Best Apps to Learn Japanese in 2026: 9 Apps Compared

Duolingo is where most people begin because it costs nothing and takes five minutes a day. The App Store listing says every course is free, names Japanese among them, and describes bite-sized lessons that practice speaking, reading, listening and writing.

Its optional Super Duolingo subscription removes ads and adds perks such as unlimited energy and monthly streak repair, with a 14-day free trial offered. We could not read a price, so it is marked See website.

The iOS app has a 4.7 rating from more than 5.5 million ratings. The honest limit is depth: if you want to understand why a particle is used, or learn kanji beyond the basics, add a grammar or kanji tool alongside it.

LingoDeer was built with Asian languages in mind, and Japanese is one of its main courses. The App Store listing says lessons start from the alphabet and aim for a conversational level, with grammar tips, studio-recorded audio from native speakers, flashcards, quizzes and offline learning.

It lists a Character Drill for writing Japanese kanji and Chinese characters, and a Fluent feature for real-life conversation practice that is available for Japanese among a few other courses.

The listing says you need a subscription for full access, starting at $14.99 per month. The site shows a promotion on a 3-year plan, but did not list regular prices on the page we read, so confirm on the website. We could not confirm what, if anything, is free beyond a trial.

Pimsleur teaches through listening and speaking rather than flashcards. Its site describes about 30-minute lessons built on the Pimsleur Method and spaced repetition, with reading practice, flashcards, a speaking roleplay feature, pronunciation feedback called Voice Coach, and daily challenges.

The site says single-language courses start at $150, sold as All Access or a single-language Premium subscription, and that all purchases come with a 30-day money-back guarantee. The App Store listing offers a complimentary first lesson in 51 languages, and says some features depend on the language.

It suits learners who commute or want to improve pronunciation. It will not teach you to read, so pair it with a kana and kanji app. The iOS app has a 4.7 rating from about 30,000 ratings.

WaniKani is a specialist: it teaches the characters. The homepage says it covers radicals, over 2,000 hand-picked kanji and over 6,000 common vocabulary words, taught through mnemonics with spaced repetition so reviews arrive at the right time.

According to WaniKani's help page, premium costs $9 per month, $89 per year or $299 one time, in US dollars. The homepage invites you to try it free, and the help page says you can try the free levels before upgrading. We could not confirm how many levels are free from official pages.

Learners often pair WaniKani with a grammar tool. If reading is your main goal, this is the most focused option here.

Bunpro is a grammar trainer. The App Store listing describes more than 900 grammar points with hand-crafted explanations, over 100,000 example sentences with audio, vocabulary decks drawn from anime, manga and textbooks, 25 JLPT practice tests with offline support and smart spaced repetition reviews.

The pricing page lists Free at $0 with limited access, such as viewing grammar and vocabulary pages, Premium at $5 per month with SRS reviews and decks, and Lifetime at $150 one time. New accounts get a 30-day free trial of Premium with no credit card, and the account then drops to Free.

It is low priced for what it offers. The catch is that it assumes you want to study grammar deliberately, so beginners who need alphabet basics may want a general course first.

renshuu covers more ground than most single-purpose apps. Its site describes a Japanese-English dictionary plus vocabulary, kanji and grammar study, with quizzes that include multiple choice, typed answers and listening exercises, and pre-made lessons for textbooks such as Genki, Tobira and Minna no Nihongo.

The App Store listing claims the free version is unlimited with no timer before you have to pay. It also lists over 12,000 kanji, 160,000 example sentences and more than 800 grammar expressions. The company describes itself as two people who answer questions directly.

We could not find a paid plan price. The app shows a 4.9 rating, though from about 1,400 ratings. It is a good choice if you want one free tool to explore before spending anything.

Bunpo covers several languages, and its Japanese course starts at hiragana and katakana and moves through grammar for every JLPT level. The App Store listing says you speak from day one using speech recognition, with plain-English grammar explanations and a personalized review plan.

The site says you can try starter lessons for free, and that a Bunpo Platinum plan includes all lessons in all 10 languages and every feature, including a video call option. It shows a prices page but we could not read amounts, so we marked the price See website.

The company claims over 5 million learners, which is its own figure. The iOS app has a 4.9 rating from more than 18,000 ratings.

Memrise is built around videos of real people speaking. The App Store listing says it offers Japanese among many languages, with lessons in vocabulary, listening and speaking, hundreds of real-life scenarios and role-play with AI Buddies.

The listing compares plans clearly. Pro includes all vocabulary lessons and videos and unlimited speaking practice, and removes ads, while the free plan has limited vocabulary lessons, limited videos and conversations, and ads. We could not find prices on pages we could read.

The iOS app has a 4.8 rating from more than 217,000 ratings. Memrise is better for listening and phrases than for systematic kanji or grammar study.

Drops turns vocabulary practice into short, visual games. The App Store listing says Japanese is one of its languages, with custom illustrations for each word, a curated vocabulary list of more than 3,000 words and phrases, and practice reading characters in scripts such as Japanese.

Premium comes with a 7-day free trial, and the listing says to open the app to see membership options. Because the price is not listed, we marked it See website.

The App Store rating is 4.7 from more than 71,000 ratings. Drops works well as a daily warm-up for vocabulary, not as a complete course.