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New year, new language to conquer, right? If you’re anything like me, you’ve probably considered diving into a new language as part of your resolutions. Duolingo has been a go-to for a lot of people, and while it’s super popular, it’s not the only game in town.
If you’re looking for something a bit different, maybe even a little more engaging or tailored to your learning style—there are some fantastic Duolingo alternatives out there. These apps still bring that fun, gamified approach to language learning, but they offer fresh features, different methods, or even more advanced options. So, if you’re ready to level up your language-learning journey, here are a few alternatives I’ve tried and loved, and I think you might enjoy them too!
Ling
Ling is one of those language learning apps that feels super approachable and fun, but also really effective. I first tried it out when I was looking for something that could give me more variety than Duolingo. What I love about Ling is how it blends gamification with practical, bite-sized lessons. The app starts you off with basics like greetings and essential phrases, and then gradually builds up your vocabulary and grammar through interactive exercises.
PROS:
Wide Language Selection: I love that Ling offers a huge variety of languages to choose from, so I can easily switch between different languages or even try out something new.
Voice Recording & Pronunciation Checker: The app features a speaking activity that allows users to record their voice while following the audio, and it evaluates pronunciation similar to French Together.
Tips and Explanations: Ling provides helpful tips and explanations throughout the lessons. For example, while learning new words or sentence structures, the app often pops up with mini explanations or context on how certain words are used in real-life conversations.
CONS:
Limited Deep Dive into Grammar: While the app does introduce basic grammar concepts, it doesn’t always go in-depth. If you’re someone who loves understanding the rules behind sentence structures or verb conjugations, you might find it a bit light on the grammatical explanations.
No Full Alphabet Lessons: Ling doesn’t offer a separate, dedicated activity to fully learn the alphabet, especially for languages with unique scripts (like Thai or Hindi). You do get writing practice, but if you’re starting from scratch with the alphabet, it might take a little more effort to figure out.
Microphone Issue: I had an issue with the speaking activity. Initially, it was able to capture my voice, but later it could no longer detect it. I tested my microphone, and it worked, but it’s still not functioning with Ling so I had to relaunch it.
Languages: 60+ languages. Has more Asian languages compared to other apps.
Cost: No free version but they offer a 7-day free trial.
Writing: 4/5 – Writing exercises are incorporated throughout the courses.
Grammar: 3/5 – Offers basic grammar explanations but not on every exercise.
Reading: 3/5 – Reading is not as extensive as other apps.
Listening: 3/5 – Listening exercises are available, but the content is somewhat limited.
Speaking & Pronunciation: 4/5 – The speaking practice activity is effective (except for the issue), and the pronunciation in the audio is quite good as well.
Cultural Insights: 3/5 – Provides basic cultural information but doesn’t dive deeply.
Drops
Drops is an incredibly user-friendly language learning app that’s all about making vocabulary acquisition fun and engaging. It uses picture-based exercises to help you associate words with images, making learning feel like a game. The app offers a variety of topics, from everyday conversation to more niche areas like food, travel, and business, so you can tailor your learning to your interests. The lessons are bite-sized, typically lasting just 5 minutes.
It’s also perfect for learners who want to focus on vocabulary and get immediate results. The app is also free to use with an option for a premium version that unlocks additional features like unlimited daily learning time and offline access. Although it’s not heavy on speaking practice or grammar explanations, Drops excels at helping you build a solid vocabulary foundation in a fun, motivating way.
PROS:
Translation Available When You Need It: One thing I really like about Drops is that you can reveal the translation anytime you need it. Unlike some apps that show the English translation during the activity, with Drops, you have to click on the image to see the translation if you’re stuck. I love this because it adds a bit of challenge, and I feel like I’m actually thinking more instead of just relying on the translation right away.
Free Version is Pretty Good: You can use the app for free, and it lets you do some activities each day (though you’re limited on time). After my first lesson, I had to wait over 8 hours to continue with the next activities. It’s a great way to try it out without paying anything upfront.
CONS:
Spelling Activity is Weird Sometimes: The spelling exercises can be a little off. For example, a Tagalog word like “lungsod” (meaning city), breaks it into syllables like “lu-ng-so-d” instead of “lung-sod,” which can be confusing.
Images Don’t Always Match the Words: Some of the images in the app don’t really match the words they’re supposed to represent. Like, the Tagalog word “salu-salo” (which means a feast or banquet), it shows a picture of people dancing with wine glasses. While that might happen at a party, it doesn’t really capture the meaning of a “salu-salo,” which is more about a feast.
Languages: 50+ languages.
Cost: A free version is available with limited access. They also offer a 14-day money-back guarantee for purchases made through their website payment plan.
Writing: 3/5 – Focuses mainly on vocabulary, with minimal writing practice.
Grammar: 2/5 – Drops is primarily vocabulary-driven and doesn’t focus much on grammar.
Reading: 1/5 – While it gives you hints on how to read through various audio activities, there is no specific activity focused solely on reading.
Listening: 4/5 – Focuses a lot on listening through repetition and word association.
Speaking & Pronunciation: 1/5 – There’s no real conversational practice.
Cultural Insights: 2/5 – Very little to no focus on cultural aspects.
LingoDeer
LingoDeer is a comprehensive language learning app that provides users with a structured and curriculum-based approach to mastering new languages. This design sets it apart from many other language learning platforms, which may focus more on casual or less structured methods.
The app is available in two versions, each requiring a separate subscription: LingoDeer and LingoDeer Plus.
LingoDeer is the primary version, where learners can engage with a variety of courses that include bite-sized lessons.
In contrast, LingoDeer Plus serves as a supplementary app that offers a different learning experience. It incorporates more entertaining gamified activities, making the learning process more interactive and enjoyable for users who thrive on game-like challenges and rewards.
PROS:
Well-Structured Lessons: The lessons are organized. They build on each other gradually, starting with the basics and moving into more complex structures.
Grammar Focus: Unlike some apps that focus mainly on vocabulary, LingoDeer places a big emphasis on grammar. It goes deep into sentence structure, conjugations, and grammatical rules, which I appreciate since it helps me understand the “why” behind language usage.
Offline Mode: I love the fact that LingoDeer offers offline access to mobile apps. This makes it easy for me to practice when I don’t have an internet connection, like when I’m traveling or on a commute.
CONS:
Two Subscriptions: Just like Duolingo, the fact that you need to subscribe to two separate services to get the full experience can be a bit frustrating. It can feel like you’re paying for more than what you initially expected
Focused on Asian Languages: While it does have other languages, LingoDeer’s real strength seems to lie in Asian languages like Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. So, if you’re learning a language like French or Spanish, the app might feel a bit less specialized in comparison to other apps. Additionally, less popular languages are not included.
Languages: 16 languages
Cost: A free version is available with limited activities. Check out their website because sometimes they have promos that include both apps.
Writing: 4/5 – Offers good writing practice, especially for beginners and intermediate learners (French, Korean Japanese, Chinese, and Spanish)
Grammar: 5/5 – LingoDeer provides detailed grammar explanations and exercises, making it stand out in this category.
Reading: 4/5 – Has good reading practice.
Listening: 4/5 – Has good listening exercises, particularly for beginners.
Speaking & Pronunciation: 3/5 – Offers some speaking practice where you can record your voice and decent pronunciation with native speaker recordings. However, it does not provide feedback on your pronunciation.
Cultural Insights: 3/5 – Some cultural context is given, but it isn’t the main focus.
Lingo Legend
Lingo Legend is a language-learning app that merges adventure game elements with educational content, making it especially appealing to anyone who enjoys gaming or story-driven experiences. While most language apps teach skills in a step-by-step way, Lingo Legend lets you jump into exciting story-driven challenges.
In the app, you’re placed in a fantastical world where you take on challenges, battle enemies, and solve puzzles, all while learning a new language. As you progress through various quests, you earn rewards and unlock new levels, which help keep you motivated.
PROS:
Engaging Gamification: The app turns language learning into an adventure game, complete with battles and missions. This makes learning more fun, especially for those who enjoy gaming.
Vocabulary Building: It emphasizes vocabulary acquisition, with repetition through gameplay to help learners retain new words.
CONS:
Limited Language Selection: Learners interested in less commonly taught languages may not find the app useful, as it currently offers Spanish, French, Mandarin, Korean, Japanese, Italian, German, Portuguese, Dutch, and Russian.
Not Available on the Web and in All Regions: I attempted to download it on Google Play, but it is not available in my region. However, I was able to download it on my iPhone.
Languages: 10 languages
Cost: A free version is available with the option to upgrade to a premium account. Pricing may vary by location, but on App Store, the prices in USD are as follows:
Lifetime $89.99
Monthly $9.99
Quarterly $19.99
Writing: 3.5/5 – Some writing practice, though it’s more focused on gameplay and vocabulary.
Grammar: 3/5 – Minimal focus on grammar, as the main focus is on vocabulary through gamified scenarios.
Reading: 3/5 – Through the different activities, you will learn how to read phrases effectively.
Listening: 4/5 – Listening exercises are incorporated in an engaging way through the game.
Speaking/Pronunciation: 2/5 – No direct speaking practice is available, although audios are provided to help you hear how words are pronounced.
Cultural Insights: 3/5 – Features common phrases but focuses mainly on language learning through gameplay, with minimal cultural context.
Busuu
Busuu offers a blend of structured lessons and a unique social component, allowing users to connect with native or fluent speakers for valuable feedback. The app uses a variety of teaching methods, including vocabulary building, grammar exercises, and activities to improve reading and listening skills. Its lessons are designed to align with your specific objectives, whether you’re learning for work, travel, or personal enjoyment, making it a versatile option for language learners.
PROS:
Engaging AI-Generated Videos: One feature I really like is the inclusion of AI-generated videos in the lessons. These videos allow you to watch someone speaking the words and phrases, which makes it much easier to understand both the pronunciation and how the language is used in context.
Supportive Learning Community: Busuu’s community is a standout feature. You can share your written exercises and get constructive feedback from other users, including native speakers, which is incredibly helpful for improving grammar and writing skills. Additionally, you can record yourself speaking the language, and community members will provide useful tips and suggestions to help you refine your pronunciation and speaking abilities.
Well-Organized Lessons: Busuu offers courses designed with a clear, step-by-step progression, guiding learners smoothly from beginner to advanced stages. The lessons are carefully planned to build on each other, making the learning process logical and easy to follow. Additionally, the courses align with the internationally recognized CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages), ensuring an effective and standardized approach to language learning.
CONS:
Limited Speaking Opportunities: Although the app includes a community feature for interaction, it places more emphasis on structured lessons than on practicing real-life conversations, which might leave some learners wanting more speaking practice.
Varied Course Quality: The quality of the courses can vary depending on the language you choose. While popular languages receive well-developed and polished content, the less common ones often feel underwhelming and less comprehensive, as if they haven’t received the same level of attention and effort.
Languages: 14 languages
Price: Busuu is free with limited access, but users can upgrade to a premium account with a 14-day money-back guarantee.
Writing: 4/5 – Strong writing practice with feedback from native speakers.
Grammar: 3/5 – Covers grammar with explanations and exercises.
Reading: 4/5 – Good for reading practice with context-based exercises.
Listening: 4/5 – Offers listening exercises with native speaker dialogues and real-life scenarios.
Speaking & Pronunciation: 4/5 – Includes speaking practice with feedback from the community and AI. Pronunciation is well-supported with feedback.
Cultural Insights: 3/5 – Provides good cultural context along with language learning.
Memrise
Memrise is a language learning app designed to make mastering a new language both engaging and effective. It combines gamified lessons, spaced repetition, and multimedia tools to help users build vocabulary, improve pronunciation, and develop conversational skills.
What sets Memrise apart is its use of real-life video clips featuring native speakers, which help learners understand context, accents, and cultural nuances. The app offers a wide range of languages, from popular ones like Spanish, French, and Japanese to more niche options.
PROS:
Community-Created Lessons: One of the best features of Memrise is that you can create your own lessons and even learn from lessons made by other users. It’s a great way to pick up new words and phrases from different perspectives. That said, since the content is user-generated, I’ve noticed the quality can sometimes be hit or miss, so I usually double-check things just to be sure.
Native Speaker Videos: Lessons on Memrise include videos of native speakers, providing an authentic touch to your learning. These clips make the language feel more alive and relatable while helping you grasp accents and conversational nuances in a natural way.
CONS:
Limited Grammar Focus: one downside of Memrise is that it focuses heavily on vocabulary and phrases, but it doesn’t really go deep into grammar. While you can pick up some grammar naturally through the example sentences, it’s not the app to turn to if you’re looking for a thorough grammar guide.
Not Ideal for Advanced Learners: Another thing I noticed is that Memrise is better suited for beginners and intermediate learners. Once you get to an advanced level, the content starts to feel a bit too basic, so you might need to explore other resources for more challenging material.
Languages: 30+ languages
Cost: They have both a free plan and a pro plan.
Writing: 3/5 – Memrise offers some writing exercises, though not as robust as apps focused entirely on writing practice.
Grammar: 2/5 – It touches on grammar but isn’t as in-depth as other apps. It’s more focused on vocabulary and conversational phrases.
Reading: 4/5 – Reading exercises are integrated well.
Listening: 4/5 – Memrise has lots of listening exercises, and the audio is recorded by native speakers in real contexts.
Speaking & Pronunciation: 4/5 – Offers speaking practice with MemBot. Has good pronunciation with native speaker audio and a focus on understanding real-world sentences but there’s no pronunciation checker.
Cultural Insights: 3/5 – Cultural insights are minimal but occasionally woven into learning material.
Mondly
Mondly consists of short, bite-sized lessons. Each lesson is designed to touch on the essential skills—speaking, listening, and writing. It also has voice recognition, similar to our very own French Together.
PROS:
Speech Recognition: One of the features I’ve found most helpful in Mondly is its speech recognition technology. I love how it feels like I’m having a real conversation, and it’s made me more comfortable speaking out loud.
Broad Language Selection: It offers over 40 options, from popular ones like Spanish, French, and German to more unique choices like Romanian, Arabic, and Japanese. I’ve found it great because it lets you pick a language based on your interests, travel goals, or even career needs. Whether you’re diving into a widely spoken language or something a bit more niche, Mondly gives you the flexibility to explore so many different linguistic paths.
Engaging Activities: I find Mondly really engaging, and I enjoy how the activities are organized within each lesson. Even though they’re a bit repetitive, the variety keeps things interesting. Each lesson includes a mix of short activities, like multiple-choice questions, fill-in-the-blanks, spelling exercises, and sentence-building with word options. There’s even an option to either click on your answer or record yourself saying it, which I think adds a fun, interactive touch to the learning process.
CONS:
Response Limitation: I like that the chatbot provides suggested responses to choose from, but I think it would be even better if you could reply in your own words. Other chatbots, like the one in French Together, let you say whatever you want, even if it’s off-topic, which makes the conversation feel much more natural and realistic.
Limited Translations: Another thing I’ve noticed is that while Mondly does a great job showing translations for what the chatbot says, it doesn’t translate your responses. For example, when I record my voice when replying in Japanese, my answer shows up in Japanese characters, which can be challenging if you’re not familiar with them yet. I even tried copying the Japanese text to translate it elsewhere, but the app doesn’t let you do that, which can be a bit frustrating.
Languages: 40+ languages
Cost: Mondly offers a free version with limited lessons and features. Upgrading to the paid version provides more lessons and access to additional languages.
Writing: 3/5 – Writing exercises are available, but they’re somewhat limited.
Grammar: 4/5 – Offers solid grammar explanations and exercises.
Reading: 4/5 – Offers good reading practice.
Listening: 4/5 – Decent listening practice with real-life scenarios.
Speaking & Pronunciation: 4/5 – Provides speaking practice with the chatbot, although there are some inconsistencies in speech recognition. Has decent pronunciation from the audio used in the activities but there’s no feedback or pronunciation checker.
Cultural Insights: 3/5 – Focuses more on vocabulary and grammar, with some light cultural tidbits.
The Verdict
To wrap things up, gamified language learning apps can definitely make studying feel like a game, which is awesome for staying motivated. But, if you’re really looking to take your speaking skills and pronunciation up a notch, I’d totally recommend checking out French Together. It’s a great alternative because it’s all about real conversations and practical language use, which really helps you speak French more naturally. Plus, you’ll feel way more confident when you’re actually speaking, not just memorizing words or phrases.
From my experience, each of these apps brings something unique to the table, and they all excel in different ways. Whether it’s their approach to teaching, their features, or how engaging they are, I’ve noticed specific strengths that set them apart.
- Best for Grammar: LingoDeer (5/5) offers the most thorough grammar explanations and practice.
- Best for Pronunciation: French Together (5/5) is great for practicing pronunciation with instant feedback.
- Best for Speaking Practice: French Together (5/5), Memrise (4/5), Mondly (4/5) provide speaking practice with an AI.
- Best for Writing: Busuu & Ling (4/5) Both provide strong writing practice. Busuu allows you to practice writing and get community feedback.
- Highly engaging: Lingo Legend (5/5) stands out for its unique approach to keeping learners motivated, as it transforms language practice into an adventure.
- Best for Listening: Drops, Busuu, Mondly, Memrise (4/5) all four stand out for their integration of listening activities and quality audio in each lesson.
- Best for Reading: LingoDeer (4/5) has excellent reading practice through their “Story”
- Best for Cultural Insights: French Together (5/5) offers some of the best cultural contexts along with language learning.
Your experience might not match mine, so the best choice for you will depend on which features you value most and how you prefer to learn.