Mondly Review

Thursday, March 27th

2025 Russian Lesson Reviews

Mondly

• Pricing from $9.99 per month or $48 per year
• Sentence-reading and listening approach
• Latin alphabet alongside Cyrillic
• Preview content with a free account
• 7-day free trial of premium
• Can use both offline and online
• Learn from source languages other than English
• Mobile apps for iOS and Android

Mondly, headquartered in Romania, is an enjoyable and easy-to-use language learning platform that has earned recognition from Forbes, CNN, and Bloomberg. Families aiming to learn Russian together can benefit from Mondly's dedicated app for kids, as well as using the general Mondly app for adults. The basic version of Mondly offers a competitive range of free content, and upgraded features are accessible through a separate subscription. Mondly's lesson format looks like a map, helping you move from topic to topic in guided lessons. You can pick and choose too, if you prefer to jump around.

Begin with the basics

Navigating Russian lessons on Mondly is straightforward. Simply select your starting language and indicate your proficiency level in Russian, and you can begin learning without any requirement to make an account. During the free trial period, you gain access to the first six lessons, a vocabulary section, a Chatbot conversation, and bonus lessons offered on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis.

Lesson 1 focused on vocab

We also tried the first lesson for you, to give you an idea of the in-lesson process. Lesson one is focused on family relationships, jumping right into vocabulary words. The lesson begins by teaching you the Latin alphabet with Russian spelling. However, if you want to change this, you can switch to the Cyrillic alphabet with a toggle in the top right corner. Completing the lesson solely in Cyrillic without resorting to the Latin alphabet can be challenging if you're asked for new vocabulary you've never learned before, but the photos do help with context building. At the end of the lesson, Mondly lists all of the terms you just learned to help you track your progress.

Start from any language

Mondly has a unique feature that sets it apart. Unlike many other platforms that assume English is the starting language, Mondly is designed to guide students starting from various languages. This inclusive approach is particularly beneficial if you're beginning to learn Russian from backgrounds such as Spanish, Dutch, Italian, Polish, or others. You can, of course, start with English if that's your first language.

Subscribe to one language or all 33

Although Mondly offers a free membership option, it does have its limitations. With the free version, you can access Daily Lessons, the entire Hello lesson category, and a single chatbot lesson. However, to unlock more content, you'll need to subscribe. To get a glimpse of the premium features, Mondly offers a 7-day free trial. If you opt for a subscription, you'll be able to choose from two main plan types: The Mondly premium plan is priced at $9.99 per month or $47.99 per year with a 12-month subscription. Alternatively, there's an annual plan that grants access to 33 languages. During our assessment, this package was available at a discounted price of $47.99, the same as the regular annual membership. Outside of the promotional period, it can cost up to $479.99.

Three lesson types to choose from

Currently, Mondly offers minimal direct grammar instruction. Through our testing, we found that the platform emphasizes teaching through sentences and phrases, gradually integrating grammar nuances without explicitly pointing them out in the lesson content. While this approach may not suit everyone, particularly those who prefer structured lessons with clear grammar explanations, Mondly combines visuals, listening exercises, and written words. You can choose from three lesson types (a standard lesson, a conversation, and vocabulary study), giving you unique ways to explore Russian without getting bored.

Limited refunds

Mondly's refund policy, sadly, is pretty disappointing. As it stands, refunds are only granted under specific circumstances, such as if Mondly violates the terms of the agreement. Essentially, Mondly must be responsible for the issue for you to qualify for a refund. If Mondly is found at fault and you've already paid for upcoming services, Mondly will reimburse you for the unused portion of your subscription starting from the cancellation date. While this might not be a major concern for monthly subscribers, it could be frustrating for those who prepaid for a year.

Mixed reviews and confusion on course direction

According to student feedback, Mondly has a positive reputation, although there are concerns regarding its refund policy. Reviews on the Apple Store and Google Play store both indicate high average ratings, with students offering Mondly praise for its effectiveness for authentic speech and conversational language. However, there are mixed reviews on third-party platforms like Trustpilot, where Mondly holds a more moderate rating of 3.3 stars out of 5. Some students expressed difficulties in following lessons, noting that Mondly lacks some focus on teaching clear pronunciation. Although these reviews did not specify particular languages, we agree with the reviews based on our preview of the Russian lessons.

Mid-tier with decent prices

Mondly is an affordable option for Russian language learning. As with any language learning platform, not all approaches suit everyone's needs. While Mondly's approach and regularly updated lessons make it a popular choice for various languages, its effectiveness in teaching Russian is about mid-tier. The ability to change between the Latin and Cyrillic alphabets can help students explore the language nuances and pronunciation at their own pace. However, the lack of specific grammar instruction is a drawback. Adding on concerns about Mondly's refund policy and long-term proficiency places Mondly at a "just average” rating in our review.