Gone are the days when you had to join a classroom or online course and pay hundreds of dollars to learn a new language. Today, if you want to learn any new language, just grab your smartphone and get going. There are hundreds of amazing language learning apps available on both iOS and Android devices. The way you can utilize your smartphone as a fitness companion, brain trainer, and stress-reliever, you can also use your iPhones or Android smartphones to learn any new language. So, whether you want to utilize your free time to learn a new language, improve your vocabulary, or planning to travel to a country and you just wanna get your hands on some common words and phrases, there’s an app that’s best suited for your needs.
With thousands of apps vying for your attention in the App Store and Google Play Store, we’ve picked some fantastic language learning apps that will suit every learner. So, let’s get moving with our roundup for the best language learning apps for iOS and Android in 2020.
List of the Best Language Learning Apps
1. Duolingo (Best Free App for Learning Multiple Languages)
Compatibility: iOS, Android, Web
Price: Free, offers in-app purchases
If you’re looking for a fun app that lets you learn new languages with interactive game-like lessons, you must check out the Duolingo app. It has a colorful and user-friendly interface and offers many interesting features like streaks, level-ups, points earnings, virtual currency, and more. The app offers short lessons that help you practice speaking, reading, writing, and listening skills. It lets you stay motivated with the frequent reminders for your lessons and awards you for the progress.
- Duolingo has a leaderboard feature that lets you compete with other users across the globe.
- One of the most impressive features of Duolingo is that it doesn’t restrict how many languages a user can learn at the same time.
- While learning a language, make sure to practice regularly, otherwise, your skill level will fall and you’ll have to go all the way back and strengthen that again
- Right now, Duolingo offers courses in more than 35 languages, including, Spanish, German, Japanese, Russian, Dutch, Irish, Danish, Greek, Polish, and many more.
2. Memrise (Best Language Learning app with Videos)
Compatibility: iOS, Android, Web
Price: Free, Subscription starts from $8.99/month
If you can learn better through visual cues, Memrise is definitely a must-have language learning app for you. The app has support for around 20 languages and it lets you experience how a language actually sounds.
- One of the most standout features of the Memrise is that the app provides short-videos to give its learners a sense of how real locals express different phrases in a conversation. It helps to pick up the exact tone, pronunciation, and accent.
- It also offers a written translation of the recited words and continues to repeat them. Therefore, you hear the words in the new language and can see its translated meaning on the screen in your native language. Then, you have to type out the heard word in the new language. The correct answer will earn you points.
- You can set a goal for each day and keep a track of total words that you’ve learned.
- The app’s basic functionality is free, and the subscriptions start at $8.99 a month that gives you access to offline mode and additional games.
3. Babbel (Best interactive language learning app)
Compatibility: iOS, Android, Web
Price: Free first lesson for every course, subscription starts at $15.99/month
If you’re looking for an app that follows a modern approach and lets you learn a new language with confidence, look no further than Babbel. The app allows you to learn new words and phrases, gives you challenges to spell them correctly, speak them aloud, and fit them into proper sentences.
- When you download the app, you can take up the optional three-minute test to see where your skills fall. Babbel will then designate your level.
- The app offers short lessons of 10 to 15 minutes so that you can easily fit them in even your busiest schedules, without skipping them. Therefore. Babbel is one of the best iOS and Android language learning apps for people with hectic or busy schedules.
- The app features sophisticated speech recognition technology that enables the learners to perfect their pronunciation.
- Babbel has over 60,000 lessons in 14 different languages.
Also read: Best Stress-relief apps for iOS and Android.
4. Pimsleur (Best Language Learning app while driving)
Compatibility: iOS, Android, Web
Price: 7-day free trial
For all the language learners, who want to focus primarily on conversations, Pimsleur is sure to become your best bet. It’s an interesting language learning program that delivers its lessons in the form of podcasts on your iOS or Android devices.
- Pimsleur offers 51 different languages to learn from and aims to let you speak the language fluently.
- It’s a great language learning app for travelers on the go, who need to polish their speaking skills quickly. You can choose a language and start the 30-minute sessions in the form of podcasts. There’s also a driving mode that lets you drive safely and improve your skills without the need for looking at the screen.
- The app offers you a 7-day free trial, an audio-only subscription starts at $15, and the premium subscription starts at $20/month.
5. Rosetta Stone (Best language learning app with games and challenges)
Compatibility: iOS, Android, Web
Price: Free for 3 days
Rosetta Stone is one of the most popular language-learning apps for iOS and Android users. It has an engaging user-interface and offers a wide variety of games and challenges. It’s one of the best offline language learning apps that offer courses in over 24 different languages.
- The learners have to listen to the words, repeat them, and then match photos to phrases.
- Rosetta Stone features a TruAccent speech recognition technology that helps the learners to fine-tune their pronunciation and speak with a natural accent.
- Another standout feature of Rosetta Stone is the immersive program that makes it very easy for you to move from words to phrases to conversations in an efficient manner.
- There’s also Rosetta Stone’s Phrasebook that teaches you how to speak some commonly used phrases.
6. Busuu (Best language learning app to improve vocabulary)
Compatibility: iOS, Android, Web
Price: Free, $6.99 to $9.99 per month
If you’re looking for an amazing app to boost your grammar and vocabulary, you must check out Busuu. The app features a good content library with basic flashcards, reading comprehension, word banks, and question-answer sessions. You can also show-off your language skills by earning McGraw-Hill Education language certificates.
- The app has various reading, writing, and speaking activities that are geared towards improving vocabulary and grammar.
- Busuu also offers a Travel Language Course that’s specially designed for the users who’re planning to travel to a foreign country and want to learn some basics of the language beforehand.
- There’s also an option to get your exercises corrected by native speakers to level up your learning.
- The app offers some writing exercises and basic flashcards for free. The monthly subscription will cost you between $6.99 to $9.99.
7. Beelinguapp (Best language learning app with Audiobook)
Compatibility: iOS, Android, Web
Price: Free, starts at $3.99 per month
If you’re looking for the best language learning app for children then Beelinguapp is sure to become your favorite learning app. Beelinguapp follows the read-along approach that makes it both easy and fun to learn a new language.
- You just have to pick your native language and the language that you want to learn, then select your favorite children’s stories, novels, short stories, or anything else.
- The app shows text in the new as well as your native language side by side. This makes the learning process much easier as you can refer to your own language to learn new words and phrases.
- It’s one of the best and interesting language learning apps for children as it has a great collection of bilingual audiobooks, including children’s stories.
8. Hellotalk (Best language learning app with online classes & native speakers)
Compatibility: iOS, Android, Web
Price: Free, offers in-app purchases
If you’re looking for a language learning app that offers access to over 150 languages, you must check out Hellotalk. One of the best ways to learn a new language is by interacting with native speakers and this app actually allows you to do so.
- You can search for language partners on the basis of language, location, or gender. Then, you can connect with them via text and voice messages or even audio and video calls.
- It doesn’t only let you learn new languages, but also gives you insights into different cultures.
- Hellotalk also features a plethora of word games, foreign language podcasts, and one-on-one sessions with foreign teachers to strengthen your speaking skills.
- That’s not all. The app also aims to improve your grammar skills through translation, transliteration, AI grammar correction, text to voice, and voice recognition technologies.
9. Mondly (Best language learning app to improve grammar and pronunciation)
Compatibility: iOS, Android, Web
Price: Free, offers in-app purchases
Mondly is a natural and fast way to learn a language for any user whose native language is not English. The app also offers games and interactive lessons, and there’s a kids’ version as well. All the sessions are geared towards improving vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation.
- This app is suited for all the learners, starting from the beginners and all the way up to advanced learners.
- You can start by learning core words, form sentences from them, learn phrases, and take part in conversations.
- Mondly teaches you useful phrases for real-life situations and it also features intelligent reporting, so that you can keep a track of your progress.
- It also has voice recognition technology so that you can master your pronunciation and speak like a local speaker.
10. Mango Languages (Best offline language learning app)
Compatibility: iOS, Android, Web
Price: Free, starts at $7.99 per month
Here comes one of the free offline language learning apps for Android and iOS users that we’ve got on our list. Mango Languages offer over 70 foreign languages for English speakers and it also has various English courses in over 20 source languages.
- Mango Languages offers comprehensive lessons that help to improve vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation, and helps to explore different cultures as well.
- The content library is aligned with international standards and the individual review system helps to learn a language at your own desired pace.
- The app also provides a “Jump back in” feature that allows you to pause a lesson and get back to it later.
- Mango Languages also features Bluetooth Syncing so that you can easily learn a language while you’re on the go. Plus, all the lessons are available offline.
11. Innovative 101
Compatibility: iOS, Android, Web
Price: Free, in-app purchases
Here we have another app for learning languages on your iOS and Android devices by dedicating a few minutes per day. Innovative 101 offers short videos as well as audio lessons of 3 to 15 minutes each that helps to learn a foreign language in a fun and interesting way.
- The app allows you to download the lessons and learn offline at your preferred time.
- The vocabulary lessons are also delivered to your email on a daily basis.
- You can track your learning progress with the help of Progress Bars.
- The app allows you to sync your lessons over Bluetooth and continue to practice while you’re heading to your workplace or home.
- There are video lessons that help to understand the cadence of a language and showing the correct way to pronounce it.
- The line-by-line audio feature helps to master conversation efficiently.
- The Premium Plus users can go for the personalized learning program and guidance.
12. Drops (Best app for learning new words)
Compatibility: iOS, Android, Web
Price: Free, starts at $7.99 per month
If you’re looking for a language learning app for Android and iOS devices that allows you to learn new words and boost your vocabulary, you must give a shot to Drops. This app features a series of 5-minute exercises to get you through new words daily.
- The time limit adds an extra dose of focus and adrenaline rush to your learning process and boosts memorization.
- The app focuses on 100% visual learning, where each word is illustrated in such a beautiful way that your mind will store new words more efficiently. I. In order to progress, you have to connect the words to the pictures showing their meanings.
- There’s a ‘travel talk’ offline feature, that offers a helping hand to the travelers on-the-go.
- The app follows fast-paced and intuitive learning, which helps you to get the most out of your 5 minutes a day. It’s a must-have language learning app for people with packed schedules.
- It also helps you to write a new language with its advanced character learning system.
13. LingoDeer
Compatibility: iOS, Android, Web
Price: Free, in-app purchases
Here we’ve another free and paid fantastic language-learning app for Android as well as iOS users that helps to learn a new language from scratch.
- Lingo Deer offers great scope to improve your vocabulary with its library of over 2,000 words.
- Interactive lessons and review exercises have been designed by a team of professional teachers with an aim to nurture writing, reading, and speaking skills by devoting just 10 minutes a day.
- The app also features placement tests, quizzes, flashcards, grammar lessons, and other activities to speed up your learning process.
- LingoDeer offers Japanese, Spanish, French, Korean, German, Mandarin Chinese, Russian, and Vietnamese languages. Most of the lessons are free, and you can also go for the premium subscription to unlock additional activities and games.
14. LyricsTraining (Best app to learn new languages with music)
Compatibility: iOS, Android, Web
Price: Free, starts at $4.99 per month
For all the learners out there, who’re looking for a fun language learning app that makes you enjoy what you’re learning, LyricsTraining is sure to become your front-runner.
- LyricsTraining follows a different approach to teaching a new language. Just select your favorite song, listen to it closely, and then you’ll have to fill the missing words in the song lyrics by selecting the correct option.
- Apart from music, the app also features movie clips, TV shows, talks in different genres. The basic idea is to make your learning easy and full of fun.
- The app features a Bilingual dictionary and integrated translation, you can simply tap and hold on a word to learn its meaning in your own language.
- You can select the difficulty level and also compete with other users across the globe.
With this, we’ve come to the end of our roundup for the best language learning apps for iOS and Android in 2020. Do let us know which app did you like the most from the list above. Also, don’t forget to share this article with your friends and help them find a great language learning app.
Don’t miss our roundups for the best brain training apps and stress-relief apps for Android and iOS in 2020.
