There are a lot of languages in the world, and learning one, even if it’s just a part of your home tongue, is a challenge. And finally, the digital age has made it possible to learn a second language by giving us language-learning apps that we can carry around with us. With apps like Duolingo, you can learn a language without leaving your house. Duolingo is the most well-known app for learning a language, but it’s not the only one. People who prefer something other than learning languages through text-based lessons should also avoid this method. If you want to learn a new language but need help with Duolingo, here are the ten best apps you can use instead in 2023.
Best Duolingo Alternatives to Learn a New Language in 2023
1. LingoDeer
LingoDeer is the best app instead of Duolingo to learn Asian or European languages like Japanese, Korean, Chinese, French, German, and more. I say this because LingoDeer teaches you the entire grammar of a language rather than just a few trip phrases. Learning a new language isn’t just for moving; it can help you understand things better. A 10-minute lesson every day on LingoDeer training your reading, speaking, and writing skills as part of that.
I love this app the most because it starts with the basics: the alphabet, words, lines, phrases, and grammar, then moves on to everything else. If you want to learn a language from the ground up or are interested in school, LingoDeer is the best choice—even better than Duolingo. I promise you won’t be unhappy if you go for it.
Install: Android, iOS (Free with in-app purchases)
2. Drops
Drop is a one-of-a-kind app that wants to change how people learn other languages. You can take a lesson for only 5 minutes, a “5-minute learning sprint.” Not more than that. The app purposely puts the limit in place so that the user has to concentrate for a short time. This will help them remember things in the long run. Right, that’s cool. Besides that, Drops is better for learning through pictures than Duolingo, which has mostly text-based lessons that I find dull.
Drops lets you learn a new language in a lot of different ways. You can play fun games, listen to voice-overs, connect words to make pictures, and more. That’s not all, though. Unlike Duolingo’s weekly progress evaluation, you can find your progress at the end of each day. Drops is the best option for Duolingo regarding how engaged users are and how much progress they make generally.
Install: Android, iOS (Free with in-app purchases)
3. Lingvist
The Lingvist app is great if you like to use science in all parts of your life, like Batman. The creator of this app tried a scientific method to learn languages, and he was successful. Lingvist differs from the other apps on this list because it teaches you words you would hear in real-life conversations in the language you want to learn. You get to learn and use words that are helpful in real life. The app shows your course material to help you learn and keep track of how fast you are learning.
The content is presented as flashcards, which look pretty cool on an app. The only point where it falls short of Duolingo is the limited number of languages it offers—only 4, as opposed to Duolingo’s respectable 35. Do try this app, though, if your target language is a part of it.
Install: Android, iOS (Free, in-app purhcases)
4. Memrise
Memrise is a well-liked free app that offers a large list of more than 100 languages for you to learn and choose from. In contrast to Duolingo, it offers a game-based learning experience for your preferred language in the form of training you as a secret spy who is about to visit a world and practice your chosen language. Besides this strange idea, Memrise offers a more advanced level of language learning with video clips of native speakers talking to you. This is a step up from Duolingo’s beginner level.
You can also keep learning your favorite language even if you can’t connect to the internet, but you’ll have to pay extra for the app to do that. But since you can learn more than 100 languages in fun and interesting ways, you won’t mind spending a fair amount, especially since your phone often shows you great deals.
Install: Android, iOS (Free with in-app purchases)
5. Babbel
You are reading about the right language teacher app if you want your digital trainer to have both organized and interactive content on the same screen. Babbel is a great choice for Duolingo because it allows for great interaction at every level and offers a variety of education options for all kinds of learners. Compared to Duolingo, which has 35 languages, this only has 14 languages, and not all major ones exist. You can more easily grasp the subject matter because the course content is presented in an organized way, split into 10-15 minute bite-sized lessons. You’ll be put in chat-like settings where you need to answer normally. During the process, you also learn about the cultural meanings of some words and phrases in the language you want to learn.
By training you to speak flawlessly using speech-recognition technology, the service also tries to improve your pronunciation. It also syncs your progress across devices, which makes it a great app for learning a language anywhere.
Install: Android, iOS (Free with in-app purchases)
6. Rosetta Stone
Rosetta Stone is the first computer-assisted language-learning app, and you can get it on Android and iOS. On the other hand, Rosetta Stone has 24 major languages, all written by experts and teachers working together. It provides extensive study materials to give you the best possible introduction to your chosen language. These things and a nice-looking user interface make learning on your phone fun.
Your smartphone’s built-in speech recognition technology helps you learn how to say new words correctly. It also has pronunciation classes. Because it’s based on cloud technology, you can start the lesson on your computer and keep going with it on your phone while you’re on the go. This is the best site to use instead of Duolingo if you want to take skilled language lessons.
Install: Android, iOS (Free with in-app purchases)
7. HelloTalk Learn Languages Free
HelloTalk can get a place on your device if you’re the kind of guy not interested in studying. After all, who said you could only learn from books and not from talking to other people? By having conversations with multilingual people from around the world, this language learning service enables you to learn your preferred language. Before you ask someone for an interaction, look at their resume and see what they’re interested in and good at. Many people use it to connect with others, like those who want to learn a language while traveling or those interested in other languages’ cultural meanings.
While the chat-based system does allow for voice calls, the video call tool lets you interact with the other person and talk about things that are hard to explain, like pronunciation. Because it’s chat-based, the learning can be reciprocal; for example, you can prepare your French friend good German, and they can do the same for you. For people interested in learning a language, it is a combination of Facebook and WhatsApp.
Install: Android, iOS (Free with in-app purchases)
8. busuu
Busuu is for people who want to start with the basics of a language and then move on to very higher levels. Duolingo has yet to offer this. The app’s style is well thought out, and the way it teaches you a new language is very interactive. You can be sure you are in good hands because experts and teachers made the content. By filling in the blanks, you can learn new words that are challenging to say. Not only do you learn new words, but you also get grammar tips and detailed examples to help you get started with your new language. Additionally, you interact with the locals, which helps you grasp your new language with a local flavor. You can also see your progress in a thorough report showing your changes.
Bad things? Only 12 languages are available for you; some major ones still need to be included in the list. However, if the language you want to learn is on Busuu’s list, try it because it’s an interactive yet professional method of learning a new language.
Install: Android, iOS (Free with in-app purchases)
9. Mondly
The Mondly app is a good choice for an advanced language learning app with voice recognition. Like Duolingo, it has different kinds of daily lessons, such as learning basic words, lines, phrases, and so on. The built-in speech recognition function can also help you test your pronunciation. It’s great that it will make you feel better about your speaking skills. The app also works with 33 languages, the same number as Duolingo. However, it has a tool called word conjugator that only this app has for each language.
For conversations, it’s very helpful to find the conjugated word in a different language quickly. This will help you learn faster than a book. Mondly is a good app for learning a new language, and in terms of price, it’s less expensive than Duolingo. If you want to use Mondly instead of Duolingo, give it a try.
Install: Android, iOS (Free with in-app purchases)
10. Clozemaster
This is the only name on the list that says it is a game instead of a language-learning app. For more than 100 language pairs, it beats Duolingo at its own game. You’ll find your “mobile lingual learning class” dressed in a “16-bit game” like images because the creator says this is a game. You get interactive fill-in-the-blank questions, and you can also listen to the audio versions of them. And yet, the content was at a level that is the next step up from Duolingo’s beginner levels. The best part is that it’s free. You’ll forget about Duolingo after you try it.
Learn Your Dream Language with Duolingo Alternatives
An awful lot of other apps work the same way as the ones we talked about. You may believe that the Play Store has even more useful and better app-based services. However, these ten apps, like Duolingo, offer the best language learning experience, though they do it uniquely. Please tell us about a better app in the comments below. Start learning a language now.
