Comparison

Read Bean vs Hanly

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • Authentic graded readings
  • HSK 1-6 level adaptation
  • Interactive drills and exercises
  • AI-powered speaking roleplays
  • On-demand translation and pronunciation
  • Spaced repetition flashcards
Features
Read full description

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

About

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.

Highlights
  • Character etymology and mnemonics
  • Interactive component exploration
  • Structured learning progression
  • Spaced repetition system
  • Extensive character dictionary
  • Stroke order animations
Features
Read full description

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

Read Bean4 screens
Hanly4 screens

Verdict

The call

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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

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.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

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.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Read Bean ships an update weekly, Hanly every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 20, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Read Bean versus Hanly: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRead BeanHanly
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (369 ratings)4.9 (357 ratings)
Positive reviews90.6% of reviews99.1% of reviews — better
Number of ratings369 — better357
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 2 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.115.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size113 MB241 MB
Age rating4+9+
DeveloperRefond, Inc.Artur Gorokh

Customer experience

Read Bean

All ratings369 ratings
Positive97.0%
Neutral1.4%
Negative1.6%
Written reviews32 reviews
Positive90.6%
Neutral6.3%
Negative3.1%

Hanly

All ratings357 ratings
Positive99.2%
Neutral0.3%
Negative0.6%
Written reviews217 reviews
Positive99.1%
Neutral0.5%
Negative0.5%

User reviews

Read Bean

From 369 App Store ratings

What 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 ratings

What 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

4 purchases

Read Bean

Subscriptions4
  • Monthly Premium3 Days trial$14.991 Month
  • 6 Month Premium$79.996 Months
  • Annual Premium3 Days trial$99.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Annual Premium3 Days trial$119.991 Year
1 purchases

Hanly

Subscriptions1
  • Hanly Premium$5.991 Month

Questions

Is Read Bean free?
Read Bean is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Hanly free?
Hanly is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Read Bean or Hanly?
Read Bean and Hanly are both rated 4.9 out of 5 on the App Store, from 369 and 357 ratings respectively.
Do Read Bean or Hanly have ads?
Neither Read Bean nor Hanly shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Read Bean or Hanly?
Read Bean ships an update weekly, and Hanly every 2 weeks. Most recently, Read Bean was updated on September 20, 2026 and Hanly on September 23, 2026.

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