# Chinese Annotator vs Pinyin Reader

The clearest difference is price: Pinyin Reader at Free against Chinese Annotator's $0.99. Pinyin Reader also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.1). Chinese Annotator's advantage is ratings volume (30 vs 1) and iOS requirement (9.0 vs 15.5). On update cadence, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Pinyin Reader is free to download; Chinese Annotator costs $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Pinyin Reader holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Chinese Annotator has 30 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 9, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Chinese Annotator | Pinyin Reader |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $0.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | [4.1 (30 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/chinese-annotator/id1195474397/reviews) | **[5.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pinyin-reader/id6759076586/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **30** | 1 |
| Positive reviews | 72.0% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | Every 2 weeks |
| Monetization | **Free** | Paid |
| Size | 65 MB | 135 MB |
| Requires iOS | **9.0** | 15.5 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | [Jon Hargett](https://appshunter.io/developer/1087189196) | [粤珠 袁](https://appshunter.io/developer/1875136461) |

## What reviewers say

### Chinese Annotator

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/chinese-annotator/id1195474397)

This app helps you learn Chinese by reading ePub books. It allows you to add Pinyin and English definitions directly to the text, and track your vocabulary knowledge. You can also export your learned words for flashcard review.

**Highlights:** Import ePub files, Add Pinyin and English definitions, Track known words and characters, Hide known Pinyin/definitions, Export word lists for flashcards, Print pages to PDF

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


### Pinyin Reader

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pinyin-reader/id6759076586)

This reading tool automatically adds pinyin annotations to Chinese characters on web pages and PDFs. It offers translation, text-to-speech playback, and pronunciation practice to enhance learning efficiency and pronunciation skills.

**Highlights:** Automatic pinyin annotations, Integrated web and PDF reader, Character definition and pronunciation lookup, Sentence-by-sentence text-to-speech, Pronunciation assessment and shadowing practice, Vocabulary and sentence saving, Ad-free reading experience

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Chinese Annotator free?

Chinese Annotator costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Pinyin Reader free?

Pinyin Reader is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Chinese Annotator or Pinyin Reader?

Pinyin Reader is rated higher. Chinese Annotator averages 4.1 out of 5 from 30 ratings, while Pinyin Reader averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.

### Do Chinese Annotator or Pinyin Reader have ads?

Neither Chinese Annotator nor Pinyin Reader shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Chinese Annotator or Pinyin Reader?

Chinese Annotator ships an update every 2 weeks, and Pinyin Reader every 2 weeks. Most recently, Chinese Annotator was updated on October 9, 2026 and Pinyin Reader on October 8, 2026.

---

*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*