Language apps you pay for once
Drops ($150), Lingopie ($229) and Babbel ($299.99) sell every language once; Rocket Languages and Pimsleur sell one language's course to keep. The table shows the yearly bill from which each costs less than renewing.
Prices checked 6 Sept to 12 Oct 2026 · How we check
What a lifetime plan costs, and when it pays off
Regular prices, not sales: lifetime plans are often discounted, which brings the break-even closer.
| App | Paid once | Yearly plan | Paying once costs less from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anki | $24.99AnkiMobile (iPhone and iPad) | — | — |
| Drops | $150all languages | $69.99a year, all languages | Month 25at the third yearly bill |
| Lingopie | $229all languages | $83.88a year, all languages | Month 25at the third yearly bill |
| Babbel | $299.99all languages | $107.40a year, all languages | Month 25at the third yearly bill |
| Memrise | $329.99all languages | $61.99a year, all languages | Month 61at the sixth yearly bill |
| Rocket Languages | $449.85Rocket Spanish Levels 1, 2 & 3 | — | — |
| Pimsleur | $575Complete course, Levels 1-5 (one language) | $149.95a year, one language | Month 37at the fourth yearly bill |
Our picks
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Best free app
Duolingo
Course app
FreeEvery course, with ads and daily limits.
Why it's here. Short, game-like lessons make it easy to practise a little every day. You can follow the whole course free, with ads and limits.
Paid upgrade: Super removes the ads and limits: $9.99 to $119.99 in Apple's US App Store, depending on the plan, after a 1-week free trial.
Skip it if you want a person to talk to: Duolingo has no tutors, and Max's Video Call is an AI character.
40 languages · offline lessons
11 of the 34 apps we cover can be bought once or used free for good.
A lifetime plan saves money only from the yearly bill that takes your total past its price, and only if you are still using the app by then. The table sets each one beside the yearly plan that covers the same languages, at regular prices, and shows the month it starts to pay. Rocket Languages and AnkiMobile sell no subscription at all: you buy the course or the app once.
Every app you can buy once or use for free, 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 | |
| BabbelCourse app | A structured course with grammar explained | $107.40 a year$8.95 a month, billed yearly | $17.99 | $299.99 | Free sample Free account; the first lesson of every course is free, and up to 80 free lessons depending on the language. | 14 | Yes | No · Babbel Live is no longer available to individual consumers | Yes · Downloaded lessons, vocabulary review and podcasts in the mobile app | A1 to C1 | Bought from Babbel in the US: no refund promised if you cancel early. Outside the US: 14 days to change your mind, less what you have used. App store purchases: the store's rules. | |
| 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 | |
| Language TransferAudio course | A free audio course that explains as it goes | Free | — | — | Free to keep using Every course free, with no adverts and no sign-up; it runs on donations. | 11 | No | No | Yes | — | Free; nothing to buy. | |
| Vocabulary and flashcard apps | ||||||||||||
| 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. | |
| 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 | |
| AnkiVocabulary and flashcards | Flashcards you control, free on a computer | FreeAnkiMobile (iPhone and iPad): $24.99 once | — | $24.99 | Free to keep using The computer version and AnkiDroid on Android are free, with free sync; only the iPhone app is paid. | — | No | No | Yes | — | Free on computers and Android; AnkiMobile is a one-time App Store purchase. | |
| Learning from real video, text and audio | ||||||||||||
| LingopieImmersion (video, reading) | TV and film with interactive subtitles | $83.88 a year$6.99 a month, billed yearly | — | $229 | No | 15 | Yes · Say It pronunciation practice | Live group lessons on their own monthly or quarterly plan, for subscribers who pay by card; the first lesson is free. | Yes · iOS only; up to 10 downloadable videos | — | 7-day free trial; yearly subscription is charged after the trial and cannot be refunded | |
| 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 | 300 | 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 | |
| HelloTalkLanguage exchange | Chatting with native speakers | $79.99 a year$6.67 a month, billed yearly | $12.99 | — | Free to keep using Free account with ads and daily limits (for example ten translations a day); occasional randomly offered 3-day VIP trials | 260 | — | No | Yes | — | Occasional randomly offered 3-day free VIP trial; refunds handled by Apple or Google for in-app purchases | |
Which to choose
You will study one language for years
Rocket Languages or Pimsleur, bought for that language
Rocket Languages sells each language's course level by level, to keep: Rocket Spanish Level 1 is $149.95 and Levels 1 to 3 are $449.85, with a 60-day money-back guarantee. Pimsleur sells one level of Latin American Spanish for $150 and all five for $575 (prices vary by language); its All Access lifetime covers every language for $798.
You want every language, for good
Drops, Lingopie or Babbel
Drops sells all its languages once for $150, against $69.99 a year. Lingopie's lifetime is $229 against $83.88 a year, and Babbel's is $299.99 against $107.40 a year. Each pays off from the yearly bill shown in the table above.
You want to pay nothing at all
Duolingo, Language Transfer or Anki
Duolingo's courses are free with ads and daily limits, Language Transfer's audio courses are free with no ads and no sign-up, and Anki is free on computers and Android; only its iPhone app, AnkiMobile, is a one-time $24.99. Many public libraries also give Mango Languages free with a card.
Questions people ask
Which language apps have a lifetime subscription?
Babbel, Drops, Lingopie, Memrise and Pimsleur sell a lifetime plan that covers all their languages. Rocket Languages and Pimsleur also sell one language's course, or one level of it, to keep. AnkiMobile is a one-time App Store purchase.
Is a lifetime plan worth it?
Only if you will still be using the app after the yearly bill where it breaks even; the table shows that bill for each app. If you stop sooner, the yearly plan was cheaper. Lifetime plans are often on sale, which brings the break-even closer, so compare the price on the day you buy.
Does "lifetime" mean forever?
It means for as long as the company runs the product, under its terms; no app here promises more. Rocket Languages calls its one-time purchases lifetime access, and Pimsleur's single levels are bought once, not renewed.