Comparison

Pinyin Trainer for Educators vs Skritter

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

Head to head
About

Pinyin Trainer for Educators

Master Mandarin Chinese phonetics and tones with this comprehensive trainer. Features nearly 2,000 audio recordings, interactive exercises, and a built-in guide to the Pinyin system. Ideal for beginners and advanced learners seeking to improve listening skills and avoid pronunciation errors.

Highlights
  • Master Chinese tones and Pinyin initials
  • Nearly 2,000 audio recordings
  • Interactive tone sketching mode
  • Integrated Chinese-English dictionary
  • Complete Pinyin reading guide
Features
Read full description

Master the sounds of Mandarin Chinese with ease! *** NOTE: This version is discounted for educational institutions and is fully featured. You can also try a free version of Pinyin Trainer and upgrade at leisure: tap our company name to find the free version! *** No matter if you're a beginner or a long-time student of Chinese, its tonal nature can catch you out and even cause some serious embarrassment... Pinyin Trainer will help you master those tones using Pinyin, the standard romanization system for Mandarin Chinese. With almost 2,000 individual audio recordings and a variety of question-and-answer methods, it'll keep you on your toes and improve your Chinese listening skills like nothing else. Plus, it's got a complete guide to reading Chinese with the Pinyin system built right in. Features: - Score by tapping the words that you hear - Train both Chinese tones and Pinyin "initials" sounds, to help you distinguish between commonly-confused words - Integrates with our Chinese-English dictionary to provide potential definitions for Pinyin words - In tone sketching mode, answer tone questions by drawing Pinyin tones with your fingers! - Almost 2,000 high quality original audio recordings - Free guide to reading Pinyin, with a complete index of one-syllable Chinese sounds

About

Skritter

Master Mandarin characters through interactive writing practice. Learn meanings, readings, and tones with curated decks for all levels, from beginner to advanced.

Highlights
  • Interactive character writing practice
  • Learn character meaning, reading, and tone
  • Topic-based and difficulty-level decks
  • HSK 1-9 study decks
  • Stroke order guidance
  • Review mode
Features
Read full description

Practice Chinese writing with Skritter, whether you have a strong grasp of written Chinese and want to remember the characters better or are a beginner who doesn’t know where to start. Skritter has existed for more than 10 years, and for a good reason: our learners are amazing! They help us with feedback which allows us to create what we think is the best Chinese writing app out there! If you have seen Chinese writing before, you probably noticed that it requires us to learn characters rather than the roman alphabet we know from English. You can learn it through our “decks” (similar to a card deck) based on topics and difficulty. Popular Decks: - Ordering or making coffee or tea (so you can get your morning caffeine fix) - Chinese Stroke Order - HSK 1-6 & New HSK3.0 1-9 study decks - More advanced topics like Yoga and talking about your Emotions - The 16-episode Ultimate Chinese Character course First, you learn a character’s meaning, reading, and tone; then practice writing it! Before you know it, you’ll want to learn thousands of characters, and words like these two happy users: “If I could only keep one app on my iPod, this would be it without a doubt. Skritter will change your life!” ― Wendy Werneth, UN Translator “Learning to write characters has never been so fun. From writing zero to 2000+ characters in six months!” ― Brian Jackson, Economist Try our app and see for yourself why thousands of people use it every day. Have questions, problems, or feedback? We would love to hear from you. Reach out to us at team@skritter.com ----------- Guest accounts enjoy free access to select decks forever! Unlock Review mode, and study anything you want with a premium subscription, which is available for purchase in the app. Big savings offered on 12-month subscriptions! • One month subscription (automatically renewed until canceled) • 12-month subscription (automatically renewed until canceled) Recurring billing, cancel anytime. Within 24 hours before the subscription period ends, you will be charged through your iTunes account. Manage your subscription from your iTunes App Store settings where you can turn off auto-renewal at any time. Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription to that publication, where applicable. Privacy Policy: https://skritter.com/legal Terms of Use: https://docs.skritter.com/article/133-terms-of-use

Screenshots

Pinyin Trainer for Educators3 screens
Skritter4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Skritter at Free against Pinyin Trainer for Educators's $2.99. Skritter also leads on rating (4.7 vs 4.0) and update cadence (monthly vs every 34 months). Pinyin Trainer for Educators's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 11) and iOS requirement (8.0 vs 15.0). On review sentiment, ads 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

Skritter is free to download; Pinyin Trainer for Educators costs $2.99 up front. Skritter sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Pinyin Trainer for Educators asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Skritter holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Skritter has 823 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 75% of Pinyin Trainer for Educators's written reviews are positive against 83% of Skritter's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Pinyin Trainer for Educators ships an update every 34 months, Skritter monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 8, 2026 and October 22, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Pinyin Trainer for Educators versus Skritter: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPinyin Trainer for EducatorsSkritter
Price$2.99Free — better
Rating4.0 (4 ratings)4.7 (823 ratings) — better
Positive reviews75.0% of reviews82.9% of reviews — better
Number of ratings4823 — better
Update frequencyEvery 34 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFreemium — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS8.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size26 MB54 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developertrainchinese B.V.Inkren, Inc.

Customer experience

Pinyin Trainer for Educators

All ratings4 ratings
Positive75.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative25.0%
Written reviews8 reviews
Positive75.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative25.0%

Skritter

All ratings816 ratings
Positive92.0%
Neutral2.0%
Negative6.0%
Written reviews381 reviews
Positive82.9%
Neutral5.5%
Negative11.5%

Bugs and requests

Pinyin Trainer for Educators

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Skritter

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Subscription issues and unauthorized charges
  • App freezing and crashing
  • Syncing problems across devices
  • Inconsistent character recognition

Requested features

5 requests
  • Allow creating custom decks and word lists
  • Add Cantonese support
  • Improve landscape mode on iPad
  • Provide more detailed performance tracking
  • Add ability to focus on specific problem characters

In-app purchases

None

Pinyin Trainer for Educators

No in-app purchases

9 purchases

Skritter

Subscriptions9
  • Skritter Premium (1 month)7 Days trial$9.991 Month
  • Skritter Premium (1 month)7 Days trial2 variants$14.991 Month
  • Skritter Premium (1 month)14 Days trial$14.991 Month
Show 6 more
  • Skritter Premium (6 month)7 Days trial$59.996 Months
  • Skritter Premium (6 month)14 Days trial$59.996 Months
  • Skritter Premium (6 month)7 Days trial$69.996 Months
  • Skritter Premium (1 year)7 Days trial2 variants$99.991 Year
  • Skritter Premium (1 year)14 Days trial$99.991 Year
  • Skritter Premium (1 year)7 Days trial$119.991 Year

Questions

Is Pinyin Trainer for Educators free?
Pinyin Trainer for Educators costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Skritter free?
Skritter is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Pinyin Trainer for Educators or Skritter?
Skritter is rated higher. Pinyin Trainer for Educators averages 4.0 out of 5 from 4 ratings, while Skritter averages 4.7 from 823 ratings.
Do Pinyin Trainer for Educators or Skritter have ads?
Neither Pinyin Trainer for Educators nor Skritter shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Pinyin Trainer for Educators or Skritter?
Pinyin Trainer for Educators ships an update every 34 months, and Skritter monthly. Most recently, Pinyin Trainer for Educators was updated on October 8, 2026 and Skritter on October 22, 2026.

Other comparisons