Comparison

zeroStudy vs HiShadow

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

Head to head
About

zeroStudy

Features
Read full description

Turn the YouTube videos you already enjoy into a language-learning routine. zeroStudy brings interactive subtitles, vocabulary capture, and spaced repetition together, so watching, understanding, and remembering flow in one place. LEARN WITH YOUTUBE • Paste a YouTube link and watch without leaving zeroStudy. • Follow interactive subtitles as the video plays. • Select a word or phrase to understand and save it in context. • Continue recently watched videos and track your daily immersion progress. REMEMBER WITH REINFORCE • Review vocabulary with spaced repetition at the right time. • Use active recall to build durable memory. • Hear pronunciation and revisit the original sentence. • Add your own words and phrases manually, with optional AI Auto Fill. • Track your streak, retention, and learning progress. KEEP YOUR LEARNING CONNECTED Your vocabulary and progress stay synced across zeroStudy. The optional Chrome extension gives you another way to collect vocabulary while watching on desktop, but it is not required to use the iPhone app. Watch what you enjoy. Save what matters. Reinforce what you want to remember. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

HiShadow

Features
Read full description

HiShadow is an English speaking course built on real-life videos. No need to hunt for videos or decide what to practice — open the app, follow your learning path for 15 minutes a day, and go from shadowing to speaking with confidence. [One learning path, three levels] • Beginner "Small talk", Intermediate "Your everyday life", Upper-intermediate "Say what you really mean" • Each chapter is a real-life scene; each station is one real-person video • You always know which station is today's — finish it and the path moves on [3 days per station, 15 minutes a day] • Day 1 Listen: understand the clip and drill the key lines, with linked sounds drawn for you • Day 2 Learn: vocabulary, usage, paraphrasing and grammar, so you can reuse the lines in new situations • Day 3 Speak: say your responses, spell, then shadow the whole passage • Every line gets a pronunciation score; finish the 3 days to get a report card for listening, vocabulary, usage and speaking [Role-play with AI tutor Echo] • Each chapter ends with a role-play mission: apologize before borrowing something, ask a friend what time they went to bed • Mistakes are no big deal — complete the tasks to earn a stamp, and retry as often as you like [Level assessment and certificate] • Finish the core stations of a level, then take the level assessment: shadowing, listening and usage questions, plus two role-plays • Pass to earn a completion certificate you can save to Photos or share on Instagram [Your mistakes come back to you] • Questions you missed return after 1, 3 and 7 days; get them right 3 times in a row to master them • A few warm-up questions before each lesson, plus a review tab in your notebook [Look up words while you watch] • Tap any word for an instant translation and save it to your word list together with the original sentence [Plans] • Free: the first station of every level, a full 3-day lesson • Pro: unlock the full learning path, role-plays and level assessments • 1, 3, 6 or 12 months (NT$790 / 1,990 / 2,990 / 4,490 in Taiwan; local prices vary) • Payment is charged to your Apple ID and renews automatically at the end of each period. Cancel anytime in Settings > Apple ID > Subscriptions; cancellation takes effect from the next period. Terms of Use: https://shadow.mamaspeaker.com/terms Privacy Policy: https://shadow.mamaspeaker.com/privacy

Screenshots

zeroStudy3 screens
HiShadow4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: zeroStudy at every 2 days against HiShadow's every 10 days. On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

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

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

Both are free to download. zeroStudy sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $12.00 per month and HiShadow sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

zeroStudy ships an update every 2 days, HiShadow every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference Ā· 5 level
zeroStudy versus HiShadow: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterzeroStudyHiShadow
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 2 days — betterEvery 10 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.115.1
Further details — not scored
Size43 MB61 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJIA JIUN KuI Ting Huang

In-app purchases

3 purchases

zeroStudy

Subscriptions2
  • zeroStudy Pro Monthly$12.001 Month
  • zeroStudy Pro Yearly$84.001 Year
One-time1
  • zeroStudy Pro Lifetime$269.00
8 purchases

HiShadow

Subscriptions8
  • Basic$5.991 Month
  • Pro1 Month trial$11.991 Month
  • Max$19.991 Month
Show 5 more
  • Pro 1 Month$24.991 Month
  • Pro 3 Months$59.993 Months
  • Pro ę–¹ę”ˆå¹“čØ‚é–±$79.991 Year
  • Pro 6 Months$99.996 Months
  • Pro 12 Months$129.991 Year

Questions

Is zeroStudy free?
zeroStudy is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is HiShadow free?
HiShadow is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do zeroStudy or HiShadow have ads?
Neither zeroStudy nor HiShadow shows ads.
Which is updated more often, zeroStudy or HiShadow?
zeroStudy ships an update every 2 days, and HiShadow every 10 days. Most recently, zeroStudy was updated on October 31, 2026 and HiShadow on October 24, 2026.

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