Skritter alternatives: is there a free one?
Wordbrush is a free app for iPhone, iPad, and Android that drills the complete Mandarin Chinese HSK 1-3 vocabulary, 2,199 words, into long-term memory. Every word arrives with native-speaker audio, an example sentence, and a breakdown of its characters into components, scheduled by FSRS so you review each word just before you would forget it. It works entirely offline, needs no account, and has no paid tier.
Short answer: Wordbrush is free and replaces the vocabulary half of what Skritter does, for HSK 1-3, with native audio and FSRS scheduling. It does not replace the handwriting half. Skritter is built around writing characters by hand with stroke-level feedback, covers far more characters, and supports traditional characters, and if that is what you actually want, Skritter is the better tool and this page is not going to pretend otherwise. Skritter also has a free guest tier worth knowing about before you assume you need to pay.
Skritter details below were checked against skritter.com and its app-store listing on 3 September 2026. Prices and features change, so confirm anything that matters to you at the source.
People searching for a Skritter alternative are usually in one of two situations. Either the subscription is more than they want to spend on vocabulary practice, or they have realised that writing every character by hand is more work than their actual goal requires. Those two situations have different answers, so it is worth being clear about which one you are in before picking a tool.
Side by side
| Wordbrush | Skritter | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is for | Memorising HSK 1-3 vocabulary | Learning to write Chinese characters by hand, with SRS |
| Price | Free, in full, with no paid tier | Free guest tier for selected decks; subscription listed at $14.99/month, $59.99/6 months, or $99.99/year, with a 7-day free trial |
| Platforms | iPhone, iPad, Android | iPhone, iPad, Android, and in a web browser |
| Account | None, ever | Required for the full product; guest mode needs none |
| Vocabulary | Fixed: all 2,199 words of HSK 1-3 | Hundreds of textbook and user-made decks, plus your own lists; listing names HSK 1-6 and New HSK 3.0 1-9 decks |
| Handwriting | Optional card, off by default, a few hundred words | The core of the product, with real-time stroke-level grading |
| Characters decoded | Every character split into components automatically | Character decompositions are a listed feature |
| Scheduling | FSRS, open and published, fitted to your history | A spaced-repetition system the documentation describes as its own; no algorithm name is published |
| Character set | Simplified only | Simplified and traditional |
| Audio | Native-speaker recordings on every word and sentence, bundled | Cards have audio you can replay or autoplay |
| Best for | Getting HSK 1-3 words to stick, free | Learners who want to write characters properly by hand |
Choose Skritter if
- You want to write characters by hand. This is what Skritter is for. It grades your strokes as you write and corrects written form, and no free tool does this as thoroughly.
- You are studying traditional characters. Skritter covers both simplified and traditional. Wordbrush is simplified only, full stop.
- You need vocabulary beyond HSK 3. Skritter's listing advertises decks through HSK 1-6 and New HSK 3.0 levels 1-9, plus hundreds of textbook and user lists and your own custom lists. Wordbrush stops at HSK 3 and cannot be extended.
- You want to study on a computer. Skritter runs in a web browser. Wordbrush is a phone and tablet app only.
- You want to follow a specific textbook. Skritter has decks built to match published textbooks. Wordbrush follows the HSK list and nothing else.
Choose Wordbrush if
- Your goal is the HSK 1-3 vocabulary, and budget matters. Everything is free, with nothing held back and no trial that runs out.
- Reading and listening matter more to you than writing. Most learners need to recognise characters far more often than they need to produce them by hand. If that describes you, handwriting drills are a large investment in a skill you may rarely use.
- You want native-speaker audio on everything. Every word and every example sentence in Wordbrush is a recorded native speaker, bundled in the app.
- You want to study with no connection at all. Wordbrush makes no network calls during a session, so it works on a plane or underground.
- You would rather not create an account. Wordbrush has no sign-up and no server, and your progress never leaves your device.
- You want a published scheduling algorithm. Wordbrush uses FSRS, which is open source and benchmarked in public.
The honest overlap
These two apps are less rivals than neighbours. Skritter's own documentation describes importing vocabulary from Pleco and working alongside other reading tools, which tells you how its makers see it: as the writing specialist in a stack, not the only app you use. Wordbrush is the same shape of thing in a different corner, the vocabulary specialist. If you can afford Skritter and you want to write, run both. Wordbrush costs nothing, so the only thing you risk is the download.
If you want the words without either subscription or app, the complete HSK 1-3 word lists with audio are free to read on this site, and so are Anki decks of the same content.
Try Wordbrush free →Questions
What is the best free alternative to Skritter?
It depends on which part of Skritter you want to replace. If you want the vocabulary memorisation, Wordbrush is free and covers all of HSK 1-3 with native audio and FSRS scheduling, and it has an optional handwriting-recall card. If what you specifically want is serious handwriting practice across a large character set, Skritter is built for that and Wordbrush is not a replacement for it. Skritter also has a free guest tier that lets you study selected decks without paying.
Is Skritter free?
Skritter offers a free guest tier that gives access to selected decks, and its apps are free to download. Full access is a paid subscription: as listed on skritter.com on 3 September 2026, $14.99 per month, $59.99 for six months, or $99.99 per year, each with a 7-day free trial.
Does Wordbrush teach handwriting like Skritter?
Not to the same degree, and not by default. Wordbrush has a writing-recall card that is switched off unless you turn it on. When on, you write the character from memory on a blank pad with no model to trace, and each stroke is graded as you draw it. It covers a few hundred words, the core characters and the ones that look alike, not the whole vocabulary. Skritter is built around writing and covers far more characters, with stroke-level correction and traditional character support.
Can I use both Skritter and Wordbrush?
Yes, and for some people that is the best answer. Wordbrush is free, so trying it alongside a Skritter subscription costs nothing. A common split is Wordbrush for getting HSK 1-3 vocabulary into memory and Skritter for writing the characters by hand.
Does Skritter support traditional characters?
Skritter's documentation covers both simplified and traditional Chinese. Wordbrush is simplified characters only, so a traditional-character learner should not use Wordbrush.