Glossika vs Pimsleur: which to choose, and what each costs
Prices checked 11 Oct 2026; Pimsleur's on 6 Sept 2026, Glossika's on 6 Oct 2026 · How we check
Glossika if you want a course that states its CEFR levels.
Pimsleur if you want the smaller yearly bill.
| Question | Glossika | Pimsleur |
|---|---|---|
| A year costs | About $199 a year for one language, or $19.99 month to month | $149.95 a year for one language, or $19.95 month to month |
| A lesson is | Listen to whole sentences and repeat them aloud, with spaced review and little explanation. | A 30-minute audio lesson: you hear a prompt, answer aloud, then hear the right answer. |
| Try it | 7-day full access with no credit card, plus a permanent Freemium tier covering nine minoritized languages. | A 7-day free trial on subscriptions; the 30-day money-back guarantee covers only plans bought on pimsleur.com without such a trial. |
How a lesson works in each
Both are audio courses, so a lesson has the same shape
Side by side
| Compare | Glossika | Pimsleur |
|---|---|---|
| CEFR levels | A1 to C1 (by course) | — |
| A year costs | About $199 a year for one language, or $19.99 month to month | $149.95 a year for one language, or $19.95 month to month |
| What it is | Audio course: Sentence-pattern audio drills with spaced repetition | Audio course: Half-hour audio lessons built on spoken recall, made for commutes |
| Per month at annual billing | $16.58/mo (— a year) | $12.50/mo ($149.95 a year) |
| Monthly plan | $19.99 for one language, $39.99 for all its languages | $19.95 for one language, $20.95 for all its languages |
| Lifetime plan | No lifetime plan | $798 once, all languages. Also sold: the complete course for one language, owned for good, $575; one level of one language, owned for good, $150 |
| Free tier | 7-day full access with no credit card, plus a permanent Freemium tier covering nine minoritized languages | None |
| Languages offered | 63 | 51 |
| Speech recognition | No | Yes |
| Live tutoring | No | — |
| Offline mode | Yes | Yes |
| Placement test | Yes | — |
| Refund or trial | 7-day free trial with no credit card; monthly payments are non-refundable, annual plans refundable pro rata within 60 days of purchase | A 7-day free trial on subscriptions. Pimsleur's 30-day money-back guarantee covers only a subscription bought on pimsleur.com or by phone without a free trial of 7 days or more, once per customer; App Store and Google Play purchases are not covered. |
| Platforms | iOS, Android, Web | iOS, Android, Web |
| Company | Glossika Pte. Ltd., Singapore | Simon & Schuster, LLC (Pimsleur is an imprint of Simon & Schuster Audio) |
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Glossika
Audio course
In our comparison: strongest on the number of languages and trial and refund terms, weakest on the free tier.
About $199 a year $16.58 a month, billed yearly · BasicMonthly plans: $19.99 for one language, $39.99 for all its languages
Sentence-pattern audio drills with spaced repetition. A 7-day free trial and a 60-day money-back guarantee.
Pimsleur
Audio course
In our comparison: strongest on the number of languages and trial and refund terms, weakest on the free tier.
$149.95 a year $12.50 a month, billed yearly · PremiumMonthly plans: $19.95 for one language, $20.95 for all its languages
Half-hour audio lessons get you answering aloud, which suits a commute or a walk. Download lessons before you leave and you can practise without a connection.
Glossika is an audio course and Pimsleur is one too. Both teach French, Spanish, Chinese, German and 30 more languages.
Which to choose
You want the smaller yearly bill
Pimsleur
A year of Pimsleur costs $149.95 for one language; a year of Glossika, about $199 for one language.
You would rather pay once than subscribe
Pimsleur
Pimsleur can be bought once and kept: $798 once, all languages. Also sold: the complete course for one language, owned for good, $575; one level of one language, owned for good, $150. Glossika's paid plans are subscriptions.
You want to practise speaking
Pimsleur
Pimsleur: Speech recognition scores how you say words. Glossika: You answer aloud to the recording, and nothing scores what you say.
You want to know what level a course takes you to
Glossika
Glossika states CEFR levels A1 to C1 (by course: Spanish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Portuguese, Cantonese, Arabic, English, Dutch, Polish, Turkish, Greek, Vietnamese, Finnish, Hindi and Swedish A1 to C1). Pimsleur doesn't state CEFR levels for its courses. A stated level is what the lessons cover, not a level you are promised.
Where they really differ
- Price: Glossika: About $199 a year for one language, or $19.99 month to month. Pimsleur: $149.95 a year for one language, or $19.95 month to month.
- A lesson: Glossika: Listen to whole sentences and repeat them aloud, with spaced review and little explanation. Pimsleur: A 30-minute audio lesson: you hear a prompt, answer aloud, then hear the right answer.
- A real person: Glossika has no live tutors. Pimsleur doesn't mention live tutors.
- Levels: Glossika states a CEFR range for each course, up to C1. Pimsleur doesn't state CEFR levels.
- Speaking: Glossika doesn't listen to you speak. Pimsleur listens to you speak.
- Trying it: Glossika: 7-day full access with no credit card, plus a permanent Freemium tier covering nine minoritized languages. Pimsleur: A 7-day free trial on subscriptions; the 30-day money-back guarantee covers only plans bought on pimsleur.com without such a trial.
- Both: Work offline.
Plans and prices
Glossika
| Plan | Billing | Price | Per month | Covers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FreemiumFree for good in nine languages: Catalan, Gaelic, Hakka (Sixian), Hakka (Hailu), Kurdish (Sorani), Manx, Welsh, Taiwanese Taigi and Wenzhounese. | Other | $0 | $0/mo | 9 minoritized languages |
| Basic (billed annually)BasicGlossika states $16.58 a month on the yearly plan and doesn't print the year's total, which comes to about $199. | Annual | — | $16.58/mo | one language |
| Basic (monthly)Basic | Monthly | $19.99 | $19.99/mo | one language |
| Pro (billed annually)ProGlossika states $33.25 a month on the yearly plan and doesn't print the year's total, which comes to about $399. | Annual | — | $33.25/mo | all languages |
| Pro (monthly)Pro | Monthly | $39.99 | $39.99/mo | all languages |
Pimsleur
| Plan | Billing | Price | Per month | Covers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Premium AnnualPremiumRead on the Spanish (Latin American) course page, whose plan data prices the Premium Annual plan for French and Japanese the same; the year starts with a 7-day free trial. | Annual | $149.95 | $12.50/mo | one language |
| All Access AnnualAll AccessA sale took 20% off the first year, charging $131.96. | Annual | $164.95 | $13.75/mo | all languages |
| Premium MonthlyPremiumAs shown on Pimsleur's Latin American Spanish course page. | Monthly | $19.95 | $19.95/mo | one language |
| All Access MonthlyAll Access | Monthly | $20.95 | $20.95/mo | all languages |
| Individual level (one language)PremiumOne level of one language; the price varies by language and level. A sale offered Level 1 for $105. | Lifetime | $150 | one-time | one language |
| Complete course, Levels 1-5 (one language)PremiumOne language's complete course; the price varies by language. A sale offered the Latin American Spanish course for $402.50. | Lifetime | $575 | one-time | one language |
| All Access LifetimeAll AccessA Labor Day sale offered it for $399. | Lifetime | $798 | one-time | all languages |
What will Pimsleur cost you for the months you study?
Total billed over 12 months
$89.45 less on annual billingOne yearly payment of $149.95.
What each plan covers. Monthly: one language. Yearly: one language.
Questions people ask
Is Glossika better than Pimsleur?
Neither is better for every learner. Choose Glossika if you want a course that states its CEFR levels. Choose Pimsleur if you want the smaller yearly bill, to pay once rather than subscribe and more speaking practice. In our comparison, Glossika is strongest on the number of languages and trial and refund terms, weakest on the free tier, and Pimsleur strongest on the number of languages and trial and refund terms, weakest on the free tier.
Which is cheaper, Glossika or Pimsleur?
Pimsleur costs less by the year: $149.95 for one language, where a year of Glossika is about $199 for one language. Month to month, and with any lifetime plan, the plans tables above give both.
Do Glossika and Pimsleur teach the same languages?
Glossika lists 63 languages and Pimsleur 51, each counting varieties its own way; 34 languages are taught by both. Each app's page here lists its languages, with a page for each language two or more apps teach.