# N3 vs Chinese Stories

The clearest difference is review sentiment: N3 at 100% against Chinese Stories's 0%. Chinese Stories's advantage is price (Free vs $9.99) and update cadence (every 3 months vs every 25 months). On ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Chinese Stories is free to download; N3 costs $9.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

N3 ships an update every 25 months, Chinese Stories every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | N3 | Chinese Stories |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $9.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | — | **[1.8 (12 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/chinese-stories-beginner/id964384700/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | — | **12** |
| Positive reviews | **100.0% of reviews** | 0.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 25 months | **Every 3 months** |
| Monetization | Paid | **Free** |
| Size | 16 MB | 35 MB |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | **6.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Yamase & Touwa Japanese Insititute](https://appshunter.io/developer/442115304) | [Chinese Stories Publishing Co., Ltd.](https://appshunter.io/developer/455650579) |

## What reviewers say

### N3

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/n3/id493169980)

Master JLPT N3 grammar with over 300 practice questions and detailed explanations. This app covers all required sentence patterns for the N3 reading section, organized for easy understanding. Perfect for on-the-go learning.

**Highlights:** JLPT N3 grammar explanations, Over 300 practice questions, Detailed explanations for each pattern, Covers all N3 reading sentence patterns, One-handed operation, Vocabulary marking and reinforcement

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


### Chinese Stories

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/chinese-stories-beginner/id964384700)

This app offers e-books designed for learning Mandarin Chinese at various proficiency levels. It provides interactive features like definitions, pinyin, and quizzes to enhance the learning experience.

**Highlights:** Interactive e-books for Mandarin learning, Definitions, pinyin, and HSK/TOP levels for words, Save unfamiliar words for later memorization, Hyperlinks for proper nouns to learn culture and history, Full English translation and pinyin for each story, Comprehension quizzes with progress tracking, Audio versions for listening practice

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is N3 free?

N3 costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Chinese Stories free?

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

### Do N3 or Chinese Stories have ads?

Neither N3 nor Chinese Stories shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, N3 or Chinese Stories?

N3 ships an update every 25 months, and Chinese Stories every 3 months. Most recently, N3 was updated on November 1, 2026 and Chinese Stories on October 8, 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.*