HelloChinese vs OptimalChinese
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.
OptimalChinese
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Every sentence you study is built from the words you already know, plus exactly one new notion. That is the whole idea: nothing you read is above your level, so you understand it the first time — and you remember it. EVERY SENTENCE IS ONE STEP UP When a new word or rule comes up, the example around it is assembled from vocabulary you have already learned. One unknown per sentence, never five. NEVER FORGET Every word and every rule is scheduled with FSRS-6, the modern spaced-repetition algorithm, and comes back at the last useful moment — so a notion learned once is not learned three times. NEVER CONFUSE Look anything up and see how it is built: the characters a word is made of, the words it combines into, its measure words, and the siblings that are easy to mix up. Link two confusable entries and they are taught apart. FOR EACH ASPECT Reading, listening and writing are different skills, so each gets its own card and its own schedule. A word you can read but not hear keeps coming back in your ears until you can. CUSTOMIZE YOUR PATH Follow HSK 1–5 lesson by lesson, or pick from hundreds of themes and learn the vocabulary of what you actually talk about. Tell the app where you are and it plans the rest. IMPORT WHAT YOU ALREADY HAVE Bring in an Anki deck or a Pleco export, or start from your HSK level in one screen. What you already know is merged with what the app teaches, instead of starting you from zero. YOUR CLASSES, IN THE APP Share a private space with your teacher. Anything either of you saves during a lesson — a word, a phrase, a correction — is waiting in your reviews afterwards. AN AI TUTOR THAT KNOWS YOUR LEVEL Ask why a sentence works the way it does, and get an answer written for the vocabulary you actually have. ALSO • Native audio on every word, sentence and example • Dictation using your iPhone's own speech recognition • A dictionary that searches on the device, instantly • Your own cards and phrases, alongside the built-in ones • Dark mode, haptics, and a layout made for one hand SUBSCRIPTION OptimalChinese Pro unlocks everything: $12.99 per month or $79.99 per year, after a 7-day free trial. Payment is charged to your Apple Account when the free trial ends, and the subscription renews automatically unless it is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel it in your Apple Account settings. Terms of Use: https://www.optimalchinese.com/terms Privacy Policy: https://www.optimalchinese.com/privacy
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is chart position: HelloChinese at #131 against OptimalChinese's unranked. 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
Both are free to download. HelloChinese sells 13 in-app purchases, starting at $11.99 per month and OptimalChinese sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $12.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
| Parameter | HelloChinese | OptimalChinese |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.9 (24K ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 94.8% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 24K — better | — |
| Update frequency | Weekly | — |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Freemium | — |
| Best chart rank | #131 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 98 MB | 12 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | HelloChinese Technology Co., Ltd. | Lucas Costagliola |
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
OptimalChinese
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
OptimalChinese
- Monthly7 Days trial$12.991 Month
- Yearly7 Days trial$79.991 Year









