FluentU
Immersion (video, audio, reading): real-world videos with interactive captions and quizzes.
Prices checked 20 Oct 2026; FluentU's on 17 Oct 2026 · How we check
Is FluentU worth it?
Yes, if you are past the basics and want to learn from real videos with interactive captions.
What it costs. A year costs $143.99 ($12 a month); month to month is $29.99.
What's free. No free tier; 14-day free trial with no payment up front, plus a 20-day money-back guarantee.
Skip it if you want a free tier (there is none) or a small yearly bill.
What learners rate it. 4.3 out of 5 from 2,789 ratings in Apple's US App Store and 3.4 from 4,504 on Google Play, checked 12 Oct 2026.
What unhappy reviewers mention. Of the 186 one- and two-star reviews among the 500 most recent in Apple's US App Store, 99 mention the price, billing or the subscription; 36 bugs, crashes or the app not loading; and 6 signing in, or lost progress and streaks. Read 15 Oct 2026; a review can mention several.
$143.99 a year $12 a month, billed yearly · Plus
In our comparison: strongest on trial and refund terms and offline use, weakest on the free tier.
- Annual plan
- $143.99 a year ($12/mo)
- Monthly plan
- $29.99
- Lifetime plan
- —
- Free tier
-
None - Languages
- 10
- Speech recognition
- Yes
- Live tutoring
- Group classes in some languages, offered free with the subscription for a limited time; no one-to-one lessons.
- Offline mode
- Yes · audio, quizzes and transcripts download; the videos stream only
- Placement test
- —
- CEFR levels
- —
- Refund or trial
- 14-day free trial with no payment up front, plus a 20-day money-back guarantee
- Platforms
- iOS, Android, Web
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Links to the app makers' own sites earn us nothing. Commissions never affect which apps we recommend. Affiliate disclosure and how the data is collected.
How a FluentU lesson works
- What you do
- Short real-world videos with interactive captions, then quizzes on their words.
- What comes back
- Automatic: exercises are marked, and speech recognition scores how you say words. No person checks your work.
- Not included
- Stated CEFR levels.
How a lesson works in an immersion app
Plans and prices
Every consumer plan on FluentU'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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plus (billed yearly)PlusFluentU's banner calls the 40% off a "FOREVER discount". | Annual | $143.99regular $239.99 | $12/mo | all languages |
| Super (billed yearly)Super | Annual | $199.99regular $479.99 | $16.67/mo | all languages |
| Plus (monthly)PlusThe regular monthly price; FluentU's sales discount the yearly plans. | Monthly | $29.99 | $29.99/mo | all languages |
| Super (monthly)SuperEverything in Plus, with much higher daily AI Tutor limits. | Monthly | $39.99 | $39.99/mo | all languages |
What will FluentU cost you?
Total billed over 12 months
$215.89 less on annual billingOne yearly payment of $143.99.
What each plan covers. Monthly: all languages. Yearly: all languages.
Before subscribing, compare trial, cancellation and refund terms, including how purchases through an app store differ.
How to cancel FluentU, and how refunds work
What FluentU says about itself
| Feature | What FluentU says |
|---|---|
| CEFR levels | — |
| What it is | Immersion (video, audio, reading). Video-based learning platform: authentic clips with clickable interactive captions, a word dictionary, quizzes and spaced-repetition flashcards, plus an AI speaking tutor. |
| Languages offered | 10: English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin Chinese, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish |
| Free tier | None |
| Platforms | iOS, Android, Web |
| Offline mode | Yes · audio, quizzes and transcripts download; the videos stream only |
| Speech recognition | Yes |
| Live tutoring | Group classes in some languages, offered free with the subscription for a limited time; no one-to-one lessons. |
| Placement test | — |
| Refund or trial | 14-day free trial with no payment up front, plus a 20-day money-back guarantee |
| Company | Enux Education Limited, Hong Kong, founded 2011 |
How FluentU compares
FluentU is strongest on trial and refund terms and offline use, weakest on the free tier. 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 | 2.5 | Real-world videos with interactive captions and quizzes |
| Speaking practice | 2.5 | Live tutoring sold beside the app (Group classes) |
| Language coverage | 2.5 | 10 languages |
| Free tier | 1 | No free tier |
| Price per month | 2.5 | $143.99 a year $12 a month, billed yearly · Plus |
| Trial and refund | 4 | A 14-day free trial and a 20-day money-back guarantee |
| Offline use | 4 | Works offline |
| Staying power and bugs | 3 | Mixed reports on staying power |
Languages you can learn on FluentU
10 languages as listed by FluentU.
How far its courses go
- Spanish, French, German, Italian: Beginner to advanced videos.
- Japanese: Beginner to advanced videos. How the writing system works, in the beginner course.
- Korean: Beginner to advanced videos. Basic syllables in the beginner lessons.
- Mandarin Chinese: Videos tagged by HSK level, 1 to 6. Simplified and traditional characters, with pinyin.
English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin Chinese, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish
Compare FluentU
- FluentU vs Lingopie: which to choose, and what each costs
- Best app to learn Spanish: choose by goal and level
- Best app to learn French: every app that teaches it, compared
- Best app to learn German: every app that teaches it, compared
- Best app to learn Italian: every app that teaches it, compared
- Best app to learn Japanese: every app that teaches it, compared
- Best app to learn Korean: every app that teaches it, compared
- Best app to learn Chinese (Mandarin): every app that teaches it, compared
- Best app to learn Portuguese: Brazilian or European, every app compared
- Best app to learn English: courses, tutors and AI speaking practice compared
- Best apps for language tutors and live classes, compared
- Best AI language learning apps, compared
- Best AI apps to learn Spanish, compared
- Best apps to learn a language with videos, TV and reading, compared
- Best apps for intermediate Spanish, compared
- Best apps to learn kana and kanji, compared
- Best apps to learn hangul, compared
- FluentU against any other app, side by side
- What FluentU will cost you for the months you study
- All 99 apps in one table
More head-to-heads with FluentU:
References
- FluentU: prices (checked 20 Oct 2026)
- FluentU: home page (checked 6 Sept 2026)
- FluentU help: studying offline
- FluentU: about
- FluentU help: affiliate programme (checked 6 Sept 2026)
- Test Prep Insight, the reviewer used the app (19 Dec 2025)
- The Mezzofanti Guild, the reviewer used the app (1 Sept 2026)