Comparison

Yabla Chinese vs Dot Languages

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

Head to head
About

Yabla Chinese

Learn a new language through authentic video content with interactive tools. Access a vast library of videos, integrated dictionaries, and engaging games designed to help you achieve fluency. Enjoy features like slow playback and looping to master challenging material.

Highlights
  • Thousands of videos updated weekly
  • Video player with slowplay and loop
  • Integrated dictionaries and subtitles
  • Educational games (fill in the blank, multiple choice)
  • Native speaker translations
  • Loop and pitch-corrected slow down
Features
Read full description

Learn a foreign language with authentic video content! Yabla is a video library for language learners with customized games and tools to help you become fluent. Yabla supports Spanish, French, Italian, German, ESL, and Chinese learners. Yabla offers 6 languages to choose from! Why is learning with Yabla different?: -Library with thousands of videos, updated weekly -Video player tools including slowplay and loop -Integrated dictionaries and subtitles across multiple languages -Educational games including fill in the blank, multiple choice, and vocabulary review IOS subscribers can take advantage of more features, with free access to our website! Scribe dictation, comprehension, and flashcards are available only via the web. Popular content includes television programs, music videos, interviews, animation, documentaries, and travel videos. Yabla is functional across devices. App subscription also includes access to our website featuring all exercises and language games! Use Yabla wherever you are, at home or on the go. The Yabla video player features translations by native speakers fluent in both languages. The meaning of words and phrases is reflective of the dialect and culture in the video. Yabla has no automatically generated translations. We give users accurate and context-specific meanings. Yabla features loop and pitch-corrected slow down options, for users to learn the material at their own pace. Users may take time to review phrases or words of difficulty, as well as go over them multiple times during a session. Click on difficult words to look them up in our multisource dictionary and add them for later review. Practice them in the flashcard exercise, available via our web app. Flashcard review helps to memorize new vocabulary. This App contains a limited selection of free language learning videos. Full access requires a purchased subscription. Subscriptions are available as a one-time payment, or as an auto-renewing subscription. Yabla brings immersive learning to you, anytime, anywhere. If you choose an auto-renewing subscription: - Your subscription will automatically renew each month and your credit card will be charged through your iTunes account. You can turn off auto-renew at any time from your iTunes account settings. - You will receive new content on a weekly basis, and have access to all previously released videos. - You may cancel your subscription at any time. After canceling, you will continue to have access through your "paid to date". - Auto-Renewing subscription price may be different based on currency. Exact pricing is disclosed within the app. Privacy Policy https://www.yabla.com/privacy.php Terms of Use https://www.yabla.com/terms.php

About

Dot Languages

Master Mandarin Chinese with a structured curriculum aligned to HSK 3.0 and TOCFL 2.0. Engage with AI-powered exercises, personalized practice, and a vast library of lessons and articles. Track progress, stay motivated with gamified elements, and even bring your own content for study.

Highlights
  • HSK 3.0 & TOCFL 2.0 aligned curriculum
  • AI-powered exercises and personalized practice
  • 11,000+ lessons covering vocabulary, grammar, reading
  • Daily refreshed articles with in-app dictionary
  • Spaced repetition for vocabulary retention
  • Animated stroke-order character writing
  • Speech recognition for pronunciation practice
  • User-added content and study material generation
Features
Read full description

Dot Languages is a complete Chinese learning app: lessons carefully written and crafted by humans, advanced exercises powered by AI — all built around a structured curriculum aligned to HSK 3.0 (2021 and 2025) and TOCFL 2.0 (2023), with personalised practice. Learn at your own pace through a dynamic HSK-aligned learning path with 11,000+ lessons covering vocabulary, grammar, and reading. Read new articles daily, refreshed for every HSK level, and look up any word in a comprehensive Chinese-English dictionary with character components. Practice that adapts to you: spaced repetition for vocabulary retention, animated stroke-order character writing, speech recognition for pronunciation, multiple choice, matching, sentence arrangement, flash cards, and AI-evaluated open-ended questions. Stay motivated with awards, streaks, learning milestones, leaderboards, and social profiles. Track your performance with weekly progress charts. Bring your own content — add private articles from any source and generate study material from text you paste in. More features: family plans, teacher classroom tools, grammar with sentence-structure analysis, and variable-speed audio narration of articles.

Screenshots

Yabla Chinese4 screens
Dot Languages4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Dot Languages at 4.2 against Yabla Chinese's 3.7. Dot Languages also leads on update cadence (every 5 days vs every 6 weeks) and review sentiment (72% vs 50%). Yabla Chinese's advantage is iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.5). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Yabla Chinese sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $12.99 per month and Dot Languages sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $9.00 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Dot Languages holds the better App Store score, 4.2 against 3.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Dot Languages has 55 ratings behind it against 7, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 50% of Yabla Chinese's written reviews are positive against 72% of Dot Languages's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Yabla Chinese ships an update every 6 weeks, Dot Languages every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Yabla Chinese versus Dot Languages: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterYabla ChineseDot Languages
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.7 (7 ratings)4.2 (55 ratings) — better
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews72.2% of reviews — better
Number of ratings755 — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeksEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.0 — better15.5
Further details — not scored
Size29 MB200 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperYablaDot Languages ApS

Customer experience

Yabla Chinese

All ratings7 ratings
Positive42.9%
Neutral42.9%
Negative14.3%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral33.3%
Negative16.7%

Dot Languages

All ratings55 ratings
Positive80.0%
Neutral5.5%
Negative14.5%
Written reviews54 reviews
Positive72.2%
Neutral5.6%
Negative22.2%

Bugs and requests

Yabla Chinese

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Dot Languages

Reported bugs

12 issues
  • App closes every time after signing up
  • App not opening
  • App crashes on startup
  • Articles disappear when hitting back icon
  • Return button partially visible after lesson
Show 7 more
  • Bug where leaving and re-entering a story counts as two reads
  • App freezes and never works again
  • Login screen freezes
  • App doesn't load at all
  • Kicks out of login every time app is opened
  • Streak and articles read does not carry across devices
  • Button of 'open more stories' doesn't work

Requested features

9 requests
  • Add Korean and Japanese language options
  • Add stories in addition to articles
  • Option for lifetime subscription
  • Speaking exercises
  • More vibrant colors and backgrounds
Show 4 more
  • Pictures to help remember words
  • Way to practice tones for each character
  • Option to switch to traditional characters
  • App for Cantonese

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Yabla Chinese

Subscriptions1
  • Yabla Chinese$12.991 Month
One-time3
  • 30 Day Access Pass$14.99
  • 6 Month Access Pass$54.99
  • 1 Year Access Pass$99.99
5 purchases

Dot Languages

Subscriptions5
  • Standard Monthly7 Days trial$9.001 Month
  • Dot Premium - Monthly7 Days trial$18.491 Month
  • Standard Yearly7 Days trial$72.001 Year
Show 2 more
  • Dot Premium - Yearly7 Days trial$135.991 Year
  • Dot Premium - Family Plan7 Days trial$339.001 Year

Questions

Is Yabla Chinese free?
Yabla Chinese is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Dot Languages free?
Dot Languages is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Yabla Chinese or Dot Languages?
Dot Languages is rated higher. Yabla Chinese averages 3.7 out of 5 from 7 ratings, while Dot Languages averages 4.2 from 55 ratings.
Do Yabla Chinese or Dot Languages have ads?
Neither Yabla Chinese nor Dot Languages shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Yabla Chinese or Dot Languages?
Yabla Chinese ships an update every 6 weeks, and Dot Languages every 5 days. Most recently, Yabla Chinese was updated on November 1, 2026 and Dot Languages on November 7, 2026.

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