Gushi vs Hanzi Scroll
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Gushi
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Learn Chinese with the new HSK 3.0, or with your own textbook. All nine HSK levels and ten textbooks, every character, word and grammar point written and recorded. START WHERE YOU ARE Complete beginner, or already reading comfortably? Pick your HSK level, or let the placement test find it: it settles reading and listening separately, because almost nobody is at the same level in both. YOUR TEXTBOOK Learning in a course? Pick your book and your lesson. Gushi follows it lesson by lesson: each lesson's words and characters for reading, listening, speaking and writing, in your course's order. Grammar and the mock exams stay on the HSK path for now. FIVE SKILLS - Recognition: characters and words, until you know them on sight - Reading: graded articles at your level, with questions at the end - Listening: from single words to whole passages - Speaking: shadowing with speech scoring, from single sentences to whole articles - Writing: watch the stroke order, then write the character yourself WHAT IS ON A CARD Not just the translation. Every card carries the tone, the pinyin and a recording, how the character is built from its parts, a story to hold it, the words it turns up in, and example sentences. Every part has a name, and the building blocks show their history: oracle bone, bronze, seal, and the character you write today. FEATURES - Spaced repetition (FSRS) for every character and word you meet - Full HSK mock exams at every level, in the official format, and the HSKK - 428 grammar points, level by level, and a 量词 room at every level - A weekly league: everyone who learns this week on one board, fresh every Monday GUSHI INTELLIGENCE Chinese goes better when you are not doing it alone, and Gushi Intelligence is what makes that work: one model of how you learn, used by you and by everyone helping you. What it knows about you: - Which skill you are building fastest, and which one is falling behind - Your strengths and weak spots, down to the lesson, the word and the character - The tone you keep struggling with, the character you keep forgetting, and the "hē" you keep saying in shadowing where it should be "hé" What it does with that: the tone drill leans into the tone you miss most, and a character you keep forgetting comes back sooner. IN YOUR LANGUAGE SCHOOL Your teacher gets the same picture. Join your class with a code, and the Gushi Teaching Platform shows your teacher or language school how your week went, so the next lesson builds on it. Gushi is built together with language schools: students and teachers at our founding partner school try it out and shape what we build next. gushichinese.com/teaching PHONE AND COMPUTER One account, one review history: the phone for the short moments, learn.gushichinese.com for a longer session at the computer. BUILT ON THE OFFICIAL SYLLABUS Every HSK word, character and grammar point comes from the official HSK 3.0 syllabus (考试大纲) published by Chinese Testing International at chinesetest.cn. We publish our edition for free at gushichinese.com, in all four languages: 11,000 words, 3,088 characters and 428 grammar points, with a recording of every word. Gushi is independent and not affiliated with Chinese Testing International or with any textbook publisher. SUBSCRIPTION Free for one month. Then Gushi Monthly or Gushi Yearly; everything is included in both. Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. A subscription renews automatically unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. You can manage or cancel it at any time in your Apple Account settings. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://gushichinese.com/privacy
Hanzi Scroll
This app leverages your existing phone usage habits to integrate Chinese vocabulary learning into your daily routine. It places quick, four-word reviews between you and distracting apps, turning screen time into focused study sessions.
- Vocabulary review between app unlocks
- Themed vocabulary packs (HSK 1-3)
- Character recognition, meaning, pinyin, and sentences
- Adaptive repetition for missed words
- Simplified or traditional character options
- Customizable practice based on level and goals
- Track words learned and study streaks
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Turn scrolling into progress. You already have the habit. Hanzi Scroll turns it into a cue to learn Chinese. Using Apple Screen Time, Hanzi Scroll places a quick vocabulary review between you and the apps that steal your attention. Review four words, finish a focused session, and unlock your chosen apps for a timed break. TAP INTO YOUR EXISTING HABIT You don’t need to find another hour to study. Hanzi Scroll uses moments already built into your day, turning each attempt to open a guarded app into a low-friction opportunity to practice Chinese. BUILD VOCABULARY THAT STICKS - Explore themed vocabulary packs for HSK 1–6 - Practice character recognition, meaning, pinyin, and sentences - Review missed words sooner with adaptive repetition - Choose simplified or traditional characters - Personalize practice around your level, background, and goals - Mandarin audio pronunciation - Cantonese audio in beta TURN SCREEN TIME INTO PRODUCTIVITY - Choose which apps you want to guard - Complete a four-word review in about a minute - Set a timed unlock window that works for you - Track words learned, daily reviews, and your study streak - Practice directly whenever you want—no blocked app required Instead of losing another hour to scrolling, put that impulse to work. Hanzi Scroll creates a useful pause, gives you a small win, and puts the choice back in your hands. Learn first. Scroll later. Screen Time app blocking requires permission from Apple’s Family Controls framework. Some functionality may vary by device or operating-system settings. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://hanziscroll.com/privacy
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Verdict
Gushi and Hanzi Scroll are too close to call on the numbers: across 6 compared parameters — price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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
Both are free to download. Gushi sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $8.99 per month and Hanzi Scroll sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Gushi ships an update every 2 weeks, Hanzi Scroll weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Gushi | Hanzi Scroll |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | 4.8 (16 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | — | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | — | 16 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | Weekly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | — | Free |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 16.4 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 706 MB | 93 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Jonas Niklas Kirner | Raya Labs |
In-app purchases
Gushi
- Monthly1 Month trial$8.991 Month
- Yearly1 Year trial$89.991 Year
Hanzi Scroll
- Pro Weekly$2.997 Days
- Pro Monthly$4.991 Month
- Pro Annual$39.991 Year









