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How to choose a Saju app
— five types compared, and what to check
Saju apps fall into five types: department-store, low-cost single-reading, chatbot, manseryeok tool and companion. What to look at when choosing isn't the number of features but three things: whether it shows you the Four Pillars chart table, whether it shows prices up front, and whether it avoids scaring you.
In this article 7 topics
What types of Saju apps are there?
Saju apps broadly fall into five types. They may all look similar on the surface, but they make money in different ways, and when the way an app makes money differs, so does what it gets its users to do.
| Type | What it mainly does | Strengths | Weaknesses |
|---|---|---|---|
| Department-store | Dozens of fortune types displayed on one screen, pay per reading | Whatever you're curious about, there's probably something for it | The wider the selection, the shallower each reading tends to be |
| Low-cost single-reading | Draws you in with single readings at around ₩1,000, then upsells | Easy to try once without commitment | Payments come in small slices, so the total can easily add up |
| Chatbot persona | Asking questions and getting answers in conversation with a character | The feel of having someone to talk to; easy to access | The conversation stays, but sometimes calculations and records don't build up |
| Manseryeok tool | Just accurate calculation of the Eight Characters, Daeun and iljin | The most reliable for verifying calculations | Little to no interpretation or guidance |
| Companion | Connects Saju to your daily schedule and records | The more you use it, the more of your data builds up | Its real value doesn't show in a day or two of use |
Some apps combine two types — a department-store app adding a chatbot, or a companion app building in a manseryeok tool. But most have one central axis. Look at what that axis is, and you'll quickly know whether the app suits you.
Which type fits my purpose?
Once your purpose is set, the type narrows down almost automatically. In the table below, pick the sentence in the left column that's closest to your situation right now.
| My situation right now | Matching type | Why |
|---|---|---|
| I'm curious about my Saju just this once | Low-cost single-reading · Department-store | A one-off purchase is the cheapest way |
| I want to check whether my Eight Characters are right | Manseryeok tool | When you only need the calculation, without interpretation |
| I want to talk through what's on my mind | Chatbot persona | When the conversation itself is the goal |
| I need to set a date for a move or contract | An app with date selection | Whether it has a date selection feature matters more than the type |
| I have a day like an interview or exam coming up | Companion | Because the goal is to prepare for that day |
| I want to check my rhythm every morning | Companion | It only means something if you open it again and again |
The most common mistake is installing the highest-rated app without first deciding on your purpose. Ratings are left by people who used the app for their own purposes, so if your purpose is different, those ratings don't apply to you.
Is an app with lots of features a good app?
The number of features and satisfaction don't go hand in hand. Even in an app with dozens of fortune types, one person usually opens just two or three again and again. The rest stay on the shelf.
A wide selection looks good, but each item tends to get shallower. For the maker, spreading wide is far cheaper than building twenty things in depth.
So I suggest changing the question: not “How many things can it do?” but “Is the one thing I'll open every week well made?”
What are the five things to check before installing?
You can check five things from just the app's store page and first launch. They apply regardless of type.
- 1. Does it show the Four Pillars chart table?See whether it puts your Eight Characters and Five Elements distribution right on the screen. Calculation results are information there's no reason to hide. If it doesn't show them, you have no way to check whether the calculation is right.
- 2. Does it state its calculation basis?Whether it uses Ipchun as the year boundary, which day it assigns the 11 p.m. hour (late Ja hour) to, whether it reflects daylight saving time. An app that spells these out is one that takes care with its calculations.
- 3. Does it show the price before you open something?Is it set up so you tap and find you've already been charged, or does it tell you how much before you tap? This shows up right on the first payment screen.
- 4. Is what's free clearly stated?Just saying “free” is different from saying “what is free.” The key is whether the features you'll open every day are free.
- 5. Does it avoid scaring you?If phrases like “bad luck has latched onto you” or “unless you clear it now” appear on its intro screens, that's the app's business model. I've laid out the detailed warning signs in the article on pricing models.
You can put star ratings and review counts lower on the list. Fortune apps often ask for a review right after a payment, so ratings sometimes reflect payment conversion more than satisfaction. Rather than the number of reviews, reading two or three low-star reviews tells you more.
How much should normally be free?
Look-up apps generally make just today's fortune, one page, free. The rest is pay-per-reading or a subscription. That's not strange — it's natural given how look-up apps work: the look-up itself is the product, so if they open up too much, there's nothing left to sell.
Companion apps are the opposite. A daily loop is needed for data to build up, and the data has to build up for the app to mean anything, so keeping the loop itself free is structurally to their advantage. That's why the free range alone gives you a good idea of which type an app is.
Which type is Mutal Unnie?
Mutal Unnie is a companion app. It has all the Saju-app basics — birth chart, iljin, Ten Gods, compatibility, date selection, Daeun — and makes putting those readings onto your calendar its central axis.
I'll be honest about the weak spots too. You won't feel the difference after a day or two. The “Huh, this is about me” moment only comes after about a week of entries, when your Weekly report comes out. If you just want one look right now and to be done with it, a low-cost single-reading app is the better choice. I've listed what Mutal Unnie can't do separately in the article on pricing models.
On the other hand, if there's a day coming up that you'd like to get through with a little less anxiety — that's when a companion app fits best.
Try adding just one upcoming day
Just enter your birth date. You can start without signing up.
Download on the App Store · Get it on Google PlayFAQ
Different Saju apps give different results. Which one is right?
It's natural for interpretations to differ, but if the Eight Characters themselves differ, it's a difference in calculation standards. Most likely your birth date falls on a solar-term boundary, the Ja hour, daylight saving time or a standard-time change. Which one is right is broken down point by point in Why manseryeok apps give different results.
Is a Saju app or an AI chatbot better?
They're for different things. A chatbot is handy for learning terms or interpreting characters you've already confirmed, while calculating the Eight Characters and checking in every day are better done in an app. I've written about where chatbot Saju tends to go wrong in Getting a Saju reading from AI.
Can't I use an app if I don't know my birth time?
You can. There's the Three Pillars (samju) method, which reads six characters without the hour. We don't recommend entering a guessed time. How far you can go without a birth time is laid out in When you don't know your birth time.
I'm looking for a Saju app that works on Android
Mutal Unnie is available on iOS and Android. The store links are gathered under Get the app. Before installing, you can check things like your manseryeok, iljin and Daeun with our free calculation tools on the web.