Is Duolingo enough to learn Japanese?

Duolingo’s Japanese course now teaches content up to B2, for free. It does not state how many kanji it teaches and has no JLPT mapping. Add WaniKani for kanji and Bunpro for grammar by JLPT level.

Can I learn Japanese with Babbel?

No. Babbel teaches 14 languages, and Japanese is not one of them. Busuu, Memrise, Lingvist and Tandem are European apps with Japanese courses or partners.

Which Japanese app is cheapest?

Busuu, Duolingo and Anki cost nothing on the free plan. Bunpro costs $5 a month on the web, and its lifetime plan costs $150 once. AnkiMobile on iPhone costs $24.99 once.

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Best app to learn Japanese 9 Japanese apps compared by goal

For a free Japanese course, pick Busuu: it has separate hiragana, katakana and kanji courses, and the main course goes up to B2. Pick WaniKani for kanji, Bunpro for grammar by JLPT level and LingoDeer for a structured beginner course up to JLPT N3. Duolingo is free up to B2, Anki suits learners who build their own decks, and Tandem connects you with Japanese speakers.

See the list

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Short answer

BusuuFree Japanese course with kana and kanji
WaniKaniReading kanji, 2,000 of them
BunproGrammar sorted by JLPT level
LingoDeerStructured beginner course up to N3
DuolingoA free daily habit up to B2
AnkiYour own kanji and vocabulary decks

+3 more in the table

9 Japanese apps at a glance

Name	Best for	Price	Free plan	Rating
Busuu	Free Japanese course with kana and kanji	Free; Premium €57.99/yr, Premium Plus €69.90/yr	Yes: the complete Japanese course and community corrections, with an ad before each lesson	4.7 on the App Store (101.1K)
WaniKani	Reading kanji, 2,000 of them	$9/mo, $89/yr or $299 lifetime	Yes: levels 1 to 3, about 100 kanji and 200 words	—
Bunpro	Grammar sorted by JLPT level	$5/mo on the web, yearly 12 months for the price of 10, Lifetime $150; App Store $6.49/mo, $64.99/yr	Partly: grammar and vocabulary pages and reading passages; 30-day Premium trial without a card	—
LingoDeer	Structured beginner course up to N3	$14.99/mo, $95.99/yr or $159.99 lifetime (US App Store, all languages)	Partly: the app is free to download, and full access to courses needs a subscription	—
Duolingo	A free daily habit up to B2	Free; Super from $83.99/yr in the US App Store	Yes: the complete Japanese course with ads and limited energy	—
Anki	Your own kanji and vocabulary decks	Free on computers and Android; AnkiMobile $24.99 once (US App Store)	Yes: the computer app, AnkiDroid on Android and AnkiWeb sync cost nothing	—
Memrise	Japanese words from native-speaker videos	Free; Pro €69.99/yr, US $61.99/yr	Partly: limited lessons and videos, one speaking session a day, with ads	4.8 on the App Store (217.2K)
Lingvist	Typing practice in kana and kanji	€9.99/mo or €79.99/yr; US App Store $9.99 and $79.99	No, 14-day trial on the yearly plan	4.6 on the App Store (3.7K)
Tandem	Talking with Japanese speakers for free	Free; Pro $69.99/yr (US App Store)	Yes: partner search, chats, voice notes and corrections, with ads	4.6 on the App Store (38.3K)

Busuu
🇬🇧 London, United Kingdom · founded 2008
Free Japanese course with kana and kanji

Busuu’s Complete Japanese course goes up to B2. Separate Hiragana and Katakana courses teach the two syllabaries, and a Kanji course teaches reading and writing kanji. Native Japanese speakers in the community correct your written and spoken exercises.
Pros
- Hiragana, katakana, kanji and manga courses next to the main course
- A 5-minute placement test for Japanese
- Feedback from Japanese speakers for free
Cons
- Busuu certificates for Japanese stop at B1, while the course reaches B2
- AI Conversations do not cover Japanese
Price
Free; Premium €57.99/yr, Premium Plus €69.90/yr

Free plan
Yes: the complete Japanese course and community corrections, with an ad before each lesson

Rating
4.7 on the App Store (101.1K)

Busuu profile: prices, reviews, history Busuu vs Duolingo Babbel vs Busuu busuu.com
WaniKani
🇺🇸 United States
Reading kanji, 2,000 of them

WaniKani is a kanji app by Tofugu, a US company. It teaches 2,000 kanji and 6,000 vocabulary words in 60 levels, from radicals to kanji to words, with mnemonics and spaced repetition. Tofugu says the full path takes just over a year.
Pros
- Free levels cover about 55% of the kanji for JLPT N5, by WaniKani’s count
- Bunpro can match its furigana to your WaniKani level
Cons
- No grammar course
- You need hiragana in the first days and katakana after a couple of levels, and WaniKani does not teach them
- Web app only; mobile apps come from third-party developers
Price
$9/mo, $89/yr or $299 lifetime

Free plan
Yes: levels 1 to 3, about 100 kanji and 200 words

wanikani.com
Bunpro
🇯🇵 Japan
Grammar sorted by JLPT level

Bunpro is a Japanese grammar app from Osaka. It explains 900+ grammar points from JLPT N5 to N1, each with example sentences and native audio, and spaced repetition reviews them. It also has vocabulary decks, 120+ graded reading passages and 25 JLPT practice tests.
Pros
- Grammar points for all five JLPT levels
- 25 JLPT practice tests that work offline
- Links grammar to textbook pages
Cons
- SRS reviews need Premium after the trial
- Prices in the App Store are higher than on the web
Price
$5/mo on the web, yearly 12 months for the price of 10, Lifetime $150; App Store $6.49/mo, $64.99/yr

Free plan
Partly: grammar and vocabulary pages and reading passages; 30-day Premium trial without a card

bunpro.jp
LingoDeer
🇸🇬 Singapore
Structured beginner course up to N3

LingoDeer is an app for Asian languages with an office in Singapore. Its Japanese course starts with the kana and teaches grammar in 5-minute lessons with tips and native audio. LingoDeer says its two course levels cover A1 to B1, and its blog says the courses match JLPT N5 to N3.
Pros
- Character Drill to practise writing kanji
- Mini stories with captions after the lessons
- Lessons work offline
Cons
- Stops at an intermediate level, by LingoDeer’s own support page
- LingoDeer does not state how many kanji the course teaches
Price
$14.99/mo, $95.99/yr or $159.99 lifetime (US App Store, all languages)

Free plan
Partly: the app is free to download, and full access to courses needs a subscription

lingodeer.com
Duolingo
🇺🇸 United States
A free daily habit up to B2

Duolingo is a US app with a free Japanese course in short game-like lessons. Exercises show hiragana and katakana from the start, and kanji come later. Since April 2026 the course teaches content up to B2.
Pros
- The whole Japanese course is free
- A Characters tab with kana charts and practice lessons
Cons
- Duolingo does not state how many kanji the course teaches
- No JLPT mapping and no human teachers
Price
Free; Super from $83.99/yr in the US App Store

Free plan
Yes: the complete Japanese course with ads and limited energy

duolingo.com
Anki
🇺🇸 United States
Your own kanji and vocabulary decks

Anki is an open-source flashcard program for computers and phones, run by the US company AnkiHub since February 2026. You build Japanese decks with audio and images or import shared ones, and you control the review schedule. Anki has no course of its own.
Pros
- Handles decks of 100,000+ cards
- Cards can hold audio, images and video
Cons
- No lessons, grammar or kana course
- You make or find the decks yourself
Price
Free on computers and Android; AnkiMobile $24.99 once (US App Store)

Free plan
Yes: the computer app, AnkiDroid on Android and AnkiWeb sync cost nothing

apps.ankiweb.net
Memrise
🇬🇧 London, United Kingdom · founded 2010
Japanese words from native-speaker videos

Memrise’s Japanese course has 800+ lessons, 5,000+ words and 600+ videos of native speakers. Words appear in kanji with furigana above them, and spaced review brings them back. MemBot, an AI partner, runs 75+ Japanese conversations.
Pros
- Native speakers say every Japanese word on video
- A separate course in romaji for learners who are not reading kana yet
Cons
- No JLPT levels and no certificates
- Focus on words and phrases, less on grammar
Price
Free; Pro €69.99/yr, US $61.99/yr

Free plan
Partly: limited lessons and videos, one speaking session a day, with ads

Rating
4.8 on the App Store (217.2K)

Memrise profile: prices, reviews, history Memrise vs Duolingo memrise.com
Lingvist
🇪🇪 Tallinn, Estonia · founded 2013
Typing practice in kana and kanji

Lingvist teaches the most frequent Japanese words first, on cards with a gap in a real sentence. You type the answer in hiragana, katakana or kanji, and every sentence has a grammar tip. The company comes from Tallinn, Estonia.
Pros
- Trains typing Japanese on a keyboard
- Custom Decks turn any Japanese text into a course
- No ads
Cons
- No free plan
- Lingvist does not state the level or JLPT mapping of its Japanese course
Price
€9.99/mo or €79.99/yr; US App Store $9.99 and $79.99

Free plan
No, 14-day trial on the yearly plan

Rating
4.6 on the App Store (3.7K)

Lingvist profile: prices, reviews, history lingvist.com
Tandem
🇩🇪 Berlin, Germany · founded 2015
Talking with Japanese speakers for free

Tandem pairs you with a Japanese speaker who wants to learn your language. You chat, send voice notes and correct each other’s messages. The company comes from Berlin.
Pros
- Real conversations with native speakers
- Corrections and translation inside the chat
Cons
- New members need Pro for audio and video calls
- No course, no kana or kanji lessons
Price
Free; Pro $69.99/yr (US App Store)

Free plan
Yes: partner search, chats, voice notes and corrections, with ads

Rating
4.6 on the App Store (38.3K)

Tandem profile: prices, reviews, history Tandem vs HelloTalk tandem.net

How to choose a Japanese app, by goal

To start from zero, learn the kana first. Busuu has separate Hiragana and Katakana courses, Duolingo shows both from the first lesson and has a Characters tab, and LingoDeer starts its course with the kana. Bunpro has a kana section too.

For a full course, Busuu and Duolingo reach B2 for free, and LingoDeer covers A1 to B1, or JLPT N5 to N3 by its own count. For kanji, WaniKani teaches 2,000 in 60 levels, and Anki fits learners who build their own decks.

For grammar, Bunpro sorts 900+ grammar points by JLPT level from N5 to N1. For vocabulary, Memrise plays words in native-speaker videos, and Lingvist trains typing in kana and kanji. For speaking, Tandem connects you with Japanese speakers.

Kana, kanji and JLPT

Japanese uses three scripts together: hiragana, katakana and kanji. Hiragana and katakana have one character for each syllable, and kanji carry meaning. Most apps teach the kana in the first weeks. WaniKani expects you to know hiragana before its kanji lessons start.

The Japanese-Language Proficiency Test has five levels, from N5, basic Japanese, to N1, Japanese in a variety of circumstances. It runs twice a year, in 2026 on 5 July and 6 December, and some test sites abroad hold only one session. The test has no speaking or writing section, and the certificate never expires.

The JLPT does not publish official vocabulary or kanji lists. App figures such as “55% of N5 kanji” come from the app makers’ own lists. Bunpro and LingoDeer map their content to JLPT levels; Busuu and Duolingo use CEFR levels instead.

How we picked

Most apps built only for Japanese come from outside Europe. WaniKani and Anki are US products, Bunpro comes from Osaka and LingoDeer has its office in Singapore. Duolingo, from the US, has one of the few free Japanese courses that reach B2. We added these five because a Japanese list without them would mislead.

Four apps come from companies founded in Europe: Busuu, Memrise, Lingvist and Tandem. Chegg (US) now owns Busuu, and Memrise Inc. is registered in the US. For each app we checked on official pages and the US App Store in October 2026 what it teaches in Japanese: kana, kanji, grammar, CEFR or JLPT levels, and the price. For catalog apps we used the profiles in this map.

We left out Babbel, which has no Japanese course. Mondly lists Japanese, but its official pages give no level, kana or kanji details for it. Renshuu has a free unlimited plan, but we did not find its Pro price on an official page.

Best app to learn Japanese: FAQ

Busuu opens its complete Japanese course up to B2 for free, with an ad before each lesson, plus Hiragana, Katakana and Kanji courses. Duolingo’s Japanese course is free up to B2 with ads. Anki is free on computers and Android.

WaniKani teaches 2,000 kanji and 6,000 words in 60 levels with mnemonics. Levels 1 to 3 are free, then it costs $9 a month, $89 a year or $299 once. Busuu has a free Kanji course, and Anki works with your own kanji decks.

Bunpro sorts 900+ grammar points by JLPT level from N5 to N1 and includes 25 JLPT practice tests. LingoDeer says its course matches N5 to N3. The JLPT itself runs at official test sites twice a year.

Yes, most Japanese courses expect them early. WaniKani asks for hiragana in the first days and katakana after a couple of levels. Busuu has separate kana courses, and Duolingo shows kana from the first lesson.

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Best app to learn Japanese 9 Japanese apps compared by goal

9 Japanese apps at a glance

Busuu

Pros

Cons

WaniKani

Pros

Cons

Bunpro

Pros

Cons

LingoDeer

Pros

Cons

Duolingo

Pros

Cons

Anki

Pros

Cons

Memrise

Pros

Cons

Lingvist

Pros

Cons

Tandem

Pros

Cons

How to choose a Japanese app, by goal

Kana, kanji and JLPT

How we picked

More on the EdTech map

Comparisons

Other lists

Categories

Best app to learn Japanese: FAQ

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Best app to learn Japanese 9 Japanese apps compared by goal

9 Japanese apps at a glance

Busuu

Pros

Cons

WaniKani

Pros

Cons

Bunpro

Pros

Cons

LingoDeer

Pros

Cons

Duolingo

Pros

Cons

Anki

Pros

Cons

Memrise

Pros

Cons

Lingvist

Pros

Cons

Tandem

Pros

Cons

How to choose a Japanese app, by goal

Kana, kanji and JLPT

How we picked

More on the EdTech map

Comparisons

Other lists

Categories

Best app to learn Japanese: FAQ

What is the best free app to learn Japanese?

Which app is best for learning kanji?

Which app helps with the JLPT?

Should I learn hiragana and katakana first?

Is Duolingo enough to learn Japanese?

Can I learn Japanese with Babbel?

Which Japanese app is cheapest?

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