The short answer
Choose a BaZi app by checking how it calculates your chart first, and how it explains the chart second. An app that gets the Day or Hour Pillar wrong will give a polished reading of the wrong chart.
Six calculation checks
- Does it use your birthplace, not just your country?
- Does it apply true solar time, and let you turn it off?
- Does it handle historical time zones and daylight saving?
- Does it follow solar terms for the Year and Month Pillars?
- Does it say when the Day Pillar changes during the Zi hour?
- Can you see the pillars behind any interpretation?
A quick test: enter noon on January 1, 2000, in Beijing with true solar time. You should get 己卯 丙子 戊午 戊午.
What depth to look for
| You want | Look for |
|---|---|
| A first introduction | Day Master explanation in plain language |
| To study BaZi | Ten Gods, hidden stems, Na Yin, and Luck Pillars |
| Daily use | Readings tied to your Day Master, not just your zodiac animal |
| Relationship insight | Full two-chart comparison, not only zodiac matching |
| Privacy | A clear statement of where birth data is stored |
Warning signs
- Asks only for your birth year or zodiac animal
- Won't show the chart behind a reading
- Promises certain outcomes about money, health, or relationships
- Uses fear to sell a paid reading
BaZi apps at a glance
These are public App Store figures for the US storefront, checked on November 9, 2026. They show how established and actively maintained an app is, not how accurate its charts are, so run the checks above as well.
| App | Rating (count) | Last updated | Languages |
|---|---|---|---|
| FateTell – Chinese Astrology | 4.6 (347) | Oct 2026 | 3 |
| BaZi Hero | 4.6 (146) | Oct 2026 | 1 |
| My BaZi Astrology | 4.0 (4) | Sep 2026 | 1 |
| Daoly | 5.0 (3) | Oct 2026 | 8 |
| Zhan: BaZi Chart Calculator | 5.0 (1) | Aug 2026 | 5 |
| YiXian BaZi: Four Pillars | No ratings yet | Oct 2026 | 4 |
There is no single best BaZi app. Rating counts in this category are small, so a high average from a few reviews says little. Most of these apps are free to download and offer paid features.
How Daoly answers these questions
Daoly is an iPhone app for BaZi, the I Ching, and the Five Elements. It calculates charts on your device from birth date, time, and place, using birthplace-aware true solar time. It shows the pillars, Ten Gods, hidden stems, Na Yin, and Luck Pillars, and presents readings as reflection rather than prediction. It is available in eight languages.
Daoly's calculation rules are published in full, so you can compare them with any other app. You can also try the same calculation in the free web calculator.