Chinese Drill vs Normal Academy
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Chinese Drill
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Chinese Drill is an offline smartphone replacement for flash cards, and helps the learner to learn and revise Chinese words and characters. It facilitates self-testing and automates revision scheduling on the basis of scheduled repetition. The structure of the levels and lessons correlates with the official learning material for the HSK 2.0 tests at Level 1, and so the app can be used as a companion to the appropriate books. The coverage can be extended up to HSK (2.0) Level 6 by an in-app purchase. Additionally, Chinese Drill allows the user to enter own words and characters (requires Chinese soft keyboard if entering Chinese characters). The app works entirely offline and does not require an internet connection for anything except app updates and the In-App Purchase.
Normal Academy
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Normal Academy offers online courses that will enable you to acquire new skills or strengthen the ones you already have. Each month, new courses open to everyone will be available online so you can train according to your needs and goals !
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Normal Academy at none against Chinese Drill's 1. On price, update cadence, ads 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
Both are free to download. Chinese Drill sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Normal Academy asks for nothing beyond the download.
Chinese Drill ships an update every 9 days, Normal Academy fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 27, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Chinese Drill | Normal Academy |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Every 9 days — better | Fortnightly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 — better | 16.4 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 15 MB | 124 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | LinguaMedia | celio* |
In-app purchases
Chinese Drill
- Further HSK levels$4.99
Normal Academy
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Chinese Drill free?
Is Normal Academy free?
Do Chinese Drill or Normal Academy have ads?
Which is updated more often, Chinese Drill or Normal Academy?
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