Comparison

Skritter vs Traverse

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Skritter

Master Mandarin characters through interactive writing practice. Learn meanings, readings, and tones with curated decks for all levels, from beginner to advanced.

Highlights
  • Interactive character writing practice
  • Learn character meaning, reading, and tone
  • Topic-based and difficulty-level decks
  • HSK 1-9 study decks
  • Stroke order guidance
  • Review mode
Features
Read full description

Practice Chinese writing with Skritter, whether you have a strong grasp of written Chinese and want to remember the characters better or are a beginner who doesn’t know where to start. Skritter has existed for more than 10 years, and for a good reason: our learners are amazing! They help us with feedback which allows us to create what we think is the best Chinese writing app out there! If you have seen Chinese writing before, you probably noticed that it requires us to learn characters rather than the roman alphabet we know from English. You can learn it through our “decks” (similar to a card deck) based on topics and difficulty. Popular Decks: - Ordering or making coffee or tea (so you can get your morning caffeine fix) - Chinese Stroke Order - HSK 1-6 & New HSK3.0 1-9 study decks - More advanced topics like Yoga and talking about your Emotions - The 16-episode Ultimate Chinese Character course First, you learn a character’s meaning, reading, and tone; then practice writing it! Before you know it, you’ll want to learn thousands of characters, and words like these two happy users: “If I could only keep one app on my iPod, this would be it without a doubt. Skritter will change your life!” ― Wendy Werneth, UN Translator “Learning to write characters has never been so fun. From writing zero to 2000+ characters in six months!” ― Brian Jackson, Economist Try our app and see for yourself why thousands of people use it every day. Have questions, problems, or feedback? We would love to hear from you. Reach out to us at team@skritter.com ----------- Guest accounts enjoy free access to select decks forever! Unlock Review mode, and study anything you want with a premium subscription, which is available for purchase in the app. Big savings offered on 12-month subscriptions! • One month subscription (automatically renewed until canceled) • 12-month subscription (automatically renewed until canceled) Recurring billing, cancel anytime. Within 24 hours before the subscription period ends, you will be charged through your iTunes account. Manage your subscription from your iTunes App Store settings where you can turn off auto-renewal at any time. Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription to that publication, where applicable. Privacy Policy: https://skritter.com/legal Terms of Use: https://docs.skritter.com/article/133-terms-of-use

About

Traverse

This app combines note-taking, mind mapping, and spaced repetition flashcards to enhance learning and memory. It utilizes cognitive science principles to help users deeply understand and retain information, covering the entire learning cycle from initial ideas to long-term recall.

Highlights
  • Visual note-taking with mind mapping
  • Spaced repetition flashcards
  • Cognitive science-based learning
  • Multimedia content integration
  • Cloze deletion flashcard creation
  • Knowledge sharing and community
  • Inspiration from public learning materials
Features
Read full description

Traverse is a visual learning tool that combines note-taking with mind mapping and spaced repetition flashcards. Deeply grasp topics and remember for life with our learning method based on cognitive science. WHY CHOOSE TRAVERSE? Traverse is built the way humans learn. It covers the full learning cycle, where other tools only capture a part. From initial idea to AHA moment, to a crystal clear and unforgettable mental image. • See the big picture by visually mapping out your notes • Use color coding, links and grouping to master the hardest subjects • Perfect recall with our spaced repetition algorithm that helps you revise at the optimal time • Dive deeper, add and connect all of your learning content and resources - whether text, PDF, audio, images, videos, code blocks or Latex math formulas • Quickly create flashcards from anything by just selecting it and creating a cloze (fill-in-the-blank) • Share your knowledge with your peers, and gain reputation in the community • Or get inspired by the best maps, notes and flashcards others have already created ROOTED IN COGNITIVE SCIENCE Do you find yourself writing lots of notes but rarely revisiting them? Reading many books but failing to remember and apply the lessons in real life? Losing sight of the big picture in a pile of loose snippets of knowledge? Traverse is the first tool that integrates the full human learning process as understood by the latest neuroscience, enabling you to: - Use visual encoding to gain deep and integrative concept understanding - Flatten the forgetting curve with cognitive load optimization - Optimally space out revisions to learn more in less time - Use spatial memory for long-term retention and creative imagination Learn and master any field faster than you imagined possible. Develop original ideas. Apply what you learn and improve your decision making.

Screenshots

Skritter4 screens
Traverse4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Skritter at 83% against Traverse's 29%. Skritter also leads on rating (4.7 vs 2.5) and ratings volume (816 vs 19). Traverse's advantage is iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.0). 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Skritter sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month and Traverse sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $15.00 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Skritter holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 2.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Skritter has 816 ratings behind it against 19, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 83% of Skritter's written reviews are positive against 29% of Traverse's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Skritter ships an update monthly, Traverse every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on September 26, 2026 and June 11, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Skritter versus Traverse: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSkritterTraverse
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (816 ratings) — better2.5 (19 ratings)
Positive reviews82.8% of reviews — better28.6% of reviews
Number of ratings816 — better19
Update frequencyMonthly — betterEvery 3 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.012.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size54 MB69 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperInkren, Inc.EASY CASTLE LTD

Customer experience

Skritter

All ratings816 ratings
Positive92.0%
Neutral2.0%
Negative6.0%
Written reviews377 reviews
Positive82.8%
Neutral5.6%
Negative11.7%

Traverse

All ratings19 ratings
Positive36.8%
Neutral5.3%
Negative57.9%
Written reviews21 reviews
Positive28.6%
Neutral4.8%
Negative66.7%

Bugs and requests

Skritter

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Subscription issues and unauthorized charges
  • App freezing and crashing
  • Syncing problems across devices
  • Inconsistent character recognition

Requested features

5 requests
  • Allow creating custom decks and word lists
  • Add Cantonese support
  • Improve landscape mode on iPad
  • Provide more detailed performance tracking
  • Add ability to focus on specific problem characters

Traverse

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

9 purchases

Skritter

Subscriptions9
  • Skritter Premium (1 month)7 Days trial$9.991 Month
  • Skritter Premium (1 month)7 Days trial2 variants$14.991 Month
  • Skritter Premium (1 month)14 Days trial$14.991 Month
Show 6 more
  • Skritter Premium (6 month)7 Days trial$59.996 Months
  • Skritter Premium (6 month)14 Days trial$59.996 Months
  • Skritter Premium (6 month)7 Days trial$69.996 Months
  • Skritter Premium (1 year)7 Days trial2 variants$99.991 Year
  • Skritter Premium (1 year)14 Days trial$99.991 Year
  • Skritter Premium (1 year)7 Days trial$119.991 Year
1 purchases

Traverse

Subscriptions1
  • Traverse Member$15.001 Month

Questions

Is Skritter free?
Skritter is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Traverse free?
Traverse is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Skritter or Traverse?
Skritter is rated higher. Skritter averages 4.7 out of 5 from 816 ratings, while Traverse averages 2.5 from 19 ratings.
Do Skritter or Traverse have ads?
Neither Skritter nor Traverse shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Skritter or Traverse?
Skritter ships an update monthly, and Traverse every 3 months. Most recently, Skritter was updated on September 26, 2026 and Traverse on June 11, 2026.

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