Comparison

Pleco Chinese Dictionary vs Cantonese Dictionary

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

Head to head
About

Pleco Chinese Dictionary

This app is a comprehensive tool for learning Chinese, offering integrated dictionaries, document reading, and flashcard features. It supports various input methods including handwriting and OCR, with extensive dictionary options and pronunciation guides.

Highlights
  • Integrated dictionaries with over 110,000 entries
  • Full-screen handwriting input
  • Live OCR for word lookup
  • Document reader for various file types
  • Flashcard system with SRS
  • Stroke order diagrams
  • Mandarin and Cantonese audio
Currently charting
Read full description

Pleco is the ultimate Chinese learning companion: an integrated dictionary / document reader / flashcard system with fullscreen handwriting input and live OCR, from a company that's been making the world's best mobile Chinese learning apps since 2001. Major features: ($ = paid add-on) • Amazing dictionaries. We offer two free built-in dictionaries: the popular open-source CC-CEDICT, with over 110,000 frequently-updated entries, and our own PLC dictionary, with 125,000 entries, parts of speech, and over 25,000 example sentences (with Pinyin). More than two dozen other dictionaries are available as free and paid ($) add-ons, including licensed titles from well-known publishers like Oxford, Longman, FLTRP, Tuttle, SLPH, and Commercial Press. • Powerful merged search: look up words by Chinese characters, Pinyin (spaces / tones optional), or English, with support for wildcards and full-text search. And no need to tediously flip between all of those dictionaries to find a word - just type in your search term and instantly get a combined, frequency-sorted result list. • Links and cross-references: easily look up character components, break down words into individual characters, look up lists of words containing a particular character, and search across all dictionaries for example sentences containing a word. • Gorgeous typography: see it for yourself in our screenshots - we think we're one of the best-looking Chinese dictionaries around. Alternate Kai/Song/Xing-style Chinese fonts are also available ($). • PRC/HK/Taiwan-friendly: every part of Pleco supports both traditional and simplified, headword readings can be shown in Pinyin and Zhuyin, and some dictionaries even support Cantonese. (note: stroke order diagrams do support traditional characters, but use PRC order) • Audio: Hear Mandarin and Cantonese for words and example sentences using iOS' free built-in text-to-speech system. We also offer add-ons ($) with native-speaker Mandarin recordings and higher-quality Mandarin TTS. • Document Reader: bring in text from the clipboard and tap on words in it to instantly look them up. Upgrade ($) adds support for tap-lookups in text, HTML, DOC, DOCX, PDF, and EPUB files. We also offer graded readings ($). • OCR: look up words simply by pointing your device's camera at them, or by tapping on them in a still image. ($) • Fullscreen handwriting: use your device's whole screen instead of just a little box. Extremely accurate and highly tolerant of stroke order mistakes. (enhanced $) • Flashcards: create a card from any dictionary entry with a single button tap, import premade word lists, use advanced memorization techniques like SRS, and study in a variety of modes including fill-in-the-blanks handwriting and tone drills. ($) • Stroke Order Diagrams: animations showing you how to draw each character; 500 characters for free, 28,000 in paid ($) version. • User dictionaries: create new dictionary entries right on your device as you encounter new words. ($) • No ads. We also offer famously excellent customer support and an active user community at http://www.plecoforums.com. And we're constantly working to make our products better; our sales and customer base have been growing for two decades across 4 different platforms. You can be confident that we'll still be fixing bugs and adding features for years to come. Paid add-ons can be transferred to other devices that link to your iTunes account just like any other paid iTunes content; simply install our free app, open up the "Add-ons" screen, and tap on the "Restore Purchases" button to activate your purchase on each device. Please contact us at support@pleco.com, via the form at http://www.pleco.com/contact.html, or using the in-app "Contact Support" command with any questions - we'll be delighted to hear from you.

About

Cantonese Dictionary

This app assists learners in understanding Cantonese pronunciation. It allows users to search for characters by pronunciation or vice versa, supports both traditional and simplified Chinese, and offers audio playback for pronunciations. Bookmarking and copying results are also available features.

Highlights
  • Search pronunciation by character
  • Search character by pronunciation
  • Supports traditional and simplified Chinese
  • Listen to pronunciation audio
  • Bookmark search results
  • Copy results to clipboard
Features
Read full description

You are learning Cantonese. You have no clue of deducing the pronunciation of Chinese characters. You know the pronunciation, but not the character itself. You just don’t know how to pronounce a character. You resort to Cantonese Dictionary. ▨ ▧ ▨ ▧ ▨ ▧ ▨ ▧ ▨ ▧ ▨ ▧ ▨ ▧ ▨ ▧ ▨ ▧ How can the app help you? ◦ You search the pronunciation by character, and vice versa. - The app supports both traditional and simplified Chinese characters. - Support 20000+ CJK ideoglyphs. ◦ You listen to the pronunciation by clicking the voice button. ◦ You bookmark the search results for future reference. ◦ You copy the result to clipboard. ▨ ▧ ▨ ▧ ▨ ▧ ▨ ▧ ▨ ▧ ▨ ▧ ▨ ▧ ▨ ▧ ▨ ▧ Should you find any errata, please don’t hesitate to inform us! Visit our official website! ◦ https://appappworks.com Follow us on Twitter! ◦ https://twitter.com/appappworks Follow us on Facebook! ◦ https://www.facebook.com/appappworks Follow us on YouTube! ◦ https://www.youtube.com/appappworks

Screenshots

Pleco Chinese Dictionary4 screens
Cantonese Dictionary4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Cantonese Dictionary at none against Pleco Chinese Dictionary's 10. Cantonese Dictionary also leads on iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.6). Pleco Chinese Dictionary's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and rating (4.7 vs 4.3). On price, update cadence 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Pleco Chinese Dictionary sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Cantonese Dictionary asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Pleco Chinese Dictionary holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Pleco Chinese Dictionary has 1.9K ratings behind it against 36, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 86% of Pleco Chinese Dictionary's written reviews are positive against 56% of Cantonese Dictionary's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Pleco Chinese Dictionary ships an update every 3 months, Cantonese Dictionary every 2 months. Both last shipped on November 1, 2026.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
Pleco Chinese Dictionary versus Cantonese Dictionary: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPleco Chinese DictionaryCantonese Dictionary
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (1.9K ratings) — better4.3 (36 ratings)
Positive reviews85.8% of reviews — better55.7% of reviews
Number of ratings1.9K — better36
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesAd-supported — better
Best chart rank#165 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.612.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size114 MB36 MB
Age rating+94+
DeveloperPleco Inc.Chun Kai Lau

Customer experience

Pleco Chinese Dictionary

All ratings1,902 ratings
Positive93.5%
Neutral1.8%
Negative4.7%
Written reviews1,200 reviews
Positive85.8%
Neutral5.3%
Negative9.0%

Cantonese Dictionary

All ratings36 ratings
Positive80.6%
Neutral8.3%
Negative11.1%
Written reviews88 reviews
Positive55.7%
Neutral11.4%
Negative33.0%

Bugs and requests

Pleco Chinese Dictionary

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Handwriting recognition not always accurate
  • Inconsistent performance on older devices
  • Occasional issues with iCloud sync and backup

Requested features

4 requests
  • Improved flashcard management and organization
  • More language options beyond Mandarin and Cantonese
  • Better integration with other learning apps and platforms
  • Ability to filter and prioritize common/essential vocabulary

Cantonese Dictionary

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Pleco Chinese Dictionary

One-time10
  • Integrate PurchasesFree
  • Mandarin Audio (male)$4.99
  • Stroke Order Diagrams$4.99
Show 7 more
  • Document Reader$9.99
  • Enhanced Handwriting$9.99
  • Flashcard System$9.99
  • Optical Character Recognizer$9.99
  • Basic Bundle$29.99
  • A Student's Dictionary of Classical and Medieval Chinese$39.99
  • Professional Bundle$59.99
None

Cantonese Dictionary

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Pleco Chinese Dictionary free?
Pleco Chinese Dictionary is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Cantonese Dictionary free?
Cantonese Dictionary is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Pleco Chinese Dictionary or Cantonese Dictionary?
Pleco Chinese Dictionary is rated higher. Pleco Chinese Dictionary averages 4.7 out of 5 from 1.9K ratings, while Cantonese Dictionary averages 4.3 from 36 ratings.
Do Pleco Chinese Dictionary or Cantonese Dictionary have ads?
Cantonese Dictionary shows ads; Pleco Chinese Dictionary does not.
Which is updated more often, Pleco Chinese Dictionary or Cantonese Dictionary?
Pleco Chinese Dictionary ships an update every 3 months, and Cantonese Dictionary every 2 months. Most recently, Pleco Chinese Dictionary was updated on November 1, 2026 and Cantonese Dictionary on November 1, 2026.

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