Comparison

Calliplus vs CharacterMatrix

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

Head to head
About

Calliplus

Explore Chinese calligraphy with a dictionary of styles from renowned masters. Practice your own strokes with interactive guides and scoring, and save your favorite pieces.

Highlights
  • Search calligraphy by character
  • View styles from famous calligraphers
  • Learn about calligraphers and masterpieces
  • Bookmark favorite copybooks
  • Interactive writing practice
  • Handwriting scoring
Features
Read full description

Chinese Calligraphy Dictionary. Search calligraphy written by famous calligraphers. == Look up == 1. Look up single character: list how the Chinese character is written in different styles by different calligraphy masters. 2. Look up multiple characters: you can swipe left/right to see different character lists. 3. Show information about the calligrapher and it's written in which masterpiece. 4. You can bookmark favorite calligraphy copybooks. == Writing Practice == 1. Click on characters to see large one. 2. Grid lines can be displayed in background. 3. Characters can be shown in contour. 4. Use your finger to write on the screen. 5. You can score your handwriting. Calligraphy images are provided by 行政院國家發展委員會,CNS11643中文標準交換碼全字庫網站

About

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.

Highlights
  • 1000 most common characters
  • Example sentences with translations
  • Pinyin pronunciation
  • Traditional and simplified characters
  • Audio playback
  • Customizable themes (dark/light)
  • Search functionality
Features
Read full description

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

Calliplus4 screens
CharacterMatrix4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Calliplus at none against CharacterMatrix's 1. Calliplus also leads on update cadence (weekly vs monthly) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 16.6). CharacterMatrix's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and ratings volume (9 vs 2). On price, rating 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. CharacterMatrix sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Calliplus asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Calliplus against 5.0 for CharacterMatrix. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 9 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Calliplus ships an update weekly, CharacterMatrix monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 4, 2026 and September 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Calliplus versus CharacterMatrix: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCalliplusCharacterMatrix
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (2 ratings)5.0 (9 ratings)
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings29 — better
Update frequencyWeekly — betterMonthly
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationAd-supported — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch
Requires iOS13.0 — better16.6
Further details — not scored
Size44 MB119 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMAO YUAN KAOCopyBucket, Inc.

Customer experience

Calliplus

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

CharacterMatrix

All ratings9 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Calliplus

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

CharacterMatrix

One-time1
  • Unlock All 1000 Characters$9.99

Questions

Is Calliplus free?
Calliplus is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is CharacterMatrix free?
CharacterMatrix is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Calliplus or CharacterMatrix?
Calliplus and CharacterMatrix are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 2 and 9 ratings respectively.
Do Calliplus or CharacterMatrix have ads?
Calliplus shows ads; CharacterMatrix does not.
Which is updated more often, Calliplus or CharacterMatrix?
Calliplus ships an update weekly, and CharacterMatrix monthly. Most recently, Calliplus was updated on October 4, 2026 and CharacterMatrix on September 30, 2026.

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