Comparison

Pandaist vs Hanyu Wave

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

Head to head
About

Pandaist

This app offers a graded reading experience to help users learn Chinese characters. It includes a dictionary and quizzes, with progress tracking and regularly updated content. Subscription options are available for enhanced features.

Highlights
  • Graded Chinese readers
  • Integrated dictionary
  • Character quizzes
  • Progress tracking
  • Updated news and stories
Features
Read full description

Pandaist is a graded reader, dictionary and quiz app that lets you practice Chinese characters. The app allows you to keep track of scores, settings, and has constantly updated news and stories! To see the subscription terms of use, go to https://pandaist.com/terms

About

Hanyu Wave

Learn and practice Chinese vocabulary and characters with daily lessons and AI-powered quizzes. Covers all HSK levels, from beginner to advanced. Master your Chinese word knowledge anywhere, anytime.

Highlights
  • Learn words and characters daily
  • Practice with shuffle quizzes
  • AI-based quiz generation
  • Comprehension management
  • Covers all HSK levels (1-6)
  • Offline practice
Features
Read full description

Anyone who studies Chinese has a hard time learning vocabulary. Hanyu Wave is the simplest way to learn and practice Chinese words and characters. Learn words and characters every day, and practice them with quizzes. You can learn all of the vocabulary for your target level. In 'Learn' tab, you can learn all the words and characters of the entire HSK course. Learn them and take Learn Quizzes to complete each part. Words/characters for all HSK levels are ready. -HSK1: 151 new words / 174 new characters -HSK2: 151 new words / 173 new characters -HSK3: 302 new words / 270 new characters -HSK4: 605 new words / 447 new characters -HSK5: 1,308 new words / 621 new characters -HSK6: 2,510 new words / 978 new characters In 'Practice' tab, you can practice all of the vocabulary you learned with shuffle quizzes. Based on the AI-based quiz generation and comprehension management, Hanyu Wave helps learners to clearly understand confusing words and characters. Practice at home, on the subway, anywhere. With Hanyu Wave, your Chinese vocabulary will be mastered. ––––––– If you subscribe to the Hanyu Wave Pass (Premium), you can access all features and courses. Once you subscribe, your subscription is automatically renewed. If you want to cancel your subscription, you can turn off auto-renew option in your 'Apple ID' in 'Settings' 24 hours before the end of the subscription period. Privacy https://hanyuwave.com/en/privacy Terms and Conditions https://hanyuwave.com/en/terms

Screenshots

Pandaist4 screens
Hanyu Wave4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Pandaist at 4.8 against Hanyu Wave's 4.0. Hanyu Wave's advantage is review sentiment (75% vs 67%) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 16.0). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and ads 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. Pandaist sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month and Hanyu Wave sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Pandaist holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 5 and 4 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 67% of Pandaist's written reviews are positive against 75% of Hanyu Wave's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 3, 2026 and October 16, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Pandaist versus Hanyu Wave: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPandaistHanyu Wave
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (5 ratings) — better4.0 (4 ratings)
Positive reviews66.7% of reviews75.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings5 — better4
Update frequencyWeeklyWeekly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS16.011.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size86 MB45 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperAndrew AlexanderKyungil Choi

Customer experience

Pandaist

All ratings5 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral33.3%
Negative0.0%

Hanyu Wave

All ratings4 ratings
Positive75.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative25.0%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive75.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative25.0%

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Pandaist

Subscriptions2
  • Pandaist Monthly$9.991 Month
  • Pandaist Yearly$99.991 Year
4 purchases

Hanyu Wave

Subscriptions3
  • Monthly Pass$1.991 Month
  • Quarterly Pass$4.493 Months
  • Yearly Pass$14.491 Year
One-time1
  • HSK Vocabulary$16.99

Questions

Is Pandaist free?
Pandaist is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Hanyu Wave free?
Hanyu Wave is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Pandaist or Hanyu Wave?
Pandaist is rated higher. Pandaist averages 4.8 out of 5 from 5 ratings, while Hanyu Wave averages 4.0 from 4 ratings.
Do Pandaist or Hanyu Wave have ads?
Neither Pandaist nor Hanyu Wave shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Pandaist or Hanyu Wave?
Pandaist ships an update weekly, and Hanyu Wave weekly. Most recently, Pandaist was updated on October 3, 2026 and Hanyu Wave on October 16, 2026.

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