Daily Hanzi Revenue & Ads
Puts a Chinese character, its pronunciation and meaning on the lock screen each day, with flashcards inside the app.
Hyunjong Choi
Published Oct 19, 2026Updated Oct 19, 202611 min readPaid scale
Est. monthly revenue
$34K
↓ 45.6% vs prev. period
Downloads / month
23K
↓ 27.8% vs prev. period
Rating
4.6
1.5K ratings · Education
Meta ads running
58
89 found · median 65
Daily Hanzi revenue and downloads trend
Est. monthly revenue
$30K ↑ 54.4% in 90 days
Feb 5, 2026: $869Oct 16, 2026
Monthly downloads
20K ↑ 105.9% in 90 days
Feb 5, 2026: 434Oct 16, 2026
Daily third-party estimates, 186 days ending Oct 16, 2026. Revenue changed +3383% and downloads +4549% over the period. Meta ads live went from 39 to 74 between Sep 5, 2026 and Oct 17, 2026.
Daily Hanzi Meta ads: 58 active, longest running 69 days
Top 13 by days live out of 89 found (13 video and 0 image creatives). Tap any one to open the original in the Meta Ad Library.
#169 days liveGoogle PlayAd copy“Learn Chinese using widgets and daily practice reminders with @dailyhanzi.app”Why it worksVideo selling widgets and daily practice reminders with the app handle in the copy, 69 days, Google Play.
#269 days liveGoogle PlayAd copy“Learn Chinese using widgets and daily practice reminders with @dailyhanzi.app”Why it worksSame widget and reminder line on a second video, 69 days, Google Play link.
#369 days liveGoogle PlayAd copy“Learn Chinese using widgets and daily practice reminders with @dailyhanzi.app”Why it worksThird cut of the widget pitch, 69 days, one of 5 Google Play ads in the top set.
10 more Meta ads are locked
Unlock freeAds from the Meta Ad Library as of Oct 16, 2026. Store data from the App Store.
Lock Screen Learning Sold Through Short Video Ads
Daily Hanzi, from ALEX XINWEI LIU, teaches Chinese characters by showing one on the lock screen with its pronunciation and meaning, backed by in-app flashcards. As of Oct 2026 it makes an estimated $34K a month on an estimated 23K downloads, 8 months after launch. A solo-named developer runs 58 live Meta ads, all video, plus 21 Apple Search Ads creatives, built on one passive learning promise.
Key takeaways
- 58 Meta ads are live against an Education median of 65, with 89 found over time and 21 Apple Search Ads creatives. Live ads went from 39 to 74 over 31 days.
- All 13 longest-running ads are video with only 4 distinct copy lines. 6 repeat learn Chinese passively and let your lockscreen do the work.
- The App Store lists 6 in-app purchases at 4 prices: $4.99 monthly and $19.99, $29.99 or $39.99 yearly. The cheapest annual equals 33% of 12 monthly payments.
- Meta Ad Library spend estimates show $3K of lifetime spend reaching 233.4K people. The United States takes 62.3% of spend and 18-24 year olds 46.0%.
- The latest 42 reviews average 2.24 stars with 25 one-star. 23 (54.8%) mention price, trial or subscription, and 19 of those are negative.
Full teardown
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Where Daily Hanzi spends on Meta
Audience and spend estimates built on Meta Ad Library data (reported for ads shown in the EU, with other countries modeled), lifetime of the ads found. The biggest audience is 18-24, taking 46.0% of spend.
Est. spend
$3K
Reach
233.4K
Avg. CPM
$13.27
Ads delivered
106
Spend by age
Spend by gender
Top countries by reach
| Country | Reach | Spend | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States est. | 90.8K | $1,929 | 62.3% |
| France | 22.6K | $220.14 | 7.11% |
| Italy | 17.7K | $126.34 | 4.08% |
| United Kingdom | 16.5K | $218.16 | 7.04% |
| Spain | 14.4K | $110.20 | 3.56% |
Rows marked est. are modeled from Ad Library coverage, not reported by Meta.
What Daily Hanzi does differently
A widget pitch in video
13 of 13
top ads are video
Young, US-heavy and split by gender
46.0%
of estimated spend on 18-24 year olds
Price revealed at the end
54.8%
of latest reviews mention paying
The measurement gap
-45.6%
headline revenue versus prior period
1. A widget pitch in video
Every one of the 13 longest-running ads is video, and the copy barely moves. Only 4 distinct lines appear. The top 5, live 69 days, say learn Chinese using widgets and daily practice reminders with @dailyhanzi.app and link to Google Play. The next group switches to learn Chinese passively and let your lockscreen do the work, links to the App Store, and repeats that line 6 times. The handle in the copy makes the ad read like a creator post. Passive learning is the hook: no lessons, no streak pressure, just a character on a screen the user already checks. Live ads rose from 39 to 74 in 31 days, so the format is scaling. Daily Hanzi sells the phone habit the user already has, not the effort of study.
2. Young, US-heavy and split by gender
The audience is young. Meta Ad Library spend estimates put 46.0% of spend on 18-24 year olds and 41.7% on 25-34, with spend split almost evenly between men at 49.5% and women at 48.3%. Lifetime spend is small, $3K reaching 233.4K people, and the United States takes 62.3% of it. France, Italy and the United Kingdom follow at 7.11%, 4.08% and 7.04% of spend. With 21 Apple Search Ads creatives next to the Meta set, the plan looks like video for discovery and search for capture. For Daily Hanzi, a $3K budget has been enough to run both channels at once.
3. Price revealed at the end
The ladder is simple: $4.99 monthly and yearly plans at $19.99, $29.99 and $39.99, one of them a Special Offer, with the cheapest annual at 33% of 12 monthly payments. The listing does not confirm a subscription, so these count as in-app purchases. The friction sits in the onboarding. Of the latest 42 reviews, 23 mention price, trial or subscription, 54.8%, and 19 are negative. Reviewers say the app asks for a review, builds a plan and collects an email before showing that it costs $30/year, with no free version. Estimated revenue changed -45.6% versus the previous period. For Daily Hanzi, a long quiz before a hard paywall can turn curiosity into one-star reviews.
4. The measurement gap
Daily Hanzi runs 58 Meta ads and 21 Apple Search Ads creatives, sends some to Google Play and some to the App Store, and sells a $19.99 to $39.99 yearly plan behind a long quiz. Which ad, store and offer bring a learner who pays and stays, rather than one who leaves a one-star review at the paywall? Store estimates cannot separate the two.
How much does Daily Hanzi cost?
6 in-app purchases, 4 distinct prices, annual plans from $19.99 to $39.99. Prices as listed on the US App Store, Oct 16, 2026.
| Monthly | $4.99 |
|---|---|
| Annual | $19.99 · $29.99 · $39.99 |
Daily Hanzi vs the Education median
| Daily Hanzi | Median | |
|---|---|---|
| Est. monthly revenue | $34K | $101K |
| Downloads / month | 23K | 44K |
| Meta ads running | 58 | 65 |
| Rating | 4.6 | 4.7 |
| Lowest annual price | $19.99 | $69.99 |
Median of 86 Education apps with active Meta ads in our set. See the Education hub ›
What Daily Hanzi users say about paying
Of the latest 42 reviews, 23 (54.8%) mention price, trial or subscription, and 19 of those are negative, mostly about the price appearing only after onboarding. The window averages 2.24 stars with 25 one-star.
Latest 42 US reviews, Feb 2, 2026 to Sep 30, 2026
Mention price, trial or subscription
55%23 of 42 reviews, 19 of them 1 or 2 stars
I’ve been looking for ways to practice Mandarin after finishing school years ago. They had a pretty enticing ad pop up on social media and I thought hey it coul…
They bait you to sign up, leave a review, curate your plan, and all without revealing until the end it costs $30/year. On top of the fact there's no free versio…
How to measure a playbook like Daily Hanzi's
Daily Hanzi pairs 58 Meta video ads with 21 Apple Search Ads creatives and a $4.99 monthly plan. Measuring it means tying each payer to the ad and store that brought them.
- 01
Connect Meta and see cost next to results
Spend, installs and in-app events land in one report by campaign, so channels get compared on the same numbers.
- 02
Send trial and purchase events back to Meta
Core sends mobile postbacks to Meta and three other channels, so the algorithm can optimize for payers instead of cheap installs. Growth adds more channels.
- 03
Connect RevenueCat for revenue by campaign
Subscription revenue joins the install data, so each campaign shows return on ad spend, not only cost per install.
Measure this on your own app with Airbridge Core
From $40+/mo · 30 days free · no sales call
How we built this teardown
- Revenue and downloads are third-party app intelligence estimates as of Oct 16, 2026. Store intelligence estimates for a single app can be off by 30% or more. Treat them as a range, not a figure from the developer. Daily revenue and download series cover 186 days ending Oct 16, 2026.
- Ads come from the public Meta Ad Library. "Days live" counts days since an ad first appeared. Spend and audience breakdowns start from Meta's EU transparency figures; country splits outside the EU are modeled.
- Prices, ratings and ranks come from the App Store (US storefront) on the same date. Prices differ by country and by paywall offer. Review stats use the latest 42 US reviews from Apple's public review feed.
- Category medians are computed across 86 Education apps with active Meta ads in our set of 860 subscription apps.
- Written by Hyunjong Choi. Ads, prices and estimates are refreshed every 30 to 90 days. Updated Oct 19, 2026.
Top Education apps by estimated revenue
All 59 ›| # | App | Est. revenue / mo | Ads live |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  DuolingoDuolingo, Inc | $54M | 323 |
| 2 |  PictureThisGlority Global Group Ltd. | $6M | 4,400 |
| 3 |  Simply PianoSimply Ltd | $5M | 744 |
| 4 |  LingokidsMonkimun Inc | $3M | 107 |
| 5 |  SpeakSpeakeasy Labs, Inc | $3M | 86 |
| 92 | Daily HanziALEX XINWEI LIU | $34K | 58 |
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ABA EnglishFrequently asked questions about Daily Hanzi
How much does Daily Hanzi make?
Daily Hanzi makes an estimated $34K a month on about 23K monthly downloads as of Oct 2026, by third-party estimates. That is 0.3x the Education median of $101K.
How much does Daily Hanzi cost?
The US App Store lists a $4.99 Monthly Plan and yearly plans at $19.99, $29.99 and $39.99, including a Special Offer version.
How many ads does Daily Hanzi run?
58 active Meta ads as of Oct 2026, against an Education median of 65, plus 21 Apple Search Ads creatives. All 13 longest-running Meta ads are video.
How fast is Daily Hanzi growing?
Over the 186 days to Oct 16, 2026, estimated downloads went from 434 to 20K and estimated revenue from $869 to $30K, after peaks of 31K and $63K on Sep 15.
Who makes Daily Hanzi?
ALEX XINWEI LIU publishes the app. It launched on Feb 2, 2026, making it 8 months old, and was last updated Oct 12, 2026.
Who does Daily Hanzi target?
Estimated spend goes 46.0% to 18-24 year olds and 41.7% to 25-34, split almost evenly by gender. The United States takes 62.3% of spend.
Is Daily Hanzi free?
Reviewers say there is no free version and the price appears only at the end of onboarding. 19 of 23 recent reviews that mention paying are negative.
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The install is visible, the subscriber is not. Airbridge Core closes that gap: connect Meta, TikTok, Google and Apple Ads, add one tracking link per creator, plug in RevenueCat, Superwall or Adapty, and each campaign shows revenue instead of installs. The Core plan starts at $40 a month after 30 free days. Start your free trial.
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Hyunjong Choi LinkedIn
Go-to-market, Airbridge Core
Works on go-to-market for Airbridge Core, the self-serve attribution plan for subscription apps. Writes these teardowns from public App Store data, the Meta Ad Library and third-party estimates.
About Airbridge
Airbridge is a mobile measurement partner for Meta, Google, TikTok and Apple Ads, with native RevenueCat, Superwall and Adapty integrations. Subscription teams like NOICE cut measurement setup time by 75% after switching.