Best apps to learn hangul
Hangul is one alphabet, and most Korean courses teach it in their first lessons. Duolingo's free Korean course starts with alphabet lessons, Busuu adds a separate Hangeul course to its own, LingoDeer opens with an alphabet unit, and Lingvist has a hangeul deck to start reading. Clozemaster and Glossika expect you to read it already.
Prices checked 6 Sept to 14 Oct 2026 · How we check
What each app teaches of hangul
In each maker's words, from its own pages. The first group teaches or drills reading and writing hangul; the second shows Korean text without teaching it, or teaches none.
Teach or drill it
- Duolingo
Hangeul, with alphabet lessons.
- Busuu
Hangeul, plus a separate Hangeul course.
- LingoDeer
Alphabet unit for the writing system (Korean script).
- Drops
Hangul, to read and write.
- Lingvist
A hangeul deck to start reading.
- Rocket Languages
Lessons on reading and writing the alphabet.
- Pimsleur
About 100 reading lessons for the new alphabet.
- Rosetta Stone
Hangul introduced in lessons.
- Memrise
Hangul, or romanised with a switch.
- StoryLearning
Hangul.
- FluentU
Basic syllables in the beginner lessons.
- uTalk
Speaking first, plus a topic on the alphabet.
Show it without teaching it, or teach none of it
- Beelinguapp
Korean text shown beside your own language, with karaoke-style narration.
- Clozemaster
Not taught: you need to know it already.
- Glossika
Hangul with romanised hints.
- Michel Thomas Method
All-audio course: no writing is taught.
12 of the 52 apps we cover teach hangul.
Hangul has 14 basic consonants and 10 basic vowels, each with one sound, and they stack into one block per syllable. Most courses teach it, so the choice is less about the alphabet than about the course that follows it: pick the course you will keep, and check that it starts with hangul rather than romanised Korean.
Every app that teaches hangul, compared
Recommended first within each type of app. Sort any column or filter by what matters to you.
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| Best for | Free tier | Speech | Tutor | Offline | CEFR | Refund or trial | Where to buy | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Course apps | ||||||||||||
| DuolingoCourse appSuper in the US App Store: $9.99 to $119.99, depending on the plan. | A free daily habit | Freepaid tier priced in-app | — | — | Free to keep using Full free tier with ads and limits; Super removes the ads and limits, and Max adds AI practice (Video Call and Roleplay). | 40 | Yes | No | Yes · Limited lessons available offline; progress syncs when connected | A1 to B2 | 1 week free trial on Super | |
| BusuuCourse app | Corrections from native speakers | $72.99 a year$6.08 a month, billed yearly | — | — | Free to keep using Free account with the complete course in each language, community feedback and basic progress tracking; Premium adds review tools, offline mode and no ads. | 14 | Yes | No · Live Lessons are exclusive to Busuu for Business, outside the consumer subscription | Yes | A1 to C1by course | 14-day money-back guarantee on the initial Premium payment; no renewal refunds. Apple and mobile-operator purchases require a refund from that provider. | |
| StoryLearningCourse app | One long story per course, with video lessons on it | $297Uncovered Beginner course | — | $997 | Free trial No | 16 | — | StoryLearning VIP: a 10-week programme with two coaching sessions a week, sold apart from the courses. | Yes | A1 to C1by course | A 7-day free trial of each Uncovered course, then one payment with a 365-day money-back guarantee; bundles have 30 days. The StoryLearning App's page gives no trial or refund terms. | |
| LingoDeerCourse app | Grammar-led lessons, with alphabet units for Japanese and Korean | $95.99 a year$8 a month, billed yearly | $14.99 | — | Free to keep using A free version with limited lessons; a membership unlocks every course and feature. | 20 | — | — | Yes | A1 to B1by course | A 7-day money-back guarantee on yearly and longer plans bought on LingoDeer's website, one request per person; no refund for part of a period or a renewal you forgot. | |
| Rosetta StoneCourse app | Immersion without translation | $159 a year$13.25 a month, billed yearly | $19.99 | — | Free sample Free sample lessons on its site and a one-time 7-day free trial in the app; no lasting free plan. | 25 | Yes | Coaching sessions with a Rosetta Stone certified tutor. | Yes | — | A one-time 7-day free trial in the app. Bought from Rosetta Stone: a 14-day money-back guarantee, refunded by its Memberships team by email or phone. App Store purchases go through Apple; a retailer's follow that retailer's policy. | |
| Rocket LanguagesCourse app | Paying once per level, not a subscription | $99.95Rocket Sign Language | — | $449.85 | Free trial A free trial; the page does not say what it includes or for how long. | 13 | Yes | No | Yes · audio lessons download in the app; voice recognition needs a connection | A1 to B2by course | A free trial; 60-day money-back guarantee on purchases. | |
| Audio courses | ||||||||||||
| PimsleurAudio course | Audio lessons for a commute | $149.95 a year$12.50 a month, billed yearly | $19.95one language | $798 | No | 51 | 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 | 160 | No | No | Yes | A1 to A2by course | 28-day money-back guarantee | |
| MemriseVocabulary and flashcards | Native-speaker clips and review | $61.99 a year$5.17 a month, billed yearly | $24.99 | $329.99 | Free to keep using Limited free version of the app; the paid plan unlocks the rest. | 149 | Yes | — | No · The current experience needs cloud-based tools | — | 30-day money-back guarantee; monthly plans have a 14-day refund window. Apple purchases require a refund from Apple. | |
| LingvistVocabulary and flashcards | Fast vocabulary with a placement test | $79.99 a year$6.67 a month, billed yearly | $9.99 | — | Free trial Free level placement before subscribing, and a 14-day free trial on the annual plan; the monthly plan has no trial | 16 | Yes | No | — | — | 14-day free trial on the annual plan; cancel before it ends and you are not charged | |
| DropsVocabulary and flashcards | Five-minute vocabulary sessions | $69.99 a year$5.83 a month, billed yearly | $11 | $150 | Free to keep using Free access capped at 5 minutes of play every 10 hours, with topics unlocked one at a time through gameplay | 55 | — | — | Yes | — | 7-day free trial on the Yearly plan; affiliate terms reference a 14-day refund period | |
| Learning from real video, text and audio | ||||||||||||
| FluentUImmersion (video, reading) | Learning from real videos | $239.99 a year$20 a month, billed yearly | $29.99 | — | No | 10 | Yes | Group classes in some languages, offered free with the subscription for a limited time; no one-to-one lessons. | Yes · audio, quizzes and transcripts download; the videos stream only | — | 14-day free trial with no payment up front, plus a 20-day money-back guarantee | |
Which to choose
You want to start free
Duolingo
Duolingo's Korean course is free with ads and teaches hangeul with alphabet lessons.
You want a course that builds from the alphabet
LingoDeer or Busuu
LingoDeer ($95.99 a year) opens its Korean course, A1 to B1, with an alphabet unit for the writing system. Busuu ($72.99 a year) teaches hangeul in its A1 to A2 Korean course and sells a separate Hangeul course too. StoryLearning's Korean course starts with a hangul crash course before its story.
You have a few minutes a day
Drops or Lingvist
Drops ($69.99 a year) teaches hangul to read and write in its five-minute picture games, with a free daily allowance. Lingvist ($79.99 a year) has a hangeul deck to start reading.
You want to speak first
Pimsleur
Pimsleur ($149.95 a year) is an audio course, and it adds about 100 reading lessons for the Korean alphabet beside its five levels of spoken lessons.
Questions people ask
What is the best app to learn hangul?
Duolingo, free, with alphabet lessons at the start of its Korean course. For a course built on it, LingoDeer's alphabet unit or Busuu's separate Hangeul course; for a few minutes a day, Drops or Lingvist's hangeul deck.
Do I need to learn hangul before I start Korean?
Not before: most courses here teach it in their first lessons. Pimsleur lets you start by ear and adds about 100 reading lessons for the alphabet, and Michel Thomas's Korean is audio only.
Which Korean apps expect you to read hangul already?
Clozemaster does not teach it, Glossika shows hangul with romanised hints, and Michel Thomas's Korean is audio only, with no writing.