The best language learning apps in 2026

Duolingo is the language app we would install first on either phone. It suits beginners who care more about a free daily habit than a full grammar course. The full path in each language is free on iPhone, Android, and the web, including the B2 material on the main courses. Lessons take a few minutes, cover 40 or more languages, and one finished lesson holds the streak. Paying does not add extra lessons. It removes ads and raises the energy or hearts limit. That trade-off is the whole product: free and sticky, thin on explanations.

Free accounts hit hearts in some places and a 25-point energy bar in others. In our testing, a full energy bar lasted about two or three lessons, and even a correct lesson spent energy. Ads refill the bar. Super removes ads and the limit. In the US App Store in October 2026, Super Duolingo is listed at $9.99, $12.99, $79.99, $83.99, $95.99, and $119.99 with no billing period on any price. Google Play also leaves plan names unlabeled. A Family plan covers up to six accounts. Max adds Roleplay and Video Call on iOS and Android only, for a limited set of courses, and Duolingo has been moving parts of that set into Super. Main languages reach CEFR B2 and stop there. Explain My Answer is free for Spanish, French, German, Japanese, Portuguese, Italian, and Korean. There is no grammar reference beyond a one-sentence popup. Pick Babbel for grammar, Speak for talking out loud.

What the free course actually gives you

The free path is the same lesson set Super gets. We stayed on free Spanish long enough to see that energy and ads limit practice more than content does. One finished lesson a day holds the streak past a thousand days on long accounts. You can speak answers instead of tapping. What you do not get is a saved word list, a conjugation table, or anything past B2.

Super, Max, and the unlabeled prices

Super is the plan that removes the energy stop and the ads. Max is Super plus Roleplay and Video Call where those features exist for your course. Roleplay from English covers French, Spanish, German, Portuguese, and Italian. Video Call is listed for a similar major set and is only partly folded into Super. Store prices do not say which SKU is monthly, yearly, Family, or Max, so read the checkout sheet before you tap.

Who should skip Duolingo

Skip it if you need Japanese, Korean, or Chinese past B2, or if you want grammar explained before you guess. Skip Max if your course is outside the Roleplay and Video Call set. Babbel is the clearer paid course for European languages. Speak is the clearer paid course when speaking out loud is the only job.

Babbel is for adults who want grammar explained in their own language and short practical dialogues they can reuse. Lessons are dialogue drills with speech recognition built in, and Review Manager brings old words back on a schedule. The same course runs on iPhone, Android, and the web, and progress syncs across them. One web plan covers every Babbel language, so you can switch from Spanish to Italian without buying again.

Only the first lesson of each course is free. After that you pay. On babbel.com in October 2026, all languages are $17.95 for 1 month, $107.40 for 12 months ($8.95 a month billed yearly), or $299.99 once for Lifetime. The US App Store All Languages 12-month SKU is near $107.99, so the website price is usually cleaner. European Spanish reaches C1. French goes to about B2 or C1. German and Italian stop near B2. Mexican Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, Dutch, and Swedish sit around B1. Danish, Norwegian, Indonesian, Polish, and Turkish stop near A2. Russian stops near A1. There is no Japanese, Korean, Chinese, or Arabic. Babbel Live for consumers ended on 1 July 2025. Babbel Speak AI conversation is in beta for major languages. Lessons and review can be downloaded offline. Pick Duolingo if you will not pay.

Busuu is for learners who want other people to correct their writing and speaking exercises. The free plan opens full CEFR-aligned courses and the community feedback queue. Premium adds grammar and vocabulary review, offline downloads, certificates, and no ads. It runs on iPhone, Android, and the web, and progress syncs when you use the same login.

Busuu Support lists 14 languages: Arabic, Chinese, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, and Turkish. English, French, German, and Spanish reach C1. Most others stop at B2. Korean stops at A2. On busuu.com in October 2026, Premium is $12.49 a month or $72.99 a year, and Premium Plus is $14.90 a month or $87.90 a year. The US App Store lists higher yearly SKUs for some plans, so buying on the website is often cheaper. Free covers the course path and community corrections, with ads. Premium Plus adds AI Conversations and pronunciation practice in selected languages. Community feedback quality varies and can be slow. Busuu is owned by Chegg. Pick Babbel for denser grammar without waiting on strangers.

Speak is for people who freeze when they have to talk. Every lesson asks you to speak out loud, then AI conversation practice scores pronunciation and phrasing. It runs on iPhone and Android. There is no web app. English speakers can study Spanish, French, Japanese, Korean, Italian, and Simplified Chinese, plus English courses for speakers of other languages.

Speak.com and the US App Store in October 2026 list Premium at $17.99 a month or $83.99 a year, and Premium Plus at $39.99 a month or $164.99 a year. A 7-day trial covers the plan you pick. There is no lasting free learning plan after the trial. A free account is limited to previews. Premium Plus adds unlimited Made for You lessons and a personalized study plan. AI feedback is not a human tutor and can miss errors. The course list is short, so check your language before you pay. Pick Duolingo or Babbel if you need reading, writing, and a wider catalog.