Best app to learn Urdu: the 11 apps that teach it, compared

Of the apps that teach Urdu, Language Reactor ($39.95 a year) scores highest on our method overall, and Mango Languages (about $120 a year) is our pick among those with independent reviews. Language Reactor, Ling, Mondly, Talkpal and 1 more teach Urdu free for good, with limits, and Pimsleur has a free trial. Mango Languages is free through many public libraries.

Prices checked 6 Sept to 13 Oct 2026 · How we check

Our picks

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.

11 of the 52 apps we cover list Urdu; 8 of them have a free tier.

They are 3 course apps, 1 audio course, 1 vocabulary app, 2 apps for real video, text or audio, 1 AI conversation app, 2 tutor marketplaces and 1 language exchange.

To practise with a person, italki and Preply list Urdu tutors, and Tandem pairs you free with Urdu speakers.

What a year of Urdu costs

Every app that teaches Urdu and sells a yearly plan, cheapest first, from the plans on each app's own pages. Not on it, because they sell no yearly plan in dollars: italki and Preply.

The yearly planPaying month to month for 12 months

Every app that teaches Urdu

Recommended first within each type of app. Sort any column or filter by what matters to you.

11 apps
Best for Free tier Speech Tutor Offline CEFR Refund or trial Where to buy
Course apps
Mango LanguagesCourse app Free through many public libraries About $120 a year$10 a month, billed yearly $13.99 — Free sample
Free trial on both personal plans; the first lesson of any language is free; 10 endangered and indigenous language courses are free; free full access through participating public libraries
No No Yes A1 to B1by course Free trial on Individual and Family plans; cancel before it ends and you are not charged
LingCourse app Asian and less-taught languages $149.99 a year$12.50 a month, billed yearly $16.99 — Free to keep using
Free tier with limited lessons and limited dialogue practice, with ads
Yes Live online tutors, booked separately through Ling Live. — — 7-day free trial on the 12-month plan; 30-day money-back refund for yearly and lifetime subscriptions bought via Ling web (app-store purchases follow Apple's or Google's refund policy)
MondlyCourse app A cheap yearly plan across many languages $47.99 a year$4 a month, billed yearly $9.99one language — Free to keep using
Free version with Daily Lessons, the Hello category and a chatbot lesson.
— — — A1 to B2by course 7-day free trial
Audio courses
PimsleurAudio course Audio lessons for a commute $149.95 a year$12.50 a month, billed yearly $19.95one language $798
No
Yes — Yes — 7-day free trial on subscriptions; 30 Day money back guarantee on purchases
Vocabulary and flashcard apps
uTalkVocabulary and flashcards Phrases in 160 languages From $24.99 a year$24.99 to $39.99 a year for one language, depending on the language From $3.99depending on the language — Free sample
Starter Words, a free 26-word pack in every language, plus an online demo at demo.utalk.com
No No Yes A1 to A2by course 28-day money-back guarantee
Learning from real video, text and audio
Language ReactorImmersion (video, reading) Learning from Netflix and YouTube with two sets of subtitles $39.95 a year$3.33 a month, billed yearly $5.95 — Free to keep using
The extension and website are free: dual subtitles (Netflix's own), pop-up dictionary, playback controls, YouTube and podcast catalogue, basic AI helper and chat with Aria; saving words is limited to PhrasePump. Pro adds machine translation, speech recognition on Netflix and saving everywhere.
Yes · You can speak to the Aria chat; Pro's 'speech recognition' also makes subtitles from Netflix audio. No pronunciation scoring is described. — — — A Pro free trial ends by returning you to free mode, with no charge; Pro is an auto-renewing subscription you can cancel after paying. No refund policy is published.
LingQImmersion (video, reading) Reading and listening to real content $119.99 a year$10 a month, billed yearly $14.99 — Free to keep using
Free account capped at 20 saved words and phrases, 5 lessons created from imported content, and 1 audio playlist
— — Yes — Full refund during the first 30 days of an initial Premium subscription; no partial-month or unused-month refunds afterward.
AI conversation practice
TalkpalAI conversation practice AI conversation practice in many languages $119.99 a year$10 a month, billed yearly $19.99 — Free to keep using
The Basic plan: 10 minutes of chat a day, with progress tracking and pronunciation checks.
Yes No No — A 14-day free trial for new users. Bought from Talkpal directly: a full refund if you ask within 30 days of a charge; not for app store purchases.
Tutors and live classes
italkiTutor marketplace Tutors priced per lesson Set by each teacheritalki's Urdu page gives no typical price — —
No
— Every lesson is live and one to one; italki also sells group classes. — — Discounted trial lesson with a 100% Satisfaction Guarantee: up to two credit refunds on trial lessons if the teacher did not show up or did not meet expectations, requested within 48 hours
PreplyTutor marketplace Weekly lessons with one tutor Set by each tutorPreply's Urdu page gives no typical price — —
No
— Every lesson is live and one to one. — — Paid trial lesson; up to 2 free trial replacements per account (a new trial with a different tutor at no charge) if the trial did not meet expectations; a tutor who did not join is handled separately, with no limit
Language exchange
TandemLanguage exchange Language exchange with native speakers $39.99 a year$3.33 a month, billed yearly — — Free to keep using
Free account with many features; Tandem Pro unlocks the rest
No No — — Google Play purchases refundable within 14 days of a 1-month subscription or 30 days of a 3-month or 12-month subscription; iOS refunds requested from iTunes within 14 days

Which to choose

You want a course with lessons in order

Mango Languages

Mango Languages (about $120 a year) is the highest-scored course app that teaches Urdu. Hear a conversation, break it into phrases and repeat them, with notes on grammar and culture. Also teaching Urdu this way: Ling ($149.99 a year) and Mondly ($47.99 a year).

You want to learn by ear, away from a screen

Pimsleur

Pimsleur ($149.95 a year) is the highest-scored audio course that teaches Urdu. A 30-minute audio lesson: you hear a prompt, answer aloud, then hear the right answer.

You want to build vocabulary a few minutes a day

uTalk

uTalk (from $24.99 a year) is the highest-scored vocabulary app that teaches Urdu. Picture games for words and phrases by topic, with native-speaker audio.

You want to read, watch or listen to real Urdu

Language Reactor

Language Reactor ($39.95 a year) is the highest-scored app for real video, text or audio that teaches Urdu. Watch a Netflix or YouTube video with subtitles in both languages: hover over a word for its meaning, replay a line, save words to review. Also teaching Urdu this way: LingQ ($119.99 a year).

You want to practise conversation with an AI

Talkpal

Talkpal ($119.99 a year) is the highest-scored AI conversation app that teaches Urdu. Pick a scenario or a character, then talk or type with an AI tutor that answers you and checks your pronunciation.

You want an Urdu speaker to correct you

italki and Preply

italki and Preply list Urdu tutors, who set their own price for a lesson.

You want to chat with Urdu speakers

Tandem

Tandem pairs you with Urdu speakers who want to learn your language, for text, voice and video chats. There are no lessons, and a free account is enough to start.

Questions people ask

What is the best app to learn Urdu?

It depends on how you want to learn. Mango Languages if you want a course with lessons in order; Pimsleur if you want to learn by ear, away from a screen; uTalk if you want to build vocabulary a few minutes a day; Language Reactor if you want to read, watch or listen to real Urdu. Language Reactor scores highest of the 11 on our method, and the table lists all of them with their prices.

Is there a free app to learn Urdu?

Yes. Language Reactor, Ling, Mondly, Talkpal and LingQ teach Urdu free for good, with limits on the free plan. Pimsleur has a free trial before you pay.

Does Duolingo teach Urdu?

No. Duolingo's 40 languages do not include Urdu. Language Reactor, Mango Languages, Ling and 5 more do.

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