Every year, millions of language learners download a language learning app with the same hope, that a few minutes a day on a phone will eventually turn into real fluency. The honest truth is that no single app gets everyone there, since building vocabulary, understanding grammar, and actually speaking with another person are three different skills that most apps only partly cover. This guide to the best apps to learn a new language groups the standout choices by what you are actually trying to achieve, since the best apps to learn a new language are rarely the ones with the biggest marketing budgets, so you can build a routine that genuinely moves you toward speaking rather than just tapping through streaks.
Every app below is genuinely good at what it does, and most people who reach real fluency end up combining two, one to learn and one to actually practice speaking.
Understanding the best apps to learn a new language starts with understanding acquisition itself. Second language acquisition, sometimes called foreign language acquisition, is a slower and more layered process than most apps let on. Unlike a native language, which children absorb without any conscious mental effort, learning a foreign language as an adult almost always requires deliberate study, even when the goal is simply picking up enough grammar to hold basic conversations. English speakers in particular often underestimate this, since a great deal of everyday content already assumes some baseline exposure to English, while the reverse is rarely true for a native English speaker starting from zero in something like Japanese or Arabic.
Understanding a little of the theory behind language acquisition helps set realistic expectations. Recognising individual words in a written word is a different skill from producing them in real time during a conversation, which is exactly why so many learners can read reasonably well but freeze up the moment an actual person asks them a question at the grocery store.
Choosing among the best apps to learn a new language starts with knowing what separates real progress from busywork. Consistency beats intensity, so an app that makes showing up for short daily study sessions easy will usually outperform a more thorough language course you only open once a week. There is no single best way to study, so look honestly at your weakest skill. If you can read but freeze up in conversation, an app built around easier conversations and real speaking practice will help far more than another vocabulary practice drill, and if you already speak reasonably well but never study grammar properly, verb conjugations and sentence structure in a structured course close gaps that casual practice never will.
It is also worth knowing the limits of gamified apps specifically. Translation drills are excellent for pattern recognition but train you to recognise rather than truly understand a language, so many learners plateau around an early intermediate level despite months of daily streaks. Different types of learning suit different people too, since language learning methods vary enormously, and language learning is a fairly personal process, so what works brilliantly for one learner's learning style can feel completely wrong for the next. Pairing an app with real content, such as tv shows with english subtitles or youtube videos, or a real conversation partner is usually what pushes someone past that wall.
Duolingo remains the best free option for building the habit in the first place. The core course is genuinely free, covers more than 40 languages, and its gamified streaks make daily practice feel like a great way to build language skills rather than homework. Its 2026 update added more conversational practice and AI-powered exercises, and it is particularly effective for learning a new alphabet in languages like Korean, Japanese, or Greek. The trade-off is real speaking practice, since you tap and type far more than you talk, and most learners find it tops out around an early intermediate level even after a course of months of consistent use.
Babbel is the stronger pick once you want an actual course rather than a game. It covers 14 mostly European languages with real grammar instruction, including verb conjugations and how to handle a feminine noun correctly in languages that use them, alongside practical conversation-focused lessons and offline downloads useful for travel. It costs roughly 15 dollars a month, less on an annual plan, and does not stretch to languages like Korean, Japanese, or Arabic, so check its language list before subscribing if you are learning outside Europe.
Rosetta Stone takes a different approach again, built around images and full immersion rather than translation from your native language at all. Lessons connect new vocabulary directly to pictures of daily life, which suits learners who want language learning strategies that avoid leaning on a first language crutch, though some find the lack of grammar explanation frustrating without supplementing it elsewhere.
Pimsleur has taught languages through audio since long before smartphones existed, and its app brings the same method to more than 50 languages with fully offline, hands-free lessons. It is the strongest option for learning during a commute, a flight, or an entire night of travel, since you never need to look at the screen, and its spaced repetition method genuinely builds retention of new words over time.
Nothing replaces talking to an actual person, and italki and Preply both connect learners with real tutors for one-on-one conversation practice at any level, from complete beginner to advanced. This is the single fastest way to fix the confidence gap that gamified apps cannot close on their own, and lessons can usually be booked flexibly, whether you want to practice tonight or by the end of the week.
Copycat Cafe fills a useful middle ground for adults who understand more than they can comfortably say. Its watch, copy, and chat method has you observe a real conversation, repeat conversational phrases aloud, including common french phrases and other everyday exchanges, and then use the same language in a guided chat with instant pronunciation feedback. It currently covers French, Latin American and Castilian Spanish, Italian, and German, and suits learners who want daily speaking practice without booking a tutor session every time.
LingQ takes a different approach entirely, built around reading and listening to real content in your target language rather than isolated drills. It suits intermediate learners specifically who have finished the basics elsewhere, perhaps having already picked up scattered spanish words or latin words from a language classes background, and want to close the gap toward genuine fluency, since exposure to authentic material is exactly what most gamified apps skip.
HelloTalk connects you directly with native speakers of your target language who are, in turn, learning yours, so you get free, real conversation practice in exchange for helping someone with your own language. It works especially well as a low-cost companion to a structured app, giving you somewhere to actually use what you have learned next time you log in, whether that is chatting with a stranger in a different country or helping an english classmate practice in reverse, well past a beginner's fake conversations with a chatbot.
Beyond the best apps to learn a new language themselves, a few extra tools round out a solid language learning strategy without being full courses on their own. Google Translate remains useful for quick lookups of individual words or checking a phrase before you use it, though leaning on it too heavily during actual conversations undermines the whole point of study sessions in the first place. Flashcard tools built around spaced repetition are excellent for pure vocabulary practice, since drilling new vocabulary in short, frequent bursts beats cramming an entire night before a trip.
Duolingo, Memrise, Busuu, and HelloTalk all offer genuinely usable free tiers, and Duolingo alone can carry a complete beginner a long way for the cost of nothing. Paid apps like Babbel, Pimsleur, Rosetta Stone, and Copycat Cafe earn their subscription through structure, audio depth, or guided speaking practice that free tiers simply do not include, so they are worth it specifically once you know which skill you are missing.
Whatever combination from the best apps to learn a new language you choose, and whatever your current language studies look like, set language learning goals that match your actual reason for learning. Someone moving to a foreign country or a foreign land for work needs basic conversations and workplace vocabulary fast, while someone learning for a family members' heritage connection, or simply for the pleasure of the process, can afford to move more slowly and enjoy the different country's culture along the way. Throwing yourself in the deep end with immersion works for some people, while others do better easing in gradually. Either approach is a completely valid way to build language skills, since there is no single most effective way that works for everyone, only the one you will actually stick with by the end of today, the end of the week, and every week after that until you reach a final level you are genuinely happy with.
The US Foreign Service Institute estimates roughly 600 to 750 hours of study for closely related languages like Spanish or French, and around 2,200 hours for harder ones like Mandarin, Arabic, or Japanese. At 30 minutes daily, that works out to roughly one to four years for basic conversational ability.
Most experienced polyglots agree on a few core habits. Speak from the first week rather than waiting until you feel ready, since mistakes are how fluency develops. Consume real content early, even before you understand all of it, and review new vocabulary in short, frequent sessions rather than long cramming.
Yes, immersion consistently accelerates progress, since constant exposure forces conscious mental effort into automatic recall faster than occasional study at home. Studying abroad is not required to reach fluency, but even a few weeks of daily necessity, like ordering food or asking directions, builds confidence apps alone rarely match.
There is no single best app to learn a new language, and the best apps to learn a new language are rarely the flashiest ones, only the right combination for the skill you are missing. Duolingo builds the daily habit for free, Babbel, Rosetta Stone, and Pimsleur add the structure and audio depth that gamified streaks cannot, and italki, Copycat Cafe, or HelloTalk close the speaking gap that trips up almost everyone eventually. Pick one to learn and one to actually practice speaking, and real fluency stops being a someday goal and starts being a matter of consistent commitment over time.
Alice Robbins · Editor
Editor
