Michel Thomas Method
Audio course: all-audio courses in which you learn alongside two students in a recorded class, bought once per course.
Prices checked 13 Oct 2026 · How we check
Is Michel Thomas Method worth it?
Yes, if you learn by ear and want to build sentences aloud from the start, paying once per course.
What it costs. From $11.99 once (Start course) to $273 (Five-course bundle).
What's free. A free lesson and a free booklet for every course (sign-up needed, no card); the app that plays the courses is free.
Skip it if you want to learn to read and write: the courses are all audio, and they are not mapped to CEFR levels.
From $11.99 Start course, paid once
In our comparison: strongest on offline use, weakest on speaking practice.
- Annual plan
- —
- Monthly plan
- —
- Lifetime plan
- $273 once, five courses for one language. Also sold: three courses for one language, $198.75; two courses for one language, $152; the Foundation course for one language, $100; the Intermediate course for one language, $90; the Vocabulary course for one language, $75; the Insider's course for one language, $75; the Language Builder course for one language, $50; the Start course for one language, $11.99
- Free tier
- Free sample
A free lesson and a free booklet for every course (sign-up needed, no card); the app that plays the courses is free. - Languages
- 19
- Speech recognition
- —
- Live tutoring
- No
- Offline mode
- Yes
- Placement test
- No
- CEFR levels
- —
- Refund or trial
- A refund or exchange within 14 days of buying, if you have not finished the course; the Start course is not refunded if you then buy Foundation.
- Platforms
- iOS, Android, Web
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How a Michel Thomas Method lesson works
- What you do
- Join a teacher and two students in a recorded class: when the teacher asks for a sentence, pause and say it before the students do.
- 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 Michel Thomas Method's own pricing page or app-store listing, in US dollars unless marked. Per month is the plan price divided by its term. Where the seller shows a crossed-out price beside the one it charges, the figure is the one it charges, and the plan's note gives the crossed-out price.
| Plan | Billing | Price | Per month | Covers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Start courseStart1-hour taster, the first hour of Foundation; bought once, then streamed online or downloaded to the free Library app. The same price in all 19 languages. | Lifetime | $11.99 | one-time | the Start course for one language |
| Language Builder courseLanguage Builder2-hour one-to-one seminar for improving beginners, after Foundation; bought once. The same price in each language; sold in Spanish, French, German and Italian. | Lifetime | $50 | one-time | the Language Builder course for one language |
| Vocabulary courseVocabularyPhase-2 vocabulary course with over 1,000 new words and phrases (about 600 for Egyptian Arabic); bought once. The same price in each language; sold in Spanish, French, German, Italian, Mandarin Chinese, Egyptian Arabic and Russian. | Lifetime | $75 | one-time | the Vocabulary course for one language |
| Insider's courseInsider'sPhase-2 high-intermediate conversation course; bought once. The same price in each language; sold in Spanish, French, German and Italian. | Lifetime | $75 | one-time | the Insider's course for one language |
| Intermediate courseIntermediateFollows Foundation (and Language Builder where offered); bought once. The same price in each language; sold in Spanish, French, German, Italian, European Portuguese, Mandarin Chinese, Japanese, Egyptian Arabic, Dutch, Polish, Greek and Russian. | Lifetime | $90 | one-time | the Intermediate course for one language |
| Foundation courseFoundationBeginner course (includes Start); bought once, then streamed online or downloaded to the free Library app. The same price in all 19 languages. | Lifetime | $100 | one-time | the Foundation course for one language |
| Two-course bundleFoundation and Intermediate for one language, bought once; the price already includes the stated 20% bundle discount. Sold in European Portuguese, Japanese, Dutch, Polish and Greek. | Lifetime | $152 | one-time | two courses for one language |
| Three-course bundleFoundation, Intermediate and Vocabulary for one language, bought once; the price already includes the stated 25% bundle discount. Sold in Mandarin Chinese, Egyptian Arabic and Russian. | Lifetime | $198.75 | one-time | three courses for one language |
| Five-course bundleFoundation, Language Builder, Intermediate, Vocabulary and Insider's for one language, bought once; the price already includes the stated 30% bundle discount. Sold in Spanish, French, German and Italian. | Lifetime | $273 | one-time | five courses for one language |
Before subscribing, compare trial, cancellation and refund terms, including how purchases through an app store differ.
What Michel Thomas Method says about itself
| Feature | What Michel Thomas Method says |
|---|---|
| CEFR levels | — |
| What it is | Audio course. All-audio courses in which you join a teacher and two students in a recorded live lesson, building your own sentences from the language's building blocks, with no books, writing, homework or memorising. |
| Languages offered | 19: Arabic, Chinese, Danish, Dutch, Egyptian Arabic, French, German, Greek, Hindi, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish |
| Free tier | A free lesson and a free booklet for every course (sign-up needed, no card); the app that plays the courses is free. |
| Platforms | iOS, Android, Web |
| Offline mode | Yes |
| Speech recognition | — |
| Live tutoring | No |
| Placement test | No |
| Refund or trial | A refund or exchange within 14 days of buying, if you have not finished the course; the Start course is not refunded if you then buy Foundation. |
| Company | Hodder & Stoughton Limited (Hachette UK), United Kingdom |
How Michel Thomas Method compares
Michel Thomas Method is strongest on 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 | All-audio courses in which you learn alongside two students in a recorded class, bought once per course |
| Speaking practice | 1 | — |
| Language coverage | 3 | 19 languages |
| Free tier | 2 | The first lessons are free, the rest is paid |
| Price per month | – | From $11.99; Start course, paid once; a one-time price is not scored as a price per month |
| Trial and refund | 2 | A refund or exchange within 14 days of buying, if you have not finished the course; the Start course is not refunded if you then buy Foundation |
| Offline use | 4 | Works offline |
| Staying power and bugs | – | Not available |
Languages you can learn on Michel Thomas Method
19 languages as listed by Michel Thomas Method.
How far its courses go
- Spanish: Start, Foundation, Language Builder, Intermediate, Vocabulary, Insider's; 8-hour Foundation course; 5-hour Vocabulary course (top 1,000 words).
- French: Start, Foundation, Language Builder, Intermediate, Vocabulary, Insider's; 8-hour Foundation course; 5-hour Vocabulary course (over 1,000 words).
- German: Start, Foundation, Language Builder, Intermediate, Vocabulary, Insider's; 8-hour Foundation course; 5-hour Vocabulary course (over 1,000 words).
- Italian: Start, Foundation, Language Builder, Intermediate, Vocabulary, Insider's; 8-hour Foundation course; 5-hour Vocabulary course (over 1,000 words).
- Portuguese: Start, Foundation, Intermediate; 8-hour Foundation course; Intermediate takes about 15-20 hours to complete.
- Mandarin Chinese: Start, Foundation, Intermediate, Vocabulary; 8-hour Foundation course; Intermediate takes about 15-20 hours to complete. All-audio course: no writing is taught.
- Japanese: Start, Foundation, Intermediate; 8-hour Foundation course; Intermediate takes about 15-20 hours to complete. All-audio course: no writing is taught.
- Korean: Start, Foundation; 8-hour Foundation course. All-audio course: no writing is taught.
- Modern Standard Arabic: Start, Foundation; foundation course with 10 hours of audio. All-audio course: no writing is taught.
- Egyptian Arabic: Start, Foundation, Intermediate, Vocabulary; 8-hour Foundation course; 6-hour Intermediate course. All-audio course: no writing is taught.
- Hindi: Start, Foundation; foundation: 8 lessons, about 20-30 hours to complete. All-audio course: no writing is taught.
- Dutch: Start, Foundation, Intermediate; 8-hour Foundation course; Intermediate takes about 15-20 hours to complete.
- Polish: Start, Foundation, Intermediate; 8-hour Foundation course; Intermediate takes about 15-20 hours to complete.
- Swedish: Start, Foundation; foundation course with 8 hours of audio.
- Greek: Start, Foundation, Intermediate; 8-hour Foundation course; Intermediate takes about 15-20 hours to complete. All-audio course: no writing is taught.
Arabic, Chinese, Danish, Dutch, Egyptian Arabic, French, German, Greek, Hindi, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish
Compare Michel Thomas Method
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References
- Michel Thomas: Spanish courses (checked 13 Oct 2026)
- Michel Thomas: Portuguese courses (checked 13 Oct 2026)
- Michel Thomas: Mandarin Chinese courses (checked 13 Oct 2026)
- Michel Thomas: courses (checked 13 Oct 2026)
- Michel Thomas: FAQ (checked 13 Oct 2026)
- Michel Thomas: contact and refunds (checked 13 Oct 2026)
- Apple App Store: Michel Thomas Language Library listing