Every "best Japanese app" list ranks apps as if they were competing for the same job. They aren't. Learning Japanese has four distinct jobs — kana, vocabulary, grammar, and input — and every app on this list is strong at one or two of them and weak at the rest.
So instead of a ranking, here's what each tool is actually for, and how to combine them.
The four jobs
- Kana — hiragana and katakana. A one-time, two-week job.
- Vocabulary — the largest and most continuous job. Thousands of words, spaced out over years.
- Grammar — a finite, structured job. Roughly a textbook's worth to get to N3.
- Input — reading and listening to real Japanese. Never ends, and it's what turns study into ability.
An app that claims to do all four usually does none of them well enough to be your main tool.
The tools, by job
Cotobara — vocabulary, which is the biggest of the four jobs and the one most setups under-serve. A curated, JLPT- and frequency-ordered corpus with level-appropriate example sentences, natural-sounding audio, and a recall-focused review engine — no deck to source, no scheduling algorithm to tune, nothing to maintain. The settings that exist are about you (your starting level, a rare-word filter, furigana on or off), not about the SRS. It's the tool we build, and it's first here because vocabulary is the job that decides whether the rest of your study turns into comprehension. It deliberately doesn't teach grammar, so pair it with one of the grammar tools below, and it can import your WaniKani progress so you never review what you've already burned. Free plan: 3 new words a day with unlimited reviews; Premium raises that to 100 and unlocks word breakdowns, notes and bookmarks, with a 30-day trial on every new account.
Duolingo — habit-building and absolute-beginner exposure. It's genuinely good at getting you to open an app daily, and the gamification is best in class. Its weaknesses are well documented: shallow grammar explanation, translation-heavy exercises, and sentences chosen for the exercise rather than for usefulness. Fine as a first two weeks or as a supplement; not a path to N3. (Longer comparison.)
WaniKani — kanji characters and readings, via radicals and mnemonics. Excellent at its job, and its job is narrower than people assume: it teaches characters and the vocabulary that illustrates them, not general-purpose vocabulary or grammar. Paid, opinionated, and slow by design. (Is it enough for the JLPT?)
Anki — a spaced-repetition engine, not a course. Infinitely flexible, free, and requires you to source or build decks and tune settings. Superb if you enjoy building your own system, and a common quiet failure point if you don't. (Which deck?)
Bunpro — grammar SRS. Fills the gap most tools leave: it drills grammar points in context and tracks them by JLPT level. Best used alongside a textbook rather than instead of one. (Comparison.)
renshuu — a broad all-in-one with a large community and a lot of features. Generous free tier; the breadth means you'll spend some time deciding what to use. (Comparison.)
Satori Reader / NHK Easy News — graded input. Once you have a few hundred words, this is where progress compounds. Not optional, and not something a flashcard app substitutes for.
Sensible combinations
Absolute beginner, free: our kana course (free on every account) → Tae Kim for grammar → a vocabulary SRS daily, which on Cotobara's free plan means 3 new words a day and unlimited reviews. Three tools, no cost, complete coverage.
Beginner who wants structure: Genki (grammar) + Cotobara (vocabulary) + NHK Easy once you pass ~600 words.
Kanji-focused: WaniKani (characters) + Cotobara (general vocabulary) — why they pair well — plus a grammar resource.
Tinkerer: Anki with a good deck + Bunpro + Yomitan for mining. Most control, most maintenance.
JLPT deadline: grammar resource for your level + vocabulary SRS daily + past papers. (Exam plan.)
The part that decides the outcome
The app matters much less than the sentence "did you open it today?" Every tool listed here works for someone; none work for someone who studies for two weeks and stops.
So choose on friction, not features. The best setup is the one where a bad day still produces fifteen minutes of study — which usually means fewer tools, less configuration, and a session you can finish on a phone while the kettle boils. Two apps you use daily beat six you rotate through and abandon.
If you want the shortest version: one grammar resource you finish, and Cotobara for the vocabulary every day. That covers three of the four jobs, costs nothing to start, and leaves only "read something real" to add once you have a few hundred words.
Start Cotobara for free — the vocabulary half of any setup, with nothing to configure.