Comparison

ToneDetector vs K

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

Head to head
About

ToneDetector

Master Mandarin tones with this intuitive app. Practice pronunciation, compare your pitch contours to samples, and receive immediate visual feedback to improve your speaking accuracy without a tutor. Covers all Mandarin tonal syllables for effective self-assessment.

Highlights
  • Instant tone judgment
  • Visual pitch contour comparison
  • Practice all Mandarin tonal syllables
  • Self-assessment of tone perception
  • Sample sounds for comparison
  • Intuitive practice interface
Features
Read full description

How to know if you pronounced a Mandarin tone correctly without human tutors? The 12 years old tone detector app lets you make a judgement by yourself instantly. It is very intuitive for you to practice your tones. The Chinese tones are the most difficult part for a foreign language learner to speak Chinese. How to get rid of strong non-native accent and misunderstanding caused by tone issues? Using this app, practice to be right in every Mandarin tonal syllable first! Hear sample tonal syllables, practice tonal syllables and see their pitch shapes immediately. By comparing your pitch contours with the sample pitch contours directly, you can make a judgement easily by yourself. From the visual intuitive feedback, you may improve your tones quickly. This app basically covers all the possible Mandarin chinese syllables with lexical tones. They are 407 base syllables and 1259 tonal syllables. This app provides a sample sound for each tonal syllable for you to compare. By following the sample sounds, you can practice all the Mandarin tonal syllables and learn Chinese pronunciations. You can self-assess your tone perception ability too. This app is essential to all Chinese learners to master Chinese tone quickly. It could be used for tone lecture demonstration purpose too.

About

K

Features
Read full description

Learning Han characters in Korean You can learn by watching, listening, reading, and writing in Korean. - This application was created as a way to learn Chinese characters in Korean. The pronunciation of Chinese characters can be very different. - All Chinese characters in this application are pronounced in Korean. Also, Korean and Korean pronunciations are displayed. - Korea has long used and recorded Chinese characters. Some characters have a more accurate pronunciation and meaning than the Chinese pronunciation of Chinese characters. - The reason I worked on this application was to convey the correct Korean pronunciation and meaning of Chinese characters. Support information: - Terms of use and policy: http://www.citrineins.co.kr/new_privacy/english - Support website: http://www.citrineins.co.kr - Instagram follow address: https://www.instagram.com/citrine_ins thank you.

Screenshots

ToneDetector4 screens
K4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: K at every 3 months against ToneDetector's every 29 months. K also leads on price ($3.99 vs $9.99) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 14.0). On ads, in-app purchases 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

ToneDetector costs $9.99 and K $3.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ToneDetector ships an update every 29 months, K every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 6, 2026 and October 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 6 level
ToneDetector versus K: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterToneDetectorK
Price$9.99$3.99 — better
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 29 monthsEvery 3 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaid—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS14.011.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size28 MB112 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJian ChengJongyun Park

In-app purchases

None

ToneDetector

No in-app purchases

None

K

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is ToneDetector free?
ToneDetector costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is K free?
K costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do ToneDetector or K have ads?
Neither ToneDetector nor K shows ads.
Which is updated more often, ToneDetector or K?
ToneDetector ships an update every 29 months, and K every 3 months. Most recently, ToneDetector was updated on October 6, 2026 and K on October 3, 2026.

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