答 · answer · 算
What is the best Chinese fortune telling app?
Short answer
The best Chinese fortune telling app is the one honest about what it is doing. Apps for BaZi and Zi Wei Dou Shu read your birth moment and describe tendencies; I Ching apps read the situation you are in now and point at a direction. Neither predicts events. If your question is a decision you are carrying, a reading app that asks for that question will help more than a birth-chart app. YUBAO is built for that.
The short version
- “Chinese fortune telling” is at least four systems — BaZi, Zi Wei, the I Ching, and the daily almanac. Pick by the question, not the brand.
- BaZi and Zi Wei need your birth date and hour; the I Ching needs a question instead.
- No honest app predicts events. They describe tendencies (a chart) or situations (a reading).
- Be wary of any app that promises an outcome — that is marketing, not the tradition.
- If the thing on your mind is a decision, a reading app fits better than a birth-chart app.
How the two kinds of app compare
| Reading app · YUBAO | A typical reference app | |
|---|---|---|
| What it needs from you | One question, in your own words | Your birth date, time and place |
| What it reads | The situation you are standing in now | Your birth moment |
| Time horizon | This decision, this week, this season | Life themes and long arcs |
| Best for | “Should I do this?” | “What am I like? What is my chart?” |
| Honest limit | It will not describe your personality | It will not answer “what should I do today?” |
How to choose one in five minutes
- 1Name the kind of question you have“What am I like?” is a birth-chart question. “Should I do this?” is a reading question. The two want different apps.
- 2Check what input it needsAn app that needs your birth hour can only help once you have one. A reading app should need nothing but your question.
- 3Check the language of the answerPlain words, or a wall of terms — 八字, 紫微, 纳音? You should be able to read the answer without learning a system first.
- 4Check how honest it isDoes it claim to predict, or to describe? An app that promises outcomes has quietly left the tradition.
- 5Run one reading and seeAsk about something you are genuinely carrying. If the answer does not touch your actual week, it is the wrong app for you.
Try the second job
Bring one thing you are actually deciding. Read one answer, in plain words, tonight.
Ask one questionQuestions people ask
So which Chinese fortune telling app is best?
It depends on the question. For a chart of you in general, a BaZi or Zi Wei app. For a decision you are carrying right now, an I Ching reading app that asks for your question. YUBAO is the second kind.
Is Chinese fortune telling the same as the zodiac?
No. The zodiac animal is one branch of one pillar in a BaZi chart — a small part of the year you were born. Treating it as the whole thing is like calling astrology “your star sign” and stopping there.
Do these apps really predict the future?
No. A chart describes tendencies; a reading describes a situation and what it tends to ask of you. Neither tells you what will happen, and any app that claims to is overstating the tradition.
Do I need my exact birth time?
For BaZi and Zi Wei, yes — without the hour you have three pillars instead of four. For an I Ching reading you need no birth data at all, only a question.
Are these apps religious?
The tradition is older than most organised religion and belongs to none. It is a cultural and philosophical practice — a way of thinking about change, not a faith you have to adopt.
Keep reading
Written and checked by the YUBAO team · last reviewed 2026-09-28 · we name other tools honestly and take no money from anyone mentioned. A cultural reading, not medical or financial advice. If today is heavier than words, findahelpline.com lists real helplines near you.