Best Free Duolingo Alternatives to Learn a Language

Busuu teaches 14 languages: English, French, Spanish, Italian, German, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Brazilian Portuguese, Polish, Russian, Arabic, Dutch and Turkish. Lessons are grouped by level, and you can get feedback on your writing and speaking from a community of native speakers.

The free plan shows ads. Busuu's help centre says offline mode is not part of the free plan but comes with Premium and Premium Plus. Premium Plus adds AI conversations and pronunciation feedback in selected languages. Busuu is a Chegg service.

What you lose vs Duolingo: a much smaller language list, and offline learning on the free plan.

Memrise is known for short clips of native speakers saying real phrases. The App Store listing says you can learn Spanish, Korean, Japanese or 136 other languages, including newer ones like Irish, Latin, Esperanto and Cantonese. It also has AI Buddies, chat partners for speaking practice.

The listing spells out the free plan: limited vocab lessons, limited videos and conversations, and ads. Pro unlocks all lessons and videos, unlimited speaking practice and no ads. The $329.99 lifetime price often shows up discounted as an in-app offer, so check before you pay monthly.

What you lose vs Duolingo: full lesson access. Memrise's free plan runs out faster.

Drops teaches vocabulary with pictures and swipe games, built around five minutes of learning a day. The App Store listing says it covers 55+ languages, including Hindi, Hebrew, Cantonese, Hawaiian and American Sign Language.

The free plan caps how long you can play, and the app shows ads. Premium gives unlimited time, no ads, offline learning and all content. On the Drops website it is $11 a month, $69.99 a year or a one-time $150.

What you lose vs Duolingo: grammar and sentence building. Drops is a word trainer, not a full course.

Mango is a paid course, but many public libraries and schools pay for it so members get full access for free. When you sign up, you look for a subscribing organization such as your library and use your library card.

It covers 70+ languages, with real recordings from native speakers, a pronunciation comparison tool and spaced repetition reviews. You can download lessons for offline study, progress syncs between devices, and there are no ads. Without library access, the individual plan is $10 a month billed yearly on Mango's site, or $13.99 a month in the iPhone app, after a 14-day free trial.

What you lose vs Duolingo: access for everyone. It is only free if your library or school has it.

Language Transfer is a set of audio courses where a teacher talks a student through how the language works. You think out loud and build sentences yourself, instead of tapping word tiles. The site says there are no price tags, no adverts and no sign-ups.

The app has the same audio as the website, but lets you download tracks in advance, save your progress and listen with your phone locked. Courses include Complete Spanish, Complete Greek, Complete Swahili and Complete German (in progress), plus introductions to Arabic, Turkish, Italian and French, and English for Spanish speakers.

What you lose vs Duolingo: game features, streaks and a long list of languages.

LingQ is built around reading and listening to content you like, such as podcasts, books, articles and videos. You tap unknown words to save them, and the app tracks your vocabulary. It covers 50+ languages, and you can import your own content from YouTube, Netflix, podcasts and books.

The free plan is tight. LingQ's own help pages say free accounts can save only 20 words (LingQs) and import 5 lessons in total. Premium removes those caps, at $14.99 a month or $119.99 a year in the iPhone app.

What you lose vs Duolingo: a usable free plan. Treat LingQ free as a test drive.

Clozemaster shows you real sentences with one word missing, and you fill the gap. It is built for A2 to C1 learners who know the basics and want to see words in context. It covers 50+ languages on the web and in the apps.

Free accounts can play up to 30 sentences a day. Pro removes the cap and adds listening practice for 30+ languages, sentence search, automatic translations, advanced stats and offline play of downloaded collections in the app.

What you lose vs Duolingo: a beginner path. Clozemaster assumes you already know some of the language.

Anki is a flashcard app that shows each card right before you are likely to forget it. It does not teach a language on its own, but the AnkiWeb shared deck library has ready-made decks for dozens of languages. Download one and start reviewing.

Anki is free and open source on Windows, Mac and Linux, and AnkiDroid is free on Android. The iPhone and iPad app, AnkiMobile, is a one-time $24.99, and its sales fund Anki's development. Sync through AnkiWeb is free and only needs an account if you want your cards on more than one device. If Anki feels too plain, see our list of Anki alternatives.

What you lose vs Duolingo: a guided course and any game elements. You bring the discipline.

HelloTalk matches you with native speakers who want to learn your language. You chat by text or voice, correct each other, post in a public feed, and join voice rooms and livestreams. It lists 270+ languages.

HelloTalk's FAQ says free members get 10 translations a day across the app. AI correction and voice-to-text are also capped, and the Android app shows ads. VIP removes those caps and raises how many new partners you can contact each day.

What you lose vs Duolingo: a lesson plan. You need some basics before chats become useful.

Tandem works like HelloTalk. You find native speakers, chat by text, voice notes or video calls, and help correct each other. It lists 300+ languages, including 12 sign languages such as ASL. A web version is available after you sign up on mobile.

Tandem's own overview says free members get three translations a day, can start 10 new conversations a day and can join group audio Parties for up to 60 minutes a day. Pro gives unlimited translations, raises new conversations to 30 a day, removes the Parties limit and drops the ads.

What you lose vs Duolingo: structured lessons. Pair Tandem with a course app for grammar.