Skritter review: price, free version and privacy

Our verdict

Skritter is the pick for Chinese learners who want to write characters from memory. Use it alongside a course for speaking and grammar, and look elsewhere if tracking is a concern.

What Skritter is

Skritter is a writing app for Chinese. You learn a character's meaning, reading and tone, then write it on screen from memory, stroke by stroke. Practice is organized in decks, including HSK 1 to 6, the new HSK 3.0 levels 1 to 9, a stroke order deck and topic decks, and a spaced repetition schedule decides when each character comes back.

Who it suits

• Writing Chinese characters
• HSK learners who want to remember characters
• Adding handwriting to another Chinese course

Strengths

• Focused handwriting practice with on-screen strokes for each character.
• Decks for HSK 1 to 6 and the new HSK 3.0 levels 1 to 9.
• Personalized spaced repetition, as the screenshots illustrate with a forgetting curve.
• Free access to select decks for guest accounts, according to the listing.

Limits

• Review mode and full deck access need a subscription.
• The privacy label declares six data types used to track you.
• It does not teach speaking or grammar.
• Only about 820 ratings, and the app is in English only.

What the free version does

The listing says guest accounts get free access to select decks with no time limit. Review mode and studying any deck need a premium subscription.

Price

On the US App Store in November 2026, Skritter Premium is listed at $9.99 or $14.99 for 1 month, $59.99 or $69.99 for 6 months, and $99.99 or $119.99 for 1 year.

Privacy

The privacy label says purchases, contact info, user content, identifiers, usage data and diagnostics may all be used to track you, and all six are linked to your identity.

What the screenshots show

The screenshots show a writing grid for 玩 (wán, to play) and a review card for 忘 (wàng, to forget) with "forgot" and "got it" buttons, next to a spaced repetition chart.