Comparison

Neko Translator vs Hanzi

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

Head to head
About

Neko Translator

Features
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Neko Translator - A professional AI-powered tool for automatically translating manga/comic images β€” from extracting dialogue, to summarizing each page's context with a multimodal model, to fine-grained translation by a large language model. Run the whole pipeline automatically in batches, or refine it box by box manually, then export or read with a single tap. Automated translation pipeline: Text-box detection β†’ text recognition (OCR) β†’ scene-context parsing β†’ translation. All four steps are independently controllable, and each can be skipped or re-run as needed. Text-box detection / OCR: Automatically outlines dialogue and text regions in the image, with support for manually adding boxes, running OCR individually, reordering, and more. Fine-grained LLM translation: Translates with scene context taken into account, and supports a proofreading workflow for easy human refinement. Bring your own AI provider: Compatible with the OpenAI API, so you can connect a local Ollama, OpenRouter, and more. Model, concurrency, rate limits, and retries are all customizable, and your API key is stored only in your device's secure local storage. Glossary support: Keep character names and proper nouns translated consistently, with "do not translate" and "banned terms" options to ensure consistent wording throughout the book. Scene-context analysis: Parses the image content and uses the source text and summaries of adjacent pages as context, so the AI keeps dialogue coherent from page to page. Batch processing: Select multiple pages and chapters at once for automatic queued processing, with real-time progress and automatic retries on failure. Built-in reader: Horizontal / vertical layouts, paged / continuous scrolling β€” the reading direction is fully customizable. One-tap export: Export to LabelPlus TXT, or package everything together with the original images as a ZIP, making the follow-up typesetting work easy.

About

Hanzi

Features
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Hanzi turns any Chinese app into English, right on top of what you were doing. Shopping, food delivery, payments, banking, maps, social feeds: tap once and the whole screen comes back in English, every word sitting exactly where the Chinese was. Close it and you are still in your app, ready for the next tap. No more screenshot, switch app, upload, squint, switch back. WHY IT FEELS DIFFERENT β€’ The screen, not a word list. Hanzi rebuilds the page in English, same place, same size, so buttons, prices and menus still make sense. β€’ Deals decoded. Chinese discounts are converted properly: 88折 becomes 12% off, δΈ‡ becomes 10,000, and prices stay untouched. β€’ Text inside pictures too. Banners, product photos and posters are translated where the text sits. β€’ Traditional and Simplified Chinese, even mixed on the same screen. β€’ Swipe to compare with the original Chinese at any time. β€’ Pinyin and copy: open any translated screen as text, with the Chinese and pinyin for every line, and copy what you need. PRIVATE BY DESIGN Hanzi reads and translates on your iPhone or iPad with Apple's on-device engines. Your screens are never uploaded, not to us and not to anyone. It works offline once the language packs are installed. No account, no sign-up. SET UP ONCE, USE EVERYWHERE The first launch walks you through a one-minute setup. After that, a floating on-screen button (or a double-tap on the back of your iPhone) translates whatever is on screen. GREAT FOR β€’ Living in Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan or Singapore β€’ Travelling in China with apps that only speak Chinese β€’ Shopping on Chinese marketplaces and tracking deliveries β€’ Reading payment, bank and utility notifications β€’ Anyone who wants to read Chinese apps without switching the whole phone's language Hanzi translates Chinese into English only. The app itself is in English. HANZI PRO Try Hanzi on a sample screen and translate your first real screen before you decide. Hanzi Pro unlocks unlimited screens and pinyin text. β€’ Hanzi Pro Yearly: 7-day trial, then $49.99 per year β€’ Hanzi Pro Monthly: $7.99 per month β€’ Hanzi Lifetime: $69.99, one-time purchase, no subscription Prices shown are in US dollars; your local price is always shown in the app before you buy. Payment will be charged to your Apple ID account at confirmation of purchase. Your subscription renews automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Your account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period. You can manage and cancel your subscriptions in your App Store account settings (Settings > your name > Subscriptions) after purchase. Any unused portion of a trial period is forfeited when you purchase a subscription. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://perufitlife.github.io/hanzi-app/privacy/ Hanzi is an independent app and is not affiliated with any of the apps it helps you read.

Screenshots

Neko Translator4 screens
Hanzi4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Neko Translator at none against Hanzi's 3. Neko Translator also leads on device support (4 vs 2) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 26.0). Hanzi's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 3 weeks). On price and ads there is nothing between them.

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

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

Both are free to download. Hanzi sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per month. Neko Translator asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Neko Translator ships an update every 3 weeks, Hanzi weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences Β· 2 level
Neko Translator versus Hanzi: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNeko TranslatorHanzi
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksWeekly β€” better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo β€” betterYes
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac β€” betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 β€” better26.0
Further details β€” not scored
Size68 MB43 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developer禹 撁Renzo Madueno

In-app purchases

None

Neko Translator

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Hanzi

Subscriptions2
  • Hanzi Pro Monthly$7.991 Month
  • Hanzi Pro Yearly7 Days trial$49.991 Year
One-time1
  • Hanzi Pro Lifetime$69.99

Questions

Is Neko Translator free?
Neko Translator is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Hanzi free?
Hanzi is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Neko Translator or Hanzi have ads?
Neither Neko Translator nor Hanzi shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Neko Translator or Hanzi?
Neko Translator ships an update every 3 weeks, and Hanzi weekly. Most recently, Neko Translator was updated on October 31, 2026 and Hanzi on November 6, 2026.

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