The Best Language Learning Programs

Monday, December 2nd

2024 Language Learning Program Reviews

italki

• Professional teachers' rates start at $10, and Tutors' rates start at $5 per lesson
• Offers over 150 languages
• Choose between Community Tutors and Teachers
• Filter available teachers by lesson categories, lesson length, languages spoken, and location
• Purchase lesson packages for a 5% discount
• AI Learning Plan for tracking progress and setting goals
• Watch introduction videos and take trial lessons
• Lessons can be conducted via italki classroom, Skype, or Zoom
• Compatible with both desktop and smartphone
• Highly rated with over 10,000 5-star reviews on Trustpilot

italki is a website where you can learn languages by talking to teachers through video chat. You can use the platform to find teachers for one-on-one lessons, and freelance language teachers can make money by tutoring. italki started in 2007 and is based in Hong Kong, China.

150 languages (in a variety of accents and dialects)

Italki offers over 150 languages - and variations upon them. For example, are you learning English but don't want to sound like an American? Unlike most language learning platforms that offer the same course to every learner, on italki you can opt to take your English lessons from native speakers who live in Ireland or Australia. On the downside, though, while italki advertises a count of 150 languages, not every one of those languages is available all the time. More commonly-spoken languages will have more tutors available. For instance, there were 988 Chinese teachers during our last visit, but we found none for less common languages listed on the site, like Navajo. The number of teachers on italki changes for each language as new teachers join and others leave.

Choose between a Community Tutor and a Teacher

italki has two kinds of teachers: Community Tutors and Teachers. A professional teacher has to demonstrate their qualifications with a certificate or proof of employment as a teacher of that language. They also have to have native proficiency in it or have reached a C2 level. Community Tutors may not have these certifications, but they are passionate about teaching languages and may have studied them independently. Just do your vetting carefully if you want thorough grammar instruction, or if you want to focus on a specific area (like test preparation or business vocabulary). If you're just in need of a conversation partner, though, most any tutor you pick will work just fine. Often, but not always, Community Tutors' rates are lower than that of Teachers. Professional Teachers' rates start at $10, while Tutors' start at $5. Both are capped at $80 a lesson, though we've always been able to find plenty of options in the $15 to $25 range.

Keep time differences in mind

You'll want to keep in mind that the lesson times available to you will depend on where you live and where your tutor lives. For example, 6PM might be the time you've carved out for studying French, but that's 1AM in France. Fortunately, you can filter available teachers by lesson categories offered, lesson length, the other languages spoken by the tutor, and where they're from.

Buy lesson packages for 5% discount

We've occasionally found it a little difficult to find a teacher who matches our specifications and who is offering lessons during the times we are awake. Sometimes, the ones we did find were booked out a few months in advance. That means you might need to plan ahead a bit to get ahead of their other students, but that could be a good way to keep yourself accountable to your language learning goals. Another way to accomplish that is by purchasing lesson packages. italki tutors often offer packs of lessons at discounted prices that you prepay for. On your profile, you'll see how many lessons you've completed, how many you have left to schedule, and how long you have until your lesson package expires (6 months from date of purchase).

Useful AI Learning Plan for tracking progress and staying on top of goals

We found it really easy to find the best tutors for us thanks to italki's new AI Learning Plan. After answering a few questions about our interests and reasons for learning, italki suggested where we might focus during our upcoming lessons (which our teacher could also see), gave us an estimate for how long it would take to achieve our goals, and recommended tutors who could help us reach them. If you're a people person, you might find it hard to pick just one tutor since so many of them seem so interesting.

Watch introduction videos and take trial lessons

italki tutor and teacher profiles include everything you might want to know about a potential instructor, right down to bilingual (or trilingual) introduction videos. A teacher will typically talk about her- or himself in English and at least one of the languages they teach so you can get a feel for their accent and personality. On their pages, you can also see what topics you have in common, read about their style, and the materials they like to incorporate. According to Daniel's profile, for example, he is a TEFL-qualified and Native Irish Speaker with two years of teaching experience in Gaelic. He likes talking about music, travel, and history, and he includes articles and news in his lessons. He has a 5-star rating from his 298 students, who say he is "such a natural teacher” and "well-prepared”. As a new italki user, you'll be granted 3 trial lessons to redeem with any 3 unique tutors or teachers. Daniel offers a trial lesson for only $13, while his Beginner Irish Lessons are sold in a package for $21 each, 5% off full-price.

Best on desktop, but compatible with smartphone

You can join your italki lesson from your phone, but if your teacher is incorporating Powerpoints or Word documents, it's probably easiest to participate on a computer. Your lesson will take place in the italki "classroom” or via a third-party platform like Skype or Zoom, depending on your preference.

italki is our favorite language learning program

If you're learning a language for a specific purpose beyond general interest, such as travel, reconnecting with an old friend from a study abroad experience, or starting a new job in a foreign country, we believe italki is the best option. Many language learning platforms can give you a false sense of confidence in your language skills without truly testing them. With italki, you'll be interacting face-to-face with another person the entire time, so you'll have a clear understanding of how well you can actually speak. While you might pay more per week or month compared to a freemium app, the connection with a native speaker dedicated to guiding your progress is definitely worth it, in our opinion. We rate italki 5 stars. But don't just take our word for it - italki has over 10,000 5-star reviews on Trustpilot, too.

Ouino

• 3 months for $38.97, 6 months for $59.94, 12 months for $83.88; 50% discount on additional languages
• Uses full sentences from the beginning
• Detailed grammar instruction in the "Building Blocks" section
• Extensive verb conjugation practice
• Vocabulary building by topic
• Pronunciation practice comparing to native speakers
• Audio-only mode for flexible learning
• Progress tracker including external activities
• Various practice methods like stories and flashcards
• Responsive customer support

There are a lot of language learning platforms vying for your time, attention, and money. Narrowing them down to your best fit requires not just knowing your learning style, but also being aware of the crucial components required in any program to effectively teach a language. Once you know these, you can begin to weed out the platforms that don't suit your style or are lacking important things like grammar lessons, usability, or practical content. Ouino lands almost at the top of our list because their courses don't cut any corners. Ouino is available in the iOS app store, the Google Play store for Android, and as desktop software.

Lessons incorporate full sentences

Some language learning programs only give you one new word at a time, with full sentences only appearing towards the end of a lesson. Personally, we find that that isn't challenging enough and can get boring quickly. Ouino, on the other hand, uses full sentences from the very beginning, with the new word you're meant to be focusing on highlighted in a different color than the rest of the sentence. This increases your exposure to new vocabulary so that when a word becomes the focus of the lesson later on, it'll already be familiar or known to you. Grammar will also become more intuitive to you this way. And, if you really want to get into the nitty-gritty details, you can click on the icon with the "A” to see a detailed breakdown of new sentences and the function of each word in them.

Thorough instruction on grammar

In Ouino, you can find grammar lessons in the "Building Blocks” section, where you'll get clear instructions on how cases, tenses, declensions, negations, and more work. You don't have to take any lessons in a specific order. So, if you come across an interesting sentence structure during a lesson and want to know more about it - like why it's "estés” instead of "estas” in "Espero que estés bien” - you can click the "A” icon to learn that "estés” is in the subjunctive, then head to the grammar lessons in Building Blocks for the subjunctive case.

Conjugation practice

Beyond the Building Blocks section for learning grammar, Ouino offers several other useful sections. In the "Verbs & Conjugation” section, you learn how to conjugate hundreds of verbs in different tenses. Have you ever been taught a new verb in another language program but only in one form, leaving you unsure how to use it in other contexts? In Ouino's "Express Verbs" section, you'll be shown a table that shows the different verb endings based on tense and person. The exercises in these lessons let you practice conjugation until you're an expert.

Learn vocabulary by topic, practice pronunciation, and listen to conversations

The "Vocabulary” section helps you build your word bank. In the "Conversations” section, you learn expressions and test your understanding of native speaker conversations. The pronunciation section lets you compare your speech with native speakers, which is more accurate than using speech recognition software. You can jump around and take any lessons you like, or follow the Recommended Learning Path if you want more guidance on what to do next.

Grading system with self-assessment

Ouino uses a system where you assess your understanding of lessons with stars. After completing a lesson, you should rate it with one star and only level up if you do well on the quiz. (Each lesson has a quiz that will let you increase your mastery percentage. Each unit has a separate quiz with random questions from all the lessons in the unit. This one doesn't always increase your mastery score - we're not sure why.) In a tutorial video, Ouino explains that you should rate a lesson four stars only if you get a near-perfect score on your first try of the quiz. It seems like they're trying to have you DIY the principle of spaced repetition this way, but other programs set it up for you automatically. We recommend watching the video tutorials on Ouino's website to get the most out of their program the way they designed it. There's also a very long, very detailed written guide that shows how much thought they've put into their approach to teaching languages.

Review exercises of varying difficulty

The quizzes include listening exercises, conjugation matching, and writing exercises - you choose the way you want to review. The writing exercises give you the most credit, but they can be a bit slow, which is frustrating if you already know some of the language and just want to quickly mark basic lessons as completed and move on. You need to type your answer, listen to the voice read the sentence, and then wait a second or two before moving on to the next question.

Audio Only mode

This feature is great for practicing your target language while driving or doing chores around the house. It's highly customizable with different presets ranging from beginner to advanced. You can choose how fast and how many times you hear the audio in either language. You can also decide the order: you might hear the English phrase first, followed by a pause to think of the correct translation, or the other way around. This mode makes it easy to fit language learning into a busy schedule.

Progress tracker lets you count external sources

Ouino has a progress tracker to help you stay motivated. You can manually log your external learning activities, like watching movies or listening to music in your target language, and get credit for it. The tracker shows how many days you've been learning, your streak, how many days you've been active, and the percentage of lessons and activities you've completed. This way, you can see your progress and stay on track with your language learning goals.

Extra practice

Ouino provides various ways to practice, including reading stories at three difficulty levels and using flashcards for questions you missed in quizzes. You can also practice writing by typing what you hear, although you can't write your own sentences from scratch. The platform offers listening and pronunciation practice and a quiz that combines random questions from all the different units you've studied.

Clunky in a few areas

There are a couple of minor drawbacks with Ouino. Lessons can be slow due to pauses between examples. Also, you need to turn the lesson filter off and on again every time you go back to the home page for it to work properly.

3 months for $38.97

Ouino offers language learning subscriptions with different plans: 3 months for $12.99 per month ($38.97 total), 6 months for $9.99 per month ($59.94 total), and 12 months for $6.99 per month ($83.88 total). You get a 50% discount on additional languages after your first purchase. If you're unsure about buying, you can try a demo. (Don't worry about the slow load times in the demo - those issues don't carry over to the paid software.)

Excellent program

Ouino is incredibly responsive to support requests and new feature suggestions. They're a small family company. When we emailed them on the weekend, asking for help adding another language course onto our account, we received a response from one of its creators within an hour. This is consistent with other customer experiences on Trustpilot, where they have a near-perfect 4.9 from over 400 reviews. Because of how thorough it is, we give Ouino an excellent rating. However, keep in mind they only offer French, Spanish, German, Italian, and Portuguese lessons.

Memrise

• Prices: Monthly $22.99, Annual $89.99, Lifetime $249.98 (often cheaper with promotions)
• 28 languages available for English speakers
• Available on desktop, iOS, and Android
• AI chatbot for conversation practice
• Dashboard with Home, Scenarios, Videos, and Conversations tabs
• Ability to learn vocabulary on any topic
• Points and levels system for progression
• User Dictionary with regular and Speed Review sessions
• Levels from Absolute Beginner to Master
• Learn with YouTube videos in your target language

Memrise's founders, celebrated experts in memory and language learning, know you need to do three things to become fluent in a new language: learn new words and phrases, immerse yourself in content suited to your skill level, and communicate confidently without fear of judgment (which you can accomplish with their AI chatbot). If you're an English speaker, they have 28 languages for you to learn, encompassing everything from Arabic to French to Norwegian to Yoruba. Their platform, available for desktop, iOS, and Android devices, is an entertaining and well-rounded approach to language learning.

AI chatbot for conversation practice included among features

Once you've made your Memrise account and selected the language you're interested in learning, you'll land on a dashboard with 4 tabs: Home, Scenarios, Videos, and Conversations. On the Home tab, you can follow an automated path through the catalog of lessons, choosing either to "learn words” (practice basic exercises to learn new vocabulary words), "hear my words” (watch native speaker videos, usually formatted like short skits containing words you've practiced) , or "use my words” (participate in simulated conversations on pre-selected topics with an AI chatbot).

Freely learn vocabulary on any topic

If the exercises on the Home tab aren't doing it for you - maybe you're learning how to introduce your family members, but you'd rather be learning how to talk about your dreams and ambitions - you can switch it up by going to the Scenarios tab. You have free rein of the entire catalog of lessons. As long as you're a paid member, none of them will be locked out for being too difficult. That said, you won't encounter any particularly complicated phrases with Memrise. Most of the sentences they teach are kept short and sweet.

No specialized grammar instruction

In the same vein, Memrise doesn't have grammar lessons. So, if you're learning German and you know the dative case is a weak spot for you, you won't find explicit instruction for it here. Memrise is really best for building your vocabulary, your listening comprehension, and learning to think in your target language through simulated conversations, though you'll probably begin to gain an intuitive understanding of the grammar with enough time.

Earn points to progress through levels

Like most web-based language learning programs, Memrise occasionally updates the layout of their lessons. Most recently, they implemented "points” and levels. Where you used to set weekly goals to learn a given number of words, you now see an overview of how many words you have learned in your current level and how many you have to go until you move up. (If you've already got a Memrise account, don't worry about losing your progress. Memrise will automatically place you in the right level based on the work you've completed to date.)

Two ways to review weak vocabulary

Also new is the ability to see all the words you've learned in one place - the User Dictionary. From this tab, you can launch either a regular review session or a Speed Review, both utilizing spaced repetition. Personally, we think the regular review sessions are most effective, because they include typed answers without hints (unless you go out of your way to generate them). That empty text box requesting a translation in your target language forces you to really confront the gaps in your knowledge. The Speed Review, on the other hand, is a multiple choice quiz, which means you can skate by using the process of elimination - or just by being lucky.

Levels from Absolute Beginner to Master

Depending on the language you're learning, you can go pretty far with Memrise. Their German course for English speakers, for example, spans 31 levels categorized as Absolute Beginner, Beginner, Elementary, and so on, all the way up to Master. Each category has a helpful description of the kinds of skills you'll develop by completing it.

No placement test - assess your own ability word by word

If you've already got some experience in the language you're learning with Memrise, you'll appreciate that it's possible to quickly move past the things you already know. While they don't have a placement test, you have the option to mark each new vocabulary word or phrase as "I already know this” and it won't automatically come up again for review. It might be a bit more time-consuming than a placement test, but this method allows you to get a lot more specific about what you need to learn than the more generalized results of a placement test would allow you to be.

Learn with YouTube videos in your target language

Although Memrise is missing a couple of features we usually want to see in a language learning platform (particularly grammar instruction), it consistently makes the top of our list for being so fun to use. We really love the Videos tab in particular. Here, you'll see a catalog of short skits, interviews, music videos, ads, and more, all in your target language. Ever wanted to understand the lyrics of "99 Luftballons”? Click "Learn words” over its listing, practice the key vocabulary words and phrases found in the song, and then watch the music video to see how much you understand. As you progress through your course, new videos will move to the top of the videos tab, each listed with the percent of words you should be familiar with. We think this is a fantastic way to identify and push yourself just beyond your comfort zone, which is where the most growth happens.

Starts at $22.99 a month for access to all languages

Memrise is a subscription-based language learning platform. While you can still take some lessons and use some features with the free version, subscribing to Pro will unlock all lessons and videos and remove ads. There are 3 subscription tiers:

• Monthly: $22.99
• Annual: $89.99
• Lifetime: $249.98

Those are the full prices, but Memrise often runs promotions. When we last looked, they were offering 20% and 50% off of Annual and Lifetime, respectively. No matter what plan you choose, it'll give you access to all the language courses Memrise has to offer. (Polyglot paradise!)

Teaches you practical language skills quickly

As longtime users of Memrise ourselves, we think the kind of person who'll love their platform is someone who wants a fun way to learn practical words and phrases so they can hit the ground running - whether for travel, a move to a foreign country, or overcoming a language barrier with a friend. If you're an aspiring polyglot who wants to sample lots of different languages, and you're comfortable with studying grammar independently, you might also love Memrise.

Busuu

• Costs $50 for a year or $13.90 monthly
• Offers learning for multiple languages including English, Spanish, French, Japanese, Dutch, Russian, Arabic, Turkish, Portuguese, Polish, Korean, Chinese, German, and Italian
• Provides courses from A1 to B2 level, up to C1 for English
• Has a community of 120 million users for learners to interact and practice with
• Allows learners to choose their own area of study
• Lessons teach speaking, listening, reading, and writing
• Easy grammar tips incorporated into lessons
• Provides a Review tab to target specific weak areas
• Allows learners to earn points and compete on a Leaderboard
• Has an average of 4.6 stars from over 16,000 reviews on Trustpilot

The newest member of the Chegg family, Busuu is a language learning platform where you can learn English, Spanish, French, Japanese, Dutch, Russian, Arabic, Turkish, Portuguese, Polish, Korean, Chinese, German, and Italian. Their courses align with international standards (CEFR) and cover levels from A1 to B2, which means you can go from being a complete beginner to having a good command of the language.

Set your pace

No matter if you're a fast learner or someone who needs a little more time, you set your own pace. Plus, you get to practice with other learners - they've got a massive community of 120 million users. Their lessons focus on practical topics that you'll actually use. So, whether you're ordering food in a restaurant or asking for directions, Busuu can teach you exactly what to say.

Choose your own adventure

Once you've selected the language you're learning with Busuu, check out the Courses tab to choose an area of study. When learning Japanese, for example, you can progress from A1 to B2 with their "Complete Japanese” course, or you can take their A1 "Learn Japanese through manga” course. They've also got courses on reading and writing kanji, hiragana, and katakana, which we appreciated. Unfortunately, not every language learning program has stepped up to the challenge of teaching you to write letters or characters not found in the Latin alphabet.

Read, write, listen, and speak

Busuu's lessons cover all four primary language skills: speaking, listening, reading, and writing. The exercises in each lesson may include true/false questions about the content of a phrase; fill-in-the-blank questions; and listening to short exchanges between two speakers, then answering questions about what was discussed.

Learn grammar in context of new vocabulary

Interspersed throughout the lessons are also short explanations of the content, often accompanied by tables of related phrases. For example, when learning how to ask where someone lives in German, you'll be presented with the formal and informal versions of "you” and a few different ways one could respond to that question. Also, be sure to read the helpful tips given after you've answered a question and before you move onto the next one. We find Busuu's inclusion of these explanations to make it a little more engaging than some similar language learning platforms.

Use the Review tab to target specific weak areas

While it's true that you have to take Busuu's lessons in a particular order, if you'd like to move on from a unit and start the next one, you can take a short Checkpoint quiz. You'll just need to score over 80%. Also, with Premium, you'll have the ability to review grammar and vocabulary topics anytime you want from the Review tab.

Earn Leaderboard points by correcting and completing exercises

To interact with the Busuu community, you'll first need to make sure your profile contains up-to-date information about which languages you speak and at what levels. Then, from the Discover tab in the Community section, you'll see writing and speaking exercises submitted by other learners in the languages you speak, which you can then correct. This is a great way to earn points on the Leaderboard. Likewise, you can participate in these exercises and submit them for review. Just make sure to use the filters to show only the exercises available for your target language.

$50 for a year, or $13.90 monthly

It's possible to use Busuu for free, but your access to lessons, feedback, and certain features will be very limited. With a Premium account, you'll get access to all lessons, an ad-free experience, Level Completion Certificates (for select languages), faster Community feedback, and the Smart Review spaced repetition tool. At the time of our review, you could get a year of Premium for $50 (or $4.17 a month), discounted from $166.80. If you want to renew your subscription month by month, you'll pay $13.90 each time.

22 hours as effective as a college semester

Busuu has over 16,000 reviews on Trustpilot, earning an average of 4.6 stars. Most of these reviews are about interactions with customer service about billing issues or lost streaks, but there are plenty of compliments about the lesson quality in there, too. While we didn't find any reviews left by users attributing their fluency in their target language to Busuu, an independent study in 2016 found that using Busuu Premium to study for 22 hours can teach you as much as an entire college semester. That's pretty good - and could help you save some money.

Competitive pricing brings rating up

Busuu teaches a decent number of languages, hits all four skills required to be considered proficient in a language, and doesn't skip over grammar. And, at only $50 for a whole year, they won't break the bank. They're an option worth checking out for your language learning program.

Rocket Languages

• Pricing: $149.95 per level or $75 per month for all levels
• Offers 13 languages with advanced courses for some available
• Downloadable MP3 and PDF materials for offline learning
• Podcast-style audio lessons for listening and speaking practice
• Free trial lessons in the first few modules
• Language & Culture lessons with pronunciation practice
• Detailed writing lessons for languages with their own alphabets
• Pronunciation tool with voice recognition
• Survival Kit lessons for travel or business vocabulary
• Leaderboard to compete with other users

Rocket Languages believes in the power of language to connect people and broaden horizons. Founded in 2004 by Jason and Mark Ling, the company started with Rocket Spanish and Rocket French after recognizing the struggles people faced with traditional language learning methods. Their approach was well-received, leading to global recognition in online language education. The company remains dedicated to their mission of fostering connections through language learning and also supports educational initiatives, like sponsoring a school in Cambodia.

13 languages offered

Rocket Languages offers courses in Spanish, Sign Language, Russian, Portuguese, Korean, Japanese, Italian, Hindi, German, French, Chinese, Arabic, and ESL. If you're not a beginner, don't worry. Rocket Languages has advanced courses available for Spanish, French, Russian, German, Italian, Japanese, and Mandarin Chinese. Whether you're starting from scratch or looking to perfect your skills, you can progress through beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels.

Downloadable as MP3 and PDF

Got a long flight coming up and want to make the best use of your time? You can download your course materials - and keep them forever. Rocket Languages lets you save their Audio lessons as MP3s to your phone or computer, so you can keep learning without Wi-Fi. You can even print their lessons or save as a PDF with a simple right-click. (However, their voice recognition tool for perfecting pronunciation needs an internet connection.) Rocket Language is available for Android, iOS, and on desktop.

Podcast-style audio lessons for listening and speaking practice

You can try some lessons in the first few modules for free before needing a paid account. These scripted, podcast-style audio lessons last 15-40 minutes and are meant to expose you to as much spoken target language as possible. You are meant to listen and repeat aloud when prompted, so make sure you've got someplace you can practice without being interrupted. An English speaker will translate and provide context for the two speakers of your target language, including cultural information. For example, in the first audio lesson for the Korean course, you hear an interaction between two Korean speakers meeting each other. The English voice explains that the first speaker must know the second one well because she used his name. She tells us that in Korea, it's considered rude to say someone's name to their face unless you already know them.

Rocket should consider recasting some of their audio lesson speakers

Unfortunately, the quality of the audio lessons varies depending on the language you're looking at. For example, the German audio lessons aren't very good - one of the speakers is an American living in Germany who works for Rocket, and he often stumbles over or skips words and doesn't seem to fully understand the script he's reading. Knowing that, it's hard for us to trust the quality of other languages because we don't speak them well enough to judge their accuracy. Your best bet is to read the experiences of people who have completed the course you're interested in, or check out one of our detailed reviews here at TopConsumerReviews to see how courses specifically for your target language compare across different platforms.

Language & Culture lessons to cover all your bases

The Language & Culture lessons found in each unit are mainly text-based with some audio for pronunciation practice. For example, in the Korean course, you'll learn that Korean has no tones, syllable blocks always have at least two characters, and you'll get familiar with the Korean writing system, Hangul. You'll also find out that vowel sounds are always consistent, no matter where they appear in a word, and listen to some basic consonant and vowel combinations. Additionally, there's an interesting story about how Korean writing came to be. These lessons are our favorite part of any Rocket Languages course.

Writing lessons are helpful for languages with their own alphabet

If you're learning a lesson like Chinese, Japanese, Korean, or any language with characters not found in the Latin alphabet, Rocket is a good choice. Their bite-sized writing lessons are clear and walk you through the correct way to construct each character. We only wish there was a practice tool that let you draw or trace them with your cursor, but a piece of paper and a pen will always work.

Practice speaking, useful vocabulary, and compete on the leaderboard

Additional features include a pronunciation tool with voice recognition, Survival Kit lessons (topic-specific lessons useful for travel or business vocabulary), flashcards, and a leaderboard to compete with other users.

$75 a month or $149.95 per level

Rocket Languages uses a one-time payment structure for their language courses. The pricing seems to be consistent across all of their languages, but you'll want to double check the one you're interested in. For your reference and as an example, Rocket French offers three levels: Levels 1, 2, and 3 for $449.85, Levels 1 and 2 for $299.90, and Level 1 for $149.95. (They don't seem to sell levels 2 or 3 individually, so it seems like you might be forced to pay for Level 1 again if you first buy Level 1 and then decide you want to continue.) You can also opt to pay $75 per month for all three levels - but frankly, we find this price to be way too high.

Good, not great

Rocket Languages is a decent app with genuine value in its lessons, but it might not be worth $75 a month. They don't offer as many languages as some competitors, and they lack a lot of customer reviews. Your trust in their accuracy might be shaken by issues like the ones in their German course. Overall, you might want to pick a different service unless you really love Rocket's format and have the budget for it.

LingQ

• Pricing: Premium at $14.99/month, $119.88/year; Premium Plus at $41.99/month, $443.88/year
• 47 languages, including English, Spanish, French, Italian, German, Russian, Chinese
• Import and study any web content, including books and movies
• Vast library with thousands of hours of audio and transcripts
• Slider bar to filter video difficulties based on unknown words
• Fantastic flashcard review tools
• Powerful vocabulary tools and known words tracking system
• Guided courses and categorized YouTube video collections
• Available on desktop, iOS, and Google Play

LingQ, founded by Steve Kaufmann, operates on the philosophy that engaging with written and spoken content that you find compelling is the best way to learn a new language. Kaufmann's 7 Secrets of Success emphasize spending time, doing what you enjoy, noticing details, prioritizing words over grammar, being patient, acquiring the right tools, and becoming an independent learner. On LingQ, you primarily learn through reading and listening to authentic, compelling content. As you read, you save unknown words to your list for later review, gradually expanding your vocabulary. LingQ boasts one of the best foreign language libraries on the web, with thousands of hours of audio and matching transcripts, powerful vocabulary tools, and a known words tracking system that helps you measure your progress.

47 languages, but some are in beta

LingQ offers 47 languages, including English, Spanish, French, Italian, German, Russian, Chinese, Portuguese, Swedish, Korean, and Japanese. There are also several Beta languages included in this count with limited but functional content. New content is added regularly, and users can import and study any web content. More languages will be added in the future.

Challenge yourself with unknown words

The LingQ video transcript library uses a slider bar to filter videos for difficulty based on how many words you don't already know. For example, a video might appear with "47% new words", and a further breakdown of "56 new words," "3 LingQs”. This allows you to challenge yourself just outside your comfort zone, which is where most growth happens. As you read text or watch videos, you'll click on blue words you don't know to save their meanings, creating "LingQs” which will then be marked in yellow. You can rate words from 1 (new) to 4 (learned) or mark them as "known." "New” LingQs appear in bright yellow, which fades as you mark yourself more and more familiar with them. It's extremely satisfying to watch a transcript become less highlighted as you learn.

Take guided courses or explore your interests

When you're just starting out, all of the videos will have a high percentage of unknown words. If that feels daunting, you might find it helpful to take guided courses that begin with basic topics and gradually become more complex. As you become more confident, you can explore collections of YouTube videos on the page categorized into topics like culture, science, or entertainment. Note that for one of these scripts to appear in LingQ, you do have to use the "import” button to create a lesson from the video's transcript, which if you're on a free plan, will cost you one of your 5 free lesson imports.

Import movies and entire books

Incredibly, you can even import entire transcripts of movies or episodes of Netflix shows using the LingQ Chrome extension. Some users even import entire books into LingQ via PDF or ePub files. One customer appreciated being able to read "Harry Potter” and use the "sentence view" feature, which shows one sentence at a time along with its translation to English. They found this method much better than other tools like Kindle, which only translates one word at a time. They also appreciated the ease of getting word translations with a single click and having access to multiple translations and dictionaries for comparison.

Fantastic flashcard review feature

LingQ's review flashcards are excellent. As you complete lessons, the words you learn will automatically appear in your flashcards. During review, you might see entire sentences from content you've read and be asked to fill in the blank with the correct word from a list of options - all other words you've seen before. Additionally, there will be links to LingQ pages with basic information about grammar features relevant to the word or sentence being reviewed. Your vocabulary words are read aloud by an artificial voice, and you may also encounter type-what-you-hear questions for further practice. But be aware that sometimes the artificial voice gets the pronunciation wrong.

Community and tutoring aspects available

Want to interact with other learners? You can join monthly challenges and do writing corrections for other users, then receive them in return. There also appears to be one-on-one and group tutoring, but we wouldn't necessarily recommend LingQ for this feature. The tutor profiles are not that thorough and it's confusing trying to book a session. Only Premium Plus users can get tutoring anyway, and apparently that's for an additional price on top of what you pay for Plus.

A few small hiccups in usability

You can use LingQ on desktop, iOS, and Google Play. However, there are some issues you might encounter. For example, when you upload an ePub file, it splits the book into individual chapters, which can be annoying. If you want to skip to the middle of a chapter, the slider bar at the top doesn't let you adjust your position, so you have to click "next page" multiple times. Also, while we were reading a book and marking known words, the page refreshed unexpectedly, displaying a message that LingQ was temporarily down for improvements. (Hopefully, the offline version doesn't have this problem.) We also came across a review from a long-term user who once recommended LingQ often but now advises against it. According to this user, although the concept of LingQ is excellent and it works well when it functions properly, the browser app is full of bugs and the user experience is "abysmal”. We didn't experience quite as much frustration with the interface as that reviewer seems to have, but it's possible we missed something, so we're including their assessment for a balanced perspective.

Free plan isn't really functional

LingQ offers three plans: Free, Premium, and Premium Plus. The Free plan is very limited, and only lets you save 20 words, import 5 lessons, and create 1 audio playlist. The Premium plan includes unlimited saved words, full sentence translations, audio playlists, flashcard quizzes, and the ability to create lessons from imported content. Premium Plus comes with 3000 LingQ Points that you can exchange for live tutoring, writing corrections, and premium lessons. Both Premium and Premium Plus offer offline access and participation in language challenges.

• Premium: $14.99/month, $119.88/year, or $215.76/2 years
• Premium Plus: $41.99/month, $443.88/year, or $863.76/2 years

A separate tab has the option to pay for lifetime membership for $229 per language. We find all of these prices to be a bit high - especially in light of the fact that Premium used to cost only $10 per month, and reports from users that there are unresolved bugs.

Potential billing issues

If you subscribe to LingQ, you should be aware that some users have had issues with canceling directly through the site, often still being charged even after cancellation. This might be due to technical difficulties on the customer's end, especially for older users, but one reviewer helpfully suggests paying with PayPal for an easier way to cancel.

Needs some work to rank higher

We think LingQ has a really promising approach. Reading is a great way to learn a language, but it can't reach its full potential unless you combine it with review. You could spend hours adding new vocabulary to an Anki deck or physical flashcards, but those methods lack many of LingQ's features. For example, LingQ allows you to hear the word aloud, see multiple dictionary definitions, and view it in the context of the original sentence. Unfortunately, the program is a bit too expensive to compete with our other language learning platforms, and we wouldn't recommend it as a splurge given the uncertainty about its functionality. We hope that LingQ will improve its reliability in the future so that we can recommend it more highly (and maybe even purchase a Lifetime subscription ourselves!).

Fluenz

• Access to all 5 levels of a given language course typically costs $398, individual levels are $187 each
• Founded by Sonia Gil, a language learner and traveler
• Offers Spanish, Mandarin, German, Portuguese, French, and Italian courses
• Courses are designed especially for English speakers and are tutor-led
• Lessons are a mix of instructional videos and practice exercises
• Offers immersive retreats in Spanish-speaking countries
• Uses a variety of exercises to test knowledge and keep learners engaged
• Thorough grammar instruction
• Offers higher course levels than some competitors

Fluenz was founded by entrepreneur and self-described "language learner, traveler, [and] beach lover” Sonia Gil. Thanks to her extensive travels, she realized languages need to be taught with the abilities of the learner in mind. Her language learning program, Fluenz, has been reviewed by publications like Forbes and Condé Nast Traveler magazine. Fluenz is best known for their Spanish program and retreats, but they also offer Mandarin, German, Portuguese, French, and Italian.

Designed for native English speakers

Fluenz is designed especially for English speakers. Unlike other programs that design their courses with a one-size-fits-all approach, Fluenz will guide you in learning your target language by breaking down concepts using the context of the English grammar rules you already know intuitively. And, if you find it difficult to stay focused when taking self-guided lessons, you'll appreciate that Fluenz lessons are led by an expert teacher of the language. Vocabulary and new concepts are introduced by the tutor in a manner that feels more personal than reading from a textbook or off of a screen.

Feels like a classroom

Unlike other language programs that leave you to your own devices, Fluenz feels more like a regular classroom, trying to mimic a private tutoring session. But don't forget, the "tutoring” is pre-recorded. Each Fluenz lesson begins with an introduction video that lays out what you'll learn. Then, you get to practice what you've learned through exercises they call "workouts”. In between workouts, you'll watch more videos to go deeper into the lessons. It's a back-and-forth between video and practice which is effective, although the videos may feel a tad formal.

Spanish retreats

Some language learning programs promise an immersive experience, but they're really referring to teaching you vocabulary in your target language without giving you the English translations. When Fluenz talks about being the only language learning program that can give you an immersive experience, they're referring to their retreats, or "Immersions”, that they host around the world. These are 6-day-long stays in beautiful lodgings in Spanish-speaking countries, in locations including Mexico City, Puebla, Barcelona, Costa Rica, and Oaxaca. (Currently, these immersions are only for their Spanish program, and we haven't gotten wind of any plans to expand to their other languages in the future.) During an immersion, you're certain to feel like you're on vacation. You'll eat at Michelin-starred restaurants, visit popular tourist destinations, and stay in your own suite. However, you'll also take your Spanish fluency to new levels. Talented Spanish teachers will assess your current level and learning style, create a personalized long-term learning plan based on your goals, and lead you and your cohort in immersive Spanish classes. To get pricing details, you'll need to contact Fluenz and request a brochure.

Zoom Immersions aren't worth the cost

If you can't make it to a retreat, Fluenz also offers Zoom "Immersions”, but we wouldn't necessarily recommend these. You're not experiencing true immersion if you're at home having a remote lesson, and we think they're extremely overpriced. You can get similar one-on-one instruction for much cheaper elsewhere - the Fluenz Zoom Immersion's Comprehensive Track, where you get 30 hours of one-on-one lessons, costs $3,277, which is around $109 per hour. The other is the Fast Track, a quicker 15-hour course costing $1,815, or about $121 per hour. (For comparison's sake, one of the other language learning programs in our review offers one-on-one tutoring starting at just $4 an hour.)

All 5 levels for $398, or pay $187 each

Fluenz's software is a bit more affordable than an Immersion, but it's still expensive when compared to its competitors. For access to the software package containing all 5 levels of a given language course, you're typically looking at paying $398. (One exception is the Spain Spanish course, which costs $548 for all 5 levels.) If you only want to purchase one level, it's usually $187. A package of 2 levels is $258. Not sure which level is right for you? There's a page for each language that includes an overview of each level and what you'll learn, from foundational topics to real-world situations the level can prepare you for.

No demonstration videos or software available

Unfortunately, there's no demo available for Fluenz at this time. If you want to see a preview of the software, your only option is a slideshow on each language's page. These images show examples of the exercises you'll do between video lessons, and they include matching images to vocabulary, simulations of conversations between two speakers, and potentially pronunciation practice - though it was hard to be sure.

Not quite competitive enough in price

In addition to the glowing testimonials featured on Fluenz's website, there are a handful of third-party customer reviews available around the internet. These are typically very positive, and it's commonly said that Fluenz makes language learning easy even for those who don't have a particular talent for it. Personally, we think Fluenz's courses have a lot going for them. They don't shy away from grammar like some gamified language learning apps do, they offer higher levels for all of their language courses than some competitors do, and the lessons make use of a variety of exercises to test your knowledge and keep you engaged. Fluenz's biggest flaw is the price - there's one language learning program on our list that offers nearly everything Fluenz does at a fraction of the cost, and they allow you to try a demo of their software before you buy.

Babbel

• Yearly fee of $107 for the Self-Study plan
• Live classes start at $50 a month
• Lessons in 14 different languages
• Provides cultural insights from the start
• Freedom to learn and review according to your interests
• Babbel Live drop-in classes capped at 6 students for personalized attention

Babbel, a subscription-based language learning app from Germany, offers language lessons in English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Swedish, Russian, Turkish, Dutch, Polish, Norwegian, Indonesian, and Danish. You can access Babbel from the web, Android, and iOS.

Paywall can be bypassed for a little while

When you land on Babbel's website and choose a language, they'll ask you to answer questions about why you're learning your target language (enjoyment, brain training, travel, school), your current abilities, how fluent you want to be, how much time you want to commit each day, and your preferred learning style. Don't think too hard about this quiz - it's not really a placement test, although one of these is available later. When you're finished, they'll show you pricing for either Babbel Self-Study or Babbel Live based on how you answered and the language you chose. It may look like you can't continue without choosing a plan and paying, but visiting Babbel's main web address will bring you to your dashboard.

Cultural insights keep you engaged from the start

From our first Norwegian lesson, as an example, we were already being taught helpful and fascinating insights into the language, pronunciation, and culture. For example, did you know that there are two written forms of Norwegian? Bokmål (literally "book language”) is used by nearly 90% of Norwegians, and Nynorsk (literally "new Norwegian”) is most common in Western Norway. (Babbel teaches Bokmål, if you're curious.)

Learn according to your interests

If you're looking for grammar instruction, go to the Explore tab, then choose "Learn by Topic”. Here you'll find full courses grouped into categories like Countries and Traditions, Specials, Words and Sentences, and, yes, Grammar. We love that Babbel gives you this level of self-determination over your learning - if you get bored with vocabulary review, you can switch topics and learn about Norwegian (or Polish, or Turkish, or French…) culture. If you become aware that the dative case in German is a weak point for you, you won't be prevented from giving it some extra focus.

Choose how you review, but be aware of pronunciation limitations

Babbel understands that everyone learns differently, so when you begin a Review session, you can choose between flashcards, listening, speaking, or writing activities - the same activities you'll get in each main lesson. Just as a head's up - Babbel's pronunciation tool is not our favorite. We think the most effective way to hone your accent is to listen to your own pronunciation compared to a native speaker's example, then redo it until you sound as similar as you can. With Babbel, you'll repeat the word into your microphone, then be instantly graded and moved along to the next question. The problem with this is speech recognition software is not very good at detecting different accents or articulating the improvements you could be making, and that means you can get away with a pretty thick American accent without any negative feedback.

$107 a year for self-study lessons

A free account on Babbel doesn't get you very far. We were able to make it through one lesson and one review session before we were prompted to choose a plan. For a Lifetime account, you're looking at paying $299. One year costs $107.40, and 6 months will run you $80.70. All plans let you access all of Babbel's languages, which is nice, but probably only practical with a Lifetime account - you wouldn't want to mix up your new Spanish vocabulary with Italian by trying to do both at once.

Babbel Live will be too expensive for most

In addition to the self-study courses, Babbel Live allows you to attend small group classes remotely, organized by topic and by level (A1-C1). We like that the class size is capped at 6 (so everybody gets a bit of the teacher's attention) and that you can drop in last-minute (great for busy schedules). Unfortunately, Live is only available for select languages right now: German, French, Spanish (Spain), and Italian. Live starts at $50 a month for 12 months, or you can pay $99 one month at a time. If you pay a bit more, you also gain access to one-on-one lessons. If all you're looking for is speaking practice with qualified instructors, though, you have much cheaper options available to you (hint: look at the #1 program on our list).

Rated well, but pricing is not competitive enough

If you decide to sign up for Babbel, you'll be in good company: over 20,000 people have reviewed them on Trustpilot. There are a handful of complaints about minor inconveniences on the mobile app (like buttons that don't respond right away) and some 1-star reviews from disgruntled customers who didn't realize their subscriptions would auto-renew, but most reviews carry 4- or 5-star ratings. While we like the freedom to learn in the way that best suits our style and interests, we think Babbel Self-Study is a bit too expensive for what we get. We'd recommend you check out one of their more budget-friendly competitors first.

Pimsleur

• Starts at $19.95 per month for one language or $20.95 per month/$164.95 annually for all 51 languages
• Developed by Dr. Paul Pimsleur based on memory research
• Offers 51 languages including popular and less common ones
• Compatible with CarPlay and Amazon Echo
• 30-minute audio-only lessons focused on listening and speaking
• Progress automatically synced between devices
• Short conversations with English explanations and translations
• Phonetic "Reading” tab available after each lesson
• Review using flashcards, minigames, and conversation roleplay
• AI pronunciation feedback available for some languages

Dr. Paul Pimsleur (1927-1976) was a highly respected academic who earned his Ph.D. from Columbia University and taught at UCLA and Ohio State. His groundbreaking research on memory led to the discovery that reminding learners of new words at slightly increasing intervals helps move information from short-term to long-term memory. This theory forms the basis of Pimsleur courses, which limit the amount you learn at one time to help your brain internalize new words before continuing. Each new item is introduced within a real-life conversation, aiding retention by integrating pronunciation, rhythm, and meaning.

51 languages

Pimsleur offers 51 languages for you to learn, including popular choices like Spanish, French, and German, as well as less common ones like Twi and Ojibwe. Whether you want to learn for travel, work, or personal interest, you can definitely find an interesting language course here. For example, if you're planning a vacation in Japan, you can start learning Japanese, or if you have a business trip to Brazil, you can pick up Brazilian Portuguese.

Compatible with CarPlay and Amazon Echo

You can use Pimsleur on your phone, from your car's CarPlay, and even with Amazon Echo devices. Your progress will be automatically synced between devices.

Set aside at least 30 minutes a day

At the heart of the Pimsleur Method are the Conversational Lessons. By doing these 30-minute audio-only lessons regularly, you'll build a strong foundation in the language. Pimsleur wants you to focus on listening and speaking skills without using outside materials or taking notes. This helps you master the rhythm and sounds of the language first, which Pimsleur thinks should be your priority. It's suggested to do one lesson per day, but you can split it into multiple sessions if needed.

Repeat after the speaker

Each lesson begins with a short conversation spoken at normal speed. Then, an English explanation of the scenario and a translation of each sentence follows. There are also tips, such as in Finnish, where you learn in the first lesson that the stress is always on the first syllable of every word. You are expected to repeat each part aloud, trying to match the speaker's pronunciation. To use Pimsleur effectively, you need a quiet space where you can listen to the lessons and speak aloud without feeling self-conscious or being interrupted.

Phonetic approach to reading is odd

Also available to you after each lesson is a phonetic "Reading” tab. However, you won't be reading for meaning until later in the course - instead, you'll be learning how different letters combine to make the sounds of your chosen language, and the words won't be the ones you just heard in the audio lesson. Honestly, we found this approach to be a bit frustrating, and we didn't like having to listen to an English explanation for each example word - it'd be more efficient to… well, read it.

Review with flashcards, minigames, and roleplay

After your lessons, you can review in a handful of ways. Basic flashcards offer 1-to-1 translations of words, but they might be a bit frustrating if you're learning a language that uses different characters from English or words that aren't spelled the way they sound to you. Pimsleur doesn't provide transcripts, so the flashcards will be your first time seeing these words written. Additionally, there are speed round games, roleplay conversations, cultural highlights, a quick match quiz, "bonus packs," and a pronunciation tool.

AI pronunciation available for some languages

Voice Coach helps you improve your pronunciation by offering two options: Practice and Challenge. In Practice, you can work on new sentences by repeating phrases to get the pronunciation right. In Challenge, you'll see a prompt in English and respond in your target language. If it's available for your language, AI provides feedback on your pronunciation. If not, you record yourself and compare yourself to a recording of a native speaker. (We prefer the latter method, since AI is not really equipped to detect the nuances of an accent the way a human can.)

No grammar instruction

Pimsleur doesn't even mention grammar in their FAQ, which we find surprising, given one of our first questions was how they teach it. Apparently, they don't - and they advertise that as a benefit along with "no textbooks” (some of us are nerds, Pimsleur!). This language learning program definitely takes the more "immersive” approach, and, when it comes to online language learning, that means they want to convince you that you can become fluent in your target language the way you learned your first - through lots of exposure to spoken words with very little formal instruction. We're not convinced this is the best way for an adult to learn, though.

Starts at $19.95

Pimsleur offers two main subscription plans, and each can be shared with up to 3 family members. The first plan is for learning one language and costs $19.95 per month. This plan includes audio content and visual aids like flashcards. The second plan is a premium option that costs $20.95 per month or $164.95 annually. It comes with everything Premium does and also gives you access to all 51 languages offered by Pimsleur, making it a good choice if you're learning Spanish, for example, and your sibling wants to learn French.

Too limiting

Across the board, Pimsleur users complain that the program is slow, the scenarios feel wooden and unengaging, and that it can take up to 90 days to start feeling like you have a foothold in the language. Even if you strongly prefer audio lessons, there are other programs that offer both audio and text-based lessons, as well as grammar instruction, should you decide you want it. Our favorite program like this is also a bit cheaper. Check out the language learning programs that made the top of our list before you buy a Pimsleur subscription.

Mondly

• Pricing: 1 language for $9.99 a month or $47.99 for a full year
• Free users have access to the first unit and a Daily Lesson
• 41 different languages
• Can be used on most devices, including the web, Android, and iOS
• May include an AI chatbot for conversational practice
• Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality features simulate real-life scenarios
• Search function allows users to search the entire index of lessons

Mondly is a language learning program that offers you the opportunity to learn 41 different languages. This includes widely spoken languages like English, Spanish, and Chinese, as well as less common choices like Polish and Turkish. In 2022, Mondly became a part of Pearson, a well-known education company. You can use Mondly on most platforms, including the web, Android, and iOS.

Practice speaking with a virtual conversation partner

Some language learning programs skimp on conversation practice, considering it "good enough” to have you listen to an audio sample and repeat what you hear. But unless you're engaging in actual dialogues and forming your own sentences, you're not really practicing conversational skills in the language you're learning - you're just working on pronunciation and listening comprehension. That's where Mondly is different - or will be, anyway. In September 2023, Mondly announced LUNA, their new AI chatbot, designed to be a non-judgmental conversation partner. At that time, LUNA was available only to users who joined the waitlist. As of the date of this review, their website only said that public beta would be available "soon.” LUNA isn't the only language learning program to offer an AI conversation tool, but it's the only one that allows you to interact via speaking into your microphone rather than typing (unless you use the language setting of your phone to detect your speech in the target language and enter the text that way).

Simulate real-life scenarios from the comfort of your own home

A couple other innovative features Mondly has introduced are their Augmented Reality feature in the app and virtual reality available on Oculus and Steam. With these features, you can experience simulated scenarios like checking into a hotel, having a conversation with the person across from you on the train, and ordering at a restaurant.

Limited access to lessons for free users

With the free version of Mondly, you'll be able to complete the first unit (titled "Hello”) and a Daily Lesson, but everything else is only for Premium users. Lessons consist of the typical kinds of exercises: match words with their meanings, select the word you hear, and fill in the blank. If you're learning a language that uses letters not found in the Latin alphabet (Russian, for example), you can toggle between which alphabet is displayed during your lesson.

Search function reveals some gaps in the curriculum

Something you might appreciate about Mondly is being able to search their entire index of lessons for particular topics. However, this is how we discovered some key subjects may be missing - for example, lessons on the alphabet were nowhere to be found in the Russian course we tested. You won't be able to study what each character sounds like individually - your only option is to hope you can figure it out slowly as you progress through the course.

1 language for $9.99 a month

Mondly often runs deals for their language learning program, so don't let yourself feel pressured by banners proclaiming "limited time offer”, flashy "get now” buttons, and countdowns. Typically, Lifetime Access costs between $89 and $99 - not $1,999 like they would lead you to believe by displaying that price struck-through. 1 Mondly language for 1 month is an affordable $9.99, while it's $47.99 for a full year.

Content is shallow

We noticed the lessons we previewed felt a bit surface-level, and we weren't alone. Users complain that lessons are "shallow”, and that while Mondly claims to be able to take you to the B2 level, the lessons seem more like A1- or A2-level content. Also, they seem to slack on non Indo-European languages. One user reported that Arabic letters don't join together like they would in handwriting. Another user reported trying out several of Mondly's languages and discovering that all lessons follow the same format. That's a sure sign that Mondly is reusing the same template and probably isn't taking the nuances and quirks of each language into careful consideration.

User experience could be improved

There were a handful of complaints about the app's layout and usability, too, with users comparing Mondly to a popular competitor in this regard and finding it lacking. You may experience things like temporary updates that render the buttons too small to use, pronunciation exercises that can't properly register your speech, and the annoyance of having to tap each letter of a word from a word bank rather than typing it with your keyboard.

Not a top pick

In our opinion, Mondly seems pretty basic as far as language learning programs go. It could be a good way to get a taste of many different languages for free, though, since you can access the first unit of each language before you need to upgrade to Premium. The VR and AR features are cool, however, so if those are things that interest you enough to overlook the other issues we've described, we don't see a glaring reason not to give Mondly a go.

Duolingo

• Pricing: Free basic version, with Super Duolingo available for $12.99/month
• Over 40 languages available, including both popular and less common languages
• Gamification keeps users engaged and motivates daily use
• Provides a clear, structured learning path through levels and units
• Units contain a variety of exercises, including listening, writing, speaking, and fill-in-the-blank
• Option to test out of units

Ah, Duo - that green owl that guilt-trips you with animated tears in your notifications when you miss your daily Russian lesson. His passive-aggressive methods are effective, given that Duolingo has 37 million active monthly users and 500 million total registered accounts.

Wide range of languages to choose from

Duolingo offers over 40 languages, including European languages like English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Welsh, Danish, Greek, Esperanto, Finnish, Irish, Scottish Gaelic, Norwegian, Polish, Romanian, Swedish, Ukrainian and Yiddish; Asian languages like Japanese, Arabic, Hebrew, Hindi, Indonesian, Korean, Chinese and Vietnamese; African languages including Swahili; indigenous languages like Hawaiian and Navajo; and even fantasy languages like Klingon and High Valyrian. But stick with us to find out why, despite its obvious popularity, we don't rank Duolingo very high in our review of language learning platforms.

Freemium model

Duolingo is so popular because it's totally free - or at least, it used to be. In 2022, they introduced Super Duolingo, which, for $12.99 a month, removes ads and in-game currency barriers (like needing to pay 450 gems for a new set of lives), allows you to make unlimited mistakes, complete Personalized Practice sessions, and view a list of your tricky words. New Duolingo users might not remember a time when most of these features were free, but we do.

Sentences are increasingly AI-generated

In the same vein, a common complaint longtime users of Duolingo have is that they're constantly switching up the layout of their courses. Over the years, Duolingo has done away with checkpoints instead of end-of-unit challenges, crowns to track your progress, and a lively discussion forum where users could encourage each other and answer questions about grammar. Now, Duolingo seems to be doing away with some of their human staff. In a move that contributes to the worrying trend of AI taking away jobs, Duolingo recently laid off 10% of their human interpreters, instead adopting AI to generate new sentences, make translations, and handle reports of errors from users. (We have to wonder if the simultaneous discontinuation of the community forum, where users frequently discussed sentence accuracy, was a move to prevent users from drawing attention to errors in new sentences that are written by AI.)

Test out of units

While some of the changes to the Learning Path may have been jarring to long-time users, it's still satisfying and easy to navigate overall. While learning your chosen language, you'll progress through levels, organized into units and represented by circles with icons inside them. To see what a level will teach you, just click on it to read its title. Each unit also comes with a "guidebook” with a handful of phrases and grammar tips, but these are never as comprehensive as we would like. Duolingo lessons are a combination of listening, writing, speaking, and fill-in-the-blank exercises. Along the path, depending on the language you're learning, you'll occasionally encounter Stories, which test your reading and listening comprehension. If you're confident in your skills, you can skip levels by taking unit tests.

You have to stick to the path

Sadly, Duolingo does not allow you to jump around according to your interests and goals. We greatly prefer language learning programs that give you both options: follow a set path, or explore freely. If you've already got a basis in Chinese, for example, and you're coming to Duolingo for the first time looking to refresh your knowledge of the disjunctive case, you'd need to test out of each preceding level first - and then good luck finding the right lesson, since there's no lesson search feature and Duolingo's instruction is light on grammar.

Gamification makes it addictive

Many of Duolingo's users keep coming back day after day - even on vacation - to maintain their streaks and positions on the Leaderboard. Every time you complete a lesson, you'll earn XP and climb the ranks of other users in your League. If you make it to the top 3, you get promoted to the next League. It's not hard to understand how Duolingo's gamification can be an incredibly effective tool to help you build a daily language study habit. However, we'd argue that once you've built up that habit and laid the groundwork by learning some basic vocabulary with Duolingo, you should move onto a more thorough language learning program.

Duolingo does not teach practical sentences

To keep you using the app, Duolingo is careful not to challenge you so much that you become frustrated and the dopamine you receive from hearing the "correct answer” chimes and earning the shiny Gems dries up. It's not uncommon for users to get all the way to the end of a course and realize they can't really speak the language they've invested hundreds of hours in. Even if you're just trying to learn some basic phrases for scenarios you anticipate encountering as a tourist, Duolingo won't be of much help. When you need to ask where the bathroom is, you may find it's easier to recall the nonsense sentences favored by Duolingo, such as, "Mi mama bailaba con una rata grande.” ("My mom was dancing with a big rat.")

If you understand Duolingo's limitations, you can get some use out of it

To summarize, our standpoint on Duolingo's effectiveness as a language learning program is this: use it as a springboard to develop a new habit and gain some confidence with the look and sound of your target language, but get out while you still can. Check out some of the language learning programs at the top of our list to figure out your next steps after Duolingo.

Rosetta Stone

• Pricing starts from $47.97 for 3 months with options for 12 months and Lifetime subscriptions
• Access to all language programs with a Lifetime subscription
• Offers 23 different languages
• Provides a 3-day free trial of one language
• Available on web, iOS, Android
• Offers an alphabet study section for languages with non-Latin characters
• Features interactive stories to help improve reading comprehension

Rosetta Stone is one of the biggest names in language learning software, having been around since the 90s. In addition to American and British English, Rosetta Stone teaches 23 languages: Arabic, Chinese, Dutch, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latin, Persian, Polish, Portuguese), Russian, Spanish (both Latin American and European), Swedish, Tagalog, Turkish, and Vietnamese. It's available on virtually every operating system and personal device. Despite its fame, Rosetta Stone makes the bottom of our list. Stick with us to find out why you should save your money.

Plans starting from $47.97

Whatever language you choose, Rosetta's prices are the same. For 3 months, you'll pay $47.97. For 12 months, it's $126. A Lifetime Subscription gives you access to all Rosetta Stone language programs and costs $199. Unfortunately, there's no 1-month option, but you can get a one-time 3-day free trial of one language in exchange for your email address.

Brief placement test

When you've chosen a language and started your trial, you'll take a short quiz about your current level and your goals that results in a "game plan” - which makes it sound like a regimented study plan, but actually just applies a filter for the lessons you've indicated you're most interested in and takes you to your dashboard. Here, you'll select your course from the level you were placed in. For instance, our options for Greek were: "Reading, Writing, Speaking, and Listening”; "Reading, Writing, Speaking, Listening - Extended”; "Reading and Writing”; and "Speaking and Listening”.

"Immersion” means a disadvantage here

When it comes to learning a new language, we'd say we're pretty comfortable hanging out at the steepest peak of the learning curve. But with Rosetta Stone, no matter what language program we've chosen, we've always been overwhelmed and annoyed from the first lesson. It turns out that Rosetta Stone's promises of "immersion” and guarantees to teach you the way children learn means throwing new vocabulary words, sentences, and even non-Latin characters at you with no explanation or translation. It's your job to match a given audio sample with the corresponding image and repeat what you hear into a microphone. While it's possible to muddle through and eventually deduce that "Το κορίτσι πίνει” means "the girl drinks” in Greek, there's no reason you should have to spend so long on such basic vocabulary. Your first language is a valuable tool that can be used to acquire a second language more quickly than you learned your first (after all, you were probably in elementary school before you could have complex conversations), but Rosetta Stone's claims to immersion rely solely on denying you this tool.

Study the alphabet separately

When learning languages like Greek or Arabic written with different letters than the Latin alphabet, it's really important to spend time studying each letter's appearance and what it sounds like alone and in combination with other letters. Fortunately, the "Explore All” tab typically contains an "Alphabet” section where you can hear the name of each letter, read it in example vocabulary words, and listen to what it sounds like when it appears in those words.

Stories are too hard for beginners and intermediate learners

Also in the "Explore All” tab, you'll find Stories, which are meant to help you improve your reading comprehension through short, interactive stories. However, these won't be of much help to you until you've completed a lot of lessons and have gained a basic grasp on the language in question. Because no translations are given, ever, it's just you and the language - no training wheels.

You won't learn much about culture or grammar

Rosetta Stone has a lot of gaps. Supposedly, Stories are supposed to do the bulk of the work of teaching you about the culture of the language you're learning, but given these are not accessible to learners without a basic grasp of the language, you're likely to lag far behind learners who chose another program. That makes Rosetta Stone particularly ill-suited to anyone using it to learn a language for travel. By now, it won't come as much surprise that Rosetta Stone's language learning programs do not include specific instruction on grammar. You're expected to just pick it up as you go along like - say it with us now - children do. (Never mind the fact that children are known for making cute grammatical errors, and you may prefer to be taken more seriously than a child typically is.)

Look elsewhere

We're not alone in our disillusionment with Rosetta Stone. A quick scan of customer reviews reveals plenty of disappointed users who felt they had paid premium prices for what amounted to not much more than a deck of flashcards. We'd recommend you steer clear of Rosetta Stone and try out one of our higher-ranked language learning programs instead.