HelloChinese vs Recabulary
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.
Recabulary
Master new languages with smart flashcards and authentic native speaker audio. This app uses spaced repetition to help you retain vocabulary efficiently, with word lists based on real-world frequency and exam frameworks. Learn Japanese, Chinese, Spanish, German, Turkish, and English with customizable learning algorithms.
- Native speaker audio recordings
- Spaced repetition algorithm
- Frequency-based word lists
- Adjustable learning algorithm
- Progress tracking statistics
- Multiple language support
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Learn languages with smart flashcards and real native audio. Every single recording in Recabulary is spoken by a human native speaker. No AI voices, because we prefer to listen to real humans. Recabulary is built on memory science. A spaced repetition algorithm schedules every review right before you would forget, so vocabulary moves into long-term memory with the least possible effort. Our word lists come from real-world frequency data and major exam frameworks like JLPT and HSK, so you always study words that actually matter. One deck per language, designed to be the only flashcard deck you will ever need. We are two friends and language enthusiasts who built the app we always wanted but never found. It isn't perfect yet, but with your feedback we will get there. LEARN JAPANESE, CHINESE, SPANISH, GERMAN, TURKISH & ENGLISH Study Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, Spanish, German, Turkish, or English today. Korean is coming very soon, and you can vote in the app on which languages we add next. REAL NATIVE AUDIO, NO AI VOICES Every word and every example sentence is recorded by a real native speaker, and some languages let you choose between several voices. Not a single recording in the app is AI generated. Learn authentic pronunciation, accent, and speech rhythm from day one. LEARN FOR FREE Recabulary is free to download and free to use. Every core study feature is available without payment, because we do not believe in paywalling the things that matter. Recabulary Premium is nice to have, but you never need it to reach your learning goals. SPACED REPETITION THAT WORKS Built on spaced repetition and active recall, two of the most researched techniques for long-term vocabulary retention. Each flashcard returns at the moment reviewing it helps most, so you stop wasting time on words you already know. AN ALGORITHM YOU CAN ADJUST Most apps hide their algorithm. We let you tune ours. Adjust review intervals and fine-tune the spaced repetition settings until the app fits how you learn, or simply keep our recommended defaults. THE RIGHT WORDS IN THE RIGHT ORDER We build every vocabulary list in three stages. We compare multiple frequency lists to find the words you are most likely to encounter in real life. We cross-reference exam vocabulary such as JLPT, HSK, and equivalent frameworks, so our decks work for everyday learners and exam takers alike. Then we refine everything by hand with language teachers and our community, because some words matter to beginners long before frequency data would suggest them. We keep expanding every deck, with the goal of covering all the vocabulary you need for complete fluency. FOR BEGINNERS AND ADVANCED LEARNERS Start from the alphabet or jump straight into advanced vocabulary. Recabulary meets you where you are. TRACK YOUR PROGRESS Few things motivate like visible progress. Every study session feeds into clear statistics that show your retention and vocabulary growth over time. Download Recabulary for free and learn your first ten words today. Privacy Policy: https://www.recabulary.com/privacy-policy/ Terms and Conditions: https://www.recabulary.com/terms-and-conditions/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: HelloChinese at none against Recabulary's shown. HelloChinese also leads on ratings volume (24K vs 6) and chart position (#125 vs unranked). Recabulary's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). On price, rating, update cadence 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 Recabulary sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for HelloChinese against 5.0 for Recabulary. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: HelloChinese has 24K ratings behind it against 6, so its average is the more settled of the two.
HelloChinese ships an update weekly, Recabulary every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 18, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | HelloChinese | Recabulary |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.9 (24K ratings) | 5.0 (6 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 94.8% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 24K — better | 6 |
| Update frequency | Weekly | Every 5 days — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #125 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 98 MB | 47 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | HelloChinese Technology Co., Ltd. | Spaceive |
Customer experience
HelloChinese
Recabulary
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
Recabulary
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
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- 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
Recabulary
- Monthly Premium$5.991 Month
- Yearly Premium$49.991 Year
- Lifetime Premium$84.99








