Best Apps to Learn English: Free and Paid Options Compared

There is no single best app to learn English; the right choice depends on what you need. Duolingo is great for building a daily habit, Anki helps you remember vocabulary, BBC Learning English and the British Council's LearnEnglish offer free, high-quality lessons, and apps like Busuu, HelloTalk and Tandem let you practise with real people.

In short: start with one free app for daily practice, add Anki for new words, and get real listening and speaking practice every week. Most learners progress faster by combining two or three tools than by relying on one.

How to choose the right app for you

Before you download anything, answer three quick questions:

1. What is your goal? Everyday conversation, travel, work, or an exam like IELTS or TOEFL.
2. What is your level? A beginner needs guided lessons. An intermediate learner usually needs more listening, speaking and vocabulary.
3. Which skill is weakest? Vocabulary, listening, speaking, grammar or writing.

Pick apps that target your weakest skill, not just the most popular one. If you are preparing for an exam, also read our comparison of IELTS, TOEFL and the Duolingo English Test.

Duolingo: build a daily habit

Duolingo turns learning into short, game-like lessons: you match words, translate sentences, listen and repeat. Streaks and small rewards encourage you to come back every day, which is its biggest strength.

• Good for: beginners, and anyone who struggles to study regularly.
• Free vs paid: the core lessons are free with ads. A paid subscription removes ads and adds extra features.
• Limitation: the sentences are short and sometimes artificial, so Duolingo alone rarely takes you to confident, natural conversation.

Tip: don't chase the streak for its own sake. Five focused minutes where you say the sentences out loud are worth more than rushing through lessons.

BBC Learning English and LearnEnglish: free lessons you can trust

Two of the best resources are completely free and come from well-known organisations:

• BBC Learning English has courses organised by level, grammar and vocabulary lessons, and short programmes such as 6 Minute English, where two presenters discuss a topic using useful vocabulary. It is available on its website and YouTube channel.
• LearnEnglish from the British Council offers grammar explanations, listening and reading exercises, and practice sorted by level.

These sites are ideal for listening practice and for understanding grammar properly, which game-style apps often skip. They also use natural, real-world English.

Anki: vocabulary that stays in your memory

Anki is a flashcard app built on spaced repetition. Instead of reviewing every word every day, it shows you each card just before you are likely to forget it. Words you know well come back less often; words you find hard come back sooner.

• Free vs paid: Anki is free on Windows, macOS and Linux, on Android (as AnkiDroid) and on the web. The official iPhone app is a paid one-time purchase.
• How to use it well: make your own cards from words you meet in real content, and put a full example sentence on each card, not just a single word.
• Limitation: the interface looks plain, and it takes a little time to learn.

The chart shows the idea: without review (grey line) you forget most new words within days. Each review (the cards on top) brings the memory back, and every time it fades more slowly, so the gaps between reviews can get longer.

Busuu, HelloTalk and Tandem: practise with real people

Sooner or later, you need to use English with humans.

• Busuu combines structured lessons by level with a community feature: you submit short writing or speaking exercises and native speakers can comment and correct them. There is a free version with limits and a paid Premium plan.
• HelloTalk and Tandem are language exchange apps. You chat with native English speakers who want to learn your language, by text, voice messages or calls, and you help each other. Both work for free, with optional paid extras.

A safety note for exchange apps: keep conversations inside the app at first, don't share your address, phone number or financial details, and block anyone who makes you uncomfortable.

Babbel: structured paid lessons

Babbel is mainly a paid subscription, usually with a free first lesson so you can try it. Its lessons are short and focus on practical conversations, with clear grammar notes along the way. It suits people who prefer a structured course over a game. Check which interface languages are offered for the English course before you subscribe, because not every language pair is available.

Quick comparison

App	Best for	Free option	Paid option
Duolingo	Daily habit, beginners	Yes, with ads	Subscription removes ads, adds features
BBC Learning English	Listening, grammar, real English	Fully free	None
British Council LearnEnglish	Grammar and practice by level	Free	Separate paid courses exist
Anki	Remembering vocabulary	Free (except iPhone app)	iPhone app is a one-time purchase
Busuu	Structured lessons + native feedback	Limited	Premium subscription
HelloTalk / Tandem	Talking with real people	Yes	Optional extras
Babbel	Structured conversation course	Trial lesson	Subscription

Prices and plans change and can differ by country, so check the official app store page before paying.

A simple way to combine apps

Here is a realistic weekly routine that uses only free options:

1. Every day (10 minutes): one Duolingo or Busuu lesson, spoken out loud.
2. Every day (5 to 10 minutes): your Anki reviews, plus two or three new cards from things you read or heard.
3. Three times a week (15 minutes): one 6 Minute English episode or a LearnEnglish listening exercise.
4. Once or twice a week: a short chat on HelloTalk or Tandem, or a speaking session with an AI tutor, as we explain in how to learn a language with ChatGPT.

For extra listening, English videos with subtitles are hard to beat: see our guide to learning a language from YouTube, films and series.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Collecting apps instead of using them. Two apps used daily beat six apps opened once.
• Only tapping, never speaking. Say answers out loud. For accent work, try these free tools to improve your English pronunciation.
• Learning isolated words. Always learn a word inside a sentence.
• Staying in the comfort zone. When the lessons feel easy, move to real content: podcasts, articles and conversations.
• Paying too early. Use the free versions for a few weeks, then decide whether a paid plan is really worth it for you.