CANTONESE HEAD TO HEAD
Choose between CantoneseClass101 and Canto School by the practice you want, the price you actually pay, and what you need alongside it.
Published by Canto School, the maker of one of the apps compared here. Our picks are editorial recommendations. See sources and method.
For an English-speaking beginner who wants a practical daily phone course, our pick is Canto School. Choose CantoneseClass101 when its specific strengths below matter more to you.
Documented features are separated from what we could not verify. A lower price is not evidence that an app supplies the same service as a tutor, a dictionary or a larger content library.
| What matters | Canto School | CantoneseClass101 |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free browser course; optional US$7.99 / month native Full Course | Basic US$8; Premium US$25; PLUS US$47 / month |
| Billing | No subscription for the browser course or public audio library. The optional native Full Course is a monthly subscription: three monthly payments total US$23.97; twelve total US$95.88. Those are sums of monthly payments, not annual-plan offers. Stores show local prices and renewal terms. | Standard 1-month USD prices. Standard 12-month totals: US$60 / US$180 / US$316. Standard 24-month totals: US$96 / US$240 / US$549, prepaid. Promotions vary. |
| Try before paying | The full browser course and published Cantonese audio library are free. The native app is a separate offer: free download and starting lesson, plus free Build with available exact recordings. Native Full Course adds all course stages, full Vocabulary, flashcards, Review and Theory. | Free registration, selected lessons and a seven-day Premium trial. |
| Main practice | A free browser Cantonese course with recorded listening, meaning checks, replies and sentence-building practice. The native app adds its phone lesson path, Build, vocabulary, flashcards and review. | An explanatory Cantonese audio/video library with lesson pathways, notes and optional Premium study tools or PLUS teacher messages. |
| Pronunciation notation | Traditional Chinese, Jyutping with tone numbers and English support. | Cantonese lesson notes and dialogue support; inspect your chosen lesson/tier for its pronunciation display. |
| Offline study | The browser course and web audio need an internet connection. Native app lessons and available recordings are included for offline study. Purchases, restores and subscription checks can need internet; this is not a promise of indefinite offline subscription access. | Audio downloads and lesson materials depend on tier and platform; check the selected plan. |
| Speaking and feedback | Exercise answer feedback and record-and-compare speaking practice. Supported iPhones can check recognized words; Android does not. Neither is a pronunciation or tone grade. | Premium assessments; PLUS offers asynchronous teacher messages and submitted-work feedback, not bundled scheduled live lessons. |
CantoneseClass101 is a substantial option for learners who enjoy audio and video explanations. The tier matters: Basic includes lessons and notes, Premium adds line-by-line audio and study tools, and PLUS adds teacher guidance through messages and submitted work. That teacher service is different from a scheduled private lesson.
Canto School is our daily-course pick for the learner who wants to spend more of a session answering exercises, following a path, building a sentence and reviewing cards. Full Course includes those study areas rather than splitting them across Basic, Premium and PLUS tiers. It does not include a human teacher service.
The standard support table lists US$8 Basic, US$25 Premium and US$47 PLUS for one month. The longer terms reduce the effective monthly cost but require upfront payment. Basic at US$96 for two years is not a US$4 cancel-any-month subscription.
A 45% promotion was visible on 22 October and advertised an end date of 23 October 2026. Because that is temporary, our main table uses the documented standard prices and links the current offer. Discount renewal conditions can differ from general policy; check the order you actually select. Canto School’s US$7.99 price here is a real monthly US App Store subscription.
Try a free Canto School browser lesson and an appropriate sample or lesson from CantoneseClass101. Compare whether you understand the instructions, can follow the sound support and know what to do next. Choose the routine you can repeat. For personal pronunciation correction, seek a suitable Cantonese teacher rather than treating an exercise score as a tone assessment.
Check the full cost guide and study-budget planner, or read our suggested learning approach.
HEAD TO HEAD
A beginner who likes guided listening and speaking during a commute or walk, and can regularly make time for audio recall.
Read the comparison ↗HEAD TO HEAD
A visual learner who enjoys quick vocabulary practice, or a learner adding vocabulary games alongside a broader Cantonese course.
Read the comparison ↗HEAD TO HEAD
A beginner who wants a familiar app lesson path, games, dialogue practice and access to multiple languages; less suitable if automatic speaking lessons or writing lessons are essential.
Read the comparison ↗Our competitor price research uses official product pages, pricing pages, help centres and app-store listings checked on 22 October 2026. Canto School’s free browser-course access was updated on 2 November 2026; the Duolingo course-audience answer carries its own check date. The comparison considers Cantonese availability, fit for English-speaking learners, practice format, pronunciation notation, offline access, feedback and the actual billing commitment. We have not independently tested every resource or measured learning outcomes. External links are source links, not affiliate links.
Prices are snapshots, not checkout quotes. Currency, tax, storefront, promotions and platform can change the amount. A prepaid yearly or two-year plan is labelled as such. We do not treat a monthly equivalent as a cancel-any-month price. A missing verified price is marked rather than guessed.
This page compares advertised access and study formats; we have not bought every plan or independently evaluated every recording. Current price and availability are controlled by the relevant provider.
Our overall recommendation favours a practical daily Cantonese course that combines guided practice and review. Different goals lead to different choices. We publish Canto School, so this is a disclosed product comparison, not an independent award or a scored laboratory review. Report a correction through Support.
