| Situation | App | Cost and range | Skill emphasis | Planning use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free beginner start | Duolingo | Free app with ads; no live classes | Drills mixing reading, writing, listening and speaking; Stories for reading and listening | Try it first to see whether a daily habit sticks before paying for anything. |
| Free start with feedback later | Busuu | 11 languages; free lessons in the mobile apps; grammar lessons, video units and PDFs are paid only | Flashcards for beginners; writing reviewed by native speakers at advanced level | Good for basics at no cost; plan for a membership if grammar and video matter. |
| Speaking and real-life dialogue | Babbel | Standard subscription; live classes billed on top | Dialogue practice with pronunciation correction | Suits learners who want to talk early and will pay for structure. |
Feature and cost notes in the table draw on the Monmouth University language app guide and a Babbel and Duolingo comparison from Jen on the Run.
The best language learning apps depend on the goal: Duolingo suits a free beginner start, Babbel suits conversation-style practice, and Busuu suits learners who want feedback on writing from native speakers.
Language apps are one part of a wider app toolkit. The Essential Apps and Software Tips hub collects the rest, including how to choose a password manager and how to create a strong password for the accounts these apps ask you to open.
Starting free as a beginner
Duolingo and Busuu both let a beginner start without paying, but they cover different ground and stop being free at different points.
Duolingo
Duolingo is free and offers 39 languages, and the same guide calls apps like it an excellent jumping-off point for learning a new language. The Monmouth University guide describes its drills as a mix of reading, writing, listening and speaking, and notes that downloading the free app makes it easy to keep up daily study reminders while on the go.
The trade-offs are practical. The free version carries ads, and there are no live classes, so spoken practice stays inside the app.
Busuu’s free tier
Busuu lists 11 languages, including Spanish, German, French, Italian, Portuguese (Brazilian) and Russian, and its free lessons are available in its mobile apps. Beginner lessons use flashcards to teach new words and phrases, which suits learners who prefer to memorise vocabulary before building sentences.
The limit is the paywall. Grammar-focused lessons, video units and printable PDF files are available only with a paid membership, so a learner who wants explicit grammar explanations should expect to pay.
- Choose Duolingo when the aim is to test a daily study habit at no cost and a wide choice of languages matters.
- Choose Busuu when flashcard-style vocabulary appeals and the language is on its shorter list.
Speaking and conversation practice
Babbel gives the closest thing to real-life conversations of the apps covered here, according to the Jen on the Run comparison, while Busuu and Duolingo each cover part of the speaking and listening picture.
Babbel
Babbel builds lessons around real-life dialogue practice and pushes learners to pronounce words correctly, so they sound more local and less like a tourist. That makes it the strongest fit for travellers and anyone who wants to start speaking quickly.
Babbel also sells live classes, but they are an extra cost on top of the standard subscription. The same comparison warns that when more than five people are in a class, each learner gets little time to speak, so smaller groups are worth choosing.
Busuu
Busuu draws on an international community of more than 40 million registered native speakers. At advanced level its lessons involve writing and answering questions that native speakers review. It suits learners who want a real person to check their output rather than an automated score, though that feedback sits in the advanced lessons rather than the beginner flashcards.
Duolingo for listening
Duolingo leans toward listening comprehension through playful audio exercises. Duolingo Stories add short, narrative-driven exercises for reading and listening. It trains the ear well but does not replace conversation with a person.
Duolingo alternatives
Learners leave Duolingo for two main reasons: the ads in the free version and the lack of live speaking. Each alternative solves one of these and costs something in return.
- Babbel replaces drills with dialogue and pronunciation correction. The price is a subscription, plus extra for live classes.
- Busuu keeps a free tier and adds native-speaker review of writing. Grammar lessons, video units and PDFs sit behind its paid membership.
For someone who has outgrown the drills but not the budget, Busuu’s free tier is the gentler move. For someone who already knows they want to speak, Babbel is the more direct switch.
Studying offline and on the go
Language apps download from Google Play on Android or the App Store on iPhone, and most also have a web browser version as an alternative to mobile. A learner who studies on both a phone and a laptop should favour an app with both versions.
Anyone planning to study without a signal, such as on a flight or a commute through tunnels, should confirm that lessons can be downloaded in the app or its store listing before paying for a subscription.
Phone-based study is only one of many app tasks, and readers building a wider toolkit can compare the best free video editing software for a different kind of project.
Can free apps reach conversation level?
Free apps are enough for a solid start but not a safe route to conversation. The CEFR framework organises fluency into six stages: A1, A2, B1, B2, C1 and C2, and most apps will max out at B1 or B2.
That ceiling is a limit, not a target, and free tiers sit below it. Duolingo is free but ad-supported with no live classes, and Busuu’s grammar and video content is paid. A learner aiming past the middle CEFR stages should combine an app with real speaking practice, whether through Babbel’s dialogue lessons or Busuu’s native-speaker review. Which questions about price and platform remain are answered below.
Frequently asked questions
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Do these apps work on both Android and iPhone? | Apps download from Google Play for Android or the App Store for iPhone, and most also offer a web browser version, according to Citrus Libraries. |
| How long is a Babbel lesson? | Babbel lessons take only about 10 minutes per day, which suits a short daily routine. |
| How many languages do Duolingo and Busuu offer? | Duolingo offers 39 languages, while Busuu lists 11 languages. |
| Are Babbel’s live classes included in the subscription? | No. They are billed on top of the standard subscription, as noted by Jen on the Run. |
