Apps for Japanese
Best app to learn Japanese: every app that teaches it, compared
Japanese splits the app market in a way European languages do not: an app either teaches the writing system or it teaches you to speak while you learn to read elsewhere. The table holds every app whose vendor lists Japanese; the verdicts start from that split.
21 of the 24 apps in the dataset list Japanese; 16 of them have a free tier. Sorted by price per month at annual billing; newest read 2026-09-06.
Links to apps on this page are plain, untracked links to the vendor. This site is funded by affiliate links: if an app's programme is joined, its link will earn a commission at no cost to you and will be listed on the affiliate disclosure page. Commercial relationships never affect order or inclusion; tables sort by price. Affiliate disclosure and how the data is collected.
Every app that teaches Japanese
| Type | Lifetime | Free tier | Speech | Tutor | Offline | CEFR stated | Refund or trial | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| uTalkPhrase and vocabulary games with native-speaker audio in many languages | Vocabulary and flashcards | $2.50annual total not printed | $4.99 | none | Starter Words, a free 26-word pack in every language, plus an online demo at demo.utalk.com | No | No | Yes | not stated | 28-day money-back guarantee |
| TandemLanguage exchange with native speakers; the paid tier adds translation and visibility | Language exchange | $3.33$39.99 a year | not published | none | Free account with many features; Tandem Pro unlocks the rest | No | No | Not stated | not stated | Google Play purchases refundable within 14 days of a 1-month subscription or 30 days of a 3-month or 12-month subscription; iOS refunds requested from iTunes within 14 days |
| MondlyShort daily lessons across many languages, with a chatbot | Course app | $4$47.99 a year | $9.99 | none | Free version with Daily Lessons, the Hello category and a chatbot lesson. | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | not stated | 7-day free trial |
| MemriseShort video clips of native speakers plus spaced-repetition review | Vocabulary and flashcards | $5.17$61.99 a year | $24.99 | $329.99 | Limited free version of the app; the paid plan unlocks the rest. | Yes | Not stated | Not stated | not stated | not stated |
| DropsFive-minute visual vocabulary sessions | Vocabulary and flashcards | $5.83$69.99 a year | $12.99 | $159.99 | Free access capped at 5 minutes of play every 10 hours, with topics unlocked one at a time through gameplay | Not stated | Not stated | Yes | not stated | 7-day free trial on the Yearly plan; affiliate terms reference a 14-day refund period |
| BusuuCourse app with corrections from native speakers and CEFR-labelled levels | Course app | $6.08$72.99 a year | not published | none | Free account with limited features; paid tiers remove ads and add review tools. | Not stated | Not stated | Yes | not stated | not stated |
| ClozemasterFill-in-the-blank sentences for vocabulary in context | Vocabulary and flashcards | $6.67$79.99 a year | $12.99 | none | Free account with unlimited play; Pro unlocks advanced features | Not stated | Not stated | Yes | not stated | 30-day money back guarantee on the Yearly plan; no refunds on Monthly plans |
| HelloTalkChat and call with native speakers; the paid tier lifts limits | Language exchange | $6.67$79.99 a year | $12.99 | none | Free account with ads and daily limits (for example ten translations a day); occasional randomly offered 3-day VIP trials | Yes | No | Yes | not stated | Occasional randomly offered 3-day free VIP trial; refunds handled by Apple or Google for in-app purchases |
| LingvistAdaptive vocabulary drilling in sentence context | Vocabulary and flashcards | $6.67$79.99 a year | $9.99 | none | Free level placement before subscribing, and a 14-day free trial on the annual plan; the monthly plan has no trial | Yes | No | Not stated | not stated | 14-day free trial on the annual plan; cancel before it ends and you are not charged |
| SpeakAI-led speaking practice with feedback on what you said | AI conversation practice | $7$83.99 a year | $17.99 | none | 7-day free trial; no permanently free tier is published | Yes | No | Not stated | not stated | 7-day free trial; refunds for App Store and Google Play purchases go through Apple or Google, and website purchases through Speak support |
| LingQRead and listen to real content, save words, review them | Immersion (video, reading) | $10$119.99 a year | $14.99 | none | Free account capped at 20 saved words and phrases, 5 lessons created from imported content, and 1 audio playlist | Not stated | Not stated | Yes | not stated | not stated |
| Mango LanguagesConversation-based courses, often free through a library card | Course app | $10annual total not printed | $13.99 | none | Free trial on both personal plans; the first lesson of any language is free; 10 endangered and indigenous language courses are free; free full access through participating public libraries | No | No | Yes | not stated | Free trial on Individual and Family plans; cancel before it ends and you are not charged |
| LingCourse app with a focus on Asian and less-taught languages | Course app | $12.50$149.99 a year | $16.99 | none | Free tier with limited lessons and limited dialogue practice, with ads | Yes | Ling Live Online Tutor | Not stated | not stated | 7-day free trial on the 12-month plan; 30-day money-back refund for yearly and lifetime subscriptions bought via Ling web (app-store purchases follow Apple's or Google's refund policy) |
| Rosetta StoneImmersion-style lessons without translation, with speech scoring | Course app | $13.25$159 a year | $19.99 | none | Free sample lessons from the site (TRY A LESSON); no ongoing free plan is described on the pricing page. | Yes | Tutoring | Yes | not stated | 14-day money-back guarantee |
| PimsleurHalf-hour audio lessons built on spoken recall, made for commutes | Audio course | $13.75$164.95 a year | $19.95 | $150 | No | Yes | Not stated | Yes | not stated | 7-day free trial on subscriptions; 30 Day money back guarantee on purchases |
| LingopieTV and film with interactive subtitles and flashcards | Immersion (video, reading) | $13.98$167.80 a year | not published | $763 | No | Not stated | Lingopie Lessons | Not stated | not stated | 7-day free trial; yearly subscription is charged after the trial and cannot be refunded |
| GlossikaSentence-pattern audio drills with spaced repetition | Audio course | $16.58annual total not printed | $19.99 | none | 7-day full access with no credit card, plus a permanent Freemium tier covering nine minoritized languages | No | No | Yes | not stated | 7-day free trial with no credit card; monthly payments are non-refundable, annual plans refundable pro rata within 60 days of purchase |
| FluentUReal-world videos with interactive captions and quizzes | Immersion (video, reading) | $20$239.99 a year | $29.99 | none | No | Yes | Group classes (select languages) | Yes | not stated | 14-day free trial with no payment up front, plus a 20-day money-back guarantee |
| DuolingoGamified free lessons; paid tiers remove ads and add practice features | Course app | not published | not published | none | Full free tier with ads and limits; paid tiers remove ads and limits. | Not stated | No | Not stated | A1 to B2 | 1 week free trial on Super |
| italkiMarketplace of professional and community tutors, priced per lesson | Tutor marketplace | not publishedper lesson | sold differently | none | No | Not stated | italki (the whole product is 1-on-1 lessons; Group Class also sold) | Not stated | not stated | Discounted trial lesson with a 100% Satisfaction Guarantee: up to two credit refunds on trial lessons if the teacher did not show up or did not meet expectations, requested within 48 hours |
| PreplyMarketplace of private tutors, booked and paid per lesson | Tutor marketplace | $3 to $50per lesson | sold differently | none | No | Not stated | Preply (the whole product is 1-to-1 tutoring) | Not stated | not stated | Paid trial lesson; up to 2 free trial replacements per account if the trial did not meet expectations or the tutor did not attend |
Which one, for whom
You want to speak before you can read
Pimsleur
Pimsleur is audio first and needs no kana at all, which for Japanese is the fastest route to a conversation. It states speech recognition, offline mode, a 7-day trial and a 30-day money-back guarantee; the Premium monthly plan for one language was $19.95 on the read date and the All Access annual plan $164.95 ($13.75 a month) for all of its languages.
You want a course built for Asian languages
Ling, or Busuu's Japanese course
Ling is a Thai company whose catalogue leans toward Asian and less-taught languages; it states speech recognition, a tutoring product (Ling Live) and a 30-day money-back refund on yearly plans bought on the web, at $16.99 a month or $12.50 a month on its 12-month plan (a promotional $89.99 a year was showing). Busuu lists Japanese with its CEFR-labelled course at $6.08 a month on its 12-month Premium plan.
You want to read manga and follow anime without subtitles
LingQ, Lingopie and a vocabulary app
LingQ lets you import Japanese text and audio and save the words you do not know, at $10 a month on its 12-month plan. Lingopie lists Japanese among its 15 languages of subtitled TV at $13.98 a month on its yearly plan. Run Memrise or Clozemaster beside either for the vocabulary.
You want a Japanese person to correct you
italki or Preply, or HelloTalk for free
italki prices each teacher separately and states a placement test; Preply publishes a per-lesson price filter. HelloTalk is an exchange app with a large Japanese-speaking membership and a free account with daily limits; its VIP yearly plan was $79.99 on Apple's US store, or $6.67 a month.
Questions people ask
What is the best app to learn Japanese?
To speak first, Pimsleur; for a course built around Asian languages, Ling, or Busuu's CEFR-labelled course; for reading and anime, LingQ or Lingopie with a vocabulary app; for a Japanese speaker to correct you, italki, Preply or HelloTalk. The table shows every app that lists Japanese with its published price.
Which Japanese apps teach kanji?
No vendor in this dataset states kanji coverage on the pages read, so this site does not claim it for any app. Audio-first apps such as Pimsleur need no writing system; reading apps such as LingQ work with whatever text you import.