# trainchinese vs Eagle Mandarin

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Eagle Mandarin at none against trainchinese's 13. Eagle Mandarin also leads on ads (none vs shown) and rating (5.0 vs 4.7). trainchinese's advantage is update cadence (fortnightly vs every 4 months) and ratings volume (2.3K vs 2). On price and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. trainchinese sells 13 one-off in-app purchases. Eagle Mandarin asks for nothing beyond the download.

Eagle Mandarin holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: trainchinese has 2.3K ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.

trainchinese ships an update fortnightly, Eagle Mandarin every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on September 26, 2026 and June 5, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | trainchinese | Eagle Mandarin |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.7 (2.3K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/trainchinese/id333830076/reviews) | **[5.0 (2 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/eagle-mandarin/id1453749847/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **2.3K** | 2 |
| Positive reviews | 75.8% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | **Fortnightly** | Every 4 months |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Free** |
| Size | 328 MB | 23 MB |
| Requires iOS | 16.6 | **10.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [trainchinese B.V.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1443075140) | [Heather Marriott](https://appshunter.io/developer/919616194) |

## What reviewers say

### trainchinese

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/trainchinese/id333830076)

Learn Chinese with a comprehensive dictionary, flashcards, and OCR. Access example sentences, audio, and character animations. Supports both Simplified and Traditional Chinese, with customizable phonetic input.

**Highlights:** Comprehensive Chinese dictionary, Optical Character Recognition (OCR), Spaced Repetition flashcard system, Character animations and handwriting training, Support for Simplified and Traditional Chinese, Multiple phonetic input options (Pinyin, Zhuyin)

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

**In-app purchases (13)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| OCR Feature | $4.99 | one-time |
| 10 lists | $8.99 | one-time |
| 3 months | $11.99 | one-time |
| 3 months + 10 lists | $15.99 | one-time |
| 6 months | $19.99 | one-time |
| 30 lists | $19.99 | one-time |
| 6 months + 10 lists | $23.99 | one-time |
| 3 months + 30 lists | $25.99 | one-time |
| 12 months | $34.99 | one-time |
| 6 months + 30 lists | $34.99 | one-time |
| 12 months + 10 lists | $37.99 | one-time |
| 12 months + 30 lists | $45.99 | one-time |
| 12 months + 60 lists | $54.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Great app for learning Chinese
- 👍 Helpful for improving vocabulary, pronunciation, and writing
- 🚀 Comprehensive dictionary and flashcard features
- 👍 Customizable word lists and training modes
- 🚀 Detailed stroke order animations for characters

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs after updates
- 💰 Subscription model is expensive for long-term use
- 🔍 Confusing and unintuitive user interface
- 🔍 Limited functionality in free version
- 🐛 Syncing and login issues

**Reported bugs**

- App crashes when trying to move or add words to lists
- Audio playback not working for some words
- Writing recognition feature is unreliable
- Inconsistent behavior when switching between app and website

**Requested features**

- Add option to learn on multiple languages (e.g. English and Russian)
- Improve organization and navigation of word lists
- Implement more engaging learning games and activities
- Allow users to easily add their own custom words and phrases


### Eagle Mandarin

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/eagle-mandarin/id1453749847)

Learn Mandarin vocabulary with interactive quizzes and pronunciation practice. Features games, pinyin support, and progress tracking. Designed for students of Mandarin, it offers a fun way to build language skills.

**Highlights:** Vocabulary quizzes, Pronunciation practice, Pinyin support, Interactive games, Progress tracking, Reward system (pandas and bamboo)

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is trainchinese free?

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

### Is Eagle Mandarin free?

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

### Which has better reviews, trainchinese or Eagle Mandarin?

Eagle Mandarin is rated higher. trainchinese averages 4.7 out of 5 from 2.3K ratings, while Eagle Mandarin averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.

### Do trainchinese or Eagle Mandarin have ads?

trainchinese shows ads; Eagle Mandarin does not.

### Which is updated more often, trainchinese or Eagle Mandarin?

trainchinese ships an update fortnightly, and Eagle Mandarin every 4 months. Most recently, trainchinese was updated on September 26, 2026 and Eagle Mandarin on June 5, 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.*