Home / Best apps to learn a language / Italian
Prices and language coverage checked in September 2026.
Italian has about 65 million native speakers and 85 million in all (Ethnologue 2025), and it is official in Italy, Switzerland, San Marino and Vatican City. Every app teaches standard Italian, and none teaches Neapolitan, Sicilian or the other regional languages. The big courses stop at B2: Duolingo and Busuu by their own labels, Babbel with extra topics beyond it. The first months are well served for free, with Duolingo, Language Transfer and Coffee Break Italian, and the middle is thinner.
Italian spelling is close to regular, so the page tells you more about the sound than it does in French or English, although stress is rarely written and double consonants have to be heard. Free listening is plentiful (Easy Italian, Podcast Italiano, about 1,116 Italian ebooks on Project Gutenberg), but no broadcaster runs a current course: Rai’s Italiano per stranieri dates from 2020 and 2021. So the paid part should buy what free material lacks: a syllabus, or a person who corrects you.
The US Foreign Service Institute puts Italian in category I (of I to IV), about 750 class hours for an English speaker to reach professional working proficiency.
Every course here teaches standard Italian, which grew out of literary Florentine. The local “dialects” are sister languages from Latin, not versions of Italian, and Neapolitan, Sicilian, Venetian and Lombard have their own ISO codes; no app teaches one. In Italy 53.6% speak mainly Italian at home and 82.6% with strangers, while 42% use a dialect in at least one setting (ISTAT, 2024 data). Expect regional accents in the standard and dialect among family and friends. Learn the standard, then listen to speakers from several regions.
C and g are hard before a, o and u and soft before e and i (cena, gelato), gli and gn are single sounds (figlio, gnocchi), and double consonants change the word: pala and palla, fato and fatto. Stress is written only on a final vowel (città, perché), so where it falls in ancora has to be heard. A 2011 study in the journal Language timed Italian read aloud at 6.99 syllables a second, against 6.19 for English and 7.18 for French. Pick apps with native audio beside every text, and train your ear on double consonants early.
The article changes with the next sound (lo studente, gli studenti), and prepositions merge with it (di + il = del, in + la = nella). Every past sentence makes you choose between the passato prossimo, with essere or avere (sono andato, ho mangiato), and the imperfetto, and opinions take the congiuntivo (penso che sia). Check the false friends: attualmente means currently, libreria a bookshop, parente a relative, camera a room and morbido soft. If you want the rules explained, pick Babbel or Language Transfer; Duolingo and Pimsleur leave most of the grammar implicit.
Duolingo labels its Italian course B2, and we found no independent test of the label. Busuu’s Complete Italian runs A1 to B2 in 580+ lessons. Babbel’s level page says B2 with extra topics toward C1, while its learn page says A1 to C1. Mango stops at about B1 on its own scale, Lingoda teaches Italian only at A1 and A2, and Pimsleur names no CEFR level. Past B2, plan on podcasts, books and a tutor instead of a course.
Four certificates are recognised by the Italian state: the CILS (Siena), CELI (Perugia), PLIDA (Società Dante Alighieri) and CERT.IT (Roma Tre), and the first three run from A1 to C2. At the Istituto Italiano di Cultura in New York the CILS costs US$90 (A1) to US$220 (C2), and the PLIDA B1 costs US$200 in Seattle. Citizenship by marriage or residence needs B1, and the long-term EU residence permit A2. Citizenship by descent has no language test, but since law 74/2025 it passes down two generations at most, with exceptions. Book the level your application or permit asks for.
Best free daily course
The Italian course runs to B2 by Duolingo’s own label; an unofficial tracker counts 1,030 units, 1,092 short Stories and 1,167 DuoRadio episodes (data of April 2026). It teaches standard Italian and no regional language, and it builds a daily habit better than it trains your ear for spoken Italian.
Good
Where it stops
Best for: A free daily Italian habit from zero; on a laptop, without the Energy cap.
Best structured course
One course in standard Italian, with grammar explained inside the lessons and no ads. Babbel’s level page runs it from A1 to B2 with extra topics toward C1. It is the paid syllabus we would pick for Italian; Busuu costs less and adds native speakers who correct you.
Good
Where it stops
Best for: A1 to B2 learners who want Italian grammar in order, no games and no ads, and will pay for it.
Best course with corrections
Complete Italian is 580+ lessons from A1 to B2 on Busuu’s course page, with side courses in travel Italian and pronunciation. Native speakers in the community correct your written and spoken answers. It is the course to pick if you want a syllabus and a person checking your sentences, for less than Babbel.
Good
Where it stops
Best for: A1 to B2 learners who want a syllabus and a native speaker checking their answers.
Best free audio course
Introduction to Italian is 45 free audio tracks, about 6.2 hours, in which a teacher builds sentences with a student while you pause and answer out loud. It explains why Italian works as it does instead of drilling phrases. It is an introduction, not a full course.
Good
Where it stops
Best for: The first week of Italian grammar by ear, on a walk or a commute, before or beside a course.
Best for speaking from lesson one
Pimsleur’s Italian is 150 audio lessons of 30 minutes in 5 levels of 16 hours each, in which you answer out loud and words come back at spaced intervals, with reading lessons and cultural notes. Pimsleur publishes no CEFR level; its Level 5 page promises “an intermediate level of Italian”, and the AI Conversation Coach does not cover Italian.
Good
Where it stops
Best for: A trip in two months, a long commute, or anyone who wants to speak Italian before they read it.
Best live tutors
Preply is a marketplace of 3,777 Italian tutors, paid for as a subscription. Below B1, pick a trained teacher who can explain in your language; from B1 on, a weekly lesson gives you a person who hears your Italian and corrects it.
Good
Where it stops
Best for: Anyone from A1 who needs a person to talk to and correct them, once a week.
Best for reading real books
Lingo7 puts a translation in your own language under every sentence of an Italian book (49 languages), reads it aloud and drills saved words in 12 kinds of exercise. Of its 100 books, 95 are C1 and 5 B2 by our estimate, so A2 and B1 readers start with the Stories. It is our app, and it has no course.
Good
Where it stops
Best for: C1 readers who want the Italian classics with their own language under the text, A2 and B1 learners starting with the Stories, and anyone with their own EPUBs.
Best for everyday spoken Italian
Street interviews in Italian cities with Italian and English subtitles on every video, plus Super Easy Italian episodes for beginners, on a channel of 1.54 million subscribers. It is input, not a course: no order to learn in and no feedback on your own Italian.
Good
Where it stops
Best for: A2 learners and up who want to hear how Italians talk, with subtitles in both languages; Super Easy Italian from A1.
Best podcast course
Mark Pentleton teaches Italian with Francesca, a native speaker, over 3 seasons of 40 lessons of 15 to 20 minutes, Season 1 for absolute beginners, and the audio is free. It is the structured audio course to move to once Language Transfer’s 45 tracks run out.
Good
Where it stops
Best for: Commuters who want a structured audio course from zero at no cost.
Best learner podcast
Davide Gemello’s podcasts in Italian come in two feeds, Principiante for beginners and one for intermediate and advanced learners, with free transcripts on the site, and both were still publishing in September 2026. It is the step after Easy Italian’s subtitles: longer listening in Italian only.
Good
Where it stops
Best for: A2 to C1 learners who want Italian-only listening with a transcript to check.
Best free course with a library card
A course built on conversations, 602 Italian lessons in 5 units and 41 chapters, with 69 grammar articles, which Mango’s own scale maps from A1 to B1. Short culture courses on the Carnival of Venice and the Siena horse race sit beside it. Many US public libraries give it free with a library card.
Good
Where it stops
Best for: A0 to A2 learners with a US library card who want a course at no cost.
Best for video input
Italian subtitles and a translation into your language side by side on YouTube, with a dictionary on click, and the subtitles and lookups cost nothing. Easy Italian subtitles every video in Italian and English. The Netflix side broke in June 2026 and in September works with known bugs.
Good
Where it stops
Best for: B1 and up with a laptop, turning Italian YouTube into listening practice.
Language Transfer + Duolingo + Coffee Break Italian
Take Language Transfer’s free Introduction to Italian in the first week for the grammar by ear, and pick one daily course: Duolingo if it has to be free, Busuu if you want a syllabus and a native speaker correcting you. Put Coffee Break Italian in your ears on the commute. Pimsleur is the paid choice if you want to speak before you read; with a US library card, try Mango first.
Babbel + Easy Italian + Preply
Keep your course going to B1: Duolingo if it has to be free, Babbel for grammar in order. Watch Easy Italian with subtitles in both languages, move to Podcast Italiano’s Principiante feed, and book a Preply tutor once a week. Start reading with Lingo7’s Stories at A2, then graded readers you import; its shelf of classics starts at C1 in practice, by our estimate.
Lingo7 + Language Reactor + Preply
Courses thin out here. Read the B2 plays and essays on Lingo7’s shelf (Pirandello, Giacosa, Pascoli), then its C1 classics or your own books, watch Italian YouTube with Language Reactor, move to Podcast Italiano’s intermediate and advanced feed, and talk about all of it with your tutor. With a PLIDA date, work PLIDA’s free practice tests, and for any exam book a tutor who has taught it.
| App | Role | Levels | Coverage for Italian | Free | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duolingo | Best free daily course | A0 to B1 | Standard Italian, no regional language; B2 by Duolingo’s label; 1,030 units, 1,092 Stories and 1,167 DuoRadio episodes by an unofficial tracker | Every lesson; Energy cap on a phone | US$13 to 17 a month, US$7 to 10 a month yearly |
| Babbel | Best structured course | A1 to B2 | Standard Italian to B2, with topics toward C1, by Babbel’s level page (A1 to C1 on its learn page) | First lesson of each level | US$18 a month, about US$9 a month yearly |
| Busuu | Best course with corrections | A1 to B2 | 580+ lessons, A1 to B2 on the course page; side courses in travel Italian and pronunciation | Essential course and corrections | US$10 to 15 a month, US$6 to 12 a month yearly |
| Language Transfer | Best free audio course | A0 to A1 | Introduction to Italian, 45 audio tracks, about 6.2 hours; no CEFR claim | All of it | Free |
| Pimsleur | Best for speaking from lesson one | A0 to A2 | 150 lessons in 5 levels of 16 hours; standard Italian; no vendor CEFR claim; no AI Conversation Coach for Italian | 7 day trial | About US$20 a month, or US$575 once |
| Preply | Best live tutors | A1 to C2 | 3,777 Italian tutors; average US$22 a class by the page’s own figure | None | US$3 to 40+ a lesson, subscription only |
| Lingo7 | Best for reading real books | A2 to C1 | 100 public domain books, by our estimate 5 at B2 and 95 at C1; Stories in two versions, adapted for A1 to A2 and original for B1 to B2; your own books in 7 formats (EPUB, PDF, FB2, DOCX, TXT, Markdown, HTML); native audio in an Italy accent; translation into 49 languages | First page of each book | US$5 a month, US$2.50 a month yearly |
| Easy Italian | Best for everyday spoken Italian | A1 to C1 | Street interviews from several Italian cities; Super Easy Italian for beginners; 1.54 million YouTube subscribers; weekly podcast, episode 240 on 26 September 2026 | Videos and podcast audio | Free; Patreon from €5 a month |
| Coffee Break Italian | Best podcast course | A0 to B1 | Standard Italian; 3 seasons of 40 lessons from absolute beginner; no CEFR labels; Advanced feed ended in July 2023 | The podcast lessons | Free podcast; US$269 a season |
| Podcast Italiano | Best learner podcast | A2 to C1 | Standard Italian; Principiante 139 episodes, Intermediate and Advanced 237; transcripts; YouTube 275,000 subscribers | Podcasts and transcripts | Free podcasts; paid courses |
| Mango Languages | Best free course with a library card | A0 to B1 | Italian to about B1 (5 units, 41 chapters, 602 lessons), plus Venice and Siena culture units; counts as of June 2026 | Free through many US libraries | Free via many libraries; US$10 a month yearly |
| Language Reactor | Best for video input | B1 to C2 | Any Italian YouTube video with subtitles; Netflix working with known bugs in September 2026 | Most of it | US$6 a month, US$3.33 a month yearly |
Prices are US store or vendor prices as of September 2026, yearly plans shown as the monthly equivalent. The same app often costs less on its own site than in the App Store, and more in Europe than in the US.
Free on this site: public domain Italian books you can open in the app, and short Italian texts at A1, A2 and B1 with a translation.
We have no affiliate deals with any app named here, and none of the links pay us. Prices and coverage come from the vendor’s own help or pricing pages or its US store listing, checked in September 2026, and every other figure names its source in the text; the judgement calls lean on independent reviews, and on the one star reviews for the parts a landing page never shows, like what happens on renewal. Where a vendor’s pages contradict each other, the card says so.
Refund rules, the traps to avoid and the same apps compared by level for every language are on the best apps to learn a language page.
For a start, yes, and it is free: the Italian course runs to B2 by Duolingo’s own label, with 1,030 units and 1,092 short Stories by an unofficial count. On its own it is not enough: on a phone the free plan’s Energy runs out after about 2 to 3 lessons a day, by a third-party count (the web version runs on hearts), speaking is mostly short answers, Video Call is paid, and we found no independent test of the B2 label. Add listening (Easy Italian, Podcast Italiano) and a person to talk to once you can put a few sentences together.
For most learners, standard Italian: every app and course in this guide teaches it, and in Italy 82.6% of people speak mainly Italian with strangers (ISTAT, 2024 data). The “dialects” are regional languages of their own, such as Neapolitan, Sicilian or Venetian, and no app teaches them; 42% of people in Italy use one in at least one setting, mostly with family and friends. Learn the standard first, expect regional accents in it, and if your family comes from one region, add that region’s speech through a tutor or local speakers once your Italian is solid.
None of them is an exam course, so start with the official material: for the PLIDA, the Società Dante Alighieri’s free practice tests and marked sample tests, and for any of them a tutor who has taught the exam. In the US the Istituto Italiano di Cultura in New York gives the CILS for the Università per Stranieri di Siena, at US$90 (A1) to US$220 (C2), US$150 for B1, and the Dante Alighieri Society of Washington charges US$200 for the PLIDA B1 in Seattle. B1 is the level Italy asks for citizenship by marriage or residence, A2 for the long-term EU residence permit; citizenship by descent needs no language test.
Reading grows your vocabulary, and Italian spelling is close to regular, so the page carries over to the ear better than in French or English. On its own it will not teach you to follow speech: stress is rarely written and double consonants (pala, palla) have to be heard. Read with audio. Lingo7, our app, puts a translation under each sentence of an Italian book, reads it aloud and drills the words you save in 12 kinds of exercise, for US$5 a month or US$30 a year. Its Italian shelf starts at C1 in practice, by our estimate, so begin with its Stories or a graded reader, then its B2 plays, such as Pirandello’s Sei personaggi in cerca d’autore.
For a course, Duolingo: every lesson is free, with Energy capping study on a phone. For grammar by ear, Language Transfer’s Introduction to Italian (45 tracks, about 6.2 hours) and the 3 free seasons of Coffee Break Italian. For listening, Easy Italian on YouTube and Podcast Italiano, whose transcripts are free, and with a US library card, Mango. Busuu’s free plan adds corrections from native speakers. For a tutor you pay: Preply from US$4 a class on a subscription, or italki per lesson with no subscription.
Babbel explains the grammar inside every lesson up to B2, and Language Transfer’s free Introduction to Italian teaches it by reasoning, out loud. Coffee Break Italian’s teacher explains as he goes, although the written notes are paid. For the points apps skip (the articles lo and gli, essere or avere in the passato prossimo, the congiuntivo), Learn Italian with Lucrezia and Podcast Italiano post free grammar videos, and Clozemaster drills Italian sets such as Essere vs. Avere and Da vs. Di. Duolingo and Pimsleur leave most grammar implicit.
Read your first page free, in Italian.