Comparison

Ginkgo vs Basic

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

Head to head
About

Ginkgo

Master Chinese characters and accelerate Mandarin learning with immersive video lessons and interactive flashcards. Explore etymology, history, and cultural significance for enhanced memorization and retention. Personalized learning adapts to your pace and style, featuring native pronunciation for accurate speaking.

Highlights
  • Immersive video classes explaining character stories
  • Interactive flashcards with visual cues and color-coded tones
  • HSK vocabulary memorization (HSK 1-4)
  • Personalized learning algorithm adapting to pace
  • Native speaker audio for pronunciation
  • Focus on etymology, history, and cultural significance
Features
Read full description

Are you ready to conquer Chinese characters and accelerate your Mandarin language learning journey? Look no further, Ginkgo Chinese is the ultimate app for mastering Chinese characters with ease! Our app offers an extensive library of 300 immersive video classes that bring the story behind each character to life, providing you with valuable insights, examples, and mnemonic tips. Dive deep into the etymology, history, and cultural significance of each character, enhancing your understanding and facilitating your memorization of Chinese characters! Say goodbye to monotony and hello to an interactive learning experience! Our unique teaching methodology intelligently alternates between captivating video lessons and dynamic flashcards, ensuring an optimal balance to keep you engaged and motivated while effortlessly memorizing how to write, speak and read Chinese characters. This dynamic combination keeps your interest piqued and enhances your Mandarin Chinese character retention like never before. Immerse yourself in the beauty of Mandarin Chinese characters. Each Flashcards is illustrated by a meaningful picture, and each tone has its own color to reinforce your learning through visual cue and repetition. Our 1500 carefully designed flashcards will help you to gradually memorize all the Mandarin vocabulary words from HSK 1 to HSK 4. After a few swipes, you will already start to grow your vocabulary up and improve your Mandarin Chinese skills. Ginkgo Chinese leverages the power of technology and the latest advances in neuroscience. Our app optimizes the pacing of video lessons and flashcards to match your learning style and preferences. Whether you prefer a faster pace or require more time for reflection, our intelligent learning algorithm adapts to your unique needs, providing a personalized and enjoyable learning experience. You learn Chinese at your own pace and see real progress over time. In our quest to provide you with the most authentic language learning experience, each flashcard in our app is accompanied by native recordings. You'll hear the precise pronunciation of each Chinese character, ensuring that you develop accurate speaking skills and a natural accent. With every touch of a flashcard, you'll be immersed in the sounds of Mandarin language as if you were conversing with a native speaker. Embarking on your Mandarin journey might seem daunting, especially when it comes to conquering Chinese characters. However, the truth is far from the perceived complexity if you use the right tools. With just 30 minutes of dedicated learning per day, you'll be amazed at how swiftly you can master your first 150 characters and reach the level HSK 1 in a mere two weeks. See how easy it is to learn Chinese Mandarin with our app! Ginkgo Chinese is here to accompany you every step of the way through HSK 1, HSK 2, HSK 3, and HSK 4 levels, unlocking new depths of language proficiency. You’ll also delve into invaluable topics like Chinese radicals, Mandarin classifiers, or the Pinyin alphabet, expanding your linguistic horizons. No matter where you are on your Mandarin language journey, our app is your ideal companion. Beginners can build a solid foundation, while advanced learners can fine-tune their Chinese skills and re-discover Chinese hanzi in a new and exciting way. Navigating through our app is as effortless as saying hello. With a simple swipe to the right if you recall a character or to the left if you need a refresher, you seamlessly engage with our flashcards. The app's intelligent algorithm works its magic, automatically introducing new Chinese characters when you're ready and scheduling reviews to reinforce your learning. Before you know it, your vocabulary expands, and your Chinese skills flourish. Embark on a fascinating journey to unlock the secrets of Chinese Characters. Download Ginkgo Chinese now and learn Chinese characters faster than ever!

About

Basic

Features
Read full description

借助您的母语来解释说明,学习法语的基础知识?是的,我们的应用程序Basic-français可以实现。 Basic-Français的创建是为了教授法语的基础知识,它与巴黎市和法兰西岛大区合作,并由欧洲共同资助。 这是一个伴随您法语学习第一步的应用程序。Ludo和Vic旨在代表这个世界上的所有人,并促进性别平等,他们邀请自己进入您的日常生活,用贴近日常的法语对话和插图,帮助您学习法语,并将法语中的新单词与实际生活联系起来。 因为课程中的解释是用一门您可以理解的语言来表达,这很大程度上会减少您的压力并确保您更快地吸收教学内容。而且还有大量的练习题,包括语音识别可以帮助您纠正发音,促进理解和记忆,使学习更加有趣! Basic-Français涵盖了欧洲共同语言参考框架的A1级别, 能够确保您获得在法语学习中快速进步所必需的交流方式。 Basic-Français并不消耗您的流量, 所有的练习都完全可以在无网络的情况下进行, 这个非常重要的特点在现如今的软件中是很少见的

Screenshots

Ginkgo4 screens
Basic4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Ginkgo at every 6 weeks against Basic's every 21 months. Basic's advantage is iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.1). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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. Ginkgo sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per month and Basic sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Ginkgo ships an update every 6 weeks, Basic every 21 months. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and October 18, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Ginkgo versus Basic: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGinkgoBasic
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (155 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews93.1% of reviews—
Number of ratings155 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeks — betterEvery 21 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.112.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size26 MB896 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperGinkgo AcademyLudo-Vic

Bugs and requests

Ginkgo

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Login fails for lifetime account holders on new devices
  • Video loading failures
  • Account access issues despite using same Apple ID

Requested features

6 requests
  • Toggle option to hide pinyin for advanced learners
  • Video playback controls (pause, rewind, replay)
  • Better support for traditional character learning
  • Handwriting recognition and grading feature
  • Improved account synchronization across devices
Show 1 more
  • More free content or extended trial period

Basic

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

8 purchases

Ginkgo

Subscriptions6
  • Unlimited swipes - 1 month3 Days trial$6.991 Month
  • Unlimited Swipes$8.291 Month
  • Unlimited swipes - 1 month$8.291 Month
Show 3 more
  • Unlimited swipes - 1year7 Days trial$59.991 Year
  • Unlimited Swipes (1 year)$69.991 Year
  • Unlimited swipes - 1 year$69.991 Year
One-time2
  • Lifetime - Unlimited swipes$99.99
  • Lifetime - Unlimited swipes$119.99
1 purchases

Basic

One-time1
  • 完全访问$9.99

Questions

Is Ginkgo free?
Ginkgo is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Basic free?
Basic is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Ginkgo or Basic have ads?
Neither Ginkgo nor Basic shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Ginkgo or Basic?
Ginkgo ships an update every 6 weeks, and Basic every 21 months. Most recently, Ginkgo was updated on October 20, 2026 and Basic on October 18, 2026.

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