HSK Flashcard Deck vs Mandarin Hero
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
HSK Flashcard Deck
This app provides flashcards for HSK 3.0 vocabulary, covering levels 1-9. Users can flip cards to see pinyin and meaning, mark words as known or needing review, and hear pronunciations. Progress is saved locally, offering a distraction-free study experience.
- HSK 3.0 levels 1-9 vocabulary
- Pinyin and English meaning display
- Audio pronunciation for Chinese and English
- Mark words as known or for review
- Resume progress locally
- Distraction-free study flow
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HSK Deck is a focused flashcard app for the HSK 3.0 (汉语水品考试) vocabulary. Flip a card to see pinyin and meaning. Mark words you know well, or save ones to review again. Pick up exactly where you left off in each level’s main deck. What’s included: • HSK 3.0 levels 1–6, plus the combined 7–9 • A main card deck for every level, in list order • Flip a card for pinyin, English meaning, and example sentences • Swipe to move through the deck • Tap to hear Chinese or English pronunciation • Separate “Know it well” and “Review again” decks for each level • Lists of all words in a level with marks indicating which deck it is in • Resume progress saved on your device • Clean, distraction-free study flow No account. No cloud sync. No ads. Your progress stays on your phone. Whether you’re starting HSK 1 or grinding through advanced vocabulary, HSK Deck keeps practice simple so you can actually stick with it.
Mandarin Hero
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Speak Chinese for real. Mandarin Hero is for people serious about learning Chinese: you rehearse the conversations you'll actually have, out loud, from ordering bubble tea and paying by QR code to asking the way or chatting on WeChat, and you keep every word you learn. NO NONSENSE, NO FLUFF Fluency in Chinese takes about 2,200 hours, and nobody can skip them. We make every one of them count for you: no filler exercises, no textbook detours, straight to what builds real fluency. We promise you: if you put in the time, you'll achieve your dream to speak Chinese comfortably and fluently! LESSONS: REAL CONVERSATIONS 32 lessons, from your first words to the pharmacy, ordered from easy to hard. Each one teaches its key words, then its handy phrases, then the conversation itself. • Spoken, natural Mandarin: the particles, short answers and phrasing people really use, not textbook sentences • A dialogue with variations, so you hear how the same exchange can go differently • A role-play where you play your part, with natural alternatives for every line • The signs and labels you'll see there, as they're actually written • Native audio on every line FLASHCARDS: MAKE IT STICK Words come back just before you'd forget them. A modern spaced repetition scheduler decides when, so every review counts. • Pick your goal: listen and speak, read and write, or all of it • Listen cards train your ear, Speak cards get you saying it out loud • Write cards with stroke order, and memory hooks that break each character into its parts • Every word with pinyin, audio and a short, natural example sentence • Already know a word? Skip it with one tap START FROM ZERO • The Basics: how pinyin sounds and the four tones, with audio for every syllable • Your first card within a minute, no long setup AND MORE • All of HSK 1-6 (almost 5,000 words, each with a hand-written example) when you want to go beyond the lessons • Streaks, stats and a calendar of your study days • A daily reminder, if you want one • An optional account to sync your progress and see how your friends are doing • Works offline once your cards are downloaded • In English and Dutch FREE, OR HERO PRO The Getting by lessons, HSK 1 and 2 and all your reviews are free, with no ads. Hero Pro unlocks every lesson and HSK 3-6: monthly, yearly with a free week, or once for life. Moving to China, talking with your partner's family, reconnecting with your roots or working with China: Mandarin Hero is built for real conversations in real Chinese. Terms of Use: https://nuli.nl/apps/mandarinhero/terms/ Privacy Policy: https://nuli.nl/apps/mandarinhero/privacy/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: HSK Flashcard Deck at none against Mandarin Hero's 5. HSK Flashcard Deck also leads on device support (3 vs 1). Mandarin Hero's advantage is update cadence (every 4 days vs every 3 weeks). On price, ads 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
Both are free to download. Mandarin Hero sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. HSK Flashcard Deck asks for nothing beyond the download.
HSK Flashcard Deck ships an update every 3 weeks, Mandarin Hero every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | HSK Flashcard Deck | Mandarin Hero |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (4 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 4 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Every 4 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 16.4 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 7 MB | 42 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Wen Zhang | Jou Yi Sun |
In-app purchases
HSK Flashcard Deck
No in-app purchases
Mandarin Hero
- Hero Pro Monthly$4.991 Month
- Hero Pro Yearly (early bird)7 Days trial$29.991 Year
- Hero Pro Yearly7 Days trial$49.991 Year
- Hero Pro Lifetime (early bird)$79.99
- Hero Pro Lifetime$79.99
Questions
Is HSK Flashcard Deck free?
Is Mandarin Hero free?
Do HSK Flashcard Deck or Mandarin Hero have ads?
Which is updated more often, HSK Flashcard Deck or Mandarin Hero?
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