Best language learning apps: courses, tutors and real content compared

Which language learning app should you pick?

These four services teach in very different ways, so the right one depends on what you are missing right now:

• Busuu if you want a structured course with a clear path: lessons from A1 to C1 in 14 languages, a free tier, and fluent speakers who review your writing and speaking. On the US App Store, monthly plans start at $6.99.
• Cambly if your problem is speaking English with a real person: live tutors 24/7, group lessons from $24 a month and one-on-one from $56 a month, with a 7-day full refund on your first plan.
• Glossika if you want to train listening and speaking through native-speaker sentences, in more than 60 languages, including rare ones. 7 days free with no card, then $19.99 a month for one language.
• LingQ if you are past the basics and want to learn from books, podcasts, news and videos you actually enjoy, in 50+ languages. Free with up to 20 saved words, Premium about $10 a month billed annually.

Many learners combine two: a course or input app for daily study, plus live conversation when they are ready to speak.

How to choose a language learning app: what we compared

Facts in this guide come from each service's own pricing, help and terms pages and its App Store listing, read in October 2026. We compared:

• Teaching method. A structured course (Busuu) teaches grammar and vocabulary in order. Sentence drilling with spaced repetition (Glossika) builds listening and speaking reflexes. Input-based learning (LingQ) grows vocabulary from real content. Live tutoring (Cambly) gives you a person to talk to. The method matters more than the brand: pick the one that fixes your weakest skill.
• Languages. Busuu covers 14 languages, Glossika over 60, LingQ over 50, and Cambly teaches English only.
• Level. Busuu starts from zero; LingQ works best once you can read simple texts; Cambly suits anyone who can hold a basic conversation, and has Cambly Kids for ages 4 to 15.
• Price model and free option. In the table we quote the cheapest paid plan with its billing period, and what you can use for free before paying. Subscriptions renew automatically, so the trial terms matter.
• Refunds. The rules differ a lot, from a 30-day full refund at LingQ to "current month is final" on Glossika's monthly plan.

More services are in our online education category.

Busuu: a structured course with real-speaker feedback

Busuu, from Busuu Limited in England, works on the web and on iOS and Android. Its courses cover 14 languages: English, Spanish, French, Japanese, German, Italian, Korean, Arabic, Russian, Turkish, Chinese, Portuguese, Dutch and Polish. Lessons are organised by level from A1 to C1, with a personal Study Plan and reminders, Smart Review that brings back grammar and vocabulary, and official Busuu certificates.

What sets it apart is the community: fluent speakers review your written and spoken exercises, and you can correct learners of your own language in return. Busuu says it has over 120 million registered users.

There is a free tier with ads; Premium and Premium Plus unlock the rest. Prices depend on country and store. Busuu's US App Store listing shows monthly subscriptions from $6.99 to $23.49 and 12-month plans from $70 to $139.99 (Premium Plus), without saying which monthly item belongs to which tier, so check the price in the app. Busuu's terms give a 14-day right to cancel and request a refund, minus the value of the service already used.

Downside: 14 languages only, and no live teacher. Details in our Busuu review.

Cambly: live English tutors around the clock

Cambly is a tutoring service for spoken English only, on the web and in a mobile app, with tutors available 24/7. Beyond open conversation there are courses in professional English, vocabulary, grammar, reading and exam preparation, and you can save favourite tutors to book again.

The Cambly plans page lists three monthly tiers. Regular starting prices are Small Groups $24 a month (one tutor with one or two other students, adults 21+), Private+ $56 (one-on-one lessons, lesson recordings and transcripts, automated feedback and all Cambly Courses) and Pro $80 (everything in Private+, plus exclusive Pro tutors and structured lessons). The exact price depends on weekly minutes and commitment length; longer plans are discounted. In late October 2026 a Black Friday promotion showed 50% off: $12, $28 and $40 a month.

Cambly's refund policy gives a full refund within 7 days of the start of your first plan, even if you have taken lessons. After that you can cancel any time and pay for days used, but at the full monthly price, so cancelling a discounted long plan early costs you the discount. Cambly Kids offers one-on-one lessons for ages 4 to 15 with a free trial lesson.

Downside: English only, and the most expensive option per month. More in our Cambly review.

Glossika: sentence drills for listening and speaking

Glossika teaches through full sentences recorded by native speakers. You hear a sentence in your own language and its translation, repeat it, and a spaced repetition algorithm schedules the sentences you are about to forget. A listening-only mode works hands-free on a commute, and Glossika says an average session takes about ten minutes. The catalogue lists over 60 languages, including Kazakh, Uzbek and Icelandic, and nine minoritized languages such as Welsh, Catalan and Manx are free.

The Glossika pricing page lists Basic (one language) at $19.99 a month and Pro (all languages) at $39.99 a month; on annual billing they are $13.33 and $25 a month. Basic lets you change your language pair only once every 30 days. New accounts get 7 days of full access with no credit card, and verified students get 55% off: $8.99 a month for one language or $17.99 for all.

Refunds are strict on monthly plans: the current month is final. Annual plans can be refunded for unused time within 60 days, calculated at the monthly rate.

Downside: no grammar lessons and no teaching of writing systems from scratch. See our Glossika review.

LingQ: learn from content you enjoy

LingQ, from LingQ Languages Ltd. in Canada, is built on reading and listening. You open a lesson from its library (news, culture, food, sports and more) or import your own: articles, YouTube videos, Netflix, ebooks and podcasts. Click an unknown word to see a translation and save it as a "LingQ"; the app tracks those words across everything you read. It runs on the web, iOS and Android, with a browser extension, in more than 50 languages.

The free plan saves up to 20 LingQs, opens part of the library and shows ads. Premium adds unlimited LingQs, the full library, unlimited imports, offline mode and an AI tutor chat. LingQ's own review page lists Premium at about $10 a month billed annually and $8.99 a month on the 24-month plan; the pricing page in the app shows $14.99 for a single month. Prices are approximate USD and vary by region.

LingQ's terms give new Premium sign-ups a full refund within 30 days, the longest window here.

Downside: the 20-word free limit runs out within a lesson or two, and complete beginners may find raw content hard. Read our LingQ review.

Free language learning: what you really get

If you are looking for a free language learning app, this is what each one gives you without paying:

Duolingo is the best-known free, game-style app, and it is a fine way to build a daily habit, but none of the four above tries to copy it: they trade games for a course, a tutor, sentence drills or real content.

Course, tutor or content: matching the app to your goal

• Starting from zero: Busuu's A1 lessons give you grammar in order; add Glossika later for listening speed.
• Travel in a few months: Glossika's listening-only mode fits a commute; Busuu has a travel course.
• Speaking English at work or for an exam: Cambly's professional English and exam tracks, ideally one-on-one (Private+ or Pro).
• Stuck at intermediate: LingQ, with content you would read or watch anyway.
• A rare language: Glossika (60+) or LingQ (50+); Busuu and Cambly will not cover it.
• Tight budget: Busuu's free tier or LingQ's free plan first; Glossika students get 55% off.

Tutor marketplaces such as italki and Preply offer teachers in many languages if you need a person but not English; Cambly is the pick when English is the language and flexible hours matter.