Comparison

Pinyin vs Compounds!

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

Head to head
About

Pinyin

Learn the fundamentals of Chinese Pinyin pronunciation and tones. This app offers practice exercises for recognition and helps users refine their spelling habits for a solid foundation in Mandarin. Supports double and triple spellings.

Highlights
  • Basic pronunciation and tone learning
  • Double Spell support
  • Triple Spell support
  • Self-testing for recognition
  • Spelling habit correction
Read full description

GONGYIXING® Pinyin is a pinyin learning software suitable for Chinese beginners. It can be used to learn the basic pronunciation and tone of Chinese Pinyin. It also supports Double Spell and Triple Spell. Users can conduct a self-test, exercise their pinyin pronunciation recognition ability, and at the same time, get familiar with and correct the spelling habits, so as to lay a good foundation for further learning Chinese.

About

Compounds!

Features
Read full description

Learn to read and write Chinese characters in the order that makes the most sense. Compounds helps you master the most common simplified Chinese characters with a focused, research-backed learning path. Instead of throwing random characters at you, the app introduces them in an order designed to improve retention and reduce frustration, combining character frequency with structural relationships so new characters build naturally on ones you already know. Each study session is designed to help you: Learn high-value characters first Practice writing from memory Reinforce pronunciation and meaning Review at the right time so you remember more with less effort Compounds is built for learners who want a smarter way to study Chinese characters, whether you are starting from scratch or filling in gaps in your reading and writing. Why this order works: Compounds is inspired by research on efficient Chinese character learning strategies, especially work showing that character frequency and structural relationships can be combined to create a more effective progression. Optimal learning order based on: K. Zhao, D. Zhao, J. Yang, W. Ma and B. Yu, “Efficient Learning Strategy of Chinese Characters Based on Usage Frequency and Structural Relationship,” 2019 IEEE 4th International Conference on Big Data Analytics (ICBDA), Suzhou, China, 2019, pp. 351-355, doi: 10.1109/ICBDA.2019.8713245. Subscription A subscription is required for full access to all features. Terms of Service: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Pinyin4 screens
Compounds!1 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Compounds! at Free against Pinyin's $6.99. Pinyin's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2). On update cadence, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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

Compounds! is free to download; Pinyin costs $6.99 up front. Compounds! sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $14.99 per month. Pinyin asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Pinyin ships an update every 6 weeks, Compounds! monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 27, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Pinyin versus Compounds!: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPinyinCompounds!
Price$6.99Free — better
Rating5.0 (3 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews33.3% of reviews—
Number of ratings3 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeksMonthly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaid—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.016.4 — better
Further details — not scored
Size102 MB239 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperGongyixing Beijing Technologies Co.,LtdParotid

In-app purchases

None

Pinyin

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Compounds!

Subscriptions2
  • Pro Monthly$14.991 Month
  • Pro Yearly3 Days trial$49.991 Year

Questions

Is Pinyin free?
Pinyin costs $6.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Compounds! free?
Compounds! is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Pinyin or Compounds! have ads?
Neither Pinyin nor Compounds! shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Pinyin or Compounds!?
Pinyin ships an update every 6 weeks, and Compounds! monthly. Most recently, Pinyin was updated on November 3, 2026 and Compounds! on October 27, 2026.

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