12 Best Mandarin Courses for Beginners
We compared 12 Mandarin courses currently listed on Coursera, Udemy and edX, priced from $19.99 to $340.20. 2 come from a named university or institution, including Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Peking University. They are ordered by our CourseAsk score, which is built from how thoroughly each course describes what it teaches, whether it comes from a named institution, and how it compares on price — not from star ratings, which our course data does not include.
- Courses compared
- 12
- Price range
- $19.99 – $340.20
- Providers
- Coursera, Udemy, edX
- Last updated
- 18 Sep 2026
How these 12 courses were chosen
Every course below is a real, currently listed course from Coursera, Udemy, edX, matched to "mandarin" by our catalog and ordered by our CourseAsk score. Courses whose own title names the topic rank above those only tagged with it.
The grade on each entry scores how much the provider publishes about the course before you pay — the length and detail of the description, whether it lists learning outcomes and objectives — and whether a named university or institution stands behind it. A is fully documented and institution-backed; E is little more than a title and a price. Courses with almost nothing published are left ungraded rather than marked down, because an unknown course and a poor one are not the same thing.
There are no star ratings on this page — the course feeds we license do not include them, and we would rather leave a column out than fill it with a number we cannot stand behind. What we do have is price: these range from $19.99 to $340.20, as listed by the provider when we last updated the page.
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1
Mandarin Chinese 3: Chinese for Beginners
Offered by Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Mandarin Chinese 3: Chinese for beginners is a beginner's course of Mandarin Chinese in continuation of Mandarin Chinese 2: Chinese for beginners. It uses lectures, short plays, interactive exercises and cultural tips to...
$79.00listed price -
2
Chinese Speaking Course for Beginners-Practical Mandarin
This series is called Just Arrived，初来乍到，which includes 5 main scenarios that you may experience when you are in a Chinese spoken country for traveling, studying, a business trip or for a new job as a new comer.Each...
$54.99listed price -
3
Complete Chinese Course: Learn Mandarin for Beginners
The ultimate Mandarin Chinese beginner course that will teach you Chinese faster than you thought possible! Perhaps you’ve dreamed of moving or travelling to China and holding your own in real-life situations, being inde...
$19.99listed price -
4
Systematic Chinese Mandarin Course for Beginners
Hi guys welcome to master Chinese with Peipei! This is a course for beginner Chinese learners to learn the basics about Chinese in a possible short time. It was designed based on HSK syllabus and covers HSK1-3 grammar po...
$99.99listed price -
5
Mandarin Chinese for Beginners: Essentials & HSK Prep
Offered by MandarinX
This course is designed for those new to Mandarin Chinese, providing essential language skills and an introduction to the HSK exam format. You'll learn fundamental vocabulary, grammar, and practical phrases that will hel...
$241.20listed price -
6
Mandarin Essentials for Beginners
Offered by MandarinX
This course on Mandarin Essentials for Beginners offers a welcoming introduction to the Chinese language. It's designed to help learners develop foundational skills in speaking, listening, reading, and writing Mandarin....
$340.20listed price -
7
Chinese for Beginners
Offered by Peking University
Immerse yourself in the captivating world of Chinese culture and language with our ABC Chinese course for beginners. This comprehensive course provides an introduction to Mandarin phonetics and essential daily expression...
$49.00listed price -
8
100 Daily Chinese sentences in 1-Minute Bites for Beginners
Mandarin Microdoses: Conquer 100 High - Frequency Phrases for Travel & Life in 1 - Minute Videos!Embark on an exciting language - learning journey with our unique "Mandarin Microdoses" course. Designed for the modern...
$19.99listed price -
9
Learn Chinese HSK 1 Beginner Intensive Reading Course H10901
Learn Chinese With David (LCWD) is series of courses, designed for foreigner to learn mandarin, suitable for beginners from ZERO to higher level. (8 HD Videos, Total 220 Minutes) It is also ideal for examination prepa...
$129.99listed price -
10
Chinese Course for Beginners :Pinyin and Pronunciation
Mandarin is home to countries like Taiwan, Singapore, and of course China. It's a language that has deep roots with over 3,000 years of history to back it up.That's why the culture of China has largely shaped countries l...
$19.99listed price -
11
Learn Chinese HSK 2 Beginner Intensive Reading Course H20901
The new HSK (Chinese Proficiency Test) is an international standardized exam that tests and rates Chinese language proficiency. Chinese Language Proficiency (HSK), which is organized by Chinese government for foreigners....
$99.99listed price -
12
HSK 1 for the beginners
Welcome to “HSK 1 for the Beginners” — the perfect course to start learning Mandarin Chinese from zero! Whether you are a student, traveler, professional, or simply interested in Chinese culture, this course provides a c...
$49.99listed price
Best Mandarin Courses for Beginners compared
| # | Course | Provider | Offered by | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mandarin Chinese 3: Chinese for Beginners | Coursera | Shanghai Jiao Tong University | $79.00 | View → |
| 2 | Chinese Speaking Course for Beginners-Practical Mandarin | Udemy | — | $54.99 | View → |
| 3 | Complete Chinese Course: Learn Mandarin for Beginners | Udemy | — | $19.99 | View → |
| 4 | Systematic Chinese Mandarin Course for Beginners | Udemy | — | $99.99 | View → |
| 5 | Mandarin Chinese for Beginners: Essentials & HSK Prep | edX | MandarinX | $241.20 | View → |
| 6 | Mandarin Essentials for Beginners | edX | MandarinX | $340.20 | View → |
| 7 | Chinese for Beginners | Coursera | Peking University | $49.00 | View → |
| 8 | 100 Daily Chinese sentences in 1-Minute Bites for Beginners | Udemy | — | $19.99 | View → |
| 9 | Learn Chinese HSK 1 Beginner Intensive Reading Course H10901 | Udemy | — | $129.99 | View → |
| 10 | Chinese Course for Beginners :Pinyin and Pronunciation | Udemy | — | $19.99 | View → |
| 11 | Learn Chinese HSK 2 Beginner Intensive Reading Course H20901 | Udemy | — | $99.99 | View → |
| 12 | HSK 1 for the beginners | Udemy | — | $49.99 | View → |
Prices shown are the provider's listed price when we last updated this page. Confirm on their site before enrolling.
What the prices here tell you
The 12 priced courses on this page run from $19.99 to $340.20, with the middle of the range around $79.00 — a spread of $320.21. That is a wide gap for one subject. A higher price on this page usually reflects who is behind the course rather than how much material it contains, so it is worth opening two or three at different price points and comparing their syllabus before deciding.
Who is behind these courses
These courses come from Coursera, Udemy and edX. The platforms differ in how they sell: some charge once per course, others expect a subscription, and the listed price is not always what you pay at checkout after a promotion. 2 of these are produced by a named university or institution, including Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Peking University — which usually means a fixed syllabus and a recognised certificate, rather than an individual instructor’s own course.
Before you enrol
Open the provider’s own page and check three things this comparison cannot tell you: when the course was last updated, what the syllabus actually covers in its later sections, and what recent learners say. Prices shown here are the provider’s listed price when we last rebuilt this page on 18 September 2026 — they change often, and a promotion can move them substantially. We earn a commission if you enrol through our links, which costs you nothing and never affects the order courses appear in.