Macalaoshi vs Bamlu
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
Read full descriptionHide full description
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.
Bamlu
Learn Mandarin through short, engaging video clips. Tap any word to instantly see its pronunciation and meaning, then save it for later review. Track your progress and build a daily learning habit with personalized practice.
- Short Mandarin video clips
- Tap-to-learn vocabulary
- Saved word review
- HSK-oriented placement
- Daily habit tracking
- Cross-device sync
Read full descriptionHide full description
Learn Mandarin in short, focused sessions with BAMLU and its friendly red fox. WATCH AND LISTEN Practice with compact Mandarin clips designed around useful everyday language. Follow Hanzi, pinyin, and English meaning while you listen. TAP ANY WORD Open a word directly from a caption to see its pronunciation and meaning. Save useful vocabulary without interrupting the lesson. REVIEW WHAT YOU SAVE Return to saved words, mark what you know, and review vocabulary in context. FIND YOUR LEVEL Start with a short HSK-oriented placement experience. BAMLU uses broad learning bands to personalize practice; it is not an official HSK examination or certification. BUILD A DAILY HABIT Choose a daily goal, follow your streak, track learning time, and see your progress throughout the year. SYNC ACROSS DEVICES Sign in with Apple or email to keep your saved words, streak and settings on every device. Accounts are optional. SEARCH YOUR LIBRARY Search Mandarin or English, then filter clips by level, topic, and format. BAMLU PRO A BAMLU Pro subscription unlocks the complete learning experience. Monthly and annual plans are available. The annual plan may include a seven-day introductory trial for eligible customers. Prices and availability are shown in the app before purchase. Subscriptions renew automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel your subscription in your Apple Account settings. Terms of Use: https://zolvastudios.com/bamlu/terms Privacy Policy: https://zolvastudios.com/bamlu/privacy
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Macalaoshi at 5.0 against Bamlu's 4.5. Macalaoshi also leads on ads (none vs shown) and ratings volume (14 vs 2). Bamlu's advantage is update cadence (every 2 days vs every 2 weeks). On price, review sentiment, in-app purchases and monetization model 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 Bamlu sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Macalaoshi holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Macalaoshi has 14 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, Bamlu every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 26, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Macalaoshi | Bamlu |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (14 ratings) — better | 4.5 (2 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 14 — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | Every 2 days — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 254 MB | 196 MB |
| Age rating | 9+ | 4+ |
| Developer | MANUEL SHI | ALBERT STEEN FELDT |
Customer experience
Macalaoshi
Bamlu
In-app purchases
Macalaoshi
- Upgrade Super Support$6.99
- Premium Access$11.99
- Super Support$18.99
Show 1 moreShow fewer
- Ultra Support$34.99
Bamlu
- BAMLU Pro Monthly$9.991 Month
- BAMLU Pro Annual$29.991 Year
- BAMLU Pro Annual$44.991 Year
Show 2 moreShow fewer
- BAMLU Pro Annual7 Days trial$59.991 Year
- BAMLU Pro Annual$59.991 Year
- 30 minutes with your teacher$4.99
- 60 minutes with your teacher$9.99
- 120 minutes with your teacher$14.99









