# Cantone vs Hanly

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Cantone at none against Hanly's 1. Cantone also leads on iOS requirement (12.4 vs 15.0). Hanly's advantage is ratings volume (357 vs 11). On price, rating, review sentiment and update cadence there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Hanly sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $5.99 per month. Cantone asks for nothing beyond the download.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Cantone against 4.9 for Hanly. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Hanly has 357 ratings behind it against 11, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 99% positive.

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 6, 2026 and October 17, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Cantone | Hanly |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[5.0 (11 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/cantone/id1602297692/reviews)** | [4.9 (357 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hanly/id6741442324/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 11 | **357** |
| Positive reviews | **100.0% of reviews** | 99.1% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | Every 2 weeks |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Size | 32 MB | 241 MB |
| Requires iOS | **12.4** | 15.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 9+ |
| Developer | [Brent Ho](https://appshunter.io/developer/1602297694) | [Artur Gorokh](https://appshunter.io/developer/1794204266) |

## What reviewers say

### Cantone

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/cantone/id1602297692)

Master tonal languages like Cantonese and Mandarin with interactive exercises. Improve your ability to perceive and speak tones, learn vocabulary, and understand tone sandhi rules through engaging activities.

**Highlights:** Perception and production tone activities, Vocabulary reinforcement, Tone sandhi rule learning, Support for traditional/simplified characters, Multiple transcription systems, Customizable user interface

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


### Hanly

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hanly/id6741442324)

Learn thousands of Chinese characters efficiently by understanding their structure and origin. This app uses visual breakdowns, engaging stories, and interactive elements to build an intuitive grasp of characters and aid memorization. It focuses on frequently used vocabulary and offers a structured learning progression.

**Highlights:** Character etymology and mnemonics, Interactive component exploration, Structured learning progression, Spaced repetition system, Extensive character dictionary, Stroke order animations

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

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Hanly Premium | $5.99 | per month |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Intuitive and efficient way to learn characters
- 🚀 Effective learning method that builds on prior knowledge
- 💡 Helpful mnemonics and stories to aid memorization
- 👍 Customizable learning pace and progress tracking
- 🚀 Comprehensive coverage of characters and components

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Some AI-generated illustrations could be improved
- 💡 Addition of writing practice and example sentences would be helpful

**Reported bugs**

- No known major bugs reported

**Requested features**

- Addition of writing practice for characters
- Inclusion of example sentences for each character
- Expansion of content to cover more advanced vocabulary


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Cantone free?

Cantone is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Hanly free?

Hanly is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Cantone or Hanly?

Cantone is rated higher. Cantone averages 5.0 out of 5 from 11 ratings, while Hanly averages 4.9 from 357 ratings.

### Do Cantone or Hanly have ads?

Neither Cantone nor Hanly shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Cantone or Hanly?

Cantone ships an update every 2 weeks, and Hanly every 2 weeks. Most recently, Cantone was updated on October 6, 2026 and Hanly on October 17, 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.*