Comparison

Chinese Stroke vs MandaGlow

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

Head to head
About

Chinese Stroke

Features
Read full description

Chinese characters may appear simple, but are you confident in writing their correct stroke order? Are you sure you can teach children the right way? Download the app to test your knowledge! In today’s digital age, many people are accustomed to typing on computers and smartphones, and often forget how to write characters by hand. This app provides a convenient solution to help you refresh your memory on the correct stroke order. It offers animated writing demonstrations, allowing you to watch each stroke in action with voice narration. You can even adjust the playback speed and choose between automatic or manual playback for a more flexible learning experience. Additionally, each stroke is shown with a static breakdown image, making the writing process clearer and more understandable. This app is an essential tool for looking up stroke order, generating electronic practice sheets, and more. It strictly follows the latest national standards for stroke order and radical structure, with over 21,000 characters, including traditional Chinese characters. Whether you're a teacher, parent, or student, this app is a valuable assistant for mastering Chinese characters. The app also supports querying multiple characters at once, which is especially useful when teaching children to write names or exploring longer sentences, poems, and phrases. Moreover, you can generate electronic practice sheets in image format with various templates to choose from. These can easily be printed for offline practice, giving you the flexibility to learn both online and offline. To ensure an undistracted learning experience, there are no ads on the stroke order lookup page. If you’re a student, parent, teacher, or learner of Chinese characters, don’t wait – download the app now and start your learning journey!

About

MandaGlow

Features
Read full description

MandaGlow turns Mandarin learning into an artistic journey through the world of Van Gogh and the literary icons from different times both in China and West. Each level is paired with an iconic Van Gogh painting β€” from the warm Sunflowers of Level 1 to the luminous Irises of Level 6. As you progress, the world around you transforms. LEARN YOUR WAY - Master Pinyin from scratch with 10 structured lessons covering initials, finals, tones and special rules - Build vocabulary, grammar and phrases through HSK 1–6 - Practice speaking with voice recognition exercises - Read and listen with real dialogue scenes STAY MOTIVATED - Earn XP and climb through ranks with every lesson - Build daily streaks and collect badges - Track your progress across all 6 HSK levels YOUR PERSONAL GUIDE - Choose from 6 literary avatars β€” Eileen Chang, Li Bai, Lu Xun, Dante, Camus, and Jane Austen - Your guide accompanies you through every lesson with wisdom and encouragement BEAUTIFULLY DESIGNED - Each level brings a new Van Gogh masterpiece as your learning backdrop - Warm, artistic interface designed to make studying feel like a pleasure, not a chore Whether you are a complete beginner or building toward fluency, MandaGlow grows with you β€” one brushstroke at a time. Start your journey. 开始吧。 Terms of Use: Apple's Standard End User License Agreement (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Chinese Stroke4 screens
MandaGlow4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Chinese Stroke at none against MandaGlow's 1. On price, update cadence, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price Β· Rating Β· Positive reviews Β· Number of ratings Β· Update frequency Β· Ads Β· In-app purchases Β· Monetization Β· Best chart rank Β· Devices Β· Requires iOS

CostPrice Β· In-app purchases Β· Ads Β· Monetization

Both are free to download. MandaGlow sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $5.99 per month. Chinese Stroke asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Chinese Stroke ships an update every 6 weeks, MandaGlow monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 16, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference Β· 5 level
Chinese Stroke versus MandaGlow: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterChinese StrokeMandaGlow
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeksMonthly β€” better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo β€” betterYes
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS14.0 β€” better15.1
Further details β€” not scored
Size60 MB141 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperBeijing Haixing Chuangxiang Information Technology Co., LtdJINQIU LI

In-app purchases

None

Chinese Stroke

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

MandaGlow

Subscriptions1
  • MandaGlow Premium$5.991 Month

Questions

Is Chinese Stroke free?
Chinese Stroke is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is MandaGlow free?
MandaGlow is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Chinese Stroke or MandaGlow have ads?
Neither Chinese Stroke nor MandaGlow shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Chinese Stroke or MandaGlow?
Chinese Stroke ships an update every 6 weeks, and MandaGlow monthly. Most recently, Chinese Stroke was updated on October 25, 2026 and MandaGlow on October 16, 2026.

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