Best Apps to Prepare for HSK 3.0 in 2026: Which Ones Use the New Word Lists

By the Laoshi team. Laoshi is our app, and it is one of the nine compared below.

Last updated: October 2026. Prices and features checked on 27 October 2026.

The new HSK starts for real on 13 December 2026. That is the first official worldwide sitting of HSK 3.0, as announced by China's Center for Language Education and Cooperation in September (official notice, in Chinese). Registration closes on 16 November for paper tests and 3 December for internet-based tests, Beijing time.

So the first question to ask of any app is not how pretty it is. It is which word list it drills. Three are in circulation:

• HSK 2.0, the old six-level exam. HSK 1 has 150 words.
• The 2021 HSK 3.0 standard (GF0025-2021). HSK 1 has 500 words.
• The HSK 3.0 exam syllabus, published in November 2025. HSK 1 has 300 words. This is what the December exam tests.

Many apps and decks say "HSK 3.0" and mean the 2021 list, so check which one you are getting.

Short answer by need:

• A cheap, structured course built on HSK 3.0: Pass HSK
• Graded reading on the 2025 list: HSKStory
• A dictionary, now with premade cards for the 2026 test: Pleco
• Vocabulary from your own textbook, plus pronunciation and writing practice: Laoshi
• Handwriting drills: Skritter (its 2026 decks are still being built)
• Free, do-it-yourself flashcards: Anki
• A first course for complete beginners: HelloChinese
• Question drills for the old exam format: SuperTest
• Lots of reading and listening: Du Chinese

How we checked

On 27 October 2026 we read each app's US App Store listing, its official website and, where they exist, the developer's own release notes or forum posts. We did not run timed accuracy tests, and we have not tried to rank the apps against each other. Where an app does not say which HSK 3.0 list it follows, the table says so rather than guessing. Prices are US list prices and will differ in other stores.

Comparison table

What changed in HSK 3.0

HSK 3.0 has nine levels in three bands. Levels 7 to 9 are one exam, scored into a band (chinesetest.cn).

The exam syllabus sets cumulative vocabulary at roughly 300, 500, 1,000, 2,000, 3,600 and 5,400 words for HSK 1 to 6, and about 11,000 through HSK 7–9 (Mandarin Zone, CLI). The old HSK 6 stopped at 5,000.

Characters are split into a list you must recognise and a much shorter list you must write by hand, about 100 at HSK 1–2 and about 1,200 by HSK 7–9 (Mandarin Zone).

From HSK 3 up, each level has a matching speaking test, about 15 minutes at HSK 3 and 23 at HSK 5 and 6. In both 2026 pilot sittings, candidates for levels 3 to 6 had to register for it alongside the written paper (Beijing municipal government, CLI). The December notice does not say whether that rule stays.

If you studied with HSK 2.0 material, expect gaps rather than a restart. Mandarin Zone matched the old lists against the 2025 syllabus and found only 47–59% same-level overlap, and 91 words in the new HSK 1 that appear at no level of the old exam (Mandarin Zone). Our separate article covers the numbers in detail: HSK 3.0 word lists: what actually changed.

Pass HSK: best low-cost course built on HSK 3.0

Pass HSK is the one app here that builds its learning path around the HSK 3.0 levels rather than adding lists to an older course. The App Store listing describes 441 grammar lessons covering HSK 1 to 6 and handwriting practice for the 1,200 characters on the handwriting list (App Store).

It is also unfinished, and says so. Its June release notes (version 1.2.7) say HSK Level 1 of the main curriculum "is available now, with more levels coming soon." The developer is a single person, and the app has too few App Store ratings to show a score. Prices: $4.99 a month, $29.99 a year with a 7-day trial, or $79.99 once. The first lesson is free.

Worth it if you want structure on a small budget and don't mind being an early user.

HSKStory: best for graded reading on the new list

HSKStory writes its stories inside the vocabulary of each level, and it is explicit about which list: the 2025 HSK 3.0 standard. You can check this on its site. It gives 300 words for HSK 1 and 988 for HSK 3. The exam syllabus says 300 and 1,000; the 2021 standard says 500 and 2,245.

The library has grown to 198+ stories from HSK 1 to 9, with audio recorded at learner pace and pinyin you can switch on per word or turn off. It has iPhone and Android apps, and they download stories and audio for offline reading.

You get one story without an account and three with a free account. After that it is $9.99 a month or $84 a year, or $199 for life ($149 while founding places last) (pricing). It does reading and listening only. There is no speaking or writing practice.

Pleco: the dictionary, now with 2026 HSK cards

Every learner ends up with Pleco. The free app includes two dictionaries, the open-source CC-CEDICT and Pleco's own PLC, and works offline. Paid add-ons are one-time purchases, never a subscription: the Basic bundle is $29.99 and the Professional bundle $59.99 on the US App Store.

What changed this year: version 3.2.82 "added vocabulary for the refreshed 2026 HSK 3.0 test" to its premade flashcards (App Store release notes). So Pleco is no longer only a lookup tool for exam candidates. You can install the new lists and review them in Pleco's own flashcard system, which is a paid add-on.

It is still not a course. Nothing tells you what to study next or explains grammar.

Laoshi: best for vocabulary from your own textbook

Laoshi is our app, so weigh this section with that in mind.

Laoshi's HSK 3.0 decks follow the official exam vocabulary published on chinesetest.cn, the test operator's site, including the 7–9 band, with HSK 2.0 lists kept alongside. Its other main source of vocabulary is textbooks: ready-made decks for every major Chinese textbook, such as HSK Standard Course, organised chapter by chapter, which matters if your class uses a book that does not line up neatly with the new exam levels. In total there are 30,000+ word lists and thematic decks. You can import lists from Anki, Quizlet or Pleco, or make your own, for example the 40 words your teacher handed out this week. Reviews run on spaced repetition. The app holds a 4.6-star rating on the US App Store from about 800 ratings and won a Red Dot Design Award in 2021.

Two practice modes go beyond flashcards. Pronunciation check gives you two separate scores, one for the sounds and one for the tones, so you can tell a right vowel from a wrong tone, as in mǎi (买, buy) said as mài (卖, sell). Character writing gives you stroke hints: one tap shows the next stroke, a double tap shows the whole character. It works on any list in the app, including your own lists.

Pair it with a reading app and with exam practice closer to your test date. Laoshi is on iOS and Android (App Store, Google Play).

Skritter: best for handwriting, with a timing caveat

Skritter grades each stroke as you write. It is the handwriting specialist here, and that matters more now that HSK 3.0 has a separate handwriting list at every level.

The caveat is timing. Skritter's HSK 3.0 decks went live in June 2021 and follow the 2021 standard (forum post). In January the team chose to wait for the real exam before building new ones. On 24 September a Skritter staff member wrote that the December date was "locked in" and that 2026 editions of the HSK 3.0 decks, including character-writing decks, were now a priority. As of their latest post on 20 October those decks were still in progress (forum thread).

It costs $14.99 a month or $99.99 a year, and it teaches writing and recall only: no listening, grammar or conversation.

Anki: best free option, if you choose your deck carefully

Anki is free on desktop, Android and the web. The iPhone app costs $24.99 once (App Store). Its scheduler, add-ons and sync are as good as they were, and you can build any deck you like.

The weak point is the decks. The popular shared HSK 3.0 decks we found on AnkiWeb, such as this one, were built from the 2021 standard, which totals 11,092 words. Before you start, open the HSK 1 deck and count. Around 300 words means the exam list. Around 500 means the 2021 standard. Around 150 means the old exam.

Anki teaches nothing on its own, and setting it up takes time.

HelloChinese: best first course for beginners

HelloChinese is the friendliest start: short lessons with speech recognition, handwriting, and 2,000+ videos with native speakers. It has a free tier, and Premium is $11.99 a month, $25.99 for three months or $69.99 a year.

For HSK 3.0, the picture is unclear. The App Store description says "courses based on HSK levels" without naming a version. In 2024 the developer replied to a review that the Stories follow "the newest HSK guidelines" while the main course followed an older version, with a new course in development (App Store). We found no statement on whether anything in the app follows the November 2025 exam list.

A good start for beginners. Not, on its own, a path to the December exam.

SuperTest: mock exams for the old format

SuperTest, formerly HSK Online, has the biggest question bank here: over 300,000 practice questions, past papers and mock exams for HSK 1 to 6. It has a 4.7 rating from about 1,050 ratings on the US App Store. Membership is $5.99 a month, $17.99 for six months or $56.99 a year.

All of it is for the old exam. The listing does not mention HSK 3.0, nine levels or the new syllabus. That was a reasonable position until this autumn, because regular 2026 sittings stayed on HSK 2.0, and CLI reports the last of them on 7 November (CLI). For the 13 December exam, practise on the format you will actually sit. The test operator publishes HSK 3.0 sample questions and a demo of the new test.

Du Chinese: best for reading and listening volume

Du Chinese has a large library of professionally written readings and 80+ multi-chapter graded stories, all with synced audio and tap-to-look-up. Some lessons are free; Premium is $14.99 a month, $79.99 for six months or $119.99 a year (pricing).

It grades content on its own six levels, Newbie to Master, and makes no HSK 3.0 claim. That is fine for building reading speed. Just don't read "Intermediate" as a promise about HSK 4.

Three combinations that cover the exam

Sitting the December exam. One vocabulary source built on the exam list (HSKStory, Pass HSK, or Pleco's 2026 cards), a handwriting tool, and the official sample papers and demo for format practice in the last month.

Spending nothing. Anki with a deck you have checked against the 300-word HSK 1 test, Pleco's free dictionaries, HSKStory's free stories and Pass HSK's free first lesson.

Learning by reading. HSKStory for stories on the new list, Du Chinese for extra volume, and a flashcard app to keep the words you meet.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which apps use the HSK 3.0 exam word list in 2026?

Among the nine apps here, HSKStory states it follows the 2025 HSK 3.0 standard and its per-level counts match the exam syllabus. Pleco added premade cards for the "refreshed 2026 HSK 3.0 test" in version 3.2.82. Pass HSK builds its course around HSK 3.0, with only level 1 of the curriculum live so far. Laoshi's HSK 3.0 decks follow the official exam vocabulary from chinesetest.cn. Skritter's current decks follow the 2021 standard, with 2026 decks in progress. Anki depends on the deck. SuperTest and Du Chinese do not claim HSK 3.0, and HelloChinese does not say which version it follows.

When does HSK 3.0 replace the old HSK?

The first official sitting of HSK 3.0 is on 13 December 2026. Registration closes on 16 November for paper tests and 3 December for internet-based tests, Beijing time (official notice). There were pilot sittings on 31 January and 20 September 2026. The "July 2026" date that many sites quoted did not become an exam switch: regular 2026 sittings stayed on HSK 2.0.

How many words do I need for each HSK 3.0 level?

Per the November 2025 exam syllabus, cumulatively: about 300 words for HSK 1, 500 for HSK 2, 1,000 for HSK 3, 2,000 for HSK 4, 3,600 for HSK 5, 5,400 for HSK 6 and 11,000 through HSK 7–9. If a source says HSK 1 has 500 words, it is quoting the 2021 standard.

Can I still use HSK 2.0 apps and books?

Yes, as a base, not as your only source. Same-level overlap between the old lists and the 2025 syllabus is only 47–59%, according to Mandarin Zone's word-by-word comparison. Keep what you know and add the missing words from an HSK 3.0 list.

Do I need to handwrite characters for HSK 3.0?

Yes. Each level has a handwriting list that is much shorter than the reading list: about 100 characters at HSK 1–2, rising to about 1,200 by HSK 7–9. Skritter, Laoshi and Pass HSK all have character-writing practice.

What is the best free way to prepare?

Anki on desktop or Android is free, as are Pleco's base dictionaries, HSKStory's first three stories and Pass HSK's first lesson. The official HSK 3.0 sample questions and online demo are free from the test operator. The cost is your time: you will choose and check the decks yourself.

Sources for every claim are linked in the text. App details come from each app's own store listing, website, release notes or forum, read on 27 October 2026. Exam dates come from the official notice and the operator's own pages where we could open them, and from the secondary sources named alongside.