Best Language Learning Apps of 2027

What separates the top language learning apps?

Two apps share the top score of 8.6: italki and Babbel. They get there in opposite ways. italki puts you in a one-to-one video lesson with a tutor from $10/lesson, so you speak from lesson one and pick a tutor by accent, price and reviews. Babbel costs $8.95 and builds short dialogue lessons with grammar explained in plain English; it posted the highest A1 result in our test at 82% after 30 days.

Pimsleur sits at 8.0 and costs $19.95 a month, the most expensive here. Its 30-minute audio lessons are hands-free, and we could hold a basic conversation by day 20. Busuu (7.9, $6.95) follows CEFR levels A1–B2 with certificates, and native speakers correct your writing and speaking, usually within hours.

Duolingo and Rosetta Stone both score 7.8. Duolingo is free (Super $6.99/mo) and covers 40+ languages, but grammar is rarely explained and it had the lowest A1 score of the mainstream apps. Rosetta Stone costs $10.50 and has the best speech recognition in the test, though immersion means guessing the rule. Mondly (7.3, $4.99) and Memrise (7.2, $8.49) round out the list.

What should you check before buying a language app?

Our scoring puts teaching method at 30 points and measured result at 25, so the method matters more than the language count. Ask what you want to do in 30 days.

• Speaking from day one: italki and Pimsleur both get you talking immediately. Pimsleur is hands-free; italki needs a scheduled lesson.
• Grammar you can follow: Babbel explains it in plain English. Duolingo, Rosetta Stone and Memrise do not teach grammar.
• Languages and depth: Pimsleur covers 51 languages including Japanese, Korean, Mandarin and Arabic. Babbel and Busuu cover 14. Mondly covers 41 and lets you learn from any of 33 base languages.
• Budget: Duolingo's free tier covers the whole course. Mondly's lifetime plan for all languages is the cheapest in the test; Rosetta Stone's lifetime plan covers all 25 languages.
• Corrections and review: Busuu's community corrects your exercises. Babbel's review manager schedules spaced repetition. Memrise's spaced repetition scheduled reviews we remembered.

Which language learning app is right for you?

If you want real conversation and will pay per lesson, italki is the pick. For a structured, affordable course with grammar explained, Babbel. If you learn on a commute and care about pronunciation, Pimsleur. Busuu suits learners who want CEFR levels and feedback on writing. Duolingo is for building a daily habit for free. Rosetta Stone fits immersion learners who want speech recognition. Mondly is for a cheap lifetime plan across many languages. Memrise is for vocabulary and listening through native-speaker video.

For one-to-one speaking practice, italki is the pick; for a structured, affordable course with grammar explained, Babbel. Pimsleur suits commuters who want hands-free audio, while Busuu fits learners who want CEFR levels and native-speaker corrections. If you want a free daily habit, Duolingo; for immersion with speech recognition, Rosetta Stone; for a cheap lifetime plan, Mondly; for vocabulary and listening, Memrise.