Memrise Review: Russian Lessons

Memrise is a learning platform that's based in London, UK, and offers courses in 35 languages to choose from. It has a gamified approach to Russian lessons and is noted to be similar to its primary competitor, Duolingo (which we've reviewed separately). Memrise's courses include both "official" materials as well as a GPT-3-powered "AI language partner" that allows learners to practice more natural conversations. One of our favorite features is the community at Memrise, where community members are able to share user-created courses. While the forum was paused for a while, Memrise has been slowly bringing it back since November 2025.

Learn from scratch with audio and video

When you get started at Memrise for Russian lessons, the site will ask you what your reason is for learning Russian. This is important only because it can affect which wordlists are used (based on your learning level and goals). For example, we started our research as a "beginner" student looking to travel to Russia and connect with friends and family. We were suggested official wordlists for Characters & Alphabets, Everyday Expressions, Travelling & Living Abroad, and Relationships. We were also suggested some of the community word lists made by other users, such as the 4th-year Russian vocabulary. Your actual first lesson will consist of immediately beginning to learn the Cyrillic alphabet. Memrise uses a mix of the written characters, audio sounds, and a video to help you.

Review of your terms is spaced out

Memrise is known for using a "spaced repetition" method, which makes your Russian lessons more like a game. This is a research-based learning technique that includes larger intervals of time between when you learned something and the next time you review it. While there is research to support that this method helps you memorize faster, it doesn't necessarily promise fluency, and in a game-based course where mistakes can cost you, the spaces between reviews might make the "game" side of Memrise more frustrating. As an added benefit, Memrise offers "listen in context" exercises where new phrases are used in the context of a normal conversation. This includes a video as well as acting to demonstrate how the new vocabulary would be used naturally.

Keep track of your vocab lists

Russian lessons on Memrise are cumulative on top of using the spaced repetition method. You'll build your vocabulary with the Cyrillic alphabet, as well as start off with simple words and phrases you can memorize. The lessons include videos of native speakers saying the new vocabulary or pronouncing the letters for you, to get used to the sound of the language. Notably, if you want to gain more fluency, you'll want to check out the "pro word lists," which require a premium membership. As you progress, Memrise will track the number of words you've heard, learned, and used during exercises. However, we haven't seen much in the way of grammar rules during our research, which could mean you're left to intuitively figure out the grammar rules of Russian on your own.

Direct translation can make it too easy

Memrise offers direct translation to English on every exercise. This means that while you'll see the Cyrillic alphabet for letters and vocabulary, you'll also see the English right below it. This keeps the program from being as immersive. Not only will you see the English version of the word, but you'll also see the words spelled in Latin characters (for a word like HET, you'll see both the English word "no" and the romanized version of HET as "nyet"). This kind of gives you a cheat code, which doesn't require you to make connections between the sounds and concepts on your own. While this can be easier and helpful for absolute beginners, it can hinder fluency later on. However, as you get more advanced, some of the lessons (like context videos) will ask you if you want to see the transcript or just listen to the Russian lesson as is, which does offer some better immersion.

Good for students who need pronunciation

Memrise is great for students who are looking to get started from scratch or to review concepts as they get more advanced with Russian lessons. The context videos are particularly helpful for those looking for pronunciation assistance and to understand how Russian might be used in a more natural conversation (outside of a course or program).

Pricing from $5.17 to $24.99 per month

If you want to subscribe to get access to additional word lists, an ad-free experience, all native speaker videos, unlimited pronunciation practice, and unlimited sentence building, Memrise offers a few pro plans. If you just want to study Russian lessons at the base level, Memrise is completely free, so you don't have to subscribe if you don't want to. As for the pro plans, here are your options:

• Monthly plan:$24.99 per month
• Annual plan:$61.99 per year ($5.17 per month)
• Lifetime membership:$329.99 one-time

App or PC learning

Memrise is a website and app-based Russian lesson platform. So, you can study on your PC or through your mobile device if you prefer. At the time of our research, Memrise did not offer any live, human-led lessons. The entire process is self-guided, so if you're looking for tutoring or additional help, you might need to locate extra Russian lessons outside of Memrise.

Mixed feedback, but content videos are a plus

Memrise did not have a page with the Better Business Bureau at the time of our review. Instead, we had to rely on third-party review sites to get a picture of how much students enjoyed Russian lessons with this platform. Memrise, regrettably, holds a 1.9-star average rating out of 5 on Trustpilot. Recent reviewers claimed the site has some errors and clunkiness where courses get stuck, and students are unable to progress. Some customers tried to subscribe to a lifetime membership, but after paying, they appeared to have the annual membership, and they had trouble cancelling. Trustpilot did not show any specific reviews for the Russian lessons through Memrise. We were able to find a few more reviews on Memrise's mobile app page. For example, on the Apple Store, Memrise had a 4.8-star average out of 5, showing a much better picture than on Trustpilot. Customers love the "humanlike" learning with videos and voices that help them understand the words and phrases through context.

A competitive choice for context-based learning

Memrise offers Russian lessons that are similar to other gamified learning platforms. However, it stands out with its detailed videos and context-based learning for conversational Russian. While we'd like to see more verified third-party reviews on trusted sites like Trustpilot or the BBB, it's clear that customers using the Memrise app are extremely happy with their experiences. With the option to buy a lifetime membership or use the program for free, there are different ways you can plan your Russian lessons cost-wise, though some reviews suggest caution about the annual subscription as it can be difficult to cancel.

Learn More  ➜

On the Memrise website