Comparison

MandarinGo vs Hanzijo

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

Head to head
About

MandarinGo

Features
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PiinTalk is the most efficient way to master Mandarin Chinese, designed specifically for English native speakers who value focus and simplicity. **Key Features:** - **Full HSK Coverage:** Comprehensive vocabulary from HSK 1 to HSK 6. - **Offline First:** Learn anytime, anywhere. No internet connection required for your core learning experience. - **Smart SRS (Spaced Repetition System):** Our algorithm tracks your progress and schedules reviews perfectly to ensure long-term retention. - **Talk & Listen:** Interactive speech practice with high-quality TTS and real-time visual karaoke-style highlighting. - **Minimalist Design:** No distractions. Just you and the language. - **Activity Tracking:** Visualize your dedication with our learning heatmap. Start your journey to fluency today with PiinTalk. Simple. Focused. Effective.

About

Hanzijo

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Learn Chinese step by step, from pinyin and tones to HSK 9 (HSK 3.0): characters, words and grammar points arranged along the nine HSK levels. Every character comes with pinyin, radicals, stroke order and a memory story, and spaced-repetition review brings each word back when it is due. Practice with dictation lessons from real videos and with conversations, scan Chinese text with your camera, and review from Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets. Hanzijo is free to start: you can begin one new lesson every day. A CLEAR HSK PATH • Nine levels that follow the HSK 3.0 framework, from your first characters to HSK 9. • A Foundation course before HSK 1 teaches pinyin, the four tones, tone changes and the basic strokes. • Each lesson teaches its new characters and words, adds grammar points in most lessons, and ends with a short quiz. CHARACTERS THAT STICK • Every character comes with pinyin, tone, stroke count, radicals, meaning and a memory story. • Watch the stroke order, trace it, or write the character from memory and let the app check it. • Switch between Simplified and Traditional characters in Settings at any time. GRAMMAR AND WORDS IN CONTEXT • Grammar points at every level, each with a clear pattern, example sentences with pinyin and translation, and common mistakes to avoid. • Tap a word in a grammar example to see its meaning. • Every word comes with example sentences and audio. LISTEN AND SPEAK • Dictation lessons built from real Chinese videos: listen to a line, then put its phrases back in order. • Conversations at every level: follow each line as it is read aloud, then say it yourself to practice your pronunciation. • Paste the link of a YouTube video with Chinese subtitles and study the words and grammar of each line. REVIEW EVERY DAY • Spaced-repetition review schedules every character, word and grammar point you learn. • Once it has enough of your review history, the app's AI model lists the items you are most likely to forget, so you can review them in time. • Home Screen, Lock Screen and quiz widgets keep a word in front of you all day. • In Search, write a character, a word or a whole sentence by hand, or scan a sign, a menu or a page to see the words, characters and grammar points it contains. • Stats show your streak, an activity calendar and your progress along the HSK path. FREE AND PREMIUM • Free: one new lesson a day. From the second lesson of each level, a short ad opens each next part of the lesson. • Premium removes all ads and unlocks every Premium feature. • One Premium plan works in all three of our apps: Hanzijo (Chinese), Kanjijo (Japanese) and Hanguljo (Korean). SUBSCRIPTION AND PURCHASE INFORMATION • Premium Monthly and Premium Yearly are auto-renewable subscriptions. Premium Lifetime is a one-time purchase and does not renew. • Payment is charged to your Apple Account when you confirm the purchase. • A subscription renews automatically unless you turn off auto-renew at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Your account is charged for the renewal within the 24 hours before the current period ends. • You can manage your subscription and turn off auto-renew in your Apple Account settings after purchase. Terms of Use (EULA): https://hanzijo.com/terms Privacy Policy: https://hanzijo.com/privacy

Screenshots

MandarinGo3 screens
Hanzijo4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: MandarinGo at none against Hanzijo's 3. Hanzijo's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 5 days vs every 3 weeks). On price, device support and iOS requirement 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. Hanzijo sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month. MandarinGo asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

MandarinGo ships an update every 3 weeks, Hanzijo every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 10, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 3 level
MandarinGo versus Hanzijo: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMandarinGoHanzijo
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 5 days — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size31 MB156 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developer潇娴 张Vy Vo

In-app purchases

None

MandarinGo

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Hanzijo

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Premium$5.991 Month
  • Yearly Premium$39.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime Premium$149.99

Questions

Is MandarinGo free?
MandarinGo is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Hanzijo free?
Hanzijo is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do MandarinGo or Hanzijo have ads?
MandarinGo shows ads; Hanzijo does not.
Which is updated more often, MandarinGo or Hanzijo?
MandarinGo ships an update every 3 weeks, and Hanzijo every 5 days. Most recently, MandarinGo was updated on October 10, 2026 and Hanzijo on October 28, 2026.

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