Comparison

MathZap vs CiaoSpeak

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

Head to head
About

MathZap

Features
Read full description

MathZap makes math practice feel like a game — not a chore. Pick your grade, answer questions, earn XP, and keep your daily streak alive. Every session is fast, fun, and satisfying. Designed for kids from Junior Kindergarten all the way to Grade 8.

About

CiaoSpeak

This app focuses on conversational language learning for English speakers. It offers interactive speaking practice with feedback, lessons, stories, and review exercises for Spanish, Portuguese, and Chinese.

Highlights
  • Interactive speaking practice with AI feedback
  • Real-life conversation scenarios
  • Lessons, stories, and review exercises
  • Traditional Chinese with Taiwan accent
  • Latin American Spanish for English speakers
  • Brazilian Portuguese with neutral accent
  • No account required to start
Features
Read full description

CiaoSpeak is a language learning app for English speakers who want to speak, not just study. Learn Latin American Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, or Traditional Chinese the way Taiwan speaks it, with a real course behind every conversation: lessons, stories, speaking practice and review. In speaking practice, a character in a real scene asks you one question. You answer out loud and find out if a person would understand you. If not, you get one gentle fix, explained in plain English. No account needed: open the app and start. HOW SPEAKING PRACTICE WORKS • Answer by voice or by typing. It doesn't have to be perfect. With a fix, you also see a more natural way to say it. • Stuck? Type it in English, see it in the language you're learning, then say it yourself. My phrasebook keeps every sentence you managed to say. TRADITIONAL CHINESE • Everyday Chinese as it's spoken in Taiwan, with Traditional characters and Taiwan-accent audio on every word. • Chinese tones and pronunciation from the first unit, Pinyin or Zhuyin (bopomofo), and handwriting with stroke-order guides. • Units labeled with TOCFL levels, from Novice to Band B. Speaking practice in Taiwan scenes: a breakfast shop, a night market, a taxi. LATIN AMERICAN SPANISH • Everyday Spanish as it's spoken in Mexico and across Latin America, from CEFR A1 to early B1. • Built around English speakers' mistakes: ser vs estar, noun gender, "tengo 20 años", gustar, and false friends like embarazada (pregnant, not embarrassed). • Speaking practice in scenes set in Mexico City and around Latin America. BRAZILIAN PORTUGUESE • Everyday Brazilian Portuguese in the neutral São Paulo and Rio standard, from CEFR A1 to early B1. • The sounds English speakers find hard: nasal vowels (pão, bom), lh and nh, the Brazilian r. • Speaking practice in scenes set in Brazil. FOUR PARTS IN EVERY COURSE Lessons, leveled stories with audio, speaking practice, and spaced-repetition review of your mistakes, plus streaks, XP and an optional daily reminder. CIAOSPEAK+ CiaoSpeak is free to start. Every lesson and all review stay free forever, and today's speaking practice questions are free too (up to five a day). CiaoSpeak+ is an optional auto-renewing subscription that adds speaking practice in any scene whenever you like (fair-use limits apply), your whole phrasebook, the full Stories library and unlimited Quick Practice rounds. One subscription covers every course. • Monthly: US$5.99 per month • Yearly: US$39.99 per year, with a 3-day free trial for new subscribers Prices shown are for the United States. The App Store shows the price in your local currency before you confirm. Payment is charged to your Apple Account when you confirm the purchase, or when the free trial ends. The subscription renews automatically unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period, and the renewal is charged within the 24 hours before the period ends. Cancel a free trial at least 24 hours before it ends and you won't be charged. Manage or cancel any time in your Apple Account settings (open Settings, tap your name, then Subscriptions). Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://ciaospeak.app/privacy/ FREQUENTLY ASKED Which languages can I learn? Traditional Chinese (Taiwan), Latin American Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese, all taught in English. Do I have to speak out loud? No. You can answer every question by typing. Is CiaoSpeak affiliated with TOCFL? No. The Chinese units are labeled with TOCFL levels, but CiaoSpeak is independent and not endorsed by the SC-TOP. There are no past papers or mock exams. CiaoSpeak also teaches English, with explanations in Spanish, Portuguese, Korean, Japanese or Traditional Chinese.

Screenshots

MathZap4 screens
CiaoSpeak4 screens

Verdict

The call

MathZap and CiaoSpeak are too close to call on the numbers: across 5 compared parameters — price, ads, in-app purchases and device support among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.

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. MathZap sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and CiaoSpeak sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ScorecardNo meaningful differences
MathZap versus CiaoSpeak: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMathZapCiaoSpeak
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequency—Every 2 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
Monetization—Freemium
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.115.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size50 MB64 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperBenjamin MurphyYu Chen Lin

In-app purchases

1 purchases

MathZap

One-time1
  • MathZap Pro$3.99
2 purchases

CiaoSpeak

Subscriptions2
  • CiaoSpeak+ Monthly$5.991 Month
  • CiaoSpeak+ Yearly3 Days trial$39.991 Year

Questions

Is MathZap free?
MathZap is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is CiaoSpeak free?
CiaoSpeak is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do MathZap or CiaoSpeak have ads?
Neither MathZap nor CiaoSpeak shows ads.

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