Comparison

HelloChinese vs Sum Blocks

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

Sum Blocks

Features
Read full description

Drag blocks onto an 8x8 board. Fill a whole row or column and it blasts. Clear four lines and a math question appears under the board. Answer it and you are not given points — you are given a tool. A bomb that clears a 3x3 patch. A hammer that knocks a single block out. A shuffle that swaps the three pieces you are stuck with. Doing the math makes you stronger at the puzzle, and a child who never answers a question can still finish every level. SKILL MISSIONS Each mission is one arithmetic skill — times tables, sharing, big adding, taking away — and inside it every question is that one skill. Four levels each, with goals like "blast twelve lines" or "score 1,600 using thirty blocks or fewer". A block budget, not a clock, so nothing hurries a child. DAILY CHALLENGE One puzzle a day, built from the date itself, so every player in the world gets the same blocks in the same order. Play two days running and a streak starts. CLASSIC Endless blocks with no goal but your own best score. Easy, Normal and Hard change the shapes you are dealt, how fast the big ones arrive, and how long you get on a question. THE BLOCKS ARE NEVER TIMED A child can stare at a move for as long as they like. Only the bonus question has a countdown, and letting it run out costs nothing — it shows the answer and play carries on. NINETEEN KINDS OF QUESTION, KINDERGARTEN TO GRADE 6 Pick the grade and the questions stay inside it. Nothing above it can appear. Difficulty is a separate setting, so a grade 2 child can play Hard and a grade 6 child can play Easy. FOR PARENTS No accounts and no email. Scores stay on the device. There is one full-page ad after a game ends, never during play, and a single payment removes it for good. An adults' area behind a four-digit gate holds the purchase and an optional daily reminder.

Screenshots

HelloChinese4 screens
Sum Blocks4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: HelloChinese at none against Sum Blocks's shown. HelloChinese also leads on chart position (#76 vs unranked). On price, in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement 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 Sum Blocks sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Scorecard2 real differences · 9 level
HelloChinese versus Sum Blocks: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHelloChineseSum Blocks
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (24K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews94.8% of reviews—
Number of ratings24K — better—
Update frequencyWeekly—
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemium—
Best chart rank#76 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.015.0
Further details — not scored
Size98 MB15 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperHelloChinese Technology Co., Ltd.Chaim Lebowits

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

Sum Blocks

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

Sum Blocks

One-time1
  • Remove Ads$2.99

Questions

Is HelloChinese free?
HelloChinese is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Sum Blocks free?
Sum Blocks is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do HelloChinese or Sum Blocks have ads?
Sum Blocks shows ads; HelloChinese does not.

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