The best Pleco alternatives for Chinese (2026)
Pleco is the phone dictionary most learners start with. Here are five others, what each one is best for, and what it costs.
We make Mandarin The Wild. Everything we say about the other apps comes from their own pages, with each source listed below.
The list at a glance
| App | Best for | Price |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Mandarin The Wild | The meaning a word has in its sentence, on any web page, YouTube and your own books | Free to look up, read the Library and review1 |
| 2. Hanping Chinese | An offline phone dictionary with handwriting, voice and photo lookup | Free app; extras are one-off purchases2 |
| 3. MDBG | A free dictionary website that looks up every word in a pasted text | Free3 |
| 4. Zhongwen | A pop-up dictionary for Chinese web pages in Chrome | Free4 |
| 5. Migaku | Flashcards from what you watch and read, in ten languages | A 10-day free trial, then a paid plan6 |
1. Mandarin The Wild
We make it, so judge this one hardest. A dictionary lists what a word can mean; Mandarin The Wild tells you what it means here. Point at a word on a web page, in a YouTube caption or in your own book, and its card shows the one meaning it has in that sentence, its pinyin as it is read there, its parts and its sound.
我手机里有一个中文词典。
dictionary
Also written 詞典
You can also look a word up here: How to say it in Chinese for an English word and What does it mean in Chinese? for a Chinese word or its pinyin, free with no sign-up. Bring in your Pleco list and keep reviewing it.
- Every page and every video. The same card on any web page and in YouTube captions, in Chrome or Edge. The video keeps playing, and Previous, Replay and Next sit in the player.
- Captions when a video has none. On a Chinese YouTube video with no captions, sign in and press Make captions: we make them from its sound.
- Backpack and Review. Press M and the word is kept with its sentence and the page or video moment it came from. Review brings it back by sight and by sound, on every device you sign in on.
- The Library. More than 250 graded stories and articles from HSK 1 to 6, each with a recording in two voices, free.
- Look a word up here. How to say it in Chinese for an English word and What does it mean in Chinese? for a Chinese word or its pinyin, each with toned pinyin, its characters and a real sentence, free with no sign-up.
- Immersion for your own Chinese. Links, Google Docs, EPUB, PDF and Word files, and recordings with their subtitles or a transcript made from their sound, every word ready to explain.
- Your phone, offline. Add the site to your home screen: Review, the reader, and the chapters and sources you keep work with no signal.
- Your words, in and out. Bring in a Pleco or Anki list, and download your words for Anki whenever you like.
2. Hanping Chinese
A Chinese dictionary app for Android and iPhone. One search box takes characters, pinyin or English; you can also write a character by hand, say it in Mandarin or Cantonese, or point the camera at a menu or sign. It has native-speaker audio, example sentences and stroke animations, and works offline with no ads. The app is free; more dictionaries, audio and stroke animations are one-off purchases, not a subscription.2 Like Pleco, it is a dictionary you look words up in, on your phone.
3. MDBG
A free Chinese–English dictionary website. Search by characters, pinyin or English, write a character by hand, or paste a passage and look up all the Chinese words in it. It also has flashcards and word lists.3 It works in any browser, with no app to install.
4. Zhongwen
A free Chrome extension: hover over Chinese on a web page and a pop-up shows the dictionary entries for the characters under the mouse.4 It works on web pages only and lists every entry rather than the one the sentence means. See how the two compare.
5. Migaku
A Chrome extension with phone apps for ten languages. You click a word on a streaming site or a web page for its dictionary entry, and make a flashcard from it.5 It starts with a 10-day free trial, then needs a paid plan.6 See how the two compare.
How to choose
- On your phone, offline: Hanping Chinese is the closest thing to Pleco, with a free app and one-off extras.
- On a computer, in a browser: MDBG for looking words up, Zhongwen or Mandarin The Wild for reading web pages without leaving them.
- Reading and watching real Chinese: a dictionary shows you every meaning and leaves the choice to you. Mandarin The Wild picks the meaning the sentence uses, on web pages and YouTube, and keeps the word with its sentence for Review.
Keep the dictionary you already know for looking things up, and try one that works where you read. See how Mandarin The Wild compares with Pleco.
Questions
What is the best alternative to Pleco?
For reading web pages and YouTube, Mandarin The Wild: it shows the one meaning a word has in its sentence, free. For an offline phone dictionary like Pleco, Hanping Chinese on Android and iPhone. For a free dictionary website, MDBG.
Is there a free alternative to Pleco?
Yes. Mandarin The Wild, MDBG and Zhongwen are free, and Hanping Chinese is a free app with one-off paid extras. Pleco’s dictionary is free too; its reader, graded readers and flashcards are paid add-ons.
Does Pleco work on a computer?
Pleco is an app for iPhone, iPad and Android, with no browser extension. On a computer, MDBG works in any browser, and Mandarin The Wild and Zhongwen work on web pages in Chrome.
Can I move my Pleco words to another app?
Mandarin The Wild brings in a Pleco list, so the words you saved keep coming back in Review.
Is Mandarin The Wild free?
Looking words up, the Library with its recordings, and Review are free. Looking up needs no account; a free account keeps your words.
Sources
Checked on 22 October 2026. Prices and features change; tell us if one has.