GraphChinese vs HelloChinese for learning Chinese
Premium: $69.99 for twelve months on the US App Store (source, checked Oct 2026). App Store listing: HelloChinese helps you 'rapidly learn Mandarin Chinese from scratch to a conversational level' (source, checked Oct 2026); it names no HSK level as the end point. GraphChinese is one course from HSK 0 to HSK 6 on 829 topics, published in full at /curriculum, $49 once for lifetime access.
Which should you choose?
- Choose GraphChinese if you want a course that says where it ends: HSK 0 to HSK 6, 829 topics ordered by what depends on what, each served after the topics it rests on. It starts at the four tones through the 零 door, so starting from zero does not mean changing product at intermediate, which is where self-studiers most often stop.
- Choose HelloChinese if you want a phone app you can use offline, you like a game loop with pronunciation scoring, and you are not working toward a particular HSK level. 'Once a course is downloaded, no internet connection is required.' (source, checked Oct 2026).
- Switching is not worth it if your goal is HSK 3 or below and HelloChinese keeps you studying every day. Sit the free HSK 3 test first: if you pass it, the app is doing its job.
HelloChinese is a Mandarin-only phone app with speech scoring, handwriting practice and graded stories. App Store listing: 'Systematic courses based on HSK levels.' The vendor names no HSK level the course ends at (source, checked Oct 2026). If HSK 3 is your target, Is HelloChinese enough for HSK 3? works through that level on its own.
HelloChinese and GraphChinese side by side
| HelloChinese | GraphChinese | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Premium: $11.99 for one month, stated as a US price on the US App Store; Premium: $25.99 for three months on the US App Store; Premium: $69.99 for twelve months on the US App Store (source, checked Oct 2026, archived) | $49 once, yours for life |
| Free tier | Subscriptions auto-renew unless turned off 24h before period end; no free trial is mentioned on the US listing (source, checked Oct 2026, archived) | A free 28-question HSK placement test, no signup (source, checked Oct 2026); Free without an account: a demo with real lessons, the dictionary, the grammar reference, HSK word lists, free tests and tools (source, checked Oct 2026) |
| Trial and refund | Subscriptions auto-renew unless turned off 24h before period end; no free trial is mentioned on the US listing (source, checked Oct 2026, archived) | Not for you? Email and we refund it (source, checked Oct 2026) |
| Levels | App Store listing: 'Systematic courses based on HSK levels.' The vendor names no HSK level the course ends at (source, checked Oct 2026); FluentU, which sells a competing language app, in a review last modified January 2025: the app teaches 'around 1,000 words, which still only brings you to the lower intermediate level' (per fluentu.com, checked Oct 2026, archived); App Store listing: HelloChinese helps you 'rapidly learn Mandarin Chinese from scratch to a conversational level' (source, checked Oct 2026, archived) | One course from HSK 0 (tones, pinyin, stroke order, radicals) through HSK 6 (source, checked Oct 2026); Most HSK 6 vocabulary topics are cut alphabetically, not by theme or dependency (source, checked Oct 2026) |
| HSK alignment | — | 195 grammar points from HSK 1 to HSK 6, public, each with the pattern, worked examples and the topics it rests on (source, checked Oct 2026) |
| Characters and writing | 'Handwriting specially designed to learn Chinese characters at a faster rate.' (source, checked Oct 2026) | Stroke-order writing practice, on by default for learners who start from zero and switchable for everyone else (source, checked Oct 2026) |
| Speaking | 'Speech recognition corrects your pronunciation.' No AI tutor is mentioned on the listing or homepage (source, checked Oct 2026, archived) | Speaking practice built on the comment + question method; there is no live tutor or person to speak with (source, checked Oct 2026) |
| Spaced repetition | Homepage lists a 'Spaced Repetition System' for vocabulary (source, checked Oct 2026) | flashcards are scheduled by FSRS; course topics come back on a mastery-review schedule (source, checked Oct 2026) |
| Import and export | — | Imports Anki .apkg decks with their audio and images, scheduled by the same FSRS engine; review history is not carried over (source, checked Oct 2026) |
| Content | — | 829 topics in prerequisite order; jump ahead or claim one, and reviews check it (source, checked Oct 2026); 102 narrated graded readings, Foundations to HSK 6 (source, checked Oct 2026); 38 built-in flashcard decks (source, checked Oct 2026) |
| Offline | 'Once a course is downloaded, no internet connection is required.' (source, checked Oct 2026) | — |
| Platforms | iOS/iPadOS 14.1+, Mac (Apple silicon), visionOS, Google Play and a direct Android APK (source, checked Oct 2026) | Runs in the browser on phone and desktop; there is no app to install (source, checked Oct 2026) |
| Recent change | Latest US version 7.6.5 (Sep 24) notes only 'Bug fixes and performance improvements.' (source, checked Oct 2026) | — |
| Also | US App Store also lists Premium+ at $19.99, $62.99, $89.99, $104.99 and $149.99, plus Premium at $48.99; the listing does not map these to billing periods (source, checked Oct 2026, archived); FluentU, which sells a competing language app, in a review last modified January 2025: Premium+ $19.99/month, $89.99/6 months, $149.99/year; adds graded stories, the Chinese Characters course, immersion lessons and Premium+ support on top of Premium (per fluentu.com, checked Oct 2026, archived); '1000+ graded stories' and 'Over 2,000 videos' featuring native speakers (source, checked Oct 2026) | An adaptive placement test starts you at your frontier (source, checked Oct 2026); A free Chinese-English dictionary with 124,727 entries and 66,178 example sentences, no signup (source, checked Oct 2026) |
— means our research sheet has no sourced fact for that row, not that the product lacks it.
Same learner, 12 and 24 months
| 12 months | 24 months | |
|---|---|---|
| HelloChinese | $69.99: $69.99 per 12 months, US list price, before tax (source, checked Oct 2026) | $139.98: 2 × $69.99 per 12 months = $139.98, US list price, before tax (source, checked Oct 2026) |
| GraphChinese | $49: $49 one-time, US list price, before tax | $49: $49 one-time, US list price, before tax |
US list prices before tax, cheapest published path to that much access.
What HelloChinese does well
- Pronunciation feedback on a phone. 'Speech recognition corrects your pronunciation.' No AI tutor is mentioned on the listing or homepage (source, checked Oct 2026).
- Handwriting is built in. 'Handwriting specially designed to learn Chinese characters at a faster rate.' (source, checked Oct 2026).
- There is a lot to read and watch beyond the lessons. '1000+ graded stories' and 'Over 2,000 videos' featuring native speakers (source, checked Oct 2026).
- It works without a connection. 'Once a course is downloaded, no internet connection is required.' (source, checked Oct 2026).
- Vocabulary comes back for review. Homepage lists a 'Spaced Repetition System' for vocabulary (source, checked Oct 2026).
Where HelloChinese does not help
- No HSK end level. App Store listing: 'Systematic courses based on HSK levels.' The vendor names no HSK level the course ends at (source, checked Oct 2026). If you are booking an exam, the vendor does not say which HSK level the course covers.
- The one outside estimate puts it at lower intermediate. FluentU, which sells a competing language app, in a review last modified January 2025: the app teaches 'around 1,000 words, which still only brings you to the lower intermediate level' (per fluentu.com, checked Oct 2026). That estimate does not come from HelloChinese.
- Premium+ prices are hard to pin down. US App Store also lists Premium+ at $19.99, $62.99, $89.99, $104.99 and $149.99, plus Premium at $48.99; the listing does not map these to billing periods (source, checked Oct 2026). The only billing periods we found come from a review. FluentU, which sells a competing language app, in a review last modified January 2025: Premium+ $19.99/month, $89.99/6 months, $149.99/year; adds graded stories, the Chinese Characters course, immersion lessons and Premium+ support on top of Premium (per fluentu.com, checked Oct 2026).
Started against finished
Learners rarely stall at the first HSK level. They stall at the third or fourth, when grammar starts resting on grammar and the exam stops printing pinyin. That is where a course with no stated HSK end level leaves you guessing whether the next step is inside it.
GraphChinese holds all 829 topics, from the four tones through HSK 6 grammar, in one dependency graph, and serves each topic after the topics it rests on. You can jump ahead or claim a topic you already know, and reviews then check the claim.
HSK 6 is the exception: most of its vocabulary topics are alphabetical slices of the word list rather than a dependency order. Characters are written in stroke order, on by default when you start from zero and switchable for everyone else.
If you are switching from HelloChinese
- Take the free placement test and start at your level.
- Around HSK 3? Sit the free HSK 3 test as well: it tells you whether you need a new course or just exam practice.
- HelloChinese progress does not import. Cards you keep in Anki do: GraphChinese reads
.apkgdecks with their audio and images, and review history starts fresh. - Turn off renewal before you cancel. Subscriptions auto-renew unless turned off 24h before period end; no free trial is mentioned on the US listing (source, checked Oct 2026).
Frequently asked questions
What HSK level does HelloChinese go up to?
HelloChinese names no HSK level. App Store listing: HelloChinese helps you 'rapidly learn Mandarin Chinese from scratch to a conversational level' (source, checked Oct 2026). The only HSK-style estimate we found comes from a third party. FluentU, which sells a competing language app, in a review last modified January 2025: the app teaches 'around 1,000 words, which still only brings you to the lower intermediate level' (per fluentu.com, checked Oct 2026). GraphChinese covers HSK 0 foundations through HSK 6.
Is GraphChinese or HelloChinese better for learning Chinese?
Both start from zero. HelloChinese is a polished phone app with speech scoring, handwriting and offline courses, and it names no HSK end level. GraphChinese is a course from HSK 0 to HSK 6 on a dependency graph of 829 topics, with stroke-order writing, narrated graded readings and each topic served after the ones it rests on. Premium: $69.99 for twelve months on the US App Store (source, checked Oct 2026). GraphChinese is $49 once for lifetime access.
Can HelloChinese take me to advanced Chinese (HSK 5 or 6)?
Nothing HelloChinese publishes says so: its stated goal is a conversational level, and the one outside estimate puts it at lower intermediate. GraphChinese continues through HSK 5 and HSK 6 in the same system.
Is HelloChinese enough for HSK 3?
It depends which HSK 3, and HelloChinese publishes no word count to check against. A free timed test answers it faster than any estimate: this site has an HSK 3 test with no signup, and a page on exactly this question, Is HelloChinese enough for HSK 3.
How much does HelloChinese cost?
Premium: $11.99 for one month, stated as a US price on the US App Store (source, checked Oct 2026). Premium: $25.99 for three months on the US App Store (source, checked Oct 2026). Premium: $69.99 for twelve months on the US App Store (source, checked Oct 2026). Premium+ prices are reported by a third party. FluentU, which sells a competing language app, in a review last modified January 2025: Premium+ $19.99/month, $89.99/6 months, $149.99/year; adds graded stories, the Chinese Characters course, immersion lessons and Premium+ support on top of Premium (per fluentu.com, checked Oct 2026). GraphChinese is $49 once for lifetime access.
How this comparison was made
Written by Carson, who makes GraphChinese, the product being compared. 16 facts about HelloChinese, checked 15 October 2026: 14 from HelloChinese’s own pages and store listings, 2 from third parties and labelled as such. Archived copies of price pages are linked where we have them. The sheet behind this page is public at /data/compare/hellochinese.json; tell us if anything is out of date at /contact.
See the whole path instead of reading about it. The demo on the front page runs real lessons from the course, and the placement test, dictionary and grammar reference are free, no signup. The whole course, HSK 0 through HSK 6, is $49 once for lifetime access.
Try the free demo