Coffee Break French
Audio course: French audio lessons in which a teacher explains the language to a learner, free as a podcast, with paid courses that add bonus audio and notes.
Prices checked 17 Oct 2026 · How we check
Is Coffee Break French worth it?
Yes, if you like learning by listening, on a walk or a commute, and want a teacher to explain why French works the way it does; the podcast lets you try every season free before you pay for any course.
What it costs. The podcast is free; one season's online course is $269 once.
What's free. The podcast, free for good: the audio lessons of all four seasons, about 15 to 20 minutes each. A season's paid course adds a bonus audio lesson and notes for each lesson, and video lessons in Seasons 1 to 3.
Skip it if you want exercises that mark your answers, an app with a daily plan, or another language in the same course: Coffee Break French is audio lessons with notes, for French only.
Free One season's online course: $269 once
In our comparison: strongest on the free tier and offline use, weakest on speaking practice.
- Annual plan
- —
- Monthly plan
- —
- Lifetime plan
- $269 once, one season of 40 lessons: audio, bonus audio and lesson notes, with video lessons in Seasons 1 to 3
- Free tier
- Free to keep using
The podcast, free for good: the audio lessons of all four seasons, about 15 to 20 minutes each. A season's paid course adds a bonus audio lesson and notes for each lesson, and video lessons in Seasons 1 to 3. - Languages
- 1
- Speech recognition
- —
- Live tutoring
- No
- Offline mode
- Yes
- Placement test
- —
- CEFR levels
- —
- Refund or trial
- The podcast is free to try any season. No refund once a course has been downloaded: its policy says all sales are then final; within 7 days it will consider swapping a course for another level if it is too easy or too hard.
- Platforms
- Web
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How a Coffee Break French lesson works
- What you do
- Listen to a lesson of 15 to 20 minutes. In Seasons 1 and 2, teacher Mark explains a point and learner Anna tries it, asks questions and makes mistakes, and you answer aloud along with her; in Season 3 Mark talks you through a story told in journal entries, and in Season 4, with native speaker Pierre-Benoît, one told in emails. A season's paid course adds a bonus audio lesson and notes with the grammar and transcripts, and in Seasons 1 to 3 a video of each lesson with the words on screen.
- What comes back
- You compare your answer with the recording; nothing marks it.
- Not included
- A live teacher or stated CEFR levels.
How a lesson works in an audio course
Plans and prices
Every consumer plan on Coffee Break French's own pricing page or app-store listing, in US dollars unless marked. Per month is the plan price divided by its term. Each price is what the seller was charging on the day we checked it. When a plan was on sale, its regular price is shown under the sale price; a crossed-out figure that is only a comparison, such as a year at the monthly rate, is in the plan's note.
| Plan | Billing | Price | Per month | Covers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The podcastFreeOn its website, Apple Podcasts and Spotify. | Other | $0 | $0/mo | the audio lessons of all four seasons |
| One season's online courseOnline coursePaid once, on the Coffee Break Academy, with unlimited access afterwards; £199 in pounds. Season 4's course gives a Language Study audio lesson of about 30 to 35 minutes and transcripts in place of video (its Academy page); the Academy's Season 1 to 3 pages list a video for each lesson. | Lifetime | $269 | one-time | one season of 40 lessons: audio, bonus audio and lesson notes, with video lessons in Seasons 1 to 3 |
Before subscribing, compare trial, cancellation and refund terms, including how purchases through an app store differ.
What Coffee Break French says about itself
| Feature | What Coffee Break French says |
|---|---|
| CEFR levels | — |
| What it is | Audio lessons of 15 to 20 minutes in which a teacher, Mark, explains French to a learner, Anna, who asks questions and makes mistakes as you would, in four seasons of 40 lessons from absolute beginner to advanced (Seasons 3 and 4 follow a story told in journal entries and emails); the podcast is free, and each season's online course adds bonus audio and lesson notes, and video lessons in Seasons 1 to 3. |
| Languages offered | 1: French |
| Free tier | The podcast, free for good: the audio lessons of all four seasons, about 15 to 20 minutes each. A season's paid course adds a bonus audio lesson and notes for each lesson, and video lessons in Seasons 1 to 3. |
| Platforms | Web · The podcast plays in any podcast app; the online courses run on the Coffee Break Academy website. There is no Coffee Break French app of its own in Apple's US App Store (searched 16 Oct 2026; Radio Lingua's only app there is Coffee Break TV, a separate video subscription). |
| Offline mode | Yes |
| Speech recognition | — |
| Live tutoring | No |
| Placement test | — |
| Refund or trial | The podcast is free to try any season. No refund once a course has been downloaded: its policy says all sales are then final; within 7 days it will consider swapping a course for another level if it is too easy or too hard. |
| Company | Radio Lingua Ltd, United Kingdom |
How Coffee Break French compares
Coffee Break French is strongest on the free tier and offline use, weakest on speaking practice. Each criterion is scored out of 5 from what each app says about itself and from independent reviews, to compare apps that do the same job; it is not a review of the app. How we score.
| Feature | Score (of 5) | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Teaching depth | 3 | French audio lessons in which a teacher explains the language to a learner, free as a podcast, with paid courses that add bonus audio and notes |
| Speaking practice | 1 | — |
| Language coverage | 1 | 1 language |
| Free tier | 5 | Free for good; paid extras add more |
| Price per month | – | Free; One season's online course: $269 once; a one-time price is not scored as a price per month |
| Trial and refund | 2 | The podcast is free to try any season. No refund once a course has been downloaded: its policy says all sales are then final; within 7 days it will consider swapping a course for another level if it is too easy or too hard |
| Offline use | 4 | Works offline |
| Staying power and bugs | – | Not available |
Languages you can learn on Coffee Break French
1 language as listed by Coffee Break French.
How far its courses go
- French: Four seasons: Absolute beginners, Lower Intermediate, Upper Intermediate and Advanced Learners; 160 lessons, 40 in each season, of about 15 to 20 minutes.
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References
- Coffee Break French: course page (checked 16 Oct 2026)
- Coffee Break Academy: French Season 1
- Coffee Break Languages: refund and cancellation policy (checked 16 Oct 2026)