Macalaoshi vs Bina Languages
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Macalaoshi
Learn Mandarin Chinese through an interactive, story-driven flashcard experience. Build consistent learning habits with progress tracking and engaging challenges. Collect characters and level up as you progress through a captivating narrative.
- Story-driven learning mode
- Progress and daily streak system
- Over 1,300 Chinese characters
- Purchasable premium content
- Unlockable cosmetic skins
- Available in English and Spanish
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Learn Mandarin Chinese by playing. In Macalaoshi you collect Chinese characters, level them up in challenges and beat bosses to help Lili save the world from the Empress. Macalaoshi is a family project: Maca Laoshi, a Chinese teacher, and her son Manu, a content creator, built the app they wished they had to learn Chinese every day and actually enjoy it. ▶ LEARN CHINESE STEP BY STEP • Flashcards with pinyin, meaning and audio, made for learning Chinese from scratch. • 2,000+ Chinese characters from HSK 1 to HSK 4 to collect. • Every character levels up when you get it right, so you know what you've mastered and what to review. • Writing mode: learn to write Chinese characters stroke by stroke, in the correct stroke order. • Create your own units: build notebooks with words from your textbook, your teacher or a song, and share them. ▶ A REAL GAME • Timed challenges with lives and rewards. • Bosses you can only beat with your vocabulary: cross the Forest, the Sea and the Mountain until you face the Empress. • Story mode with Lili: new chapters unlock as your Mandarin improves. • Lili's shop with upgrades and skins. ▶ A HABIT THAT STICKS • A short plan for every day: learn, review and complete challenges. • Daily streak, study calendar and achievements. • Leaderboard to compete with other Chinese learners. • Study offline: your progress syncs when you're back online. ▶ WHO IT'S FOR • Beginners who want to learn Mandarin Chinese from scratch. • Students preparing for HSK 1, HSK 2, HSK 3 or HSK 4. • Anyone already studying Chinese who wants to review vocabulary with fun flashcards. Available in English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, Italian, Japanese and Korean. Download Macalaoshi and start learning Chinese today. It's free to start, with optional premium content.
Bina Languages
Learn languages through personalized content tailored to your interests, not generic lessons. Tap words for instant translations and build vocabulary naturally by reading real-world texts. Track your progress and gain confidence in using the language.
- Interest-based learning content
- Instant word translation
- Natural vocabulary building
- Progress tracking
- Personalized learning path
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Skip the boring textbook scenarios and start learning the topics you actually care about. Bina helps you learn languages through personalized content based on your interests, not generic lessons about ordering food or finding the bus. Choose what you want to learn about, and Bina creates real reading content in your target language. Tap any word to see its meaning instantly, keep reading without breaking your flow, and build vocabulary naturally as you go. Bina tracks the words you know, adapts as you improve, and shows clear progress over time. There are no drills or memorization sessions — just meaningful content that helps you understand and use the language with confidence. Learn better by learning what you care about, with Bina.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Bina Languages at every 4 days against Macalaoshi's every 2 weeks. Macalaoshi's advantage is ratings volume (15 vs 2) and iOS requirement (16.0 vs 18.0). On price, rating, review sentiment 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. Macalaoshi sells 4 one-off in-app purchases and Bina Languages sells 2 in-app purchases, 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 Macalaoshi against 5.0 for Bina Languages. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Macalaoshi has 15 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.
Macalaoshi ships an update every 2 weeks, Bina Languages every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on November 13, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Macalaoshi | Bina Languages |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.9 (15 ratings) | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 15 — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | Every 4 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 254 MB | 6 MB |
| Age rating | 9+ | 4+ |
| Developer | MANUEL SHI | JOSHUA JONATHAN WEIMER |
Customer experience
Macalaoshi
Bina Languages
In-app purchases
Macalaoshi
- Upgrade Super Support$6.99
- Premium Access$11.99
- Super Support$18.99
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- Ultra Support$34.99
Bina Languages
- Bina Premium Monthly$5.991 Month
- Bina Premium Yearly$59.991 Year
Questions
Is Macalaoshi free?
Is Bina Languages free?
Which has better reviews, Macalaoshi or Bina Languages?
Do Macalaoshi or Bina Languages have ads?
Which is updated more often, Macalaoshi or Bina Languages?
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