Which language app should you use?
Start with Duolingo for a free daily habit, or Babbel for grammar explained through short dialogues. Choose Pimsleur for practice aloud on a commute. Try a few lessons before paying for a year.
Our picks at a glance
Try Prime free before you use the Amazon buttons below: 30 days free, then $14.99 a month, cancel any time. A paid link, like the Amazon buttons.
Best overallAlso best for a daily habit and best free app
Why it's here. Short, game-like lessons make it easy to practise a little every day. You can follow the whole course free, with ads and limits.
40 languages
Overall #1Score 3.7· 2 sources
Best for a trip
Why it's here. Half-hour audio lessons get you answering aloud, which suits a commute or a walk. Download lessons before you leave and you can practise without a connection.
51 languages / Offline lessons available
Overall #5Score 3.3· 2 sources
Best for an exam or a CEFR level
Why it's here. Short dialogues and grammar notes help you understand why a sentence works. Speaking exercises let you practise saying it aloud before you need it in conversation.
14 languages
Overall #10Score 3.1· 3 sources
Best for speaking with a tutor
Why it's here. Choose a teacher for the language and conversation you need, then pay lesson by lesson. You get a real person to practise with without committing to an app subscription.
104 languages
Overall #2Score 3.4· 2 sources
Best on a small budget
Why it's here. A structured course gives you a path through lessons, with corrections from native speakers. You can start with a free account before deciding whether the paid extras are useful.
14 languages / Offline lessons available
Overall #2Score 3.4· 2 sources
Best for reading and listening
Why it's here. Read and listen to material that interests you, then save unfamiliar words to practise later. It suits learners who want more real content alongside a structured course.
52 languages / Offline lessons available
Overall #19Score 2.7· 2 sources
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Every app, compared
24 apps and 90 published plans. Recommended first within each type of app. Sort any column, or filter by language and what matters to you.
| Best for | Free tier | Where to buy | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Course apps | ||||||
| Duolingo | A free daily habit | #1Score 3.7 | Freepaid tier priced in-app | Full free tier with ads and limits; paid tiers remove ads and limits. | 40 | |
| Busuu | Corrections from native speakers | #2Score 3.4 | $6.08$72.99 a year | Free account with limited features | 14 | |
| Mango Languages | Free through many public libraries | #2Score 3.4 | $10annual plan | Free trial on both personal plans | 73 | |
| Ling | Asian and less-taught languages | #5Score 3.3 | $12.50$149.99 a year | Free tier with limited lessons and limited dialogue practice, with ads | 80 | |
| Babbel | A structured course with grammar explained | #10Score 3.1 | $8.95$107.40 a year | Free account | 14 | |
| Rosetta Stone | Immersion without translation | #10Score 3.1 | $13.25$159 a year | Free sample lessons from the site (TRY A LESSON) | 25 | |
| Mondly | A cheap yearly plan across many languages | #13Score 3.0 | $4$47.99 a year | Free version with Daily Lessons, the Hello category and a chatbot lesson | 41 | |
| Audio courses | ||||||
| Pimsleur | Audio lessons for a commute | #5Score 3.3 | $13.75$164.95 a year | No | 51 | |
| Glossika | Sentence drills by ear | #19Score 2.7 | $16.58annual plan | 7-day full access with no credit card, plus a permanent Freemium tier covering nine minoritized languages | 63 | |
| Vocabulary and flashcard apps | ||||||
| Clozemaster | Free vocabulary practice in context | #7Score 3.2 | $6.67$79.99 a year | Free account with unlimited play; Pro unlocks advanced features | 71 | |
| uTalk | Phrases in 160 languages | #13Score 3.0 | $2.50annual plan | Starter Words, a free 26-word pack in every language, plus an online demo at demo.utalk.com | 160 | |
| Lingvist | Fast vocabulary with a placement test | #18Score 2.8 | $6.67$79.99 a year | Free level placement before subscribing, and a 14-day free trial on the annual plan | 16 | |
| Memrise | Native-speaker clips and review | #19Score 2.7 | $5.17$61.99 a year | Limited free version of the app; the paid plan unlocks the rest. | 149 | |
| Drops | Five-minute vocabulary sessions | #19Score 2.7 | $5.83$69.99 a year | Free access capped at 5 minutes of play every 10 hours, with topics unlocked one at a time through gameplay | 55 | |
| Learning from real video, text and audio | ||||||
| LingQ | Reading and listening to real content | #19Score 2.7 | $10$119.99 a year | Free account capped at 20 saved words and phrases, 5 lessons created from imported content, and 1 audio playlist | 52 | |
| Lingopie | TV and film with interactive subtitles | #23Score 2.5 | $13.98$167.80 a year | No | 15 | |
| FluentU | Learning from real videos | #23Score 2.5 | $20$239.99 a year | No | 10 | |
| AI conversation practice | ||||||
| Speak | Speaking practice with AI | #13Score 3.0 | $7$83.99 a year | 7-day free trial; no permanently free tier is published | 6 | |
| Tutors and live classes | ||||||
| italki | Tutors priced per lesson | #2Score 3.4 | not publisheda lesson | No | 104 | |
| Preply | Booking a tutor per lesson | #10Score 3.1 | $3 to $50a lesson | No | 90 | |
| Cambly | English conversation with a tutor | #13Score 3.0 | $12$144 a year | No | 1 | |
| Lingoda | Live classes by CEFR level | #13Score 3.0 | €54.99Group classes, 4 classes · priced in euros | not stated | 6 | |
| Language exchange | ||||||
| Tandem | Language exchange with native speakers | #7Score 3.2 | $3.33$39.99 a year | Free account with many features; Tandem Pro unlocks the rest | 300 | |
| HelloTalk | Chatting with native speakers | #7Score 3.2 | $6.67$79.99 a year | Free account with ads and daily limits (for example ten translations a day) | 260 | |
The full table, with lifetime plans, offline mode, CEFR levels and refund terms
The comparisons people search for
Babbel vs Duolingo
Babbel if you want the grammar explained and a published price; Duolingo if you want a free daily habit.
Duolingo vs Rosetta Stone
Rosetta Stone if you will pay for a full course with offline mode and a refund window; Duolingo if you are not sure you will stick with it.
Busuu vs Duolingo
Busuu if you want a person to correct you and a course with named levels; Duolingo if you want it free across several languages.
Memrise vs Duolingo
Memrise for real speech and vocabulary once you have the basics; Duolingo to get the basics for free.
Babbel vs Rosetta Stone
Babbel if you want the grammar explained at the lower price; Rosetta Stone if you want immersion, offline study and a money-back guarantee.
Preply vs italki
Preply if you want to see the price range before you look; italki if you want a placement test and a guaranteed trial lesson.
Before you pay
How to choose a language app
The order of questions that eliminates apps fastest, with the annual-versus-monthly saving and the lifetime break-even worked out per app.
Free vs paid: what you actually get
What "free" means on each app, in the app's own words, and what paying removes or adds.
Duolingo alternatives
Every other app, with a pick for each reason people leave: structure, speaking, real people, or staying free.
Best free language learning apps
Every app with a free tier and what exactly is free on each, from a whole course with ads to a library card.
Questions people ask
Which app should I start with?
Start with Duolingo for a free daily habit, Babbel for grammar and dialogues, Pimsleur for spoken practice, or a tutor for live conversation. Choose the one you can fit into a normal week.
How should I compare different kinds of apps?
A course builds lessons step by step; a vocabulary app helps you remember words; a tutor gives you a live conversation. Pick the kind of practice you need first, then compare its price and free trial.
Why is an app missing when I filter by language?
Because its vendor does not list that language on its own site. Tutor marketplaces that advertise a very long list are included only for the languages they enumerate. Open the app's page to see its full list.
How current are the prices?
Every price is checked by hand against each app's pricing page as shown to a visitor in the United States; the date of the last check is in the footer, and the site's data status turns stale after ninety days. The full table, with the page behind every row, is downloadable.