HelloChinese vs Chinese 101
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- Game-based learning
- Graded stories
- Immersive lessons
- Video lessons
- Speech recognition
- Character handwriting
- HSK level courses
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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.
Chinese 101
Master Chinese characters through interactive tracing and pronunciation exercises. Features multiple learning modes, quizzes, and a memory game to reinforce knowledge. Share your progress and learn in an ad-free environment.
- Interactive character tracing
- Pronunciation guidance
- Multiple learning modes (Easy, Normal, Freestyle)
- Character quizzes
- Memory Flip Game
- Progress sharing
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Learn to write and pronounce Chinese characters with our fun and interactive app. • EASY mode provides a guiding hand to help you trace the characters. • NORMAL mode allows you to enhance your writing precision. • FREESTYLE mode encourages you to write in your unique style and check your understanding from the other modes. Reinforce what you've learned with our interactive QUIZ feature, letting you put your knowledge to the test. With illustrations, see the Chinese characters come to life through their meanings. Challenge yourself with the Memory Flip Game, a fun way to learn. As you learn and master new characters, you can share your scores directly from the app with your friends. Celebrate your progress and inspire others! Our app is completely ad-free, ensuring a seamless and uninterrupted learning experience from the start. After trying a selection of characters for free, you can access the full content with a simple in-app purchase. We welcome your feedback! Visit the support link to suggest new features for future updates. If you find our app beneficial, share it with your friends and family. Thank you.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: HelloChinese at 4.9 against Chinese 101's 4.4. HelloChinese also leads on ratings volume (23K vs 8) and update cadence (every 6 days vs monthly). On price, review sentiment, ads and in-app purchases 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
Both are free to download. HelloChinese sells 13 in-app purchases, starting at $11.99 per month and Chinese 101 sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
HelloChinese holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: HelloChinese has 23K ratings behind it against 8, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 95% of HelloChinese's written reviews are positive against 100% of Chinese 101's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
HelloChinese ships an update every 6 days, Chinese 101 monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and July 22, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | HelloChinese | Chinese 101 |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.9 (23K ratings) — better | 4.4 (8 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 94.8% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 23K — better | 8 |
| Update frequency | Every 6 days — better | Monthly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #93 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 14.1 | 14.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 102 MB | 21 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | HelloChinese Technology Co., Ltd. | Aspul Studios LLC |
Customer experience
HelloChinese
Chinese 101
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
Chinese 101
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
HelloChinese
- HelloChinese Premium$11.991 Month
- HelloChinese Premium+$16.991 Month
- HelloChinese Premium+$19.991 Month
Show 7 moreShow fewer
- 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
- 300 coins$4.99
- 750 coins$9.99
- 1650 coins$19.99
Chinese 101
- Characters Pack$3.99
Questions
Is HelloChinese free?
Is Chinese 101 free?
Which has better reviews, HelloChinese or Chinese 101?
Do HelloChinese or Chinese 101 have ads?
Which is updated more often, HelloChinese or Chinese 101?
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