Cats InputPad Pro vs Canto School
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side β with what reviewers say about each.
Cats InputPad Pro
Read full descriptionHide full description
Writing Chinese is a breeze if you use the Chinese Alphabet Teaching System. You can also input the same way as you write Chinese. It is the fastest way of inputting Chinese, and even better, by using it, you also learn how to write Chinese characters better. It is the ideal way of implementing the EasyChinese method of learning Chinese. Version 2.0 is fully modernized for today's iPhones and iPads: full-screen support on every device, a native keyboard look in light and dark mode, and improved stability throughout. Compose your text in the app, then copy it for use anywhere. This is the complete Pro version β no ads, long-press reverse lookup showing the stroke code of any character, and the IICore characters database for input of more than 12,000 Chinese characters.
Canto School
Read full descriptionHide full description
Learn practical Cantonese for everyday life in Hong Kong, on iPhone and iPad. Practise meeting people, ordering food, travelling and making plans, with Traditional Chinese, Jyutping and English support. START WHERE YOU ARE Choose from five starting levels or try the optional free listening-and-reply check. It needs no microphone, suggests a starting point and does not certify proficiency. Confirm your starting level once. TRY ONE COMPLETE CHAPTER FREE Get one free chapter total: the opening chapter at your chosen starting level, including lessons, preparation and its chapter check. Replay it as often as you like. Resetting progress does not change your starting level or renew the free chapter. Earlier free-access grants are retained. There is no trial countdown, and trying the chapter does not start a subscription. LEARN IN SMALLER STEPS Follow practical lessons across 18 stages with pictures, listening, matching, sentence building and speaking. Preparation helps introduce unfamiliar language. Optional short warm-ups revisit familiar questions before a chapter check. Enjoy calmer chapter endings and replay available recorded pronunciation after a correct sentence. SPEAK AND SEE THE WORDS Tap the microphone to practise a phrase. Words light up as on-device recognition finds them, with confirmation when the complete phrase matches. Speaking works offline on iPhone and iPad. This checks words, not pronunciation or tones; recognition may miss an attempt. Retry or choose Build instead anytime. Speaking is supported practice, not an independent assessment. BUILD AND SAVE USEFUL PHRASES Build is free. Choose English words and see Cantonese take shape. Hear available exact recordings and save supported complete phrases to Vocabulary. Search across words, short phrases and sentences in English, Cantonese or Jyutping. Hello, Good morning and Bye have free standalone playback. EVERYDAY 100 CHALLENGE From 7 November to 7 December 2026, 18:00 Hong Kong time, join inside the app to keep all 100 Everyday 100 cards free on this device: 83 words, 7 phrases and 10 patterns. Practise during the shared 30-day event and keep access afterward, including quizzes and available recordings. No subscription is needed for the claimed deck. Opening the event alone does not join; other Full Course features remain separate. GO FURTHER WITH FULL COURSE Full Course is an optional monthly subscription for all stages, full Vocabulary access, flashcards and personal decks, Review and Theory. Study tones, Jyutping and useful patterns, or make your own flashcards. Apple shows your local monthly price before purchase. Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation. The subscription renews monthly unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the current period ends. Apple charges renewal within 24 hours before that period ends. Manage or cancel in your Apple Account subscription settings. Access continues through the paid period; learning progress is retained. Deleting the app or resetting progress does not cancel a subscription. Qualifying paid-app owners and previous lifetime Full Course purchasers keep access without subscribing. Restore purchases in Profile's course-access screen. OFFLINE AND PRIVATE Lessons, pictures, recordings and the speaking recognizer are bundled. Purchases, restores and verification may need internet; verified subscription access works offline until expiry. No Canto School account, ads or tracking. Progress, saved phrases, decks and optional daily reminders stay on your device. Speaking audio is processed on device and discarded after the attempt; it is not uploaded. Playback uses exact recordings only. Some custom cards and Build combinations have no recording; the app does not generate speech. Terms: https://cantoschool.com/terms Privacy: https://cantoschool.com/privacy Support: https://cantoschool.com/support
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Cats InputPad Pro at none against Canto School's 1. Canto School's advantage is update cadence (every 4 days vs every 22 months). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price Β· Rating Β· Positive reviews Β· Number of ratings Β· Update frequency Β· Ads Β· In-app purchases Β· Monetization Β· Best chart rank Β· Devices Β· Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Canto School sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $7.99 per month. Cats InputPad Pro asks for nothing beyond the download.
Cats InputPad Pro ships an update every 22 months, Canto School every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on November 11, 2026 and November 10, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Cats InputPad Pro | Canto School |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Every 22 months | Every 4 days β better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No β better | Yes |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod β better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 β better | 16.4 |
| Further details β not scored | ||
| Size | 8 MB | 1.3 GB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | YIU LEUNG RANDY CHAN | Segis Junior AB |
In-app purchases
Cats InputPad Pro
No in-app purchases
Canto School
- Full Course Monthly$7.991 Month
Questions
Is Cats InputPad Pro free?
Is Canto School free?
Do Cats InputPad Pro or Canto School have ads?
Which is updated more often, Cats InputPad Pro or Canto School?
Other comparisons















