Top language learning apps compared

About Top language learning apps compared

Language learning apps split the market by what they charge at entry and what they charge once the introductory offer ends. A monthly plan quoted at a low figure is easy to find; the harder question is whether the renewal price holds and what the plan actually includes. This ranking weighs 45 brands on both entry and renewal prices, plan contents, and where each service runs. The median entry price across this ranking sits at €9.49, with monthly plans around €11.61 and yearly plans near €84.18. Most brands here offer a free tier, and trial periods cluster close to 7 days. The main trade-off is breadth against depth: some apps cover many languages through short daily lessons, while others concentrate on a single language with spaced repetition or live teachers.

How we picked

Each brand is scored on three weighted factors, written out as tokens below. Cost carries the largest share at 40%, which reflects what a reader pays at entry and at renewal, including monthly, yearly, and lifetime pricing where published. Offer holds the same weight of 40% and covers what a subscription includes, such as family plans, kids versions, offline access, live classes, and certificates. Trust accounts for the remaining 20% and draws on the refund window, trial length, support channels, and the legal entity behind the brand. Prices are taken from each provider's own pricing pages, legal terms supply the entity and the refund window, and product pages supply languages, methods, and features. Site-wide and category-wide figures come from the recorded range data, so a plan price can be read against a median or a spread. Partners are listed first, and every other brand is ordered by score.

Our top picks

1. 5. phase6: best for top-pick

   phase6 heads this ranking by pairing a free tier with a family subscription and an annual price that sits in the same band as the monthly figure, so the renewal bill does not jump. Lessons run in the app across Arabic, Chinese and Danish, a list that mixes everyday choices with rarer ones such as Latin and Ancient Greek. The plan runs €3 to €5 monthly and €35.99 to €59.99 yearly, and support runs on email and help centre. The refund window of 14 days is among the shorter here. Against Bunpro next, phase6 spreads across many languages where Bunpro drills one.

   • Price from: €0
   • Price per month: €3 to €5
   • Price per year: €35.99 to €59.99

   Pros

   • Entry price of €0 and monthly billing of €3 to €5 sit well under the €9.49 group median.
   • A free tier and a 7 days trial let you try the app before paying anything.
   • A 14 days money back period is longer than the 14-day lower quartile in this group.
   • A family subscription lets several learners share one account.
   • Learning runs through the app across Arabic, Chinese and Danish, so one subscription covers more than one target language.

   Cons

   • A 14 days money back period ranks near the back of this group at 20 of 29, so a long trial is the safer first test.
   • A 7 days free trial also sits low at 8 of 21, shorter than the 14-day group upper quartile.
   • Support runs on email and help centre only, with no live chat or phone line listed.

2. 6. Bunpro

   Bunpro earns its place in this ranking by drilling Japanese thoroughly rather than offering a broad catalogue. It has a free tier, so nothing is spent before you decide, and the monthly plan is $5, with a lifetime price of $150 for anyone who prefers lifetime access. The trial runs 30 days, and the refund window of 7 to 30 days is among the more generous in this ranking. Support includes a community channel through email, help centre and community. Compared with Reading Eggs next, Bunpro is built for study, not a reading programme for children.

   • Price from: $0
   • Price per month: $5
   • Lifetime price: $150

   Pros

   • A free tier means a learner can start at no cost, and price from is $0.
   • The monthly plan sits at $5, and a one off lifetime price of $150 removes renewal maths.
   • The 30 days trial is the long end of what apps in this group offer, and 7 to 30 days covers the gap after it.
   • App delivery suits commutes and short daily sessions, which is how most study actually happens.
   • SpanishPod101, named as an alternative, starts its pricing at $4, so Bunpro is the cheaper floor of the group.

   Cons

   • The Japanese list holds Japanese alone, so learners of Spanish or German have nothing here.
   • Support runs on email, help centre and community, which is written channels only, with no live speaking line.
   • A monthly plan at $5 is only worth it for a trial window; the $150 lifetime price is the cheaper long run.
   • The method list holds app alone, so live lessons are not among the ways to study here and speaking practice stays out of the plan.

3. 7. Reading Eggs

   Reading Eggs sits in this ranking because it pairs a subscription with a kids version and a family subscription, a combination few other members here offer. There is no free tier, so entry starts at £6.99, and the plan renews at £6.99 monthly or £54.99 yearly. Speech recognition is included, which matters for early reading, and support runs on email, phone and help centre, adding a phone line that helps when a parent has a billing question. The refund window of 30 days gives room to judge it.

   • Price from: £6.99
   • Price per month: £6.99
   • Price per year: £54.99

   Pros

   • A free trial of 30 days and a money-back period of 30 days let a family use the service properly before deciding to keep paying.
   • The library covers 4,000 titles as ebooks and audiobooks, with unlimited access under a single plan.
   • Family profiles, a family subscription and a kids version cover a whole household, and a team plan is offered for larger groups.
   • Assessments and speech recognition sit inside the app, so reading progress is measured rather than guessed at.

   Cons

   • There is no free tier, so the 30 days free trial is the only look before a payment is due.
   • Entry at £6.99 sits above phase-6 and Bunpro, which list €0 and $0, so a family wanting a book library still pays to start.
   • Support runs on email, phone and help centre, with no live chat or community forum in the list, so a question sent late waits for a reply.
   • The service is sold into GB, so these prices and the 30 days money-back period cover a single market.

4. S8. SpanishPod101

   SpanishPod101 belongs in this ranking because it is among the few members that add live one to one classes to app and audio material for Spanish. Entry starts at $4, the monthly plan is $4, and there is a free tier alongside a 7 day trial. The refund window of 60 days is one of the longer in this ranking, which suits anyone still weighing live teaching against a higher figure. Support runs on email and help centre. Against FrenchPod101 next, both share a method and refund term, but the monthly price differs.

   • Price from: $4
   • Price per month: $4
   • Free tier: Yes

   Pros

   • A 60 days money-back period gives a long window to change your mind, well past the 14-day site median.
   • A free tier and a 7 days trial give separate ways to test the material before any payment.
   • The subscription covers app, audio and live 1to1, so a single payment covers app study, audio and live sessions.
   • Monthly pricing of $4 sits under the €71.91 site median for subscriptions.

   Cons

   • The library covers Spanish, so anyone studying another language at the same time needs a separate service.
   • Chat and phone are not among its support channels (email and help centre), so billing and account questions go through email or the help centre.
   • The paid plan is a recurring charge at $4 a month, so it suits steady daily study more than a short need.

5. F9. FrenchPod101

   FrenchPod101 takes its slot in this ranking on the strength of its method range: the app, audio, live one to one, and live group classes for French, a mix few other members match. Entry begins at $4, the monthly plan is $10, and offline access is included, which matters for practice on the move. A free tier and a 7 day trial sit alongside a 60 day refund window. Support runs on email and help centre. Compared with Innovative Language just below, this brand covers one language and adds group classes.

   • Price from: $4
   • Price per month: $10
   • Free tier: Yes

   Pros

   • Entry plans start at $4 and the monthly option sits at $10, so a short commitment costs little to test
   • The 60 days money-back period ranks 2 of 29 brands, so a wrong fit is easy to reverse
   • One subscription mixes app work, audio and live teaching, with app, audio and live 1to1 all inside the plan
   • Offline downloads are part of the app, so lessons travel without a connection
   • A free tier plus a 7 days free trial let a learner sample the material before paying

   Cons

   • Coverage sits on French, so anyone studying another language needs a different service entirely
   • Help runs on email and help centre, and chat and phone are not among those routes
   • The 7 days free trial ranks 8 of 21 brands, so the trial is a brief signal and the refund window does the real testing

6. IL10. Innovative Language

   Innovative Language earns a place in this ranking by covering 34 languages through one subscription, so a household learning more than one language is served by a single payment. Entry starts at $4 with the monthly plan at $10, plus a free tier and a 7 day trial. The method covers the app, audio, and live one to one classes, and the refund window of 60 days is long. Support runs on email and help centre. Against Pearson Higher Education below, this catalogue is built for language learning.

   • Price from: $4
   • Price per month: $10
   • Free tier: Yes

   Pros

   • A free tier lets a learner open the service and study before paying anything.
   • A 7 days trial and a 60 days money-back period mean a paid plan can be bought, used and still refunded.
   • Coverage runs to 34 languages, from Afrikaans to Vietnamese, with delivery through app, audio and live 1to1.
   • Entry at $4 undercuts Reading Eggs at £6.99.
   • The 60 days guarantee is longer than the 14-day median listed on the site.

   Cons

   • The recurring rate of $10 is what a learner pays once the $4 entry price sits behind them, so a long study is priced at the higher figure.
   • Support runs on email and help centre only, with no voice line for anyone who prefers to talk.
   • A 7 days trial is short next to the 60-day longest free trial on the site.
   • Bunpro at $0 and the structured-review option at €0 open for nothing, so the $10 monthly rate makes Innovative Language the paid choice in this group.

What to look for

Entry price against renewal price

Read the introductory figure and the figure you keep paying. Entry prices in this ranking sit at a median of €9.49, monthly plans at €11.61, and yearly plans at €84.18. A low entry number says little about the second payment.

What the plan includes

A subscription can mean the app alone, or the app plus audio lessons and live classes. Family subscriptions and a dedicated kids version change the value for a household. App delivery covers 100% of apps in this category, so check what sits on top of the app before you pay.

Trial length and free tier

A free tier lets you sit with the interface at no cost, and 76.2% of apps in this ranking have one. A trial of 7 days at the median gives you time to reach paid features, so check the terms before you plan around it.

Refund window

The refund window shows how confident a provider is in its own product. The median window in this ranking is 29 days, with a spread from 0 days to 84 days. A short window makes an early exit costly.

Support channels

A help centre appears in 81.4% of apps here and email in 88.4%, while phone reaches 23.3%. Check that the channel you would realistically use is listed before you pay.

Where the price list runs

Some apps publish prices for a single market only, so a figure cannot be read across borders without checking the region. 45 brands sit in this ranking, and Reading Eggs is priced for GB while Pearson Higher Education covers CA, GB and US.

Frequently asked questions

Top language learning apps compared by country

• Australia
• Canada
• India
• United Kingdom
• United States

The data behind this ranking

All data and the CSV