10 Best Free Language Learning Apps of 2026

Duolingo is the strongest free starting point because nothing in the course itself sits behind a paywall. Its App Store listing says every course is free, and the catalog covers more than 40 languages, including Irish, Hawaiian, Welsh and Latin. Lessons last a few minutes and mix speaking, reading, listening and writing, while AI tailors the next exercise to your level. Leaderboards, rewards and reminders from Duo the owl make a daily streak easy to keep, and steady daily practice is what moves a beginner forward. The free version has ads and an energy limit that can end a session early, which is the main nudge toward Super Duolingo, listed from $9.99 on the US App Store. The weak spots are grammar explanation and live speaking. Pair it with Language Transfer for the why behind sentences and HelloTalk or Tandem for real conversation, and you have a full free routine.

Language Transfer is the only pick here with no paid tier of any kind. Its about page says everything is free and that donations do not give access to more material, and the home page adds that there are no adverts, no sign-ups and no data selling. The courses use what the creator calls the Thinking Method: you listen to a teacher guide a student through building sentences, then pause and try each one yourself. That makes grammar feel like a set of tools rather than a list of rules, which is where many app learners stall. The catch is range. The App Store listing names complete courses in Spanish, Greek and Swahili, introductions to Arabic, Turkish, Italian and French, and a German course still in progress. It is also audio only, so you will want a free course app for reading and a partner app for speaking. For Spanish learners in particular, it is hard to beat at any price.

Busuu is the most course-like free option on this list. It maps its content from A1 to C1, which Busuu puts at 2,500+ hours of learning, so you can see what level you are working toward. Lessons are short, include video flashcards with real people, and end with exercises that other members of the Busuu community can correct. That community feedback is the main reason to pick it over a pure drill app: you get comments from fluent speakers on what you wrote or said, without booking a tutor. A personalized Study Plan sends reminders at the times you choose. The limits are clear in Busuu's own App Store text: many features are free, but a subscription is needed for all of them, and Premium is where Grammar Review, Vocabulary Review and certificates sit. The catalog is also small at 14 languages. If yours is covered, the free tier is a solid structured complement to Duolingo.

HelloTalk fills the gap that course apps leave: talking to real people. You list your native language and the one you are learning, and the app matches you with native speakers who want to learn yours, so both sides get free practice. Chats can be text, voice or video, and built-in translation, transliteration and correction tools let a partner fix your sentence inline, which turns casual chat into feedback. Voicerooms gather learners and native speakers around a topic for group speaking, and the Moments feed works like a social timeline for language questions. HelloTalk says it has 70M+ learners across 260+ languages, so finding a partner is rarely the problem. Finding a good one can take a few tries, and there is no lesson plan, which makes it a poor first app for a total beginner. VIP Membership, at $12.99 a month on the US App Store, adds extras, but the core exchange works without it.

Clozemaster picks up where beginner apps leave off. Each round shows a real sentence with one word missing, and you fill the gap, so vocabulary arrives in context rather than as isolated flashcards. Sentences are sorted by frequency, which means the words you will meet most often come first, and spaced repetition brings back the ones you miss. When you get one wrong, an Explain button gives a grammar note. The app offers Vocabulary, Listening and Speaking modes and a hands-free Radio beta, across 50+ languages that include Esperanto, Basque and Swahili. Clozemaster describes itself as aimed at A2 to C1 learners, and that is accurate: without a base, the sentences are hard to parse. Essential features are free, and Clozemaster Pro, at $8.99 a month on the US App Store, adds unlimited play, custom collections and grammar challenges. For learners who finished Duolingo and want to read real sentences, the free tier is a sensible next step.

Tandem works on the same exchange idea as HelloTalk: you help someone with your language and they help you with theirs. Sign-up is free, and Tandem says it reviews every application before you join, which some learners will prefer to an open network. Once inside, you search for partners by language, location and interests, then talk by text, voice notes, audio or video calls. Translation and correction tools sit inside the chat so a partner can fix a sentence as you go, and Parties offer a group audio space when one-to-one feels like too much. The App Store listing claims 300+ languages, including 12 sign languages such as American Sign Language, which is unusual. Tandem is not a course, so it suits learners who already know some basics. Tandem Pro is listed from $14.99 on the US App Store and Tandem says Pro is needed for all features, but free chat covers the core reason to use it.

Memrise builds its lessons around videos of native speakers, so you hear real accents and speeds instead of a synthetic voice. Its App Store listing describes hundreds of real-life scenarios, from ordering food to meeting a partner's family, followed by practice listening to locals and then speaking with AI Buddies, its chatbot partners. Memrise says it has helped 80+ million learners, and it has added 15 languages recently, including Latin, Cantonese and Irish. The free plan is real but tight. Memrise lists it as limited vocab lessons, limited videos and conversations, and ads, while Pro opens all lessons and unlimited speaking practice. At $24.99 a month or $61.99 a year on the US App Store, Pro is also the priciest upgrade on this list. Used for free, Memrise is best as a listening supplement: a few scenario videos a day alongside a free course with more lessons.

Speechling covers the one skill most free apps cannot check well: pronunciation judged by a person. You listen to a sentence recorded by professional voice talent, record yourself, compare the two side by side, and send it to a coach who replies with feedback. The Forever Free plan needs no credit card, opens the entire curriculum and includes up to 10 coaching sessions per month. That free coaching does not apply to English, French, Chinese and German, which are among the most popular languages, so check yours before you start. Speechling Unlimited, from $19.99 a month on its pricing page, removes the cap and adds an audio journal and offline resources. As a whole program it is narrow: there is little grammar or reading. As a free add-on to Duolingo or Language Transfer, ten human reviews a month is a rare thing to get without paying.

LingQ takes an input-first approach: you learn by reading and listening to real material at your level, with every word tracked. Its library holds lessons built from podcasts, books, interviews and videos, each with matching text, and you can import your own content from Netflix, YouTube, podcasts and articles. Tap any word for a definition, save it as a LingQ, and SRS review brings it back later. AI tools can transcribe audio and simplify a hard lesson. The site lists 53 languages and 5M+ learners. For free learners the limits are real. Premium on the US App Store, at $14.99 a month, is described as unlimited LingQs and unlimited imported lessons, which tells you those are capped on the free account, and a LingQ team member replying to a review called the free trial quite limited. The method works well for intermediate learners, but the free tier is better treated as a long trial than a permanent home.

Drops is the lightest app on this list, and that is the point. Each session is a short game where you swipe and tap illustrated words, built so you can learn words for conversations in about five minutes a day. It covers 55+ languages, including Hawaiian, Samoan, Ainu and Yoruba, and its script practice for Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Hebrew, Arabic, Russian and Hindi is a friendly way to learn to read a new alphabet. Drops has also added grammar lessons for several languages, such as French, Korean and Japanese. The free version is time-limited: Premium is sold on unlimited time, no ads, offline learning and all content, and Drops shows US prices only inside the app, so we list its price as pending. Drops is not a full course and offers little speaking, so treat it as a daily vocabulary warm-up beside a course app.