The Best Apps to Learn English (An Honest Comparison)

Searching for "the best app to learn English" usually leads to articles full of lists of 20 apps with generic descriptions. This article is different: a practical, honest comparison of the six apps that really matter for someone who wants to learn English in 2026. We'll tell you what each is good for, what it lacks, how much it costs, and - most importantly - which combinations actually work. Spoiler: no single app will get you to fluent English. But two or three used in combination can.

Before comparing apps, you need to understand what any English learner needs. Three things: (1) daily habit - without daily practice nothing works; (2) vocabulary - 2000-3000 words is the threshold for comfortable conversation; (3) exposure to real English - podcasts, series, conversations. Most apps focus on only one or two of these. That is why a combination of several is usually the right answer.

The good: unbeatable gamification, a daily streak that hooks you, an enormous community, free with ads. For people who could never before keep a study routine, Duolingo is genuinely useful. The bad: vocabulary depth is limited (1500-2500 words depending on the course), the "translate sentences" mechanic does not always translate into real production, and after a year of religious use most users still cannot hold a real conversation. Price: free with ads, ~7 EUR/month for Super. Best for: absolute beginners who need to build the habit.

The good: the most proven spaced-repetition algorithm in the world, totally customisable, an enormous community with shared pre-made decks, free on desktop and Android. The bad: the interface looks 15 years old, the learning curve to set it up is steep, and - most importantly - you have to build or find the decks. Pre-made English decks vary hugely in quality. Price: free on Android and web, ~$25 USD one-off on iOS. Best for: technical users who already know what they want to learn and prefer total control.

The good: the 2000 most-used words in English pre-ordered by frequency, ready to learn without building decks. Every word comes with a real English example sentence. Spaced repetition using the SM-2 algorithm (the same one Anki uses). Clean interface, no aggressive gamification. Support for five languages - you can learn English, French, Italian, Polish and Spanish. The bad: it is not a conversation app; it doesn't have advanced listening exercises; it is specifically about vocabulary, not full grammar. Price: free with one language and 10 words/day; Pro at 5 EUR/month or 45 EUR/year for all five languages. Best for: learners who want deep vocabulary without hand-building decks.

The good: lessons organised like a course, with a focus on useful phrases for real conversation. Better pronunciation and listening than Duolingo. The bad: it is not free - you have to pay from day one. The course is relatively short compared to Duolingo - you reach the end much faster. Content quality is good but not exceptional. Price: roughly 7-13 EUR/month depending on the plan. Best for: learners who prefer a more structured "course" experience and don't mind paying.

The good: completely free, professional quality (it is the BBC), native audio with real accents, news and culture content for English learners. Perfect for improving listening comprehension. The bad: it is not a vocabulary app, has no spaced repetition, and is not structured like a course. It is more a library of content than a learning app. Price: free. Best for: essential complement for learners at intermediate level (B1+) who want exposure to real English.

The good: you can practise conversation at any time, ask for grammar explanations tailored to your level, ask it to correct your mistakes. The quality of English responses is excellent. The bad: it takes self-discipline - there is no built-in structure or habit. Listening comprehension still requires other resources. Price: free at basic tiers; ~20 USD/month for advanced versions. Best for: intermediate learners who want to practise written conversation without paying a teacher.

Instead of hunting for "the best app", the most useful thing to do is build a combination of two or three apps that complement each other. Here are the three combinations we recommend depending on your situation:

Combine Duolingo (free or Super) for the daily habit and gamified introduction + Vocabingo Pro (5 EUR/month) to build deep vocabulary from day one. 20 minutes of Duolingo + 10 minutes of Vocabingo a day. In six months you have the vocabulary base and routine to reach A2-B1.

Combine Vocabingo Pro to grow vocabulary beyond the first 2000 words + BBC Learning English (free) for daily listening comprehension + ChatGPT/Claude to practise written conversation and get corrections. This combination can take you from B1 to B2-C1 in a year if you keep it up.

Duolingo (free with ads) + Anki with a downloaded deck of the 2000 most frequent English words + BBC Learning English + a YouTube channel in English with subtitles. Works perfectly well if you have the discipline to use them every day.

A lot of people search for "the app that does everything". It does not exist, and the ones that pretend to be it (Mondly, Rosetta Stone, today's Memrise) tend to be mediocre at everything rather than excellent at one thing. The reality is that learning a language needs several components - vocabulary, grammar, listening, speaking - and each component benefits from a specialist tool. Two specialist apps used together will always beat one "complete" app.

To actually reach fluency in English, no app is enough. At some point (ideally at B1+) you have to: speak with real people in English (a language tandem, Italki, a teacher), read books in English that interest you, watch series without subtitles in your language. Apps are the tools that get you to the point where you can start doing these things. They are not the destination.