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The Best Spanish Lessons

Who Offers the Best Spanish Lessons Online?

Have you ever wanted to learn Spanish? Maybe you would like to interact with native speakers while traveling. Or perhaps you would like to speak Spanish with your contractor or other people you do business with.

Here are some fun facts for you to consider. According to a recent US census, Spanish is the most common non-English language spoken in US homes, 12x greater than the next four most common languages. The US is the world's fourth-largest Spanish-speaking country. And, as such, jobs in the US are always looking for bilingual (English-Spanish) speakers.

Saturday, February 15th

2025 Spanish Lesson Reviews

Top Consumer Reviews Best-In-Class Blue Ribbon Award Spanish Pod 101 Review 5 Star Rating

Spanish Pod 101

5 Star Rating
  • Free, limited, lifetime membership
  • Premium: $6 per month (equalling $72 annually)
  • Premium Plus: $13.73 per month (equalling $164.76 annually)
  • Affordable lessons with 24-month commitment
  • Diversity in lessons, keeping you interested as your fluency progresses
  • Engaging lessons in podcast-type format
  • Several resources for grammar and word banks
  • Option to slow down the audio and video
Top Consumer Reviews Best-In-Class Blue Ribbon Award

SpanishPod101 has been around for more than a decade and more than 1 billion lessons have been downloaded, helping thousands of people learn to speak Spanish. They believe that having exposure to many different speakers with different accents and speaking styles will help you communicate with almost anyone in the Spanish-speaking world. Lessons have new content each week, including pop culture and celebrities, so you can feel more in touch with the world about which you're learning to speak.

It's fun!

The lessons here have a variety of teaching and assessment methods, and it's fun because the animation doesn't overpower the learning focus. SpanishPod101 uses a podcast format for teaching, which helps your proficiency while you learn your vocabulary, grammar.

It's not all fun and games: you get quality lessons, too

Yes, it's fun to learn here, and we do like fun. We also like that you'll have not only the audio, video, and games: SpanishPod101 still gives you grammar explanations and vocabulary lists to help you process the information and relate it to English, which you clearly already know. The audio and video will also slow down for you, so you can catch the nuances in pronunciation. This will help you be more than just understood, but actually sound more fluent.

Lessons don't have to go in order

The units aren't exactly linear. Within each SpanishPod101 level, you can choose your topic of study. Jump around if you like and choose lessons that are interesting to you and still stay at your level until you complete all lessons, or choose to move on when you wish.

Best Spanish Lessons

Lots of content in the beginning

For beginners, there's a ton of tools. You'll have so many audio, vocabulary, and English resources. But, just like most textbooks, once you become more advanced, the lessons aren't chock full of resources. We can't be too critical here, we realize, as SpanishPod101 actually does have authentic advanced courses, which most Spanish lessons on our list do not.

Gradually, they use less English

This is a wonderful feature. In the beginning, you want to rely on English for understanding. Once you become more advanced and are starting to think in Spanish and catch on to the nuances using your natural critical thinking, you won't need to heavily rely on English explanations. SpanishPod101 makes this transition quite well.

SpanishPod101 teaches advanced Spanish

Yes, this is a rarity. SpanishPod101 uses an internationally-recognized system for rating proficiency levels, CEFR, which does prove that when they say they give advanced courses, they do mean it. They teach up to C2, the most advanced level of proficiency, and that's unusual for an online Spanish program.

Limited feedback on your speaking

You are your own speech-recognition "technology” with SpanishPod101. You can record your voice and compare it to the fluent speaker, and that's that. It's extremely old technology and you do your own work. Especially when you're only starting to learn the language, it's not good that you yourself need to determine what you need to improve in order to be understood. SpanishPod101 would benefit from some upgraded technology in that regard.

Best Spanish Lessons

Lifetime, free access

All you need to do is give SpanishPod101 your email address and you'll have free access for life. You'll get limited-time access to a new audio and video lesson each week, plus the first three lessons of each series, the Spanish Word of the Day lesson, Throwback Thursday lessons, and more. You won't get full whole access like you would with the paid subscription, but what you can get for free is decent. What can hold you back is that you only get the first three lessons in each unit. It's not enough to really grasp the language, but you can try.

You get all you need with Premium membership

You'll have access to all the lessons in SpanishPod101's audio and video library, in-depth notes, vocab lists, HD video, Spanish Core 2,000 words and phrases, your personal word bank, spaced-repetition flashcards, pronunciation tools, grammar explanations, multiple-choice quizzes, and more.

You'll get a live tutor with Premium + membership

You'll get everything that SpanishPod101's Premium membership offers plus one-on-one access to a teacher, guidance and personalized assessment, hand-graded assessments, and writing and pronunciation practice.

Read the fine print on pricing

So, what does it cost? Premium is $6 per month (equalling $72 annually), and Premium+ is $13.73 per month (equalling $164.76 annually). Just be aware that you'll see different payment structures in various places on the SpanishPod101 website, and the lowest prices are usually based on a 24-month subscription.

Best Spanish Lessons

60-day refund policy

If you're not happy, for any reason, with either of the subscription plans that SpanishPod101 has to offer, email them within 60 days and you'll get your money back, no questions asked.

It's got something for everyone

SpanishPod101 has lessons for all levels of learners, they have a ton of material mostly at the lower levels, they reach even advanced learners, it's fun, the lessons vary in format keeping your attention and motivating you, and the audio/video will slow down to help you pronounce. There's limited lifetime free access, which is good, but not enough, and this might end up encouraging you to want to subscribe, and that's okay because the prices are fair. We would make one suggestion: they should upgrade the technology so you don't have to evaluate your own pronunciation. We'd also suggest they bring back a lifetime paid membership so you don't have to pay monthly for the rest of your life. In all other regards, though, SpanishPod101 earns our enthusiastic recommendation and the #1 spot on our list of Spanish lessons.

Busuu Review 4.5 Star Rating

Busuu

4.5 Star Rating
  • Basic: Free
  • 1 month: $11 per month (equalling $132 annually)
  • 6 months: $7.83 per month (equalling $46.99 annually)
  • 12 months: $5.25 per month (equalling $62.99 annually
  • Placement tests
  • Set goals to keep motivated
  • Written work corrected by native speakers
  • Partnered with a reputable textbook company

We'll bet you didn't know that Busuu is named after an endangered language in Cameroon which is spoken by only a small group of people. Funny though, the Busuu language isn't one of the languages that's offered by this platform. Busuu was founded in 2008 and has since partnered with McGraw-Hill Education, a well-known textbook company. Spanish is one of 14 languages you can learn with Busuu, and when you complete a writing assignment, a native Spanish speaker will evaluate your work.

Tell Busuu your level of learning intensity

Before you even get your Busuu account, you'll communicate your reasons for learning and your study time availability. For example, are you learning Spanish to communicate with family/friends, do you plan to travel, are you wanting brain exercise, or something else? Then decide your study goal by letting them know how many minutes per day you'll be able to dedicate to your Spanish lessons.

Take a placement test

Rather than just starting out at the beginning, if you know some Spanish already, you can take a placement test. The test helps determine which CEFR level you're at. CEFR is the European method for determining placement. This is good because you'll know your level, basically internationally, and can transfer this information to most any language course. Busuu offers lessons from level A1, the most basic, to C1, the lower of the advanced levels. It's rare to find an online Spanish course that teaches up to C2, but that's fine.

Using inference and context

One of the features we like about Busuu Spanish is that they want you to use inference when trying to understand what they're saying. For example, you'll see a photo of people in a restaurant, hear the dialog, then you'll answer a question where you'll need to use context to answer. It's much more natural than studying flashcards and then putting flashcards into a dialog.

Best Spanish Lessons

Remember the days of learning through dialog?

Old-school Spanish textbooks would teach language by showing application of the vocabulary in context of a dialog between two people. This is the case with Busuu, as the old is new again. Dialogs offer real-life situations and conversations. In a restaurant scene, for example, you'll learn how to order meals and how to converse with the server. Isn't that much more useful than how the Bird App tells you how to say "the turtle's pencil”?

Free version

You can sign up for free access to Busuu's Spanish lessons, but you really won't get more than just a taste, and you'll miss the grammar explanations. We suggest getting a paid subscription, keeping in mind the 14-day cancellation period that starts once your paid time starts.

Premium version

Pay for a subscription here because it's worth it. You can get feedback on your Spanish from the Busuu community, personalize your study plan, get the grammar review, receive official CEFR certification, and unlock all 14 languages to learn. Prices range from around $5-$11 per month, depending on how long you commit to using Busuu.

Free trial

When you subscribe to Busuu Premium, you'll have a 7-day free trial period to all the Spanish material now unlocked for you. It's a very short window of time, so if you want the free trial, make sure you'll have the time to use it.

Best Spanish Lessons

Lesson structure is logical

Each of the Busuu lessons is broken down into three or four mini-lessons, all on the same topic. The first Spanish mini-lesson shows you the words that will be used, the second gives you practice using them, and it ends with an assessment, usually a mini-quiz or a writing prompt. Spanish lessons also introduce verbs in newer-to-you conjugations to build your proficiency. The lessons build on each other, bringing you gradually into the next CEFR level.

Native speakers evaluate your work

This is a novel concept. Native Spanish speakers can review the written and spoken work you submit to Busuu. You, too, can choose to evaluate the written and spoken work of Busuu's English learners. Try it, it's fun!

Busuu gets the job done but lacks in flair

When an online Spanish language platform partners with a well-known textbook company, you'll receive quality lessons that get the job done with a proven learning method. We love that Busuu is reasonably priced, uses context, doesn't overuse the flashcard method, and goes up to level C1 for Spanish proficiency. With Busuu's almost completely traditional teaching and quizzing methods, we would suggest more animation, competition, or other motivating features as an improvement, to help learners look forward to the next lesson. Beyond that, though, Busuu is a super-solid way to learn Spanish and we give these lessons an excellent rating.

Rosetta Stone Review 4.5 Star Rating

Rosetta Stone

4.5 Star Rating
  • 3 months: $15.99 per month, or $47.97 total (equalling $191.88 annually)
  • 12 months: $10.50 per month(equalling $126 annually)
  • Lifetime: $199, includes unlimited languages
  • 30-day money-back guarantee
  • Most well-known language-learning method and company
  • Best method for long-term learning and memory
  • Offers a lifetime subscription for all their languages

Allen Stoltzfus, the founder of Rosetta Stone, had struggled to learn Russian in the 1980s when textbooks used the traditional method for teaching languages. He realized that he (and the rest of the world) had learned his first language quite well.

It's the method

So if we can learn one language easily, why do so many struggle learning a second language? It's the method. How did we all learn as young ones? Our parents used sounds and images in context, not translation and endless conjugation charts. When Stoltzfus realized that this first-language technique was so groundbreaking for second languages, he named his language lessons after the artifact that broke the code for learning the Egyptians' hieroglyphics, called the Rosetta Stone. Stoltzfus perceives both Rosetta Stones as the key to unlocking the code for learning language.

You determine your placement

If you don't know any Spanish or can just count to 10, start at the beginning of the Rosetta Stone curriculum. If you know some Spanish, you'll choose where you want to start. If you have a purpose for studying Spanish, such as work, travel, or communicating with family members overseas, there are specific lessons designed for these purposes. Rosetta Stone is not only for the individual learner: they can also cater to schools and businesses.

Learn Spanish like you learned your first language

Since we all did pretty well at learning our first language - thanks, parents! - Rosetta Stone uses this method for teaching your new languages, namely, repetition and images. Think about it: when you were tiny, you didn't use a textbook and your parents didn't give lengthy grammar explanations. Neither does Rosetta Stone. You'll learn Spanish words and phrases with images so you make connections naturally.

Best Spanish Lessons

Speak right away

Because with Rosetta Stone, you get straight to Spanish words and right into phrases and sentences, you'll speak Spanish right out of the box. There are twenty units to cover, each with pertinent topics like travel, friends and social life, shopping, style, personal wellness, arts and academics, and even emergency situations.

Their method isn't for everyone

Since you aren't an infant and you do have at least one language under your belt, you might want to know why Rosetta Stone's lesson you're in is using different versions of a word, let's say a verb - maybe this is the future or the past of this word, or maybe this is the "he” form vs. the "they” form.... You'll have to catch on using the changes in the image of the photo. One example is that you will see a man running and then see people running. Not so challenging if it's beginning Spanish, but for more advanced phrases, you really have to use your noggin. Besides, in the earlier lessons, they'll use English if you need it, and then gently wean you off.

The key may be patience

We've mentioned that this is a method that might not sit well with you... at first. But Rosetta Stone has a great track record of helping people become fluent, and they've been doing it since the 1980s. So what's the secret? Patience. Don't get upset if you haven't caught on to the connection between what's happening in the picture and what you're saying. These days, everyone wants an immediate answer - how did anyone survive without Google? But if you give yourself some patience and take a deep breath, the light bulb will go off. Those who have given Rosetta Stone a good shot have not only loved it but communicated well and clearly, actually thinking in Spanish before they knew they could.

Best Spanish Lessons

Serious learners only

If you're looking for dancing bears and the extrinsic rewards of gold stars gliding across your screen each time you complete a 10-minute Spanish lesson, you won't find that with Rosetta Stone. Lessons aren't 5 or 10 minutes. They may seem like they would be shorter, but if you want to absorb the lesson, it might take 30-45 minutes. And that's okay, because you'll learn something important that will stick with you.

Their "cutting edge” speech-recognition software isn't the best

Rosetta Stone will tell you that they have the leading speech-recognition technology to help you perfect your Spanish pronunciation. If that were the case, they would include it in their demos and show examples. Unfortunately, there's no sample in their demos, and those who have tried it will tell you it's really not the best out there. While their speech-recognition program gives you the general idea if you'll be understood, there's no specific feedback telling you where to improve. If you'd prefer cutting edge, we have a few highly recommended online Spanish-language courses that have much better technology.

Use the 3-day trial

Give them your email and you can try their lessons. Because Rosetta Stone's method is unique or unusual for those who have gone through school and learned at least somewhat about how language works, you'll need to let go of how you have learned language in the classroom. You should figure out if you can learn this way in the 3-day trial. Also, if you've ever used their 3-day trial in the past, whether for Spanish or another language, you don't get another try. You'll have to purchase the subscription and cancel promptly if you're not happy.

Best Spanish Lessons

30-day satisfaction guarantee

If you're not happy with Rosetta Stone's method or material, contact them within 30 days and you'll receive a full refund.

Rosetta Stone is excellent, but may need to modernize

Everyone still wants to know if any given online language program is better than Rosetta Stone, even if they don't know a thing about how Rosetta Stone works. That's because Rosetta Stone has a long-term, excellent reputation as the "one to beat.” It creates proficient Spanish speakers who can think in the language. That said, there are features and factors we wish they would update. First, they need to give people a second or third chance at the 3-day trial. Second, the speech-recognition technology isn't the best out there, even though they want you to think that it is. Rosetta Stone is fantastic, even if it's not the right fit for absolutely everyone who wants to learn Spanish.

Memrise Review 4.5 Star Rating

Memrise

4.5 Star Rating
  • Free access
  • Monthly Plan: $22.99 per month (equalling $275.88 annually)
  • Annual Plan: $7.50 per month or $89.99 per year
  • Lifetime Plan: $249.99 one-time fee
  • Fun, game-like learning
  • Interactive learning
  • A large video content library with real-world speakers and situations
  • Interactive lessons

Memrise was created by three friends who were studying neuroscience and psychology at Oxford University. Being fascinated by the way humans learn, they wanted to help people learn more effectively, so they studied memorization techniques. After graduation, Ed Cooke became the US Memory Champion two years in a row, Greg Detre earned his Ph.D. in neuroscience, and Ben Whately traveled to Qiquhaer to see if he could teach himself Chinese by applying his theories on second language acquisition. With all their knowledge and experience, the three friends came back together to create Memrise, a platform that delivers research-based methods for learning Spanish or other languages.

Snippets of real people in a Spanish-speaking country

When you hear your new Spanish phrase, you'll both see and hear a real person pronounce the phrase. What's nice with Memrise is that you'll see these people on location. Although here and there you might hear birds or light traffic in the background, it's authentic and how you would hear someone in the real world when you travel. To hear and understand precise and specific pronunciation of words, you can choose a male or female voice and hear the isolated word so you know how to say it.

Authentic gestures

No, we're not talking vulgar gestures, ha ha, we're talking about subtle differences in culture. For example, if someone in a Memrise Spanish video says they don't really like soup, you'll see their facial gestures and body language as they say, "No me gusta la sopa”. If you really want to assimilate into a country or culture, imitating the gestures is one step closer to fitting in.

Excellent writing recognition and correction software

In a Memrise Spanish lesson, you'll be a part of a virtual conversation, and the prompt may ask what you do for holiday traditions. You can give your own answer in Spanish and Memrise will analyze what you wrote and make appropriate corrections. This is huge. Memrise offers true feedback with up-to-date software, including AI conversations you might encounter in a real-world setting. On the contrary, most writing recognition programs are primitive, needing you to utter exactly what they want, no personal changes at all; and if so, they won't recognize them and call your whole sentence wrong. That's not real feedback.

Best Spanish Lessons

Are you busy and need a reminder?

Hop on your Memrise app, go to settings, and set reminders. You can choose the days, dates, times, and time of day to take your Spanish lesson.

A lot of features on the Memrise Pro version

When you pay for a subscription, you unlock all the vocabulary, lessons, videos by native Spanish speakers, and conversation practice. And you won't get any ads.

It's fun and helpful even if you're not a beginner

Because of the creative content including idiomatic phrases plus native-speaker gestures in the snippets, even the intermediate to advanced Spanish learners are bound to enjoy the content as they brush up on their skills. If your passion is to intensely improve your advanced Spanish skills, though, you'll need to scroll through some of the native content videos, especially the ones included towards the end, and see how you do. You could spot clips from the BBC in Spanish or even Telemundo.

Best Spanish Lessons

The free version has quite a bit of material

When you hop online, even with Memrise's free version of Spanish lessons, you can get the video clips and lessons, quizzes in the form of games, and personalized review plans, and your program will sync across your devices. But with the free access you will get ads and you will only have access to some of the learning features.

If you're going to subscribe, we recommend the Annual Plan

If you were to purchase Memrise's monthly plan for learning Spanish and ended up keeping it for a year, you'd pay more than three times what you would have for the annual plan. Even the Lifetime Plan is cheaper than letting your monthly plan go for a year. Our advice would be to try the monthly plan if you really want, but be sure to decide if you like it or not quickly and if you do like it, get the annual or lifetime plan.

There's more learning material with a subscription plan

When you pay for your subscription, you'll of course get more Spanish content. You'll also be able to have Memrise's speech-recognition feature which lets you know how well you would be understood by a native speaker. You'll also get to use their Mems, or additional mnemonic devices to help you better commit your vocabulary to memory.

Best Spanish Lessons

30-day money-back guarantee

If you want to try out Memrise's paid subscription, you have 30 days to determine if the additional access to Spanish materials plus lack of ads is worth it. Note that you can only get a 30-day guarantee with the Annual or Lifetime plans, not the monthly plan.

We're huge fans if you're a beginner

The research that went into Memrise's language-learning programs is clearly top of the line. The huge quantity of videos for hearing more Spanish is amazing and you get quite a bit of material without paying a cent. The subscription prices are most reasonable with an annual or lifetime plan, not the monthly plan. Where Memrise could improve would be to add material for the intermediate and especially the advanced learner, but we're already seeing things rolling out that can accommodate higher fluency levels, after Memrise changed its platform in early 2024.

Fluenz Review 4 Star Rating

Fluenz

4 Star Rating
  • Pay per course, not per month
  • Level 1: $187
  • Level 2: $187
  • Levels 1 and 2: $258
  • Levels 1, 2, and 3: $308
  • Levels 3, 4, and 5: $320
  • Learn from a real person
  • Pause or repeat parts of lessons at any time
  • Immersion opportunities through travel or live chat

Sonia Gil founded Fluenz with a focus on the human tutoring feature using an interactive, online platform. Technology is used to create an immersive experience to promote immediate communication in another language. The company has expanded to offer travel so you can practice your Spanish in a Latin American country.

Virtual online classes

Rather than playing games and memorizing flashcard after flashcard, learn Spanish with Fluenz' videos of actual people teaching you, pausing when necessary. It feels exclusive as you seem to have your own, personal lesson. A huge advantage to the video instruction is that not only do you hear the pronunciation, you see the person's lips moving as they say the Spanish words to you, so you have a better model for your pronunciation skills. When Fluenz explains grammar, they explain it using English comparison since you can already relate to how the English language works. At the end of each lesson, there are activities so you can determine how well you've learned the material.

Ready for the fast track?

Get fluent in Spanish quickly with a 30-hour sequence of 90-minute sessions one on one with your instructor for $3,277, or $109 per hour, on a program called the Comprehensive Track. Take your lessons at any time of day, any day of the week. If that's not in your budget or you don't want 30 hours of Spanish instruction, get half the time and about half the price, with 15 hours of lessons for $1,815, or $121 per hour. When you sign up for either of these Tracks, you'll also get Fluenz' Levels 1-5 curricula, a $398 value.

Best Spanish Lessons

Travel with Fluenz to practice your Spanish

There are organized, 6-day trips to Spain and Latin America to try out your Spanish and be immersed not only in the language but the culture as well. Fluenz' trips happen each season of the year, so you're bound to find a trip that whets your appetite to have fun while improving your Spanish.

They've created their own levels

There are five levels of Fluenz' Spanish program, each with very specific objectives so you have a very good idea of what you'll learn. We would prefer they use the CEFR levels of fluency, though, so that you'll know on a global level where your Spanish is and if it really is considered advanced.

Their highest level is actually intermediate

Fluenz' Level 5 Spanish contains material that is actually intermediate in nature. If you want to get more advanced, try one of the other programs we recommend that contain curriculum up to C1 or C2 on the European CEFR scale.

Best Spanish Lessons

Pay per course

What's refreshing about Fluenz is you pay per course, not per month. You can buy the Spanish Level 1's curriculum and keep it forever, regardless of how long it takes you to finish it. This also allows you to go back and review the curriculum any time you want. When you click on the "Buy Now” button, you'll see various ways you can buy Fluenz' Spanish lessons. There are a lot of potential combinations, but suffice it to say it's $187 for one course, $258 for two courses, and about $300 for three courses.

There's so much to love, yet more we desire

We love the virtual learning from a real person so you not only feel the personal connection, but that you can watch the instructor's lips move for better pronunciation. Fluenz' curriculum is excellent for beginners, for those who want to review and better any high school Spanish they may have forgotten, and for intermediate to lower-intermediate Spanish learners (given that the name Level 5 sounds more advanced than it actually is). In addition, we like that you purchase curriculum rather than time on an app. The price isn't expensive in comparison for a live class at the community college or elsewhere; but in comparison to other online Spanish programs, it's pretty expensive. All told, Fluenz is a strong option for Spanish lessons and earns a high rating.

Mondly Review 3.5 Star Rating

Mondly

3.5 Star Rating
  • Monthly: $9.99, one language (equalling $119.88 annually)
  • Yearly: $47.99, one language
  • Lifetime access: $99.99, all 41 languages
  • The first app to focus on VR and AR
  • Conversations with a chatbot
  • Affordable
  • Mondly Kids version available
  • Conversation-focused

Mondly is known for being the first app to use chatbot technology and AR (augmented reality) to enhance the learning experience and engage the learner. Mondly was founded in 2013 by Alexandru Iliescu and Tudor Iliescu, graduates of Transylvania University in Romania, and its first app was launched in 2014. Today, Mondly is known as Mondly by Pearson, as they are now under the umbrella of Pearson, the textbook and testing company, though its headquarters remains in Romania.

No money-back guarantee, so try for free before subscribing

This is a rarity: Mondly offers no satisfaction guarantee, but almost every other language-learning company does when you have a paid plan.

If you like it, the subscription is the way to go

We'd suggest trying the limited, free version first. Then, if you like it, get the one-year or lifetime subscription. However, do the math. When the lifetime price costs as much as two one-year subscriptions, it might behoove you to purchase lifetime access. Besides, the lifetime access allows you to get lessons from any of Mondly's 41 languages, not just Spanish.

It's fun and motivating

You'll take short, daily Spanish lessons and practice what you've learned. The lessons are gamified to grab your attention and keep you hooked by giving rewards for hitting another level. Motivation is what you want, right? Nobody wants to be bored. When we start talking animation, this is where users will easily compare Mondly to a popular competitor that's known for its cute, green owl. However, owls aside, the actual gamification, virtual reality and augmented reality are where Mondly really shines in comparison.

Best Spanish Lessons

AR technology

This feature has a big appeal. Create a CGI teacher and design their surroundings for your classroom. The digitized teacher presents a fun lesson and then using a high-quality speech-recognition program, the virtual teacher gives you feedback on what you said.

Chatbots that give you feedback on your spoken Spanish

When you're having a virtual conversation via the app and it's your turn to speak the next line, you don't have to have a specific answer that Mondly is looking for. You can say your own answer, and Mondly will give you feedback on what you said. This is huge and there are very few platforms that offer this. You have to be patient as the bot doesn't always understand you perfectly so it might tell you it's having trouble hearing you. Don't get down on yourself; use the "it's not me, it's you” mentality.

Mondly has virtual reality

The VR app is created to complement the Mondly app so that you can virtually travel around the world practicing your Spanish. If you have grocery vocabulary, your purchase can virtually be in a store in Mexico, for example. It's a great option since we can't all travel around the world while taking our Spanish lessons.

Mondly Kids

There's a version created for kids and it's even more fun so the kids not only learn through playing but also look forward to the next lesson. Since Mondly uses pronunciation of native Spanish speakers, you'll notice your kids picking up on the accents even faster than you'd imagine. Mondly even has Spanish lessons using songs and cartoons catering to toddlers.

Best Spanish Lessons

If English isn't your first language or you want a real challenge...

Most language-learning platforms use English as their base, meaning that when they explain grammar or give vocabulary definitions, they're in English. However, not everyone has English as their first or base language. No problem. You can choose a different language as the base to get vocabulary definitions and grammar explanations.

Advanced doesn't really mean advanced

Here's the problem when language-learning platforms like Mondly don't use the most widely accepted European CEFR method of proficiency. This means that Mondly decides its own definitions of beginner, intermediate, or advanced levels, and this can be misleading. Case in point: what Mondly calls its advanced level isn't actually very far above their beginner level, and it would be clearer if they used the specific CEFR determiner of proficiency. So if you want to learn more and actually grow to become a more advanced Spanish speaker, try one of our other highly-rated Spanish language programs that uses CEFR and goes to at least a C1 (advanced) level.

Mondly is amazing, whether you're a beginner, a kid, or a kid at heart

Mondly takes learning languages to a new, fun level. They're the first to apply virtual reality so it seems like you're traveling while learning. They have chatbots to give you good feedback on your spoken Spanish. Mondly Kids is so much fun for the little ones, even the youngest. But, Mondly can only help you get so far. The lessons are fun, but you won't get more advanced than pretty much lower intermediate. We wish Mondly would add lessons and curriculum to help its learners be more advanced Spanish speakers, especially if they buy the Lifetime program.

Babbel Review 3.5 Star Rating

Babbel

3.5 Star Rating
  • Babbel app and online courses: range from $8.95/mo tio $17.95/mo
  • Babbel Live: ranges from $50/mo to $99/mo
  • Lessons created by linguists
  • Well-researched teaching methods
  • Reasonably priced
  • Many language offerings

In 2007, three friends wanted to learn Spanish, but at that time, online language-learning choices were slim pickings. These three created Babbel, a language-learning app and website with over a million paid members throughout the world. Babbel doesn't only teach languages; it lets you in on nuances so you avoid a nasty "faux pas.”

Babbel's name has significance

Babbel's name is in reference to the biblical story of the Tower of Babel, where one day God created the origin of a myriad of languages. Babbel is also a German word meaning to talk about everyday things.

Learn online or on the app

Babbel has a great app that you can use anywhere, including when you're on the go. If you're sitting at your laptop working on something but want to take a quick break to study your Spanish, you can take a lesson via the Babbel website without leaving your workspace.

Have a conversation right away

Rather than memorizing individual, random words, Babbel starts with conversational sentences, such as greeting someone and asking how they are. They then put the phrases together in an order that a conversation might go. From your first five minutes, you should be able to have a brief Spanish conversation with someone. We've encountered other language programs that are so focused on vocabulary flashcards that they seem to forget about actual human communication and conversation.

Lessons created by linguists

It seems logical that all language-teaching companies would hire linguists to create their lessons, but it's not always the case. With Babbel, you can be confident that your curriculum and lessons are created by expert Spanish linguists.

Best Spanish Lessons

Babbel Live

If online lessons aren't what you want and would rather learn from a real person, try Babbel Live. You can take as many live classes as you like per month, and each class is guaranteed to have six students or fewer. You'll find about 60-70 classes offered daily, so you should find one that's right for you at the time of day you desire. There's no homework or tests, which might be a relief. If you do want to reinforce the class material and what you've learned, you have access to the entire Babbel library of Spanish classes that are online and in their app. Students in Babbel Live must be 16 or older.

Price

How much should you expect to pay for a Babbel course? Here's the breakdown:

  • Babbel app and online courses
    • 1 month: $17.95 per month (equalling $215.40 annually)
    • 3 months: $15.25 per month, or $45.75 total (equalling $183.00 annually)
    • 6 months: $13.45 per month, or $80.70 total (equalling $161.40 annually)
    • 12 months: $8.95 per month, or $107.40 total for the year
    • Lifetime: $299.00 (One-time payment)
  • Babbel Live
    • 1 month: $99 per month (equalling $1,188.00 annually)
    • 3 months: $70 per month, or $209 total* (equalling $840 annually - discount applied)
    • 6 months: $60 per month, or $359 total* (equalling $720 annually - discount applied)
    • 12 months: $50 per month (equalling $600 annually)

Kudos to their humanitarian effort

During the war in Ukraine, Ukranians were displaced from their country. Babbel created free language courses in English, Polish, and German for these refugees and their hosts so they could each better communicate and the Ukranians could adjust to their new surroundings. Over 400,000 Ukranians have learned a new language with Babbel. For these efforts, Babbel has earned Fast Company's recognition as one of the most innovative companies in education.

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Speech recognition software

Not all language-learning apps have speech-recognition technology, but Babbel does, and although it's not perfect, it can be helpful. Say a word or phrase into the microphone, and the program will let you know where you would be understood well and where you should improve your speech and pronunciation so you can be understood. One feature of Babbel is that the people who speak Spanish are from various Spanish-speaking countries, giving you the opportunity to hear different accents. When you try speaking with different accents with this speech-recognition software, you can know if you will be understood. Because speech recognition is relatively new for language programs, it's not perfect, and can be frustrating. We still think it's a good feature, and Babbel's is better than most.

English guides you

The brief explanations in English are helpful if you get stuck. Babbel isn't a complete immersion program, where you only see and hear Spanish with no English explanations. Babbel gives you enough English to get you through, but not so much that you start focusing on how English works and not on the Spanish lesson.

There's a placement test

Even before you try a lesson, Babbel wants to know about you and how much Spanish you already know. With their placement test, you'll be placed in the Spanish course that's best for you, where you can both review some and learn a lot, too.

The European method of fluency

Babbel doesn't create its own Spanish levels: they use the well-known and respected European CEFR method for determining fluency. CEFR is universal, so if you're switching from another Spanish program that's using this method to Babbel, you'll know exactly where to start in Babbel. Babbel's courses go from the A1 beginner level to C1, an advanced level. They don't include the highest, C2 level, but you probably won't find an online Spanish course that does.

Best Spanish Lessons

Choose your proficiency level and how long you want to take to get there

Babbel wants you to meet your goal of proficiency. When you tell Babbel how proficient you want to be in Spanish, and how many minutes per day you're able to dedicate, they'll come up with a plan for you.

Choose your curriculum

Once your current Spanish proficiency level is determined, you get to decide if you want to take Babbel's courses by level of difficulty or by topic. Choosing courses by level might be more logical, but choosing by topic might keep your interest.

Podcasts

Take your Spanish language learning to a new level by listening to Babbel's podcasts. You might select a this-date-in-history type of podcast or listen and learn Spanish songs with their mixtape-type podcast; there are podcasts meant for the beginning student as well, one being interactive where you decide the ending. Podcasts allow for both immersion and interest.

Best Spanish Lessons

Lessons can be tedious

Babbel uses spaced recognition, which is where the Spanish words and phrases you're learning today continue to show up in your new lessons, making long-term learning more solidified. But Babbel loses something along the way. The lessons aren't attention-getting after a while. We found ourselves getting bored and not motivated to continue.

20-day refund policy

Whether you choose a one-month plan or a yearly plan, Babbel offers you a 20-day satisfaction guarantee. It's nice that you have more than two weeks to determine if Babbel's Spanish lessons are right for you. This satisfaction guarantee is for both the app/online lessons and for Babbel Live.

It needs oomph

There's so much to love about Babbel: linguists write lessons and include conversation-based Spanish phrases, research-based methodology, podcasts, cultural tidbits, the European method of fluency, reasonably-priced subscriptions, Babbel donating their program to Ukrainian refugees, and more. But it's hard to keep going if you're not going to look forward to the next Spanish lesson. And that's where Babbel loses it for us. Your mileage may vary, but we'd recommend that you shop around a little bit before committing to Babbel, just to be sure that it's the right fit for the way you learn.

Duolingo Review 3.5 Star Rating

Duolingo

3.5 Star Rating
  • Basic: free
  • Super Duolingo: starting at $7 per month (billed annually)
  • Super Family: starting at $10 per month (billed annually)
  • Free to use almost all features
  • Small, bite-sized lessons
  • Learning streaks are motivating
  • Gamification throughout
  • Podcasts

Founded on the belief that learning a new language should be free, Duolingo was launched in 2012 and has since become one of the most popular and recognized language-learning apps worldwide, by both adults and children. And did you know that Luis von Ahn, one of the creators of Duolingo, is also the creator of Captcha and Recaptcha, those little boxes that are hurdles to accessing a webpage? Now you do!

Duo the Owl

The mascot and the face of Duolingo is Duo the Owl. He's not only cute and recognizable as the face of Duolingo, he also functions as an intelligent and influential asset in marketing, as he sends notifications and emails prodding you to remember to complete the day's Spanish lesson. He uses humor, sarcasm, and a touch of guilt to lure you back.

Even more fun

Not only does Duolingo offer over 100 languages including, yes, Spanish, but you can also learn Hawaiian, Navajo, and even High Valyrian from Game of Thrones - the creativity of Duolingo's inventors clearly knows no bounds. In fact, Duolingo has been described as "more addictive than Candy Crush” by the New York Times.

It's still free, if you're willing to watch ads

Duolingo has promised since its inception to remain free forever. To get the free account, sign up with your email and password. You'll have access to all the languages, but you'll need to tolerate ads. In addition, if you make too many mistakes, your Spanish lessons are paused for a while until your "hearts” refill.

Best Spanish Lessons

Tired of ads? Pay for Super Duolingo

Sometimes ads are so annoying, it's worth it to pay a small premium. Super Duolingo starts at only $7 per month (billed annually) and you can complete your Spanish lessons without the ad hiccups disturbing you on your learning streak. You can also use the mobile app without limit, without the forced pause when you make too many mistakes. With Super Duolingo, they'll watch when you do make mistakes, to give you personalized lessons to practice that concept. SuperDuolingo is one of the cheapest subscription apps out there.

Super Family account

Your family account will unlock six people's accounts with everything that's available on the Super Duolingo subscription. They don't even have to be part of your family, so feel free to share it with your friends, classmates, or anyone else you like.

Two weeks free

Yes, the free version is free, but when you sign up for the paid subscription for your Spanish lessons, you'll have two weeks to try it out for free to see if you like not only Duolingo's content, not having ads or pauses in learning, and adding features such as their Unlimited Hearts and Unlimited Legendary. If you don't cancel prior to the end of the 14-day window, you'll likely be billed for a full year-long subscription, with no refunds available, so pay attention.

Best Spanish Lessons

Flashcards, then reading and writing

Learn words with their cute flashcards. Translate from English to Spanish and the reverse. Your translation will go from easy to more difficult, meaning you might first match the English to Spanish of the word. Then you'll put together a sentence by organizing blocks of individual words. Eventually, you'll type out the sentence. It's a natural progression for the brain and Duolingo does it well.

Listening and speaking

You can listen to Spanish sentences and later listen to 20-25 minute podcasts. Speaking activities are optional, as Duolingo realizes you might be in public when you take your Duolingo lesson and don't want to talk aloud at the moment. However, when you are available to do the Duolingo speaking portion, you'll read something aloud, and the speech-recognition software assesses if you've said it comprehensibly. Another way to practice your Spanish is with Duolingo's online events where you can meet up with others learning Spanish.

Podcasts for intermediate learners

With Duolingo, some languages like Spanish offer podcasts designed for the intermediate speaker. There's a mix of English and your target language in the podcast so it's not too hard for you, and there are transcripts to help out in case you get lost. The podcasts are engaging as well as a great learning and practicing tool.

Best Spanish Lessons

Some love Duolingo and some are frustrated

The free app with the ads and getting locked out if you make too many mistakes is frustrating to quite a few users. Some have found the app to freeze up and haven't found customer service so they can get help. Some are frustrated with the Spanish. Latin American Spanish is used by Duolingo, which is fine, but when one uses the Spanish from Spain in an answer, it's marked as incorrect - which is strange, because Spain is where the language originated.

Beginners love it, but it's limited for advanced learners

If you're looking for a fun and free way to learn Spanish online or via an app, try Duolingo and see what all the hype is about. If you're an intermediate or especially a more advanced learner, the lessons sometimes lack real conversational practice, feedback, and the cultural context you'd want if you're going to travel. In addition, to find the level of Spanish you're at on the standard European CEFR scale, Duolingo's proficiency test will take quite a long time to get through the beginning levels and you may lose interest.

Still the best at being free, but not enough for fluency

For some, Duolingo can be the best free app available, just as the creators had intended. It's a good way to brush up on vocabulary you may have learned long ago, or to keep you on top of what you might be studying in school. But the problem with Duolingo lessons is they're not conversation-based. Duolingo isn't for serious learners who want to move on to more complex learning material. If you are learning Spanish for a purpose such as travel or conversing with family, we'd suggest one of our other highly-rated Spanish programs.

Ouino Review 3 Star Rating

Ouino

3 Star Rating
  • 3 months: $12.99 per month, or $38.97 total (equalling $155.88 annually)
  • 6 months: $9.99 per month, or $59.94 total (equalling $119.88 annually)
  • 12 months: $6.99 per month, or $83.88 total for the year
  • Lifetime: $95.76
  • 60-day money-back guarantee for Lifetime access
  • Fluency is the goal
  • Student-directed curriculum
  • Interactive games and quizzes
  • Earn trophies

Ouino Spanish (pronounced "We Know Spanish” - pretty creative, right?) has a unique teaching approach, as it's student led. You decide the order of your lessons. Maybe relatives will visit soon and you want to brush up on family vocabulary. Or you have an important meeting and want to improve your grammar ability. The choice is yours. When you realize that learning a language doesn't have to be linear, and you don't have to use only the present tense for a whole year before you utter anything about yesterday or any other past event, like you might in a classroom or other linear program, you'll understand the Ouino method.

The monthly plans offer limited access

When you pay with a monthly subscription for Ouino's Spanish lessons, you have a 30-day satisfaction guarantee and you won't have any ads to interrupt your progress. You get access to more than 450 lessons and 1,300 exercises, and you can use multiple devices.

The lifetime subscription offers more

When you buy Ouino's lifetime subscription, you'll get personal Spanish language mentoring and you'll be able to access any upgrades when they're available. But wait, there's more. If you purchase Lifetime for one language, you'll get the 2nd language for 50% if you put it in your cart. Or you can get all languages for $191.52.

Learn by phrase, not by grammatical tense

Think about it. When you learned your first language, your parents didn't only talk to you in the present tense until you were one year old and then only used the past tense for another year; no, that would be silly. Same with the Ouino approach. When you get the free trial, you'll hear a Spanish dialog about having a friend over. The conversation will have verbs in various tenses at once, and Ouino uses these as just another phrase to learn. They don't scare you and make learning Spanish difficult. By incorporating various tenses into one conversation in a subtle manner, the Spanish dialog feels natural and not forced, and it's easier to learn.

Best Spanish Lessons

Have fun and learn what you want

Because the lessons' grammar placement doesn't go in any specific order, choose a topic or theme that you like and start with that unit. Let loose and learn what you want, when you want. What if the grammar is complicated? Ouino calls this Building Blocks and explains them as they occur.

What if hopping from topic to topic makes you feel uneasy?

Don't worry: if you don't want to hop around, Ouino has a "recommended path” for your Spanish lessons and curriculum, and you can take that recommended path whenever you want for as long as you want.

Fun fact about Ouino and gendered words

Sometimes we just can't remember that it's el papel (paper) and la flor (flower). Ouino will have a male saying the masculine Spanish words and a female saying the feminine Spanish words so it's less taxing on the brain.

Best Spanish Lessons

Fluency is fun

Ouino's goal isn't that you memorize Spanish words, take vocabulary and grammar quizzes, and fill in conjugation charts. Language is communication and we all want to speak it and be fluent. So Ouino gives you Spanish readings and videos to build your skills. If you get the Lifetime subscription, you can talk with native speakers. Put together your listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills, and that's what fluency is all about.

Prizes are fun, too

Sometimes we need a little external motivation to want to get to the next lesson. Ouino tracks your progress, letting you know which Spanish lessons you did well on and which you might want to review down the road. And when you do well on a Spanish exercise by getting 70% or above, you get a prize. Depending on your score, you'll get a bronze, silver, or gold fluency medal. The medals are displayed on the lesson and also on your Ouino calendar. You can also see your progress on your calendar, so if you skip too many days, it's right there for you to see that and get you back on track.

You judge your own speaking

Oh, Ouino, you need to upgrade your technology. Ouino's outdated technology lets you record your voice, but you need to judge yourself and determine if your Spanish would be understood or not. This is a tall task for a learner, and that type of old technology has been around since the 1970s or before. There are, however, a couple of other highly-recommended Spanish language platforms we recommend that recognize what you've said in Spanish and give you appropriate feedback.

Best Spanish Lessons

Even if you choose your own path, Ouino can be repetitive

Repetition and potential for boredom can be a common setback for online language-learning programs. Ouino has found activities and practice activities that work, and they stick with it, almost to a fault. Unfortunately, this can be boring for the learner and the trophies on the calendar may not be enough to motivate you to get through the next Spanish lesson.

Ouino wins a silver trophy from us

If you're not into the linear method of working through the Spanish-language curriculum and only want to learn what you want to learn, Ouino's for you. Ouino's also great for people who don't want to focus on grammar lessons or focus on conjugations. But silver, Ouino, is all you get from us as you only cater to the one or two types of learners.

Ouino is great, but for the right learner

If you've tried other language-learning formats, whether online, in an app, or in a classroom, and nothing catches your attention because you don't have control over what you learn and when, give Ouino a try. Choose your topic each lesson and pave your own path. However if this isn't motivating enough for you, and you want more bells and whistles, cute animation, interactive dialogs, or speech-recognition technology giving you actual feedback on your speaking and writing, try one of our more highly-rated Spanish-language lesson platforms.

Rocket Languages Review 3 Star Rating

Rocket Languages

3 Star Rating
  • Free trial when you give them your email
  • Free 60-day trial with a paid subscription
  • Lifetime access to Level 1 for $59.98 (promo price)
  • Lifetime access to Levels 1, 2 for $119.96 (promo price)
  • Lifetime access to Levels 1, 2, 3 for $179.94 (promo price)
  • Quality speech-recognition system
  • One-time purchase, no subscriptions required
  • Comprehensive courses
  • User-selected placement
  • Teaches you how to read, write, speak, and understand

Rocket Spanish was Rocket Languages first course back in 2005. They had so much success, they added languages. The two creators had experience with very traditional methods of learning Spanish and knew there had to be a better way. By talking with native speakers and an expert in the Spanish language, Rocket Spanish was born. They wanted to create fully-downloadable interactive Spanish lessons including the audio and speaking portions, and that they did.

First, choose your level

You determine your current Spanish level, from 1-3. It's a bit daunting to do your own placement for Rocket Spanish, but you can see the topics taught in each level, so it makes it a bit easier.

Plenty of material

Rocket Spanish's Level 1 has more than 130 hours of Spanish lesson time, 31 audio lessons, 33 language lessons, 33 culture lessons, 31 practice conversations, and 3,000 voice-recognition phrases. Levels 2 and 3 have about the same amount of material; this is a pleasant surprise, as many online language platforms have fewer lessons and less quality as you advance.

Topic-based lessons

In Rocket Spanish's Interactive Audio tab of the level, the lessons are themed according to topic or event, such as concerts, unforgettable moments, or cyberspace. Listen to the dialog and quiz yourself to determine how much you actually understood.

Best Spanish Lessons

Grammar, culture, and audio

When you click on the Language and Culture tab of your desired lesson, you'll see that Rocket Spanish's lessons are grammar themed, whether by tense or another grammar theme such as ser/estar. Later in that lesson there are culture topics such as concerts or being late to a party. Audio lessons might include Mexican legends or other fun-to-learn topics. In this section you'll also get practice reading, writing, speaking, and listening, all to improve your complete comprehension.

Improve your pronunciation

"Play It” is the interactive speaking and listening component intended to prepare you for comprehensible conversations. When you repeat the prompt, Rocket Spanish's speech-recognition technology will type what they heard you say and mark what you did well and what wouldn't be understood or was wrong. Their technology is more accurate with individual words than with words and phrases, though, and it can stop listening to you, even if you're not done.

Which package should I purchase?

You can buy Rocket Spanish Level 1 as a standalone language course. It was $59.98 at the time of our review; one thing we've always noticed about all of Rocket's languages is that there's almost never a time where there's not a sale or discount happening. Lifetime access to Levels 1 and 2 as a package was on sale for $119.96, and the complete package of Levels 1-3 was just $179.94.

Best Spanish Lessons

You purchase the course, it's not a monthly subscription

What you'll find most often with online language classes is that you'll have a monthly or annual subscription. If you're busy or gone for a month, you lose out on the money you spent for the lessons. For about the price of an annual subscription to other programs, you can keep all the material from two levels of Rocket Spanish. If you're super busy, Rocket's lifetime access and one-time fee might be better suited for you.

60-day money-back guarantee

If you're not satisfied with your Rocket Spanish purchase, you must email Rocket within 60 days of making the payment in order to receive your refund.

Great if you like structure, but it's repetitive

If you like structure, Rocket Spanish is great. You choose your level and get going, taking the lessons in order. It's organized in a traditional manner: learn the grammar and practice it listening to audio, learning culture, and take assessments at the end before you move on to the next lesson. The format is similar from lesson to lesson, and there's not a lot of fun features to keep you motivated for long.

Best Spanish Lessons

It's not a lot of fun and there's no video element

Rocket Spanish could use some fun characters to keep you entertained more than just the "fun of learning”. This is very much an audio course. Visuals, such as more imagery, animation, and especially videos would be more entertaining and helpful, especially for visual learners.

Not for kids

There's no kids' version of Rocket Spanish. Some consumers have complained that not only isn't there a kids' version, but the one version that's offered would not be attractive to kids.

The curriculum is great but the motivation is lacking

Rocket Spanish has a great curriculum that will take you to about an intermediate level of proficiency and an advanced level of grammar. We applaud that they work on building all of your communicative skills (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) and that they cover all or most of the major grammar points as well as many culture tidbits. That said, it's time Rocket updated itself, though. Adding animation and visually-appealing features as well as varying the lesson format more often would be helpful, create a more fun and motivational environment, and increase our rating of Rocket Spanish beyond the rating we've offered.

StudySpanish Review 2.5 Star Rating

StudySpanish

2.5 Star Rating
  • 7-day trial: free
  • After 7-day free trial: $9.99 per month, cancel any time
  • Lifetime: $119 total
  • Grammar lessons
  • Vocabulary lists
  • Old-school repetitive, drilling practice
  • Best as a supplement, not as a course of study
  • Part of the IXL family

StudySpanish was launched in 1998, providing free online Spanish lessons. In 2024, StudySpanish was acquired by IXL Learning, whose mission has been to provide learning for all and use the best technology to help students unlock their potential and curiosity for learning. We haven't seen the updated technology, and don't see that StudySpanish has encouraged a curiosity for learning, but we look forward to the features they've promised.

Best for filling in the blanks

There really is a lot of great information on StudySpanish and it is used widely and regularly by Spanish teachers and Spanish students alike as either extra practice or filling in the proverbial blanks of what you're not understanding in your Spanish class.

Free access is enough

Most of the learning and practice materials on StudySpanish are available at no cost, and you may not need any more than what's offered for free. You've got nothing to lose by checking it out and seeing if it's going to be useful for you as you learn the language (or to help you get the practice you need outside of the classroom).

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The Camino app will offer you a course

You can opt to pay for the Camino app which covers the same material as StudySpanish, but is more user friendly and may be more motivating than the free version. Still, it's not a topic-by-topic progression and is still likely to be a supplemental resource to where you're learning Spanish somewhere else.

Paid memberships offer more

When you purchase either the monthly or lifetime membership to Camino, you'll have access to everything StudySpanish and Camino have to offer. Now here's some math: if you paid for a monthly membership ($9.99/month) it would take only a year until you've paid the same amount as the lifetime membership ($119). We'd suggest that if you're going to subscribe, decide within a few months if you like it and take the Lifetime plan as it's a better deal.

StudySpanish has its niche

If you want vocabulary lists, grammar explanations, drilled practice and free activities to test your written skills, StudySpanish is a fabulous resource. In fact, if you're learning Spanish in school, chances are really high that your teacher or professor is going to point you to this website to get in some extra practice (or maybe extra credit). You actually can take courses with StudySpanish, but we don't rank them highly. Use this platform for periodic support instead. As for actual Spanish lessons, we can't really give StudySpanish a higher rating, especially when you look at what its competitors have to offer.

Preply Review 2 Star Rating

Preply

2 Star Rating
  • Price: Average $13 for a 50-minute session
  • Learn Spanish from tutors
  • Caters to anyone, including children, business learners, and AP test takers
  • Choose your price
  • Choose your date and time
  • Low-cost instruction

Created in 2012, Preply's online language tutoring company has the mission of caring enough to change the world. They empower tutors to provide an outstanding educational journey to inspire and empower learners. In theory, Preply continues to perfect the simplicity and smoothness of the tutoring experience.

Learn from a tutor

Once you fill out a brief profile with your purpose for learning Spanish and how much Spanish you already know, choose your Preply tutor from more than 7,000 available. Tutors are required to be native speakers of the language they're teaching, so you can choose from several Spanish-speaking countries. Read their bio to find out about their tutoring experience, teaching philosophy, their interests or specialties, their user ratings, and how much they charge for a $50-minute lesson.

Your tutor is a native Spanish speaker

Preply wants only native Spanish speakers for their tutors so that you'll feel immersed in the language, you can ask about slang, contextual insight, and how to live the Spanish language in your tutor's country.

Minimal qualifications

The tutors who work for Preply need to be native Spanish speakers, but they don't have to have any teaching or specific educational experience. That said, you'll find interesting info in their bios. For example, one tutor teaches Spanish as well as sign language, one's an industrial engineer, and we saw one who has had over 30 years experience teaching. We have our own questions about this approach (there are many non-native Spanish speakers who are excellent, trained teachers, and just knowing the language doesn't mean you're automatically skilled at teaching), but we still think you can find someone you seem to click with and book a trial lesson to see for yourself.

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Narrow your choices to your reason for learning Spanish

When you select why you're learning Spanish, you can select if you are preparing for the SIELE or DELE which are tests for Spanish proficiency, if you're studying for the AP exam, if you want business Spanish, Spanish for children, conversational Spanish, literature, intensive lessons, or maybe you want to choose your Preply tutor by country.

They cater to diverse learners

When you select why you're learning Spanish - travel, Spanish literature, business - some of the choices are Spanish for ADHD students, dyslexic students, and students with Asperger's syndrome. This is a unique and welcomed feature of Preply.

Preply works with your schedule

You tell Preply which days of the week work for you and which times of day, and there will definitely be Spanish tutors available for you.

Learning plan tailored to your needs

Once you choose a Preply tutor for your Spanish lessons, talk with them so they can create a plan for you. Even if you're traveling, or as one person said, she wanted lessons while she was on the plane, the tutors are happy to create lessons that work best for you.

Best Spanish Lessons

It takes 300 hours to become fluent in a language

Preply's research says it takes 300 hours for fluency. They add that if you take five hours of Preply's tutored lessons per week in immersive Spanish, you should be fluent in a year. Not bad, since many online Spanish lesson companies don't even mention how long for Spanish fluency using their program. We're not sure we agree with that number, but at least Preply offers a ballpark.

Price varies but is quite reasonable

When you are selecting why you want to learn Spanish, one of the questions they ask is how much money you want to spend per lesson. Because the Spanish tutors are mainly from Latin America where the currency may not be as strong as the US dollar, you'll find quite reasonable pricing. Preply tells us that the average price is $13 per session, and we've found that to be true. We saw that prices tend to range from $6 to about $25.

Free trial lesson

You get a free trial lesson in order to determine not only if you like Preply but to hopefully match up with the Spanish tutor you chose, with the goal that you continue with them for more lessons.

The downside of Preply's tutors

It's great that Preply lets you choose from more than 7,000 Spanish tutors. The downside is that you may not know if your tutor has a college or university degree, let alone if they have a degree in teaching or if they have a degree in Spanish. Like we said earlier, just because someone speaks a language doesn't mean they're an expert in it or teaching it.

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The pressure put on the tutors

We've also heard some not-so-nice things about how Preply operates, especially from the tutors' standpoint. First, if you don't pay, the tutors don't get paid. Therefore, your first free Spanish lesson means that the tutor gives their time for free. In addition, because there are so many tutors and they know that the clients choose them based on fees, tutors are afraid to raise their prices. One article said that Preply can take up to 33% of the tutor's fee, which limits the tutor's income even more. And if the client cancels the lesson at the last minute and doesn't want to pay, not only would the tutor have already prepared and was waiting, but now he or she wouldn't be paid at all.

Possible lack of communication

Because of the communication system Preply uses, the message of confirmation or cancellation of your Spanish lesson may not get to the receiver, making both of you wonder if the lesson will take place or not. When this happens, the class is virtually canceled due to the confusion, and the client may end up having to pay, or the tutor may not get paid even though they were waiting.

People either love it or hate it

There's not much in between with Preply. People either love their tutor and the Preply system, or they don't. The complaints are that customer service can be challenging to contact. Others complain that the tutor didn't show up for the lesson. We don't know how much is a no-show on the part of the tutor or the low quality appointment-setting system on Preply's part.

One-on-one tutoring is great, but there need to be more filters

Preply's one-on-one tutoring for learning or mastering Spanish is an excellent idea. We also love that there are 7,000 tutors to choose from and that you get to see their bios, fees, and ratings. We wish there were a filter for those who had degrees in Spanish, and degrees in education, especially language education. The fees are so reasonable, in fact, if you ask us, almost too reasonable. When you take out Preply's fees, most of the tutors are taking home very little pay. We also wish they would update their scheduling software so that there would be no question if you're really scheduled for a class. All of this combines to earn Preply the lowest spot on our list: it's a great idea, but we're not thrilled with the way the company operates.

Compare the Best Reviews

Continued from above...

No matter why you want to learn Spanish, the real question is which online Spanish lessons are right for you. With so much of our life being digital and using apps regularly if not daily, it's only natural to want to explore apps or online methods for learning Spanish. There are many to choose from, and we can help you sift through the options.

The first thing to consider is how much Spanish you already know. If you're just getting started, your choices are almost endless, as many programs have an abundance of material for beginners. In fact, some of these programs focus so much on the beginners that they seem to run out of steam when creating material for the intermediate students, and then there's none if you want to hone your advanced Spanish with them. There are those who cater to all levels of proficiency, but it's certainly not all, and you have to know which is which. No worries - wherever you are on your Spanish-learning journey, we have excellent online programs and apps to recommend for your needs.

Another consideration is your learning style and preferences. Some learners need motivation through lessons with animation, gamification, and prizes. Others find animation and gamification overwhelming and would rather get straight to business, preferring the old-school grammar lessons and vocabulary flashcards. Consider if you want your Spanish curriculum to tell you where to start and then follow those lessons in a linear fashion. If you do, great. However, other people want to choose their own path and select lessons where the theme is of interest to them. Either way, there are plenty of online Spanish lessons that will suit you.

Once you're more aware of why you're learning Spanish and how you want to learn it, there are a few more aspects you should consider as you choose where to take lessons:

  • The right fit. Consider a trial period or the money-back guarantee period of time to try out the Spanish lessons to see if it delivers for you. Maybe you thought you were self-motivated, but instead you actually want animation and gamification to give you that little push. The trial period can shed some light on your fit with the program.
  • Live tutor. Some online Spanish-learning programs offer a live tutor so you can learn all on your own with the tutor, or at least can be in a small class setting of 6 students or fewer. Or you can get a tutor to help you when you're stuck with the material you're learning. Sometimes it's nice to have a live person to help out.
  • Value. Once you give a free trial a chance, believe it or not, sometimes the month-to-month price can be more expensive in a year's payments than the whole lifetime one-time-payment option.
  • Refund policy. Once you've committed to an online Spanish program, is there a money-back guarantee? If so, how long do you have to decide? Some offer 60 days, 30 days, and some offer only 7 days to try it out and get your money back.

The experts at Top Consumer Reviews have evaluated, rated, and ranked the best choices for online Spanish lessons. We're sure that with this information, you'll have what you need to make the right choice for your goals in learning and becoming fluent in Spanish. ¡Ya vamos!

The Best Spanish Lessons Compare Spanish Lessons Compare Spanish Lesson Reviews What are the best Spanish Lessons Best Spanish Lesson Reviews

Spanish Lesson FAQ

Spanish, like English, is one of the most commonly spoken language that is used throughout the world. Learning Spanish can help your travel experiences, allow the opportunity for work or study abroad in a Spanish speaking country, increase your chances of employment, and more.
On average a course has about 13 to 120 hours of lesson time per level of difficulty (depending on the company).
Of course, these courses are meant to teach you Spanish without requirement of previous knowledge. If you don't know any Spanish, we recommend starting your path on learning Spanish with a beginner (Level 1) course.
Depending on the company, there are typically 3 levels that include beginner, intermediate, and advanced. No matter how much Spanish you already know, be sure to check out the specifics of each program before making a selection.
Courses to learn Spanish are self-paced and allow the customer to take their time as they complete each assigned lesson. Self-paced allows the customer to go at their own rate. For most effective learning it is recommended to plan out the courses ahead of time, and to review course material, when available.
Depending on the company and type of course, the cost can range from $39 to $450. Some companies offer combination packages that include multiple levels within the plan, rather than purchasing each level separately.
Of course, when learning any language, it is important to be able to understand the language via reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Some companies may teach only speaking and listening in some of their courses. Be sure to identify what aspects of the language each program offers.
Yes, several companies offer a customer satisfaction. Companies offer customers friendly help and confidence of their products by giving, but not limited to, 30-day trials, demo lessons, and in some cases full refund if dissatisfied of service. Make sure to check on the companies' customer satisfaction policy before committing.

Compare Spanish Lessons

Select any 2 Spanish Lessons to compare them head to head

best-spanish-lessons
  • Spanish Pod 101
  • Busuu
  • Rosetta Stone
  • Memrise
  • Fluenz
  • Mondly
  • Babbel
  • Duolingo
  • Ouino
  • Rocket Languages
  • StudySpanish
  • Preply
Spanish Pod 101 vs Busuu Spanish Pod 101 vs Rosetta Stone Spanish Pod 101 vs Memrise Spanish Pod 101 vs Fluenz Spanish Pod 101 vs Mondly Spanish Pod 101 vs Babbel Spanish Pod 101 vs Duolingo Spanish Pod 101 vs Ouino Spanish Pod 101 vs Rocket Languages Spanish Pod 101 vs StudySpanish Spanish Pod 101 vs Preply Busuu vs Rosetta Stone Busuu vs Memrise Busuu vs Fluenz Busuu vs Mondly Busuu vs Babbel Busuu vs Duolingo Busuu vs Ouino Busuu vs Rocket Languages Busuu vs StudySpanish Busuu vs Preply Rosetta Stone vs Memrise Rosetta Stone vs Fluenz Rosetta Stone vs Mondly Rosetta Stone vs Babbel Rosetta Stone vs Duolingo Rosetta Stone vs Ouino Rosetta Stone vs Rocket Languages Rosetta Stone vs StudySpanish Rosetta Stone vs Preply Memrise vs Fluenz Memrise vs Mondly Memrise vs Babbel Memrise vs Duolingo Memrise vs Ouino Memrise vs Rocket Languages Memrise vs StudySpanish Memrise vs Preply Fluenz vs Mondly Fluenz vs Babbel Fluenz vs Duolingo Fluenz vs Ouino Fluenz vs Rocket Languages Fluenz vs StudySpanish Fluenz vs Preply Mondly vs Babbel Mondly vs Duolingo Mondly vs Ouino Mondly vs Rocket Languages Mondly vs StudySpanish Mondly vs Preply Babbel vs Duolingo Babbel vs Ouino Babbel vs Rocket Languages Babbel vs StudySpanish Babbel vs Preply Duolingo vs Ouino Duolingo vs Rocket Languages Duolingo vs StudySpanish Duolingo vs Preply Ouino vs Rocket Languages Ouino vs StudySpanish Ouino vs Preply Rocket Languages vs StudySpanish Rocket Languages vs Preply StudySpanish vs Preply
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