Is Du Chinese Free? Free vs Paid Chinese Reading Apps (2026 Prices)

Yes, Du Chinese is free to download and has selected free lessons. Full access costs $14.99 for one month, $79.99 for six months or $119.99 for twelve months on its web pricing page, checked in October 2026. For complete graded fiction, start with HSKStory’s three free stories across HSK 1–9.

HSKStory, Du Chinese, The Chairman's Bao, maayot, and BaoBao supply the reading material. Readibu is mainly a reader for public web content and imported files. Pleco starts with a dictionary and sells broader reading features as add-ons. Those are different products, even when they appear together in an app comparison.

How this comparison was checked

We checked product details against official websites and app listings on October 10, 2026. Free allowances, subscription terms, and app-store prices can change, so the links below are the final authority when you buy.

Free and paid access compared

What you can read for free

HSKStory: three complete stories

HSKStory has a three-story free allowance for editor-developed, multi-chapter fiction. Editors develop, closely edit, and approve every story. You can finish the first story without creating an account, although continuing may require a free account.

The reader includes Simplified and Traditional Chinese, pinyin controls, word-tap definitions, saved vocabulary, and progress tracking. Each chapter has synchronized Mandarin audio reviewed for pronunciation, pacing, and synchronization. The free iOS and Android apps add offline story downloads and background audio. Paid membership opens the full library across HSK 1 through HSK 9.

The free allowance is enough to judge the full reading experience rather than a shortened preview. Start with a story at your current level instead of choosing HSK 1 automatically.

Du Chinese: selected free lessons

Du Chinese is free to download and makes a selection of lessons available without Premium. Its reader includes audio, pinyin, translations, word lookup, flashcards, and grammar help. The free selection lets you test the format, while Premium opens the full lesson library.

Du Chinese is a good free starting point when you want to sample several kinds of structured reading. Its level guide maps Newbie through Master approximately to HSK 1–6, but does not name a syllabus version. Check it against your exam syllabus; HSKStory provides HSK 3.0 fiction through HSK 7–9.

The Chairman's Bao: sample news lessons

The Chairman's Bao provides sample lessons before subscription. Its focus is Chinese news rewritten for learner levels, with human-recorded audio, dictionary help, grammar notes, and study tools.

The samples show whether short, topical lessons hold your attention. A subscription makes sense when current events are the material you want to read regularly.

maayot: one story each Sunday

maayot gives free users a new story on Sundays. Its lessons combine a short level-based text with definitions, audio, and a comprehension activity. Paid access changes the schedule from weekly to daily, while its Pro plan adds teacher feedback on speaking and writing.

This is a narrow free allowance, but the format is easy to evaluate. It suits learners who prefer one assigned reading over browsing a large library.

Readibu and Pleco: bring the material

These readers add tools around material you choose.

Readibu

Readibu does not charge a subscription to read public web content. It can also import EPUB, PDF, and TXT files, then add pinyin or zhuyin, word lookup, script conversion, and text-to-speech. Premium pays for extra tools such as cloud sync, sentence translation, offline reading, and quizzes. It does not turn the public web content itself into paid content.

Pleco

Pleco includes its core dictionary and a light Clipboard Reader in the free app. Broader document support is sold through reader add-ons, and books and dictionaries can be separate purchases. Pleco is useful when you already have something to read and want strong lookup tools. It is not a subscription library of original graded lessons.

Both options can support a large amount of free reading, but difficulty depends on the material you choose. Beginners who need tightly controlled vocabulary may spend more time searching for a suitable text than reading it.

BaoBao: free download with in-app purchases

BaoBao combines books, graded audiobooks, bilingual news, and short videos with pinyin, translation, and dictionary tools. Its official listings mark it as free to download with in-app purchases.

That label does not tell you how much of each collection is included for free. Check the current access screen inside the app if BaoBao's mix of reading, listening, and video appeals to you.

What paying changes

The main reason to subscribe to a graded reader is reliable access to suitable material. A limited free selection may be enough for occasional practice, but it cannot always supply the level, topic, or story length you want next.

Paid access can also reduce the work around reading. A supplied library has already organized the texts, audio, and study tools. A free reader such as Readibu or Pleco can cover far more material, but you choose the source and judge whether its difficulty is useful.

If you have not run into a limit, keep using the free setup. A wider library helps when you repeatedly run out of graded stories at your level. If you already have novels or articles and only need lookup support, a free base reader or a one-time Pleco add-on may be enough.

Current price and access snapshot

These details were checked on October 10, 2026. Prices below are in US dollars. Du Chinese and The Chairman’s Bao publish web prices; Readibu, maayot and BaoBao prices are from US App Store listings. Store and regional prices can differ.

Monthly prices alone do not make a clean comparison. Pleco sells one-time add-ons, Readibu separates free reading from premium tools, and the subscription services supply different kinds of material.

Which option fits you?

• Choose HSKStory when you want complete multi-chapter fiction at a defined HSK level, including HSK 7 through 9.
• Choose Du Chinese when you want a large variety of structured stories, dialogues, and cultural lessons.
• Choose The Chairman's Bao when news is the main reason you want to read Chinese.
• Choose Readibu or Pleco when you have your own texts or want to read public web content.
• Choose maayot for one short assigned reading. Choose BaoBao when you want books, news, audio, and video together.

You can use more than one. A learner might read graded fiction for sustained practice and keep Pleco nearby for deeper dictionary entries.

Sources checked

• Du Chinese product site, pricing, and level guide
• The Chairman's Bao product site, plans, and FAQ
• Readibu product site and FAQ
• Pleco products and Document Reader manual
• maayot product site, US App Store plans, and App Store listing
• BaoBao App Store listing

Bottom line

Choose the kind of material first, then compare prices among the apps that provide it. A free tool is useful only if it gives you something you want to read at a manageable level.

If you want complete graded fiction, try an HSKStory story at your level. The three-story allowance includes the same reader, audio, pinyin, and vocabulary tools used with the full library. For a broader comparison of reading formats, see Best Chinese Reading Apps in 2026.

Read about HSKStory’s editorial approach.