The Most Complete Guide to Language Learning Apps, Tools, Courses

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The Wide World of Language Apps

Smartphone apps will be your best friend during your language learning journey, but you have to know how to use them; otherwise, you’ll waste an eternity on gamified apps like Duolingo without getting out of A1.

Maybe the most useful case study for language leanring app usage is to fill in those dead gaps: waiting in line, pretending to be on a business call, or even on the pot (switch the IG scroll for HelloTalk).

Getting ready in the bathroom for 15 minutes in the morning? Why not put on a quick story from Memfy?

Cooking dinner or driving? Why not learn a 30+ minute in-depth lesson from Innovative?

In general, I find mobile apps the best for practice (not learning new concepts).

For this reason, you might not want to use them until later in your learning journey. They can reinforce previously learned concepts in a new and fun way.

Who is dannybooboo?

In America, we learn a foreign language quite possibly at the single worst time of life – high school – when hairs are popping out of unusual places, boners are popping up randomly, and your eyeballs are popping out of their sockets looking at some ever-so-slight high-school girls’ side-titty.

That was my first attempt at learning Spanish. FAILED.

Five years later, just after graduating college and living with my parents in the Silicon Valley home I was raised in, I purchased Rosetta Stone (review below) and gave it a go. While it was a genuine attempt, in hindsight, I did it mostly becuase I was bored yet productive and needed something to fill my time.

Believe it or not, this was pre Instagram, Tinder, and X. I don’t even think I had a YouTube account yet.

My Spanish journey really began in October 2017 with a full workweek of hours dedicated to online research to understand the best and most efficient way to learn a language. That’s key. Teachers, take note. I, rightly, knew that I needed to first learn how to learn efficiently before my next attempt.

Although my journey continues through today, below is a video of me giving a speech in Spanish about how to earn more with your Airbnb. See the full video on my Instagram.

In the first half below are my notes, largely based on Gabriel Wyner’s excellent book Fluent Forever. This book made it to my all-time favorites, you’ll find seven other books out of 500+ I’ve read.

But I have revisited this blog over the years having added more and more. You’ll find my review of dozens of programs and apps that I’ve used and paid for. We’ll sniff out the semi- and full-fledged polyglot frauds. And, we’ll cover nuanced topics like pronunciation.

How Do I Test Each Language App?

There are approximately 7,134,058 apps and courses and strategies and methods out there so each app, generally, will get my attention for between one and three sessions, if it’s a bad app.

For exmaple, if I have to spend three session trying to login and figure out the app (ShortLearn), it’s probably not going to be recommended.

If the apps free version is so limimted that I cannot get a feel for the app (Readle), and without anything calling me attention, it’s probably not going to get high marks from me.

I’m not against paying for apps, and neither should you becuase language learning is free, but if you want to use an app, then you should be willing to pay for it, espeically becuase many apps are incredibly cheap.

The app makers know the same thing that gym owners know, if you can get them on a subscription while they’re motivated for change, 80% will simply forget about it. So if you actually use the app, you’re getting it for an 80% discount thanks to all the other lazy users who signup and signout.

How Do I Rate the Language Learning Apps?

For me, the best apps are those that fill one need (maybe with the exception of Innovative). No app…I repeat, no app, is going to teach you a language. You are going to teach you that language.

That’s why all the gamification apps get low marks, because their focus is on keeping you around for a long time while not teaching you much, as the teaching aspect is a second or third priority.

Eihty-five percent of the mentioned experineces below are my own, but if I run upon a geniuine review online, I may mention it and when I do, I try to mention where that review came from so, ultimately, you can decide for yourself (somthing the government could do a better job of)

What Do the Funny Symbols Mean?

✅ I paid for this app currently or in the past

$* costs ~$25-75 per year

$$* costs ~$150 per year

$$$* costs $300+ per year

*The cost will be identified with the longest subscription (but no longer than 12 months) at the highest tier (unless the highest tier is nonsense like a “special” AI feature).

1 – 4,500,000 number of ratings on the iPhone App store (Google Play store always has more reviews)

3.6 – 5.0 overall rating on the iPhone App Store

My Current Language Learning App Stack

Anki ✅ – not mentioned below because GOATED; flashcards (free on Google Play, small lifetime charge on App Store)

Vocab/Conjugation Help

• Clozemater ✅ – for hands-free on-the-go listening mode; repeat out loud
• Conjugato ✅ – for mastering translating verbs quickly

Writing/Sentence-correction

• HelloTalk ✅ – to get my sentences and nuances corrected

Listening-focused

• LingoClip – songs
• TuneIn FREE – internet radio for quick listening lessons

Speaking

• Glossika (but expensive)

Reading

• Quora FREE

Grammar

• Innovative ✅ – perfectly currated audio language lessons

Next Language Learning Apps For Testing

https://journaly.com/ – You can write small/medium posts in a target language and others can comment or correct your writing. Alternatives: https://nyan-8.com/ (entirely free) or https://langcorrect.com/ (largest)

https://www.youpractice.app – Practice Speaking with
YouTube Videos

lectia.app FREE – recommended from Reddit post comment. great app for intermediate/advanced learners. It teaches grammar and vocabulary through native audio and texts with multiple exercises. It’s free and designed by actual language teachers. Note that the beginner lessons start from about B1 level

Conjuguemos – Conjugato competitor, web-based, more languages offered

Marimo – helpful for speaking and just getting started quick with 280 core phrases

FluentAI ($, 62/4.2) – dual-subtitle (plus more) language Chrome extension for Netflix, YouTube, Amazon Prime, and Disney Plus. video player

Yabla – video platform

Langua – added from my own resarch, looks like an AI bot you can speak with. ai tutoring is the most dialed in I’ve found – review form LingQ forum

Lingua Verbum – a new reading/listening app cheaper than LingQ

Bookmate – mobile book app like Kindle but (maybe) with a social aspect and with a catalogue in 9 languages.

Language Crush – bring your own material online reader. Competitor to LingQ, but the free verison might be all you need. Home page says, “Reading, listening, writing, conversing” plus a forum.

ReadLang – Competitior to LingQ. $6 per month for yearly

Language Atlas – low priority, doesn’t seem special

Ling (-, 11,100/4.6) – Reading app similar to LingQ for Asian and Eastern European languages

www.Language101.com  –  I found this site to have a lot of relevant, useful, unbiased information (recommended by Patrick Lancastre in his book Sem Limité)

Ideas for Cool Language Learning Apps

Both of my current ideas have to do with getting myself deeper into the target language culture

• Learning from meme’s. Getting an updated repositore of target lanague, popular meme’s, explaining the cultural signifncance, translations, and grammar explanations
• Learning from current events by region. The key here is to get very specific with the news. If I’m living in Medellin, Colombia, then I’d want news from that city. If too hard, then by country. Give me the news, translations, double trnaslations if possible, related stories or timeline of story, text vocab and grammar

Reset Your Expectations

“X” app says you’re advanced? You are lower intermediate. Maybe.

While it’s not any app’s number one goal to teach you a language efficiently, they do have to perform a fine balancing act.

They need to make you feel like you’re learning and improving, but not really, because the app wants you to stick around for years.

That’s why an app is a supplement, and you must, must, must, ultimately, teach yourself.

Let’s take the Innovative app. I LOVE this app. Maybe my number two behind Anki. I’m listening to the Spanish Advanced segments, and my understanding is 100% and easy.

That doesn’t mean I’m fluent. That means I can understand a language teach who doesn’t use slang or colloquialisms.

Just don’t get your hopes up when you finish an app, test well, and then are in a butcher shop in Panama, wondering what the hell language you’ve been learning for 2,789 days on Duolingo.

I have yet to unlock the barber level, the ultimate level in language comprehension. No matter what country I’m in, barbers must speak with the most slang it’s as if I don’t speak the language at all.

My Favorite Language Learn Websites (all free)

I use Reverso for single-word translations. And, this version of Google Translate for sentences.

I use Youglish to get in-context video pronunciation of words.

I use Forvo for word/sentence pronunciation downloads.

I use this Google search for small images to add to my Anki.

I use Verbix for conjugations.

I use Video Speed Controller for watching videos.

Vocabulary/Flashcard Apps

Umi ($, 25/4.8)- Very cool app teaching vocab through video clips, adding context to the word; teaches words in a way that gives you context and is easy to remember.

Clozemaster ✅ ($, 1,400/4.8) – HIGHLY recommended. This app is the best, rivaling Anki (and you know I love Anki), but you have to make a few selections within settings. The benefit of this app is giving you common sentences that you have to translate. Don’t select from a list of options. Instead, hide the full translated sentence and you do the full translation, not just the missing word. I paid for this app.

Conjugato ✅ ($, 8/5.0) – Wow! Finally, first question: What Spanish do you want to learn: Spain, Latin America, Chile, Argentina? It’s an app that tests your verb conjugations and at such a low price for lifetime access, I’m in. The free trial is sufficient to get a good feel for the app. I paid for this app.

Vocabuo ($, 6/4.5)- Really well-put-together flashcard app with an SRS algorithm. They give you the word alone and in a sentence, and allow you to generate a new sentence. Spain accent, but given it’s only words, not such a big deal. The strength of this app, besides the SRS, is the customized way it allows you to place yourself to make the app maximally useful from the start even if you’re at an advanced level. There’s also a section (Collections) where you can read a short article pre-made or from the community (although slim picking for now), pick the words you don’t know, and add them to your flashcards. Limited languages

Fluent Forever ✅ ($; 1,300/3.7) – The app has improved since I first used it in 2017, and it’s the best flashcard app, though I prefer to make my own cards in Anki and have them forever rather than in a paid app that may disappear like Fluyo. Anki is useful outside of language learning, so I can choose Fluent Forever and Anki, or just Anki. Fluent Forever is Anki on easy. The app does words, sentences, and grammar. I paid for this app.

Entiende ($, 0/0) – This app has potential and is unique! Unfortunately, there’s no skill level selection. So what is it? It’s like Clozemaster except with dialects from Spain, Colombia, Puerto Rico, Argentina, and Mexico.

Memrise ($, 225,000/4.8) – Mainly a flashcard/vocab app. Spain or Mexican Spanish. I was only able to skip to level 16 out of 31 where I learned some new words. Anki is superior in all ways for vocabulary memorization.

MosaLingua – Spanish language icon is from Spain. App did let me pick my own level from 0 to 9. I picked 6 and was shown how to say “I” in grammar lessons. Seems like a flashcard app based on SRS. This was shown to convince me to sign up for premium and made me uninstall the app, “Find out the secret technique that polyglots use to speak fluently in less than one hour.”

Community Based Language Apps

HelloTalk ✅ ($$, 43,000/4.6) – X and Instagram for language learners, though there is so much going on in the UI, you’ll need two full weeks to undersatnd the app. There’s probably 8+ different subscription services, you can boost your posts or profile, plus the community aspect. Focus is on the social aspect.

Tandem ✅ ($, 37,000/4.6) – Mostly an app to find people to chat with one-on-one; the two special features are “language party” to create speaking groups on topics (you can also enter to listen) and “language club” feature where you can get your phrases correct (though much less active than HelloTalk). I’m in a small city in Brazil, and there are a hundred members nearby (much more than HelloTalk). I paid for this app. Focus is one-on-one conversations.

HiNative ($, 2,000/4.8) – This app was hated on via what I read about it, but it seems fine so far. I like how when you make a post, you identify what you post is about (how do you say this, does this sound natural, what does this mean, what is the difference between, etc.). Once you make a post, you get an automatic AI response, but liekly you’ll get a read human response too. I also like how you can identify what country you’re from as I want to learn about how a Colombian might say something, not necessarily a Mexican. I don’t see yet a good reason to pay for this app. Focus on getting corrections.

Speaking/Pronunciation Apps

Glossika ($$$, 100/3.6) – Based on the concept of speech shadowing to improve your accent. Full free trial for 7 days, more than enough time to get a full understanding of the app. Essentially, you will be presented with 5 sentences based on your selected level and you will hear them as much as you want, spell them, and record yourself saying them. There is no direct feedback on your pronunciation, but you can playback your recording versus the native (and it is a real human voice, not AI). This is helpful. For example, the phonetics line helped me understand that in this particular sentence, the ‘m’ in ‘um’ is not really pronoucned and that was tripping me up having to move my mouth from the ‘m’ to the ‘e’ position so quickly. Well, natives can do that by ignoring the ‘m’ altogether. Makes sense. The difference subscription levels are not explained well, but the basic version only lets you switch languges every 30 days.

Bora FREE- speaking practice with an AI, currently in beta – this one has potential given the gamification option. Unlike other gamified apps where you get useless points that don’t mean anything, this app shows you how large your vocabulary is by counting all the new words you used. I asked it to corret my sentences and it did!

Speechling ($$, 700/4.8) – The only app with true transcription and human feedback on pronunciation. It has a host of other features. I am using this for Portuguese because the Spanish version didn’t have a Colombian teacher (Venezuela and Costa Rica only). I’m especially curious how strict the pronunciation feedback is. I’m looking for sounds like a native rather than I can understand you feeback. It’s not cheap, but the free trial is enough. What I’m curious about is if the pronunciation details are worked out with feedback or if the feedback is only useful for bigger/obvious mistakes.

Dreaming Spanish ($, /)- The theory of comprehensible input says that you only listen attentively until things start making sense. You will need 600 hours before you understand the most common topics and you don’t start speaking until you get 1,000 hours of comprehensible input (ie videos and audio). Only available in French and Spanish. The biggest downside for this program is that 1,000 hours at 5 hours per day is 6 months, so you really have to plan in advance. The second downside is if accent is important to you, which it probably will be, but later in your learning journey.

Mimic Method ✅ ($$) – Worth it. Not going to get you speaking or anything, but it’s a simple, unique, low-barrier way of getting started in any language the system covers. I’ve used this for Spanish, Portoguese, and Russian and it’s my first stop when learning a lanauge. It takes about 10 hours and should be revisited monthly for the first 2-3 months, then every 6th month and continue to do this so you don’t develop any fosilized prononciation bad habits. I paid for this app.

Speakly ($, 2,500/4.8) – Why in the world would an app only have Spain Spanish, which makes up less than 10% of the spoken Spanish on the planet, is a poor business decision. The paid version gives you feedback on your pronunciation. I would love to try that out, but I’ve decided a long time ago that Latin American Spanish and the 19 countries with it are identified as a main language over one/Spain.

Language Learning with Music/Songs

LingoClip ($, 700/4.7) – Listen to songs in your target language while filling in the words on various difficulty levels. I would love it to have native language translations along with the lyrics. They give you three free songs daily, more than enough. It used to be called LyricsTraining which remains the url if you want to use it on desktop.

LyricFluent – Founder responded to my Reddit post and says it’s like LingoClip except with English translations.

Video Games/RPG Language Learning

WonderLang ($) – This is a computer game, and while I love the concept and recognize that I’m not much of a video game player, I couldn’t understand it. I wandered around, talked to fairies and villagers, and fought ghoul-looking things for half an hour without making much progress. I am also not a total beginner in the language and couldn’t find a way to skip ahead. The free demo gives you an hour to play.

Lingo Legend – Another WonderLang type but for mobile gaming expereince. Also beginner level suitable.

Reading Language Programs

Toucan and Yomitan ✅ – Chrome extensions that replace some of the native words on each webpage with the target language. Simple and free.

LingQ ($, 9,000/4.8) – Founded by Steve Kaufmann; recommended by Patrick Lancastre, author of Sem Limite. Being a reader in my native language, I have returned to this app over the years, usually disappointed. There are two problems: the trial is so limited that you can’t get to know the app, and if you do the free trial to learn the app, you realize that even more learning is necessary to use it properly. Want to read an ebook you just purchased from Amazon? Not until you learn the multi-step process to upload it to LingQ, requiring the downloading of other software:

How about bringing a YouTube audiobook into LingQ. Sure. Go find the appropriate plugin, chrome extension, or YT video to mp3 website. So LingQ gives you the option to import and makes you figure everything else out. Why not provide me with a recommended YouTube video to MP3 service, at a minimum? Why not build out a product? I mean, what am I paying for, guys? Your intellectual property isn’t that great.

The app itself is not clear, though it does have popular YouTube channels like Kurzgesagt, and a Netflix integration. Another problem is sifting through to find what you like. You can upload your own content for personalized learning, which it appears is what most people do because the existing content is hard to interpret due to unsightly titling and organization. The forum is mildly active, and there is a grammar guide. I do not recommend the 2x priced Plus, which seems to offer a few extra AI benefits. Go with Premium if you decide to subscribe. Many people complain about the lack of user-friendliness, and I found this video to help. $12 per month for yearly

Lenguia – Competitor with LingQ, and allows you to import lessons and reduce them to your level. Reading and listening focused. Seems to be heavily dependent on AI, so tbd how the final product is. $15 per month for yearly

Quora FREE – a questions-and-answers website/app not designed for language learning, but is free with unlimited fresh content to read

Assimil – Recommended by Patrick Lancastre in his book Sem Limité if you’re a beginner, but less good if you’re already intermediate.

Readle ($, 1,100/4.7) – CEFR-graded language-learning reader. Free version very limited. Mix of news and stories. All very short. Limited languages. I’m unsure if the voice is AI, though, I think it is. I’m also unsure if the grammar slesson is AI-based (ie not so useful). Allowed to swtich between notable langauge accents.

LangBrowser/1letters ($, 20/5.0) – Simple app allowing you to create flashcards based on browsing websites or YouTube. Includes double translations. Not usefriendly, but also not overly complex to figure out. LangBrowser may no longer being updated in favor of 1Letters

Colloquial – It’s a book series with a fantastic name recommended by Patrick Lancastre in Sem Limité. I am not going to give this a try with Spanish because of a Castilian Spanish focus and poor reviews suggesting the book from 2015 hasn’t been adequately maintained, especially the audio files. Similarly, it appears that the Portuguese version is based on Europe which is shocking given than Brazilian Portuguese makes up 85% of the spoken language.

Linga ($, 130/4.8) – I found this discussed on the LingQ forum with positive metions of UI and developer involvment; best if you want to upload your own book or choose from their library, which is not too extensive.

Learning With Texts ✅ – A basic online application that allows you to import text in your target language, mark off words you know, and look up words you don’t. There seems to be a built-in flashcard tool. The layout is user-friendly, but the utility is low; however, it is free. They link to Youglish.com, which has a super neat feature – type in the word and they give you videos with that word being used by a native speaker.

From A to Z Language Learning Apps

Innovative ✅ ($$; 35,000/4.7) – I really like this app! A Pod101 affiliate; I like how they identified their 5 levels, so I knew exactly where I fit. This app is as close to a real language teacher substitute as you’ll find. The lessons are formal and get you deep into the language in small chunks. For me, simply listening to my target language has little benefit. That’s why I like their style of teaching through short conversations, in the following format:

• short conversation spoken at normal speed
• conversation spoken at half speed
• conversation spoken at normal speed with translation
• vocabulary and grammar
• conversation spoken at normal speed

Just note that you have to create a new account for each language.

Foreign Services Institute/FSI (Spanish) FREE – Here is a comprehensive reddit post from one user’s experince who claims to be fluent after 600 hours of study. This is what the US government uses to teach folks languages quick. I have not used it but heard it works well if you have the dedication (it can be boring).

Rosetta Stone ✅ ($$$) – I did this program over a decade ago as a pre-A1 Spanish learner, and its gradual pace is probably good for many people. I can’t remmeber if I finished it, but probably not. I wouldn’t rely on this for true fluency, and it will need to be supplemented with additional active learning strategies, but isn’t that true for everything? This is a safe bet to get started on, though, expensive compared to apps at a few bucks per month. The Evildea YouTube channel finished the Chinese course and said the program got worse the further you went.

Gamification Language Apps

Busuu ✅ ($, 96,000/4.7) – The app is very professional, gamified, and the best of the bunch for the community aspect. It’s split into three sections: learn, community, review. In the learning section, I was able to skip to B2 (I think I am currently A2) but find the lessons overly easy. The community section, where you correct others in your native language while getting corrections yourself is the best part of the app, but I think HelloTalk solves this just as well, especially becuase in Busuu you cannot freely post for help, but can respond to prompts.

Duolingo ✅ ($, 4,800,000/4.7) – I’m doubtful anyone has ever gotten conversational from this popular phone app. I tried it exclusively for Portuguese for 3 months prior to my travels, and upon arriving, I realized why the app was useless. It didn’t teach real-world sentences, words, and phrases. It repeated the things it taught. The method did not connect with me, and I felt like it was a wasted three months. The gamification is the part it excels at, and the Dulingo team has a scientific balance for most normal people between not teaching you much (after all, the fast you learn a language, the sooner you cancel your membership) and keeping it fun.

Drops ($, 74,000/4.7) – Super gamified, Duolingo-type app. Distinction between language dialects and user level, but even selecting for ‘advanced’, I’m not sure the dashboard changed at all. I played an ‘intermediate’ level game and learned only simple words like ‘door’. The community feature lets you play against someone who I’m 99% sure is a fake someone. This is not the app if you really want to learn a language efficiently (keyword). Maybe it’s useful for very short breaks like bathroom or lines.

Babbel ($$, 750,000/4.7) – It’s related to Duolingo and Drops. No community aspect; Choose from levels ranging from A1-B1 plus themes (grammar, specialty, culture, etc.). In general, I’m not a supporter of these types of apps becuase they’re not my ideal way to learn, but if you want to set up and go right from the start (in exchange for a slower learning curve) then go for it.

Mondly ($, 31,000/4.7) – Similar to Dulingo, Drops, Babbel. For the listening activities, the accent is from Spain (no option for Latin America). I selected advanced level in Portuguese and I’m not sure if it registered because the lesson I did was easy. If you like a gamified app, give it a try.

Video/Listening Language Acquisition

Language Reactor ✅ – Dual-subtitle Chrome extension; translating for YouTube, Netflix, comes highly recommended from trusted Polyglots. Similar to Lexirise below.

TuneIn (FREE, 59,000/4.8) – Internet radio. The map feature is super useful, where you can zoom in to your preferred city and select one of many radio stations by type (music, news, sports, etc.). There is a premium version that removes the ads, but if you’re learning a language, ads add value.

Linguistica360 (✅, 65/4.5) – A selection of news for a variety of languages in three levels.

FluentU ($; 2,900/4.3) – A LingQ copycat but only video. No distinction between Spain and Latin America Spanish and the selection appears more limited.

Rocket Languages ($$$, 1,600/4.5) – No level selection in Portuguese (there is in Spanish). Listening-based activities by subject. Well put together, but the cost is prohibitive. For Spanish, I need to purchase both level 1 and 2 to get access to level 3 for nearly $300.

Chatterbug ($$, 1,650/4.8) – It took me a while to figure out this well put together app – integrated social media app with teacher profiles part YouTube, part Instagram, part instruction; video streams with teachers, ranging from a few minutes to more than an hour on various topics. Videos rated from 1 to 5, though 5/Advanced are easy, and playback speed adjustment is broken. The streams are combined with real-time questions to test your understanding of the topic. Available for English, German, French and Spanish. The problem with video apps is that you won’t be interested in the majority of the content. Crazy long 14-day trial includes 1 free live session. Mobile and web/tablet app versions seem different.

Pimsleur – I have not done Pimsleur and likely will not for two reasons. I have friend who loves it yet speaks very little Spanish. I found this blog to be useful, but found some videos of the author understanding and speaking very little. If you choose it, you must start here as even a beginning will get bored right away.

Language Transfer (FREE, 1,500/4.9) – audio lessons that guide you to think about the language structure in a different way. I’ve not done the whole series yet, but overall it’s been very good

Memfy FREE – creates a custom podcast for you based on your keyword; neat feature is generating specific vocab for you based on your interests, profession, and any specifics you add; both features are tailored to your target language level; it’s free so hard to complain but an easy improvment would be to specify the length as right now they seem to be only a few minutes long by default

PlayLingo ($, 142/4.6) – basically adds dual subtitles to YouTube videos. A bit confusing, I signed up as learning Portuguese and speaking Spanish and I was shown videos in English. When I searched for Portuguese videos, they’re just videos from YouTube. I guess the point is that you have double translations with the ability to click on a word for trnasaltion and to create in-app flashcards.

Mango Languages ($$, 23,500/4.8) – No standout feature, at least in the free version, and seems light on content; you could finish the app in a few days. Geared towards beginners. In the App Store, I see a speech shadowing feature (Don’t know what Speech Shadowing is?), but this was not visible to me in the trial. If (and that’s a big if) it’s a useful feature, this app would become useful.

Lingopie – Unfortunately, you must choose a paid plan to get any access to the free trial. I was particularly curious about the travel videos with region accents for Spanish.

Lexirise ($, -/-) – Language learning through comics on select websites; although it’s an app, not really. It’s a Chrome/Firefox/Safari plugin. A little buggy. Has a nice dual-subtitles function with YouTube (similar to Language Reactor). A little hard to use. I think better with the asian languages.

TinyLingo ($, no app) – Listen to authentic native-speaker podcasts with word-level synced transcripts and instant translations. Unfortunately, you can only use what’s in their library, and for Spanish, there were only two options and both with accents from Spain.

Cheap Language Learning App

Cheap can be very differnet than free, the reason for this category. Free is more likely to mean ‘passion project’ or wanting to genuinely help though not going to have all the kinks worked out. Cheap is more likely to mean ‘I’m trying to make a quick buck’ and leads to a poor expreince and subpar tools like trash AI voices. I’ve done my best to only include those cheap apps that are worth your money if you are on a tight budget.

50 Languages ($, 600/4.8) – One language lifetime is a few bucks. More popular on Android. Very simple text/audio based app with material kinda like Pimsleur.

Colombian Spanish Words ✅ ($, 2/5.0) – A ton of information. Basic app with modules for Words, Phrases, and Games. The Games section is surprisingly useful. Lifetime purchase is under ten dollars.

Teach Yourself ($, 150/3.9) – A publisher displaying their materials, much of which is free and some for purchase as low as $2.99, all with audio tracks available.

Grammar-Focused Language Apps

ShortLearn ($, 6/5.0) – a TikTok/insta companion to get lessons from the videos you’ve watched. I spent a while searching for the account confirm email (never found it). When I got in after a setup error, I watched one English video to try out the app, which maxed out my trial credits the next two days. From the limited info I got, you share a video with the app, and it produces a text-based grammar lesson based on the video. I’m not sure, but assume it’s AI-based grammar making the grammar lessons flimsy. Not suitable for YouTube. The other problem I encourntered was dificulty finding relevant short-form content in my target language, even after changing the app interface to target language and searching tatget language words. Short-form content is overwhelmingly entertainment-based, dancing, etc. videos without many words. The idea has potnetial. I recall seeing a video between Luisito Communica (Mexican) and J. Balvin (Colombian) and it would have been cool to see the translation and grammar notes between the two accents.

Crap App List

Fluyo ($$, 459/3.9) – By YouTuber and fraud Ikenna, suffering a severe virus, causing him serious health issues. After a brief introduction to the app based on a video game format, creating my account, and 11 months post-launch, it seems all levels besides beginner are “coming soon”. I suspected the app was bad so after wasting five minutes, I sought out reviews and they were all negative. I found this Fluyo video review by a polyglot, which is so negative, it’s appalling that something would be released. I recall a video by Ikenna pretending to be so excited about the app and pronouncing that even him, a bonafide polyglot, was leanring from his own app.

Beelinguapp ✅ ($, 2,300/4.4) – The free version is extremely limited. Competitor to LingQ (listening and reading). Cool feature creates a story for you based on your prompt, and you can select the difficulty, length, and fiction/non-fiction. Good amount of content, both in fiction and non-fiction. It leans heavy on AI. Based on very short stories and follow-up questions about vocab and understanding. I paid for this app because I got a deal in my inbox for 45BRL (or $8), but upon checkout, the price spiked to $20. Still very cheap, so I went with it. UPDATE: the reason for being so cheap is that the voice is artificial. For this reason I have deleted the app from my phone and no longer use it.