Language-learning terms used on this site

Terms

The definitions below are the ones the comparison tables rely on. Where an app uses a term differently from the definition here, that app's wording is quoted on its page.

• Our score

  a rating out of 5. See methodology for details.

• Pick

  a recommendation for a particular learning goal, such as speaking on a trip or studying for an exam.

• CEFR levels (A1 to C2)

  the Common European Framework of Reference scale. A1 and A2 are beginner (greetings, simple needs), B1 and B2 are independent (holding a conversation, following a film with effort, working in the language), C1 and C2 are proficient (near-native reading, writing and nuance). Apps that state which levels their course reaches are recorded with that range; apps that do not are shown with a dash.

• Spaced repetition

  a review schedule that shows you a word or sentence again just before you would forget it, with longer gaps each time you get it right. Flashcard apps such as Memrise, Drops and Clozemaster are built around it; course apps usually include a review mode that uses it.

• Comprehensible input

  reading or listening to material you mostly understand, so the unknown parts are learned from context. Immersion apps such as LingQ and Lingopie are built around it; it suits learners who already have some vocabulary.

• Placement test

  a short test at sign-up that puts you at a level instead of starting you at lesson one. Recorded as present only when the app says it offers one.

• Speech recognition

  the app listens to you say a word or sentence and scores it. This is pronunciation practice, not conversation. Recorded as present when the app's own page says so.

• Live tutoring

  a scheduled lesson with a human teacher, either included in a plan or sold separately. Tutor marketplaces (Preply, italki, Cambly) are nothing but this; some course apps sell it as an add-on.

• Free tier

  what you can use without paying, exactly as the app describes it. "Free trial" (paid tier free for a fixed number of days, usually needing a card) is recorded separately under refund or trial policy.

• Price per month

  the plan price divided by its term in months. Used so that a $107.40 annual plan ($8.95 per month) and a $17.99 monthly plan can sit in one column. Always shown next to the billing period it comes from.

• Annual billing

  paying twelve months at once. Nearly every app prices this well below twelve times its monthly plan, which is why the per-month figure at annual billing is the one the tables here show first.

• Lifetime plan

  a one-time payment for permanent access to the app as it exists and is maintained. Shown without a per-month figure, because the honest per-month cost depends on how many years you use it.

• Family plan

  one subscription covering several accounts, usually up to six. Recorded with the number of accounts the app gives.

• Dash (–)

  when checked, the app's own page did not show this figure to a visitor in the United States. Nothing is estimated in its place.

• Date checked

  the day a figure was checked against the app's own page. Every price we cover has one, listed under References on the app's page and in the downloads; it is the date to cite, not the day you visited.