Comparison

活字帖+ | Live Calligraphy+ vs Chinese Stroke Order Coach

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

Head to head
About

活字帖+ | Live Calligraphy+

Practice Chinese brush calligraphy on your iPad or iPhone using original strokes from ancient masters. Focus on character structure and artistic charm to improve your calligraphy skills.

Highlights
  • Practice Chinese calligraphy with finger
  • Uses original strokes from ancient masters
  • Focuses on character structure
  • Includes 8 handscrolls
  • Simulates artistic charm of calligraphy
Features
Read full description

*Keyword*: Chinese calligraphy, Chinese culture/art, practice Chinese characters Ever dream of writing Chinese characters like a calligrapher? Now, you can practice Chinese brush calligraphy with your finger in iPad and iPhone. Live Calligraphy use the original strokes extracted from the master piece of ancient calligrapher in your practice, so that you can feel yourself like a real master of Chinese calligraphy, and fully enjoy the artistic charm of the art of calligraphy. Now, the app contains 8 handscrolls: - LanTing (兰亭集序--王羲之) - Basic Strokes (基本笔画--楷书四大家) - Timely Clearing After Snowfall (快雪时晴帖--王羲之) - Namo Amitābha by HongYi (南无阿弥陀佛--弘一法师) - Poem of Fragrance (秾芳诗帖--宋徽宗) - Confucius Passed Away (仲尼梦奠帖--欧阳询) - Ode to Qin (琴赋--文征明) - Heart Sutra (心经--赵孟頫) Enjoy Chinese calligraphy~ ---------------------------------------- 你是否曾想像自己如书法大师一样挥毫呢?来试试吧,用你的手指在iPad和iPhone上练习毛笔书法。 “活字帖”利用中国古代名家书法作品中的原笔迹,在你描摹或者临帖时绘制出来,使得你的书法效果能媲美真迹,让你体验如书法家一样的练字感受,更真切的感受书法的魅力。 本作与现有大多数作品的最大区别在于,大多数现有的作品只是根据手指运行轨迹,用计算机计算模拟出类似于毛笔笔迹的效果。但是,因为触摸屏的限制,计算机再如何聪明,又如何能知道用户运笔时的轻重缓急,浓淡干湿呢?故本作规避了用笔技巧,着重于练习每个字的字体结构。因此,本作并不能代替笔墨纸砚的常规练字方法,但是却可以从一定程度上提高用户的书法水平。 本App现有8个字帖: - 兰亭集序(王羲之) - 基本笔画(楷书四大家) - 快雪时晴帖(王羲之) - 南无阿弥陀佛(弘一法师) - 秾芳诗帖(宋徽宗) - 仲尼梦奠帖(欧阳询) - 琴赋(文徵明) - 般若波罗蜜多心经 (赵孟頫) 希望大家喜欢。

About

Chinese Stroke Order Coach

Master Chinese characters with interactive writing practice. This app guides learners through correct stroke order, provides demonstrations, and offers intelligent identification to ensure accuracy. Achieve proficiency in reading, understanding, and writing Chinese characters.

Highlights
  • Stroke order demonstration
  • Writing practice function
  • Intelligent stroke identification
  • Correctness feedback
  • Character sound and interpretation
  • Commonly used character list
Features
Read full description

Learn to write Chinese characters with instant, stroke-by-stroke feedback. Most apps show you the answer. This one checks your handwriting: stroke order, direction, and position — so you can see exactly which stroke is wrong, and where. • Stroke-by-stroke feedback on your own handwriting • Tianzige position score: not just correct, but well placed • Primary-school textbook lists (5-4 and 6-3 systems), preschool, common characters, HSK 1–6 • Dictation mode and a mistake notebook • Stroke-order animation with step-by-step playback • Works offline · No account · iPad + Apple Pencil friendly • One-time purchase · No subscription Who it’s for: • Heritage families whose kids are learning to write Chinese • Primary-school students who need textbook-synced practice • HSK 1–6 learners who want to improve handwriting Note: character meanings are shown in Chinese. If you’re a complete beginner, pair it with your favorite dictionary.

Screenshots

活字帖+ | Live Calligraphy+4 screens
Chinese Stroke Order Coach4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Chinese Stroke Order Coach at Free against 活字帖+ | Live Calligraphy+'s $5.99. Chinese Stroke Order Coach also leads on update cadence (every 2 months vs every 7 months). 活字帖+ | Live Calligraphy+'s advantage is rating (4.9 vs 3.7) and in-app purchases (none vs 7). On ratings volume and device support 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

Chinese Stroke Order Coach is free to download; 活字帖+ | Live Calligraphy+ costs $5.99 up front. Chinese Stroke Order Coach sells 7 one-off in-app purchases. 活字帖+ | Live Calligraphy+ asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

活字帖+ | Live Calligraphy+ holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 3.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 17 and 6 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 92% of 活字帖+ | Live Calligraphy+'s written reviews are positive against 65% of Chinese Stroke Order Coach's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

活字帖+ | Live Calligraphy+ ships an update every 7 months, Chinese Stroke Order Coach every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 11, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 2 level
活字帖+ | Live Calligraphy+ versus Chinese Stroke Order Coach: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
Parameter活字帖+ | Live Calligraphy+Chinese Stroke Order Coach
Price$5.99Free — better
Rating4.9 (17 ratings) — better3.7 (6 ratings)
Positive reviews92.3% of reviews — better65.0% of reviews
Number of ratings17 — better6
Update frequencyEvery 7 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS13.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size50 MB258 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developer哲 盛乃 樊

Customer experience

活字帖+ | Live Calligraphy+

All ratings16 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews26 reviews
Positive92.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative7.7%

Chinese Stroke Order Coach

All ratings6 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%
Written reviews20 reviews
Positive65.0%
Neutral5.0%
Negative30.0%

In-app purchases

None

活字帖+ | Live Calligraphy+

No in-app purchases

7 purchases

Chinese Stroke Order Coach

One-time7
  • Unlimited search.$6.99
  • Base book$6.99
  • Common book$6.99
Show 4 more
  • HSK book$6.99
  • Elementary Chinese lesson$6.99
  • Elementary Chinese lesson (63)$6.99
  • All books$12.99

Questions

Is 活字帖+ | Live Calligraphy+ free?
活字帖+ | Live Calligraphy+ costs $5.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Chinese Stroke Order Coach free?
Chinese Stroke Order Coach is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, 活字帖+ | Live Calligraphy+ or Chinese Stroke Order Coach?
活字帖+ | Live Calligraphy+ is rated higher. 活字帖+ | Live Calligraphy+ averages 4.9 out of 5 from 17 ratings, while Chinese Stroke Order Coach averages 3.7 from 6 ratings.
Do 活字帖+ | Live Calligraphy+ or Chinese Stroke Order Coach have ads?
Chinese Stroke Order Coach shows ads; 活字帖+ | Live Calligraphy+ does not.
Which is updated more often, 活字帖+ | Live Calligraphy+ or Chinese Stroke Order Coach?
活字帖+ | Live Calligraphy+ ships an update every 7 months, and Chinese Stroke Order Coach every 2 months. Most recently, 活字帖+ | Live Calligraphy+ was updated on November 1, 2026 and Chinese Stroke Order Coach on November 11, 2026.

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