# Ginkgo vs Basic

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.

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.

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.

## The numbers

| Metric | Ginkgo | Basic |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.8 (155 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ginkgo-learn-chinese-mandarin/id1506925763/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **155** | — |
| Positive reviews | 93.1% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 6 weeks** | Every 21 months |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Size | 26 MB | 896 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 | **12.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Ginkgo Academy](https://appshunter.io/developer/1455760860) | [Ludo-Vic](https://appshunter.io/developer/1621267084) |

## What reviewers say

### Ginkgo

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ginkgo-learn-chinese-mandarin/id1506925763)

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:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (8)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Unlimited swipes - 1 month | $6.99 | per month |
| Unlimited Swipes | $8.29 | per month |
| Unlimited swipes - 1 month | $8.29 | per month |
| Unlimited swipes - 1year | $59.99 | per year |
| Unlimited Swipes (1 year) | $69.99 | per year |
| Unlimited swipes - 1 year | $69.99 | per year |
| Lifetime - Unlimited swipes | $99.99 | one-time |
| Lifetime - Unlimited swipes | $119.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Intuitive and easy-to-use interface
- 🎓 Effective spaced repetition system (SRS)
- 🎥 High-quality explanatory videos
- 🧠 Etymology and character origin explanations
- 📚 Comprehensive HSK 1-4 vocabulary coverage

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🔐 Account login issues with lifetime purchases
- 📖 No option to disable pinyin display
- 🎥 Some videos fail to load
- 💳 Paywall limits free content access
- 📚 Limited explanations for traditional characters

**Reported bugs**

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

**Requested features**

- 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


### Basic

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/basic-francais/id1627356412)

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 完全访问 | $9.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked 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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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*