ELCC vs CharacterMatrix
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
ELCC
Learn Chinese characters through a fun and intuitive method. This app breaks down complex characters into basic components, allowing you to recall them instead of memorizing. It includes quizzes, tests, and pronunciation guides to aid your learning journey.
- 250 root characters
- 1162 HSK 1-3 characters
- Stroke order animation
- Native pronunciation
- Quizzes and tests
- Character review and search
- Daily character notifications
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Fun and easy way to learn Chinese! Having a hard time studying Chinese? [Enjoy Learning Chinese Characters] is now right here for you! Do not memorize each complex character. Now you can recall them instead of memorizing. “A great way to expand your character knowledge by building on previously learned characters.” “It's simple to read. You don't have to follow the chapters. Highly recommended for those learning Chinese characters.” - Reviews for the original book. If you speak an alphabetic language, learning Chinese characters would be more challenging for you. But don't worry. This app will help you to make sense of the structures of Chinese characters. With 250 basic and radical characters, you can combine or break them apart too easily read, write and understand Chinese characters. It also offers many other services for more effective learning. Please see details below. [What's inside?] - 250 well-known root characters - 1162 most frequently-encountered characters in Chinese (HSK level 1-3) - Character stroke order - Native Pronunciation - Quiz: Simple quizzes that help you remember what you learned. - Test: Enjoy the tests after you master some characters. - Review: Keep some characters on your note and check them later. - Search: Search if you know the pinyin and how to write. - Push Notification: Push notification lets you know today's character. - 3D Touch: Quick access from home screen. [We offer In-App Purchases] - Get the full version with 26 additional subjects for just $4.99 and keep it forever! Free version offers only 1 subject containing 50 characters. --------------------------------------------------------------------- ABOUT Y FACTORY “Sparkling ideas sprouting Fresh discoveries peeking, Where learning happens natural, Y Factory” At Y Factory, we try our best to bring out content’s true meaning and value through quality applications for children. With optimized content experience, we provide children pleasure of new discoveries and learning on their own. With this approach, Y Factory connects children and parents, culture and technology, and digital and hearts. ABOUT KONG & PARK Established in 2000, KONG & PARK Inc. is a publishing company that has specialized in researching and publishing books for studying Chinese characters. The KONG & PARK research team has organized more than 3,500 Chinese characters, and based on their research, they introduced fun and faster way to learn Chinese characters by focusing on 250 root characters.
CharacterMatrix
Master the 1000 most common Chinese characters with this comprehensive learning tool. It provides example sentences, pronunciation, translations, and character summaries to aid fluency. Explore traditional and simplified characters with customizable display options and audio playback.
- 1000 most common characters
- Example sentences with translations
- Pinyin pronunciation
- Traditional and simplified characters
- Audio playback
- Customizable themes (dark/light)
- Search functionality
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With the most common 1000 characters you can read 89% of modern Chinese. This app is a great companion on your journey towards fluency. For every character you get: ⇨ 3 example sentences ⇨ Pinyin pronunciation ⇨ English translations ⇨ Character summary CharacterMatrix also offers: • Traditional (繁體) and simplified (简体) characters • Several Chinese fonts to choose from • Audio playback for all characters and sentences • Dark mode and light mode • Clean designs that look amazing on iPad and iPhone • A "random" button to jump to an arbitrary character • Search by character, Pinyin or frequency number Take these 1000 characters everywhere you go and learn at your own pace. This app displays the 1000 most used 中文 characters in a matrix that you can adjust (zoom level, font, dark/light theme). Its simple and clean user interface adapts to your device's size. If you use it in your iPad you can see more characters at the same time or split the screen. Some ideas of how to use this app: √ Learn new characters starting with the most common ones √ Understand and remember the characters using the 3 examples √ Listen to the examples and repeat to improve your pronunciation √ Use the "random" button to test your knowledge √ Use the app as a reference to practice writing/calligraphy (with various fonts) √ Use screen mirroring to show the characters on a smart TV and study with friends √ Explore by tapping on characters you don't know in the example sentences to learn more
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: CharacterMatrix at 100% against ELCC's 56%. CharacterMatrix also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.7) and update cadence (monthly vs every 3 months). ELCC's advantage is ratings volume (60 vs 9) and iOS requirement (7.0 vs 16.6). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. ELCC sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and CharacterMatrix sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
CharacterMatrix holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: ELCC has 60 ratings behind it against 9, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 56% of ELCC's written reviews are positive against 100% of CharacterMatrix's.
ELCC ships an update every 3 months, CharacterMatrix monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | ELCC | CharacterMatrix |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (60 ratings) | 5.0 (9 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 55.6% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 60 — better | 9 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Monthly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch |
| Requires iOS | 7.0 — better | 16.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 297 MB | 119 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Y factory | CopyBucket, Inc. |
Customer experience
ELCC
CharacterMatrix
In-app purchases
ELCC
- Full Version$4.99
CharacterMatrix
- Unlock All 1000 Characters$9.99
Questions
Is ELCC free?
Is CharacterMatrix free?
Which has better reviews, ELCC or CharacterMatrix?
Do ELCC or CharacterMatrix have ads?
Which is updated more often, ELCC or CharacterMatrix?
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