Read Bean vs Hanly
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Read Bean
Master Chinese with authentic, graded readings and interactive exercises. Tailored lessons adapt to your HSK level, offering vocabulary drills, grammar practice, and AI-powered speaking roleplays. Get instant translation and pronunciation support.
- Authentic graded readings
- HSK 1-6 level adaptation
- Interactive drills and exercises
- AI-powered speaking roleplays
- On-demand translation and pronunciation
- Spaced repetition flashcards
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Master Chinese Through Real-World Graded Content — Read Bean Go beyond basic apps and textbooks. Read Bean is the ultimate tool for Chinese learners from HSK 1 to 6 who want to read, listen, and think in real Chinese — at a professional, cultural, and conversational level. Whether you're preparing for business, professional exams, or personal fluency, Read Bean transforms authentic articles, stories, and conversations into dynamic, personalized graded readings with mini vocab drills made just for you. Built for all learners HSK 1 through 6 Forget "beginner content" stretched thin. Read Bean assesses your exact reading and listening levels and instantly tailors every lesson to challenge you without overwhelming you. Improve fluency across real-world topics — from culture to commerce — with lessons designed to mirror how Chinese is actually used. Practice the Skills That Matter Learn actively with sentence structure drills, fill-in-the-blank questions, smart listening challenges, and comprehension boosters. Every question type is crafted to sharpen your grammar, expand your vocabulary, and strengthen your ability to read, write, and think in Chinese — not just recognize words. New: Interactive Speaking Roleplays Go beyond passive learning with Read Bean Roleplays — dynamic, voice-driven conversations that simulate real-life scenarios in Chinese. Whether you're ordering food, negotiating at work, or chatting with a neighbor, our AI-powered roleplays help you practice speaking naturally and confidently. You’ll get feedback, cultural tips, and just the right level of challenge to improve your fluency in a fun, low-pressure way. On-Demand Translation, Pronunciation, and Grammar Support Tap any word to see its meaning, pronunciation, usage notes, and common collocations. Explore grammar patterns, sentence breakdowns, and alternative expressions with a single tap. Your growth stays fast and natural — without endless dictionary lookups. Your Personal AI Language Coach Need a deeper explanation, a cultural note, or a memory tip for a tough word? Just ask. Our built-in AI tutor gives you personalized help in real time — it’s like having a Chinese teacher in your pocket 24/7. Spaced Repetition That Works — Flashcards Reimagined Reinforce everything you learn with smart flashcards powered by proven spaced repetition methods. Read Bean automatically tracks your progress and schedules reviews, turning short-term learning into long-term mastery. Achieve Your Chinese Learning Goals With Read Bean, you'll do more than memorize — you'll think and operate in Chinese. Whether you're aiming to work abroad, connect more deeply with Chinese culture, ace professional certifications, or simply enjoy native content without subtitles, Read Bean gives you the edge. What Our Users Say "I have a 1500-day streak on Duolingo. If I had to choose between Read Bean and Duo today, I'd choose Read Bean." — Lawson K., After 30 Days "Dropped my 500+ day Duolingo streak to make Read Bean part of my New Year’s resolutions. Huge fan now." — Gary N., After 5 Days Subscription Details Full access to all lessons requires a subscription. Subscriptions renew automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the period. Your Apple account will be charged within 24 hours prior to renewal. Manage your subscription anytime in your Apple Account Settings. Privacy Policy: https://readbean.app/privacy Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ CONTACT US: Questions or feedback? Email us at feedback@readbean.app
Hanly
Learn thousands of Chinese characters efficiently by understanding their structure and origin. This app uses visual breakdowns, engaging stories, and interactive elements to build an intuitive grasp of characters and aid memorization. It focuses on frequently used vocabulary and offers a structured learning progression.
- Character etymology and mnemonics
- Interactive component exploration
- Structured learning progression
- Spaced repetition system
- Extensive character dictionary
- Stroke order animations
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Chinese characters are not just random shapes - learn 1000 characters in months by understanding their structure and origin! Through visual breakdowns and engaging stories, Hanly helps you develop an intuitive grasp of Chinese characters and to efficiently remember them. Hanly starts with simple components and quickly builds up to complex characters, while focusing on the most frequently used vocabulary. CARDS THAT MAKE CHARACTERS COME ALIVE Etymology, memorable illustrations, mnemonics: we will provide the most helpful information to get a character to come alive in your imagination and stick in your memory for good. INTUITIVE INTERACTIVE UI Play with characters like they’re Lego blocks! Explore radicals, components, compound words, and character relationships - all just one click away! CAREFULLY OPTIMIZED LEARNING PROGRESSION Start with simple building blocks and naturally progress to complex characters. Our carefully designed levels introduce the most frequent characters early while maintaining coherent, meaningful themes. EXTENSIVE CHARACTER DICTIONARY & SEARCH Search by character, pinyin or meaning to find: - Character meanings and pronunciations - Usage in compound words and characters - Frequency and HSK level - Radical forms - Stroke order animations - Character evolution history SPACED REPETITION ENGINE INTEGRATED WITH THE UI Built-in spaced repetition helps you review characters at the perfect time, with review schedule optimized for how well you know a given character. Character progress is deeply integrated with the UI, so that you can spot the characters you are learning on any page. AND MANY MORE FEATURES! - Detailed learning statistics - Character etymology stories & fun facts - Explore characters & radicals sorted by their frequency - Personal note-taking system - Easily mark characters you already know Terms of use: https://www.hanlyapp.com/terms-of-use Privacy policy: https://www.hanlyapp.com/privacy-policy Contact us: We’d love to hear from your feedback about Hanly! Please send us an email with your thoughts and suggestions at tutu@hanlyapp.com
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is monetization model: Hanly at free against Read Bean's free with in-app purchases. Hanly also leads on review sentiment (99% vs 91%). Read Bean's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 2 weeks). On price, rating, ratings volume and ads 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
Both are free to download. Read Bean sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $14.99 per month and Hanly sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $5.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for Read Bean against 4.9 for Hanly. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 369 and 357 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 91% of Read Bean's written reviews are positive against 99% of Hanly's.
Read Bean ships an update weekly, Hanly every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 20, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Read Bean | Hanly |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.9 (369 ratings) | 4.9 (357 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 90.6% of reviews | 99.1% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 369 — better | 357 |
| Update frequency | Weekly — better | Every 2 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 113 MB | 241 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 9+ |
| Developer | Refond, Inc. | Artur Gorokh |
Customer experience
Read Bean
Hanly
User reviews
Read Bean
From 369 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Intuitive UI
- 🚀 Effective learning experience
- 💡 Relevant and engaging content
- 🎉 Helps improve reading comprehension
- 🌟 Better than Duolingo
Room to improve
- 🐛 Design issues on iPad
- 🔍 Auto-correct issues when searching
Hanly
From 357 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Intuitive and efficient way to learn characters
- 🚀 Effective learning method that builds on prior knowledge
- 💡 Helpful mnemonics and stories to aid memorization
- 👍 Customizable learning pace and progress tracking
- 🚀 Comprehensive coverage of characters and components
Room to improve
- 🐛 Some AI-generated illustrations could be improved
- 💡 Addition of writing practice and example sentences would be helpful
Bugs and requests
Read Bean
Reported bugs
2 issues- Login screen freezes
- Incompatibility with older devices
Requested features
2 requests- Full-screen mode for iPad
- Ability to use reading assistance on any website
Hanly
Reported bugs
1 issue- No known major bugs reported
Requested features
3 requests- Addition of writing practice for characters
- Inclusion of example sentences for each character
- Expansion of content to cover more advanced vocabulary
In-app purchases
Read Bean
- Monthly Premium3 Days trial$14.991 Month
- 6 Month Premium$79.996 Months
- Annual Premium3 Days trial$99.991 Year
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- Annual Premium3 Days trial$119.991 Year
Hanly
- Hanly Premium$5.991 Month









