Best Apps to Learn Spanish

What separates the top picks on this list?

Two apps sit at the top with a score of 8.6: italki and Babbel. They get there in different ways. italki is one-to-one video lessons from $10/lesson, and in our test it produced the highest A1 score after 30 days of two lessons a week. Babbel costs $8.95 and scored 82% on A1 after 30 days, with dialogue-based lessons and grammar explained in plain English.

Pimsleur follows at 8.0. Its thirty-minute audio lessons had us holding a basic conversation by day 20, and it works hands-free. At $19.95 a month it is the most expensive pick here, and it covers 51 languages including Japanese, Korean, Mandarin and Arabic.

Busuu (7.9, $6.95) follows CEFR levels A1–B2 with certificates, and native speakers correct your exercises, usually within hours. Duolingo and Rosetta Stone both score 7.8. Duolingo is free, with Super at $6.99/mo, and its streaks built a daily habit better than any other app, though grammar is rarely explained. Rosetta Stone costs $10.50 and its TruAccent speech recognition is strict enough to be useful, but immersion means guessing the rule.

Mondly (7.3, $4.99) and Memrise (7.2, $8.49) close the list. Mondly lets you learn from any of 33 base languages and its courses stop around A2. Memrise uses native-speaker video for every phrase and spaced repetition that scheduled reviews we remembered, but it teaches no grammar at all.

What should I check before buying?

Our rubric weights teaching method 30, measured result 25, languages & depth 15, value 20 and experience 10, so start there.

• Method: do you want conversation from lesson one (italki, Pimsleur) or structured self-study (Babbel, Busuu)?
• Measured result: Babbel scored 82% on A1 after 30 days; Duolingo had the lowest A1 score of the mainstream apps.
• Languages: Babbel and Busuu cover 14 languages; Pimsleur covers 51; Duolingo 40+; Rosetta Stone 25; Mondly 41.
• Value: italki is pay per lesson and two a week costs more than any app. Rosetta Stone's lifetime plan for every language is the cheapest long-term option here, and Mondly's lifetime plan for all languages is the cheapest in the test.
• Weak spots: no grammar explanation from Rosetta Stone or Memrise, little reading or writing from Pimsleur, shallow courses from Mondly, and ads plus the hearts system interrupting free Duolingo users.

If you want to speak soon

italki for real conversation from lesson one, or Pimsleur if you want hands-free audio on a commute.

If you want structure and grammar

Babbel for dialogue-based lessons with grammar explained, or Busuu for CEFR levels A1–B2 with certificates and community corrections.

If budget or habit decides

Duolingo's free tier covers the whole course. Rosetta Stone suits immersion learners who want a lifetime plan. Mondly is for learners starting from a base language other than English. Memrise is for vocabulary and listening practice from native-speaker clips.

For speaking practice, italki gives you a tutor from lesson one, while Pimsleur fits a commute. Babbel and Busuu suit learners who want grammar and structure. If budget leads, Duolingo's free tier covers the whole course, and Memrise is the pick for vocabulary and listening.