Yes. You can use a large part of LenGaki for free, with or without an account. With no account you get the full hiragana and katakana course, every kanji and grammar page, N5 quizzes, speaking practice and two complete JLPT N5 mock exams; a free account adds all JLPT N5 vocabulary, kanji and flashcards, roadmap lessons 1–13 and 3 messages a day with Lena, the AI tutor. LenGaki Pro costs a small monthly fee, you can cancel anytime, and it unlocks the N4–N1 lists, the rest of the roadmap, every mock exam and unlimited Lena.
LenGaki (lengaki.com) is a Japanese learning website and Android app that takes you from your first hiragana to the JLPT, with a guided roadmap, kana, kanji, vocabulary, grammar, flashcards, quizzes, speaking practice, JLPT mock exams and an AI tutor called Lena. Below is exactly where the free tier ends and what Pro adds. The official comparison lives on the pricing page, and every feature is described on the features page.
Free means two different things here
In Japanese, “free of charge” is 無料 (むりょう, muryō). On LenGaki it covers two levels. No account: open the page and start, nothing asked. Free account: still costs nothing, but it saves your progress and opens all the N5 vocabulary, kanji, flashcards and quizzes. Pro is the only level you pay for.
What do you get free, and what needs Pro?
Here is the whole picture in one table. “No account” means you have not signed up; “free account” means you have signed up but not paid.
| What you get | No account | Free account | Pro |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hiragana and katakana course (27 + 31 units), interactive chart, printable sheet | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| A page for every kanji (2,057) and every grammar point (445) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| JLPT N5 vocabulary (726 words) and kanji (124) lists | First 30 of each list | All of N5 | All of N5 |
| N4–N1 vocabulary and kanji lists | First 30 of each list | First 30 of each list | Complete |
| Flashcards | 30-card rounds | All N5 flashcards | Adds N4–N1 |
| Kanji, vocabulary and mixed quizzes | N5 | N5 | Adds levels above N5 |
| Grammar path (interactive lessons) | 3 patterns | N5 units 1–4 | Full path, N5–N2 |
| Roadmap: 73 lessons and 10 phase tests | No | Lessons 1–13 and the first two phase tests | Every lesson and phase test |
| Speaking practice with pronunciation scoring | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| JLPT mock exams (N5 and N4, 3 sets each) | N5 sets 1 and 2 | N5 sets 1 and 2 | All 6 sets |
| Lena, the AI tutor | No | 3 messages a day | Unlimited |
| XP, levels, streaks, analytics and sync with the Android app | No | Yes | Yes |
| Hearts | Limited | Limited | Unlimited |
| Price | Free | Free | a small monthly price |
Three details in that table are easy to miss:
- Reference pages are never locked. Each of the 2,057 kanji has its own page (meaning, on’yomi and kun’yomi, example words, animated stroke order, tracing practice), and so does each of the 445 grammar points. Without an account, only browsing is limited: each vocabulary and kanji list shows its first 30 entries, and the grammar library 30 points per level.
- Lena needs a free account. The 3 free messages a day come with signing up; unlimited messages are a Pro feature.
- The two free mock exams are complete. N5 sets 1 and 2 are full three-paper exams with listening, timed to the official limits, not samples.
Why make a free account if it is optional?
Because that is where your study starts to count: it opens all 726 N5 words and 124 N5 kanji, every N5 flashcard and quiz, grammar-path units 1–4, and roadmap lessons 1–13 with the first two phase tests. It also keeps score: XP for every lesson and answer, 150 XP per level across 50 levels, seven samurai ranks from 足軽 (あしがる, ashigaru, foot soldier) to 将軍 (しょうぐん, shōgun), a day streak and a daily goal of 10, 20, 30 or 60 minutes. Analytics show your study time and a predicted JLPT score.
How much does LenGaki Pro cost?
LenGaki Pro is one small monthly price with no annual commitment, and you can cancel anytime from your profile.
| Plan | Price | Payment handled by |
|---|---|---|
| Free account | Free | No payment needed |
| LenGaki Pro | One small monthly price | A secure payment provider |
What Pro adds on top of the free account:
- Every roadmap lesson, 14 to 73, and all ten phase tests
- The complete N4–N1 vocabulary and kanji lists and flashcards, and quizzes beyond N5
- The full grammar path, from N5 to N2
- All six mock exams: N5 set 3 and N4 sets 1–3 join the two free N5 sets
- Unlimited messages with Lena
- Unlimited hearts
What does a free study week on LenGaki look like?
Here is a first week for a complete beginner that uses nothing that costs money. Plan on 20 to 30 minutes a day.
- Day 1: the first three rows of hiragana. Open the kana course (no account needed) and clear あ い う え お (a, i, u, e, o), か き く け こ (ka, ki, ku, ke, ko) and さ し す せ そ (sa, shi, su, se, so). Watch し: it is shi, not si.
- Day 2: three more rows, then flashcards. Clear the た, な and は rows, noting ち (chi), つ (tsu) and ふ (fu), then do a 30-card round of hiragana flashcards.
- Day 3: the rest of the basic hiragana, then sign up. Clear the ま, や, ら and わ rows and ん (n). Note を (o): it is used almost only as the object particle. Then create a free account so your XP and streak start counting, choose a daily goal (10 or 20 minutes is plenty) and open lesson 1 of the roadmap.
- Day 4: the two sound marks, then first words. Two small marks change a sound: か (ka) becomes が (ga) with dakuten, and は (ha) becomes ぱ (pa) with handakuten. Do the next roadmap lessons, then open the N5 vocabulary list and pick out three everyday words: 水 (みず, mizu, water), 食べる (たべる, taberu, to eat) and 学生 (がくせい, gakusei, student). All three already use dakuten: ず (zu), べ (be) and が (ga).
- Day 5: your first grammar point. Read the free page on the particle は, then do the first unit of the grammar path. The classic first sentence: わたしは がくせいです。 (Watashi wa gakusei desu.), “I am a student.” The particle is written は (ha) but read wa when it marks the topic, which is also why こんにちは (konnichiwa, hello) ends in wa.
- Day 6: one kanji, properly, and three questions for Lena. Open the page for 日 (sun, day): on’yomi ニチ (nichi) and ジツ (jitsu), kun’yomi ひ (hi) and か (ka). Trace it stroke by stroke, then meet it in 日本 (にほん, Nihon, Japan) and 毎日 (まいにち, mainichi, every day). Then spend your 3 free Lena messages on whatever confused you this week.
- Day 7: review and measure. Take an N5 quiz, say a few sentences back in speaking practice for a pronunciation score (it works in Chrome on desktop and Android), and check your analytics for the week’s study time. Leave the two free mock exams for later: they measure you best once you have covered most of N5.
In week two, learn the combined sounds such as きゃ (kya) and しょ (sho), start katakana (31 units, also free), keep the roadmap going and add a few N5 words a day. The N5 lists, flashcards, quizzes, grammar pages and two mock exams stay free the whole way through. On this plan, the first Pro locks you are likely to meet are the end of roadmap lesson 13 and the end of grammar-path unit 4.
The kana course needs no account: hiragana in 27 units and katakana in 31, with memory hooks, audio and quick checks, plus an interactive chart and a printable practice sheet.
Start hiragana freeWhen is LenGaki Pro worth paying for?
When the free tier is what is slowing you down, and not before. A practical rule: stay free until you have hit a Pro lock on something you needed that day twice in the same week.
Stay on the free tier if
- you are still learning kana: the whole course is free, with no account needed;
- you are working through N5 vocabulary and kanji: all 726 words and 124 kanji are free with an account;
- you mainly use LenGaki for look-ups: kanji and grammar pages are free for everyone;
- three questions a day to Lena is enough for you.
Pro is worth it if
- you have finished roadmap lesson 13 and want the guided path to continue: lessons 14–73 take it the rest of the way to JLPT N5;
- you are preparing for N4 or above: the complete N4–N1 lists and flashcards, and the N4 mock exams, are Pro;
- you study alone and keep running out of Lena’s 3 daily messages: unlimited questions are the clearest gain;
- you want a third full N5 mock as a final rehearsal: sets 1 and 2 are free, set 3 is Pro.
Is LenGaki any good? Strengths and honest limits
If you are looking for a LenGaki review before signing up, here is ours. We make LenGaki, so read it as our own assessment and check it against the free tier, which costs nothing to try.
What it does well
- It follows the JLPT. The roadmap runs from kana to JLPT N5 in 73 lessons and 10 phase tests, and N5 is mapped out in full: 726 words, 124 kanji, 82 grammar points.
- The mocks are real rehearsals. Three timed papers per set (the N5 papers on the official time limits), with the official 問題 (もんだい, mondai, question section) structure and an answer sheet.
- The free tier is substantial. All N5 vocabulary and kanji, every grammar page and two full N5 mock exams cost nothing.
- Help sits in context. On the website you can highlight any text and tap “Explain with Lena”.
Where it falls short
- No iPhone app. The app is Android only; iPhone users study on the website in the browser.
- Mock exams stop at N4. For N3 and above, use the official sample questions on the JLPT website.
- Grammar stops at N2. The 445 grammar points cover N5 to N2.
- Speaking scores: use Chrome. Pronunciation scoring works in Chrome on desktop and Android.
Some jobs also suit other tools better. If you want to build your own flashcard decks from scratch, a dedicated spaced-repetition app such as Anki is made for that. If what you want is a light daily habit rather than exam preparation, Duolingo is great at building one, though it does not follow the JLPT structure. Where LenGaki fits is the JLPT route itself: kana, then the N5 syllabus, then timed mocks, in one place.
Does LenGaki sync with the Android app?
Yes. The website and the LenGaki Android app on Google Play use one LenGaki account, and your progress syncs both ways:
- XP, level and rank
- Your day streak and daily goal
- Your position on the roadmap
- JLPT mock exam results
- Your Lena chats
So you can do a roadmap lesson on your phone on the bus and sit a timed mock exam on a laptop at the weekend, and both land in the same account. There is no iOS app: on an iPhone, open lengaki.com in the browser and sign in with the same account.
Are the LenGaki books part of Pro?
No. The LenGaki N5 set is four physical, printed books, separate from any subscription:
- LenGaki N5 Vocabulary: 800+ essential words with example sentences and readings in hiragana and romaji, organised by topic
- LenGaki N5 Kanji: all 124 N5 kanji with stroke order, on’yomi and kun’yomi, example words and writing-practice boxes
- LenGaki N5 Grammar: 82 grammar points with simple explanations, natural examples and side-by-side comparisons of confusable patterns
- LenGaki N5 Mock Tests: 3 full-length mock tests in the real JLPT format, with answer keys and every listening script
They follow the same N5 syllabus as the website and app, so a chapter in the book can be practised online with audio, stroke order, the grammar path and timed mocks. In India the books are delivered by LenGaki’s partner Vyaktigat Vikas; for international delivery, email lengaki2426@gmail.com before ordering. The details are on the LenGaki books page.
So, do you need to pay for LenGaki?
Not to start. The free tier covers the beginning of Japanese properly, and the free account costs nothing and keeps your progress, so make one. Upgrade to Pro when the roadmap past lesson 13, N4 material or unlimited Lena would genuinely save you time, and cancel whenever it stops doing so.
Frequently asked questions
Is LenGaki free to use?
Yes, much of it. The kana course, every kanji and grammar page, N5 quizzes, speaking practice and two full JLPT N5 mock exams need no account, and a free account adds all JLPT N5 vocabulary, kanji and flashcards, roadmap lessons 1–13 and 3 Lena messages a day. N4–N1 material, roadmap lessons 14–73, the other mock exams and unlimited Lena need Pro.
How much does LenGaki Pro cost?
LenGaki Pro is one small monthly subscription that you can cancel anytime; lengaki.com/pricing shows the current price. Payment goes through a secure third-party provider, and LenGaki never sees your card details.
Do I need an account to use LenGaki?
No. You can learn hiragana and katakana, read every kanji and grammar page, practise speaking, take N5 quizzes and sit two complete N5 mock exams without signing up. A free account is needed for the full N5 lists, the roadmap, Lena, and saved XP and streaks.
Does LenGaki progress sync between the website and the Android app?
Yes. One LenGaki account works on both, and your XP, level, rank, streak, daily goal, roadmap position, JLPT mock results and Lena chats sync both ways.
Is there a LenGaki app for iPhone?
No. LenGaki has an Android app on Google Play; on an iPhone you use the website, lengaki.com, in the browser.
Are the LenGaki N5 books included with Pro?
No. The four LenGaki N5 books (vocabulary, kanji, grammar and mock tests) are physical print books, sold separately from any subscription; lengaki.com/books has the details. In India they are delivered by LenGaki’s partner Vyaktigat Vikas; for international delivery, email lengaki2426@gmail.com before ordering.
