Free guide

How to choose a language learning app (2026)

Choosing a language learning app is a matching problem, not a ranking one. Name what you want to do in the language, find the class of app that produces it, run the seven checks before you pay, then test two apps for fourteen days.

1. Goal and level 2. Prices 3. Seven checks 4. Refunds 5. Shortlist 6. The test

Step 1

Match your goal and your level

What you want to do What gets you there Class of app
Start from zero A0 to A2 The first thousand words and a daily habit Gamified course
Read books, news and articles A2 and up Volume of text you mostly understand Parallel reading
Hold a real conversation A2 and up Speaking time and someone correcting you Tutor marketplace
Pass a CEFR or school exam Any A syllabus, grammar drills and past papers Structured course
Survive a trip in three weeks Any About 300 phrases and clear pronunciation Audio course
Grow vocabulary fast A2 and up Spaced repetition on words you have met Review trainer

Below A2, native books and films are decoding, not reading. Above B2, any app whose content stops at B2 is finished with you. Unsure? The CEFR test takes five minutes; how long your language takes turns it into hours.

Step 2

What that class costs

Class Apps in it Typical price
Gamified course Duolingo, Memrise Free tier, then about $5 to $13 a month
Structured course Babbel, Rosetta Stone About $9 to $20 a month, less billed yearly
Tutor marketplace italki, Preply About $4 to $50 an hour, bought as single lessons or a recurring package
Review trainer Anki, Quizlet Free, a $25 one time purchase on iOS, or a paid tier from about $10
Audio course Pimsleur, Language Transfer Free to about $21 a month
Parallel reading Lingo7, LingQ Free tiers, then about $4 to $15 a month

Every range covers a whole class and was checked September 2026. The apps named are examples of the class, in no particular order.

Step 3

Seven checks before you pay

  1. Can you open your own book, or only what is in the catalog?
  2. How is meaning shown: full parallel translation, tap-to-translate, or nothing?
  3. Is there audio, and is it tied to the sentence you are on?
  4. Do tapped words come back in spaced repetition, fed by your reading?
  5. Store listings count interface localizations. A claim of "35 languages" often means three with content.
  6. Is the free tier one you could live with, not a trial?
  7. Offline on the commute, synced to your desktop, and exportable if you leave?

Step 4

Price, refunds and the way out

  • Two prices, one app. In-app and on the app’s own site the price often differs, and a year costs somewhere between half and two thirds of twelve monthly charges. Pay monthly first.
  • App Store refunds. Ask at reportaproblem.apple.com and wait 24 to 48 hours. Apple judges case by case, with no guaranteed window.
  • Google Play refunds. Usually self-service within 48 hours, though Google words it as a may. After that you ask the developer, and the current period is not pro-rated.
  • Cancelling is not a refund. It stops the next charge and leaves the one you already paid where it is. Play keeps access to the end of the paid period; on Apple cancel a day early, the renewal can be charged 24 hours ahead.
  • EU and UK. The 14 day withdrawal right rarely survives here: Play has you waive it at checkout, and Apple’s lapses once the download starts.

Step 6

Test for fourteen days before you subscribe

  1. One book or one topic, the same one in both apps. Different content, different verdict.
  2. Twenty minutes a day in the same slot. A fixed hour survives a busy week, "when I have time" does not.
  3. Write down on day one what you cannot do yet; check it on day fourteen.
  4. Watch which app you open without negotiating with yourself. That is the one you keep.
  5. Set the trial reminder now, for the day before it renews.

How not to choose

Store rating and download count

They measure onboarding and marketing. Reaching B2 takes about eighteen months, and no rating follows anyone that far.

The streak

Two minutes of tapping keeps it alive as well as an hour of reading.

"Learn 5000 words"

That is how many cards the app will show you. The number you keep is far smaller.

The lifetime deal

A bet that the company outlives your interest, placed before you know the method.

A tip for another language

The app everyone names for Spanish may have nothing at all in Czech.

Where Lingo7 fits

Lingo7 is one row of that table: reading real books, the original beside a sentence-by-sentence translation, narrated audio, and a tap that saves a word to a review deck. It fits from about A2. It is the wrong tool at zero, or if speaking is the only thing you want this month.

Frequently asked questions

How many language learning apps should I use at once?

Two: one for input or structure, one that reviews what you met. Three turns into app management, and the time goes into switching.

Are gamified course apps enough on their own?

Good at the start, they stall around A2 to B1: their sentences stay short and controlled while real language does not. Add real input rather than dropping the course.

Can I get my money back if the app turns out to be wrong?

Sometimes. Google Play refunds most purchases self-service within 48 hours; after that you ask the developer. Apple decides case by case at reportaproblem.apple.com. Cancelling only stops the next charge.

Next: best apps to read books, per language · Lingo7 vs LingQ, Beelinguapp, Readle and EWA · what comprehensible input means · a 30 minute a day reading plan