Nihongo Flow vs Duolingo for Japanese
Duolingo is the app most people start with. Nihongo Flow is built for the step after: sounding like a person in real conversations. Here is how they compare, and when Duolingo is the better pick.
Written by the Nihongo Flow team. We make one of these apps, so read this with that in mind. We give the other apps their wins too and link every source. Facts checked on 2026-11-07. Prices change and differ by country. If something here is out of date, tell us on Discord and we fix it. A dash (—) means the product's own pages don't list it.
At a glance
| Nihongo Flow | Duolingo | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free plan · Premium €7.99 a month or €89.99 a year · 3 days free | Free with ads · Super Duolingo and Duolingo Max are paid (price varies by country; 14 days free on the US App Store) |
| Free plan | Never expires: all lessons, review, all immersion worlds, 5 AI messages a day, energy for 15 answers that refills | Lessons free, with ads and limited energy |
| Level | JLPT N5 to N1 (grammar deepest at N5–N4) | Beginner level (A1 per Duolingo); no JLPT mapping stated |
| Kanji | All kana + 40 N5 kanji | Kana + 88 basic kanji |
| Grammar | 52 lessons: 16 N5, 12 N4, 10 N3, 8 N2, 6 N1 | Taught inside the lessons |
| AI speaking practice | AI tutor chat with 3 personalities (16+) · live voice call with Sensei in Ultra Maxx | Video Call in Duolingo Max (listed for English speakers learning Japanese) |
| Spoken vs textbook Japanese | Textbook sentence and spoken version side by side, with register labels | — |
| Review | SM-2 spaced repetition per word | Personalised practice (algorithm not published) |
| Platforms | iPhone, web (works in Android browsers) | iOS, Android, web |
Where Duolingo is better
- Free with no time limit, and extremely polished.
- Leagues, streaks and reminders that build a daily habit like nothing else.
- A native Android app.
- More kanji in the course (88 basic kanji vs our 40 N5 kanji).
Where Nihongo Flow is better
- Goes from N5 to N1, with grammar lessons per JLPT level.
- Teaches how people actually speak: casual and polite forms side by side, with the situation they belong to.
- An AI tutor to chat with is already in the free plan (5 messages a day, 16+).
- Explanations in 10 languages, not only English.
- Five immersion worlds and illustrated folklore stories to read in context.
Our honest take
If you want a free, fun daily habit and you're just starting, Duolingo is great. If you want to hold a real conversation and move up the JLPT levels, Nihongo Flow goes further. The two also work fine side by side.
Sources
- https://apps.apple.com/us/app/duolingo-language-lessons/id570060128
- https://blog.duolingo.com/how-we-invented-a-new-way-to-teach-one-of-the-most-difficult-languages-to-learn/
- https://blog.duolingo.com/duolingo-max/
- https://www.duolingo.com/
- https://nihongo-flow.app/en/pricing
- https://apps.apple.com/app/nihongo-flow/id6795556751
Free, no credit card. Try it and judge for yourself.
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