Comparison

HelloChinese vs My Second Teacher

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

HelloChinese

This app offers a fun and effective way to learn Mandarin Chinese from beginner to conversational levels. It combines game-based lessons, stories, videos, and speech recognition to help you master pronunciation, characters, and practical conversations while exploring Chinese culture.

Highlights
  • Game-based learning
  • Graded stories
  • Immersive lessons
  • Video lessons
  • Speech recognition
  • Character handwriting
  • HSK level courses
Features
Read full description

HelloChinese is the best Mandarin Chinese learning app for beginners! Featured on the App Store in New Apps We Love and Notable Education Apps! Designed in a fun and highly effective manner, HelloChinese helps you rapidly learn Mandarin Chinese from scratch to a conversational level. With HelloChinese, learners can "learn the Chinese language, explore Chinese culture" – you will not only learn Mandarin Chinese but also enjoy the process of delving into the culture intertwined with the language. Features: ◉ Game-based Chinese learning: You will never get bored. ◉ 1000+ graded stories: read engaging stories at your level! ◉ Immersive lessons help you to have real-life, practical conversations quickly. ◉ Over 2,000 videos - all featuring authentic Chinese speakers! ◉ Innovative self-adaptive learning games that incorporate Chinese cultural education. ◉ Speech recognition corrects your pronunciation and makes speaking Chinese a breeze. ◉ Handwriting specially designed to learn Chinese characters at a faster rate. ◉ Systematic courses based on HSK levels. ◉ A well-designed Pinyin (pronunciation) course for newbies. ◉ Bite-sized curriculum to fortify your Chinese listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills. ◉ Simplified and traditional Chinese(Mandarin) are both supported. ◉ Offline accessibility: Once a course is downloaded, no internet connection is required. ◉ Study progress tracking across multiple devices. With these tools at your disposal, nothing can stop you from mastering Chinese. Start on your path to fluency today! HelloChinese Premium offers: One-month subscription for $11.99 Three-month subscription for $25.99 Twelve-month subscription for $69.99 The above prices are for U.S. customers. Pricing in other countries may vary, and charges may be converted to your local currency depending on your country of residence. Once purchased, subscriptions automatically renew unless auto-renew is turned off in your iTunes Account settings at least 24 hours before the end of the payment period. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HelloChineseApp/ Privacy Policy: https://www.hellochinese.cc/privacy.html Terms of Use: https://www.hellochinese.cc/terms.html Premium users can always reach us at premium@hellochinese.cc if they need any help.

About

My Second Teacher

This app offers video-based lessons and interactive quizzes for IGCSE syllabuses, developed by a Cambridge alumnus. It provides diagnostic reports to identify learning gaps and offers 24/7 online tutoring to help students master concepts and ace exams.

Highlights
  • Interactive video lessons
  • Diagnostic learning reports
  • 24/7 online tutoring
  • Full IGCSE syllabus coverage
  • Focus on Cambridge IGCSEs
  • Personalized revision
Features
Read full description

Ace your studies with video-based lessons covering entire IGCSE syllabuses by Cambridge alumnus Dr. Benson Soong. We provide learning diagnostic reports for students and school teachers through our interactive videos. We are available 247 to assist students with one-to-one online tutoring. Understand and master all concepts for IGCSE Exams. We also provide school partners with a dedicated platform to help support teachers, get in touch to become a school partner: http://bit.ly/mstpartner Features: Interactive Videos - Our videos are all based on dialogue between a teacher and a student. These videos will engage you as you’d be able to relate to both the teacher and student, as you learn naturally at your own pace. Our interactive videos with inbuilt questions and quizzes cover the entire examinable syllabus and are designed to help you learn quickly and effectively. Diagnostic Reports - Hidden misconceptions and misunderstandings slow down learning and affect test scores. We will point out these misconceptions and misunderstandings so that your revision can be focused and targeted.The responses provided by you in our videos can be analysed and shared with your school teacher under the School Leaders partnership, so that s/he can carry on that conversation with you in school. Extended Learning and Live Support - It is best to clear any questions or doubts immediately. That’s why our teachers are available online 247 to answer your questions. You can have a discussion with us via our online platform. You can access us from school, home, or anywhere via your mobile phone. Ace Examinations - With great videos that teach all examinable content, online teachers to instantly answer questions, and diagnostic reports that pinpoint specific learning weakness, students have all the resource and support they need to ace exams! We designed our entire system to help you ace exams. We currently cover 100% of the IGCSE examinable syllabus, and when delivered in an engaging, interactive manner which focuses on uncovering students' misconceptions and improving students' results, it's clear our content is headand-shoulders above the rest. Subjects Available: We currently focus on the Cambridge IGCSEs Exams because of our in-depth expertise and knowledge in the Cambridge syllabuses and the Cambridge learner and teacher attributes. We currently have Physics - 0625 / Physics 91 0972 fully available. IGCSE Biology, IGCSE Chemistry, IGCSE Coordinated Science, IGCSE Combined Science, and IGCSE Additional Mathematics will be available in 2020. Founded by Cambridge alumnus Dr. Benson Soong and advised by Cambridge don Prof. Neil Mercer, My Second Teacher works to improve school-based education using the technologies of education. What makes AP different from other “edtech” providers is our expert application of research-based pedagogy into technology. Our vision is to transform traditional education landscapes and lead to improved earning outcomes for students while helping teachers transform their core responsibilities.

Screenshots

HelloChinese4 screens
My Second Teacher4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: HelloChinese at 95% against My Second Teacher's 50%. HelloChinese also leads on rating (4.9 vs 3.9) and ratings volume (24K vs 7). My Second Teacher's advantage is monetization model (free vs freemium). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. HelloChinese sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $11.99 per month and My Second Teacher sells 6 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

HelloChinese holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 3.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: HelloChinese has 24K ratings behind it against 7, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 95% of HelloChinese's written reviews are positive against 50% of My Second Teacher's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

HelloChinese ships an update weekly, My Second Teacher every 4 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 4, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
HelloChinese versus My Second Teacher: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHelloChineseMy Second Teacher
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (24K ratings) — better3.9 (7 ratings)
Positive reviews94.8% of reviews — better50.0% of reviews
Number of ratings24K — better7
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 4 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFree — better
Best chart rank#119 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.015.0
Further details — not scored
Size98 MB118 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperHelloChinese Technology Co., Ltd.Advanced Pedagogy Pte. Ltd.

Customer experience

HelloChinese

All ratings23,666 ratings
Positive97.8%
Neutral0.9%
Negative1.3%
Written reviews3,794 reviews
Positive94.8%
Neutral2.0%
Negative3.2%

My Second Teacher

All ratings7 ratings
Positive71.4%
Neutral0.0%
Negative28.6%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

Bugs and requests

HelloChinese

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Occasional login issues
  • Inconsistent performance on older devices

Requested features

5 requests
  • More advanced lessons beyond HSK3
  • Option to toggle pinyin on a per-word basis
  • Improved review system with more customization
  • Addition of traditional Chinese characters
  • More real-life conversation practice

My Second Teacher

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

10 purchases

HelloChinese

Subscriptions9
  • HelloChinese Premium$11.991 Month
  • HelloChinese Premium+$19.991 Month
  • HelloChinese Premium$25.993 Months
Show 6 more
  • HelloChinese Premium$48.991 Year
  • HelloChinese Premium+$62.996 Months
  • HelloChinese Premium$69.991 Year
  • HelloChinese Premium+$89.996 Months
  • HelloChinese Premium+$104.991 Year
  • HelloChinese Premium+$149.991 Year
One-time1
  • 300 coins$4.99
6 purchases

My Second Teacher

One-time6
  • Pricing1$3.99
  • Pricing2$6.99
  • Pricing3$13.99
Show 3 more
  • Pricing4$20.99
  • Pricing5$34.99
  • Pricing6$69.99

Questions

Is HelloChinese free?
HelloChinese is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is My Second Teacher free?
My Second Teacher is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, HelloChinese or My Second Teacher?
HelloChinese is rated higher. HelloChinese averages 4.9 out of 5 from 24K ratings, while My Second Teacher averages 3.9 from 7 ratings.
Do HelloChinese or My Second Teacher have ads?
Neither HelloChinese nor My Second Teacher shows ads.
Which is updated more often, HelloChinese or My Second Teacher?
HelloChinese ships an update weekly, and My Second Teacher every 4 weeks. Most recently, HelloChinese was updated on November 4, 2026 and My Second Teacher on November 3, 2026.

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