Comparison

HelloChinese vs Read Chinese

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

Read Chinese

Master Mandarin Chinese through engaging stories and phrases. This app offers voiced pronunciations, pinyin support, and detailed translations to enhance your learning journey. It's designed for users of all levels to build vocabulary and comprehension.

Highlights
  • Read Mandarin stories
  • Learn Chinese phrases
  • Phrases sorted by HSK level
  • Voiced pronunciations
  • Pinyin representation
  • Sentence and word translation
  • Free to use
Features
Read full description

Learn Mandarin Chinese by reading and listening different phrases and stories. - Read stories in Mandarin. - Learn different Chinese phrases. - Phrases are sorted by HSK level. - All phrases are voiced and can be represented as pinyin. - Translation for each sentence is represented as a whole or each word individually. - Translate any word or phrase inside the app. - Completely free.

Screenshots

HelloChinese4 screens
Read Chinese4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ratings volume: HelloChinese at 23K against Read Chinese's 7. HelloChinese also leads on rating (4.9 vs 4.6) and chart position (#87 vs unranked). Read Chinese's advantage is update cadence (every 2 days vs weekly) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 14.1). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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 13 in-app purchases, starting at $11.99 per month and Read Chinese sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. 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 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: HelloChinese has 23K ratings behind it against 7, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

HelloChinese ships an update weekly, Read Chinese every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on September 27, 2026 and August 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
HelloChinese versus Read Chinese: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHelloChineseRead Chinese
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (23K ratings) — better4.6 (7 ratings)
Positive reviews94.8% of reviews—
Number of ratings23K — better7
Update frequencyWeeklyEvery 2 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#87 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS14.111.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size102 MB80 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperHelloChinese Technology Co., Ltd.Vladislav Alikov

Customer experience

HelloChinese

All ratings23,267 ratings
Positive97.8%
Neutral0.9%
Negative1.3%
Written reviews3,670 reviews
Positive94.8%
Neutral2.0%
Negative3.2%

Read Chinese

All ratings7 ratings
Positive85.7%
Neutral14.3%
Negative0.0%

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

Read Chinese

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

13 purchases

HelloChinese

Subscriptions10
  • HelloChinese Premium$11.991 Month
  • HelloChinese Premium+$16.991 Month
  • HelloChinese Premium+$19.991 Month
Show 7 more
  • HelloChinese Premium$25.993 Months
  • 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-time3
  • 300 coins$4.99
  • 750 coins$9.99
  • 1650 coins$19.99
1 purchases

Read Chinese

One-time1
  • Remove ads$1.99

Questions

Is HelloChinese free?
HelloChinese is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Read Chinese free?
Read Chinese is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, HelloChinese or Read Chinese?
HelloChinese is rated higher. HelloChinese averages 4.9 out of 5 from 23K ratings, while Read Chinese averages 4.6 from 7 ratings.
Do HelloChinese or Read Chinese have ads?
Neither HelloChinese nor Read Chinese shows ads.
Which is updated more often, HelloChinese or Read Chinese?
HelloChinese ships an update weekly, and Read Chinese every 2 days. Most recently, HelloChinese was updated on September 27, 2026 and Read Chinese on August 25, 2026.

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