Comparison

Bopomofo vs Sinogram Star

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

Head to head
About

Bopomofo

Practice Bopomofo, a phonetic system primarily used in Taiwan. This application allows you to save your practice sessions. It's designed for learning and reinforcing Chinese phonetic symbols.

Highlights
  • Bopomofo practice
  • Save practice sessions
  • Taiwanese phonetic symbols
  • Educational tool
Features
Read full description

Learn Zhuyin (Bopomofo), the phonetic symbols used in Taiwan to write the pronunciation of Mandarin Chinese, by writing them yourself. Just trace over the light guide letter with your finger or Apple Pencil. FEATURES - All 37 Zhuyin symbols (21 initials and 16 finals) - Pick any symbol from the home screen to start practicing - Handwriting practice by tracing over guide letters on a practice grid - Romanization and category shown for each symbol - Erase with the trash button and write again - Move to the previous / next symbol with the arrow buttons - Save your writing to the Photos app GREAT FOR - Beginners of Mandarin Chinese - Travelers and students going to Taiwan - Children practicing Zhuyin This app is free and contains ads.

About

Sinogram Star

Features
Read full description

Sinogram Star – Create New Chinese Characters Discover the Unknown World! There are about 200 meta characters scattered in 12 sematic planets, if you find these meta characters, you can open the Chinese language world. (Most Chinese characters are composed of about 200 meta characters. If you master these meta characters and combination methods, you can control thousands of Chinese characters, even you can create new Chinese characters.)

Screenshots

Bopomofo4 screens
Sinogram Star4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Bopomofo at Free against Sinogram Star's $19.99. Sinogram Star's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 70 months). On in-app purchases 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

Bopomofo is free to download; Sinogram Star costs $19.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Bopomofo ships an update every 70 months, Sinogram Star every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 18, 2026 and October 27, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Bopomofo versus Sinogram Star: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBopomofoSinogram Star
PriceFree — better$19.99
Rating2.0 (3 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings3 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 70 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.612.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size4 MB67 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperKiyoshi KoikeClavis Sinica Limited

In-app purchases

None

Bopomofo

No in-app purchases

None

Sinogram Star

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Bopomofo free?
Bopomofo is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Sinogram Star free?
Sinogram Star costs $19.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do Bopomofo or Sinogram Star have ads?
Bopomofo shows ads; Sinogram Star does not.
Which is updated more often, Bopomofo or Sinogram Star?
Bopomofo ships an update every 70 months, and Sinogram Star every 3 weeks. Most recently, Bopomofo was updated on October 18, 2026 and Sinogram Star on October 27, 2026.

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