video, audio, reading): click words in YouTube and Netflix subtitles or on any web page to look them up, then turn them into flashcards with the sentence, audio and a screenshot.
Prices checked 16 Oct 2026 · How we check
Is Migaku worth it?
Yes, if you learn from shows, YouTube and reading in Japanese, Chinese, Korean or one of its eight other languages, and want every word you look up turned into a flashcard with its sentence and audio, without building the cards yourself.
What it costs. A year costs $96 ($8 a month); month to month is $10; lifetime access is $240 once. Lifetime costs the same as 2.5 years of the yearly plan.
What's free. No free tier; a 10-day free trial with no card. A full refund if you tell Migaku within 14 days of buying, by email to its support address.
Skip it if you want lessons that get you speaking, or a free app to keep: Migaku is a reading and listening tool with flashcards, has no speaking practice, and is free only for a 10-day trial.
What learners rate it. 4.4 out of 5 from 372 ratings in Apple's US App Store and 4.1 from 788 on Google Play, checked 16 Oct 2026.
$96 a year $8 a month, billed yearly · Standard
In our comparison: strongest on price and offline use, weakest on speaking practice.
- Annual plan
- $96 a year ($8/mo)
- Monthly plan
- $10
- Lifetime plan
- $240 once, all 11 languages and every feature
- Free tier
- Free trial
None - Languages
- 11
- Speech recognition
- —
- Live tutoring
- —
- Offline mode
- Yes
- Placement test
- —
- CEFR levels
- —
- Refund or trial
- A 10-day free trial with no card. A full refund if you tell Migaku within 14 days of buying, by email to its support address.
- Platforms
- iOS, Android, Web
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How a Migaku lesson works
- What you do
- Watch a YouTube video or a Netflix show, or read a web page, and click any word in the subtitles or text for its meaning, audio and an AI explanation of it in that sentence; one more click makes it a flashcard with the sentence, audio and a screenshot, which comes back for review on a spaced-repetition schedule. Beginners in Japanese, Mandarin and Korean start with Migaku's own flashcard course, one new word per card.
- What comes back
- Automatic: exercises are marked right or wrong. No person checks your work.
- Not included
- A live teacher or stated CEFR levels.
How a lesson works in an immersion app
Plans and prices
Every consumer plan on Migaku's own pricing page or app-store listing, in US dollars unless marked. Per month is the plan price divided by its term. Each price is what the seller was charging on the day we checked it. When a plan was on sale, its regular price is shown under the sale price; a crossed-out figure that is only a comparison, such as a year at the monthly rate, is in the plan's note.
| Plan | Billing | Price | Per month | Covers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard, yearlyStandardMigaku adjusts its prices by country; this is its standard price in US dollars. In the iPhone app, Apple's US App Store listing sells Migaku Standard for $136.99 a year or $14 a month. Read by hand: Migaku's terms forbid automated reading of its site, so the weekly price check does not read it. | Annual | $96 | $8/mo | all 11 languages and every feature |
| Standard, monthlyStandardMigaku adjusts its prices by country; this is its standard price in US dollars. An Early Access plan, $15 a month, adds new features before they are released. In the iPhone app, Apple's US App Store listing sells Migaku Standard for $14 a month or $136.99 a year. Read by hand: Migaku's terms forbid automated reading of its site, so the weekly price check does not read it. | Monthly | $10 | $10/mo | all 11 languages and every feature |
| LifetimeOn other visits the same day, Migaku's page showed Lifetime at $499, beside an Early Access plan; check the price at checkout. In the iPhone app, Apple's US App Store listing sells Lifetime for $289, $359 or $719. Read by hand: Migaku's terms forbid automated reading of its site, so the weekly price check does not read it. | Lifetime | $240 | one-time | all 11 languages and every feature |
What will Migaku cost you?
Total billed over 12 months
$24.00 less on annual billingOne yearly payment of $96.00.
What each plan covers. Monthly: all 11 languages and every feature. Yearly: all 11 languages and every feature.
How lifetime and yearly plans compare across apps
Before subscribing, compare trial, cancellation and refund terms, including how purchases through an app store differ.
How to cancel Migaku, and how refunds work
What Migaku says about itself
| Feature | What Migaku says |
|---|---|
| CEFR levels | — |
| What it is | Immersion (video, audio, reading). A browser extension and a phone app that make subtitles and text clickable: click a word on YouTube, Netflix, Disney+ or a web page for its meaning, audio, pictures and an AI explanation in context, then turn it into a flashcard with its sentence, audio and a screenshot in one click. The cards come back on a spaced-repetition schedule. Migaku tracks the words you know and scores how much of a video or page you would understand. Beginners in Japanese, Mandarin and Korean get flashcard courses that teach the ~1,500 most common words and a few hundred basic grammar points, one new word per card. |
| Languages offered | 11: Cantonese, Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, Vietnamese |
| Free tier | None |
| Platforms | iOS, Android, Web |
| Offline mode | Yes |
| Speech recognition | — |
| Live tutoring | — |
| Placement test | — |
| Refund or trial | A 10-day free trial with no card. A full refund if you tell Migaku within 14 days of buying, by email to its support address. |
| Company | Migaku Inc., United States |
How Migaku compares
Migaku is strongest on price and offline use, weakest on speaking practice. Each criterion is scored out of 5 from what each app says about itself and from independent reviews, to compare apps that do the same job; it is not a review of the app. How we score.
| Feature | Score (of 5) | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Teaching depth | 2 | Click words in YouTube and Netflix subtitles or on any web page to look them up, then turn them into flashcards with the sentence, audio and a screenshot |
| Speaking practice | 1 | — |
| Language coverage | 3 | 11 languages |
| Free tier | 1 | A free trial rather than a free tier |
| Price per month | 4 | $96 a year $8 a month, billed yearly · Standard |
| Trial and refund | 3 | A 10-day free trial |
| Offline use | 4 | Works offline |
| Staying power and bugs | – | Not available |
Languages you can learn on Migaku
11 languages as listed by Migaku.
How far its courses go
- Migaku Academy (Japanese): From zero to the point where you can start on real films, shows and texts: about 6 months at 10 cards a day; the ~1,500 most common words and a few hundred grammar points, every sentence with native audio.
- Migaku Academy (Mandarin): From zero to the point where you can start on real films, shows and texts: about 6 months at 10 cards a day; the ~1,500 most common words and a few hundred grammar points, every sentence with native audio. Chinese pronunciation taught first, then the words and grammar.
- Migaku Academy (Korean): From zero to the point where you can start on real films, shows and texts: about 6 months at 10 cards a day; the ~1,500 most common words and a few hundred grammar points, every sentence with native audio. Hangul, taught first in its Fundamentals course.
Cantonese, Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, Vietnamese
Compare Migaku
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- Migaku against any other app, side by side
- What Migaku will cost you for the months you study
- All 99 apps in one table
References
- Migaku: plans and prices (checked 16 Oct 2026)
- Apple App Store: Migaku listing (checked 16 Oct 2026)
- Migaku: home page (checked 16 Oct 2026)
- Migaku: downloads
- Migaku FAQ: account and billing (checked 16 Oct 2026)
- Migaku: terms of service