Alternatives

The best Duolingo alternatives in 2026

Updated: October 2, 2026

We make Typeflu, one of the apps on this list, so weigh this accordingly. We checked every price on 2 October 2026, and we ranked Typeflu where we think it honestly belongs, not first.

Duolingo is free, fun and covers more languages than anyone, so leaving it is not always the right call. But many people reach a point where the streak keeps growing and their real skills do not: they cannot follow a native speaker, they do not understand the grammar, or they never actually speak. The best Duolingo alternative depends on which of those problems is yours. Below are six apps that each fix a different one, ranked by how well they serve a typical learner moving on from Duolingo.

The picks

1. 1 Babbel

   Best for

   Learners who want clear grammar and a structured course

   Price

   From about $8.95 a month on a 12-month web plan in the US; about $17.99 month to month on the App Store. Prices vary by country and sales are frequent.

   How you practise

   10 to 15 minute lessons with grammar notes, listening, speaking and review

   Babbel is the most direct upgrade for people who felt Duolingo never explained why. Its lessons are written by teachers and explain grammar as you go, with a spaced review trainer, speech recognition and Babbel Speak, an AI conversation trainer. Babbel Live adds small online classes with real teachers for Spanish, German, Italian and French. It teaches 14 languages, including both Spain and Latin American Spanish. The catch: almost nothing is free, there is no Arabic interface, and Portuguese is Brazilian only. If you study in English or Spanish, it is the safest all-round pick.
   Visit site: Babbel ↗

2. 2 Busuu

   Best for

   Arabic or Spanish speakers who want a complete course with feedback from people

   Price

   Free basic plan. Premium and Premium Plus cost roughly $70 to $140 a year, depending on tier, platform and country.

   How you practise

   Structured A1 to C1 lessons, review, and corrections from native speakers

   Busuu offers 14 languages and says it has 2,500+ hours of lessons from A1 to C1. Its standout feature is the community: native speakers correct your written and spoken exercises, which no other app here does. Premium adds offline lessons and McGraw Hill certificates, and Premium Plus adds AI conversations and pronunciation feedback. It has an Arabic interface, so it is a strong full-course option for Arabic speakers learning English. Downsides: community feedback can take hours or days, and Trustpilot reviewers complain about billing and refunds, so read the renewal terms before you pay.
   Visit site: Busuu ↗

3. 3 italki

   Best for

   Anyone whose real goal is to speak

   Price

   Pay per lesson, no subscription: community tutors about $4 to $15 an hour, professional teachers about $15 to $60.

   How you practise

   1:1 video lessons with a tutor you choose

   The most common complaint about Duolingo is a long streak and no conversation. No app fixes that as directly as a person. italki lists tutors in 150+ languages, and you can filter for tutors who speak Arabic or Spanish, or for European Portuguese teachers from Portugal. You choose the price, the schedule and the focus, from casual chat to business English. Quality depends on the tutor, and the cost adds up if you book often, so many learners combine one or two lessons a week with an app for daily practice.
   Visit site: italki ↗

4. 4 Typeflu Made by us

   Best for

   Learners who can read but cannot follow fast speech, especially Arabic speakers learning English

   Price

   Free: the first lesson of every unit. Pro: €7.50 a month or €49 a year in Europe, local prices elsewhere, half price in many countries.

   How you practise

   Listen to a real sentence, type it, fix it letter by letter

   Typeflu trains one skill that Duolingo touches only lightly: hearing a full sentence and writing it down correctly. You replay at 0.75× to 2× speed, every word shows its IPA and meaning, and one tap explains your mistake in Arabic, Spanish or English. It tags mistakes by your native language (for Arabic speakers: p and b, missing a and the) and builds Weak Spots lessons from them. You can also turn your own texts into lessons with audio. Its strongest catalog is English for Arabic speakers: 31 courses from A1 to B2 plus an IELTS course. It also has the only European Portuguese course with an Arabic interface that we found. Be clear on the limits: no speaking practice, no tutors, no certificates, a small catalog for everyone else (one A1 course for Spanish speakers), and a web app rather than a store app.
   Try Typeflu free

5. 5 Pimsleur

   Best for

   Busy adults who want to start speaking hands-free

   Price

   First lesson free. About $19.95 a month for one language or about $20.95 for All Access in the US.

   How you practise

   30-minute audio lessons where you answer out loud

   Pimsleur is the opposite of Duolingo's tapping and typing: you listen, and a narrator prompts you to say phrases out loud, with spaced recall built into the audio. It works in the car, on a walk or at the gym, which Typeflu and Duolingo do not. It covers 50+ languages, including European Portuguese (Levels 1 and 2). It is expensive, it has little reading or writing, and some courses, such as European Portuguese, stop early. Pimsleur has also sold an English course for Arabic speakers; check their site to see if it is in the current app.
   Visit site: Pimsleur ↗

6. 6 Memrise

   Best for

   Casual learners who want short vocabulary sessions with real speakers

   Price

   Free tier. Pro about $8.99 a month or about $60 a year in the US.

   How you practise

   Spaced-repetition vocabulary, videos of native speakers, AI chat on Pro

   Memrise feels closest to Duolingo in session length, but it leans on clips of real native speakers rather than cartoon characters, which helps your ear. Its official courses include Spanish (Mexico and Spain), English, and Portuguese from both Brazil and Portugal, and the interface comes in 25+ languages including Arabic and Spanish. Check that the course you want is taught from your language before you pay. It is thin beyond beginner level and has little long listening, so treat it as a light daily habit, not a full course.
   Visit site: Memrise ↗

At a glance

Why people look for a Duolingo alternative

Duolingo is a good app, and its free tier is more generous than anything on this list. The reasons people leave are usually specific: the energy system cuts lessons short and pushes ads or gems, the game starts to matter more than the language, or after months of lessons they still cannot follow a conversation. Each app above targets one of those gaps. If none of them bothers you, staying on Duolingo is a perfectly good choice.

How we chose

• It fixes a real Duolingo gap: grammar explanations, speaking, live people, or sustained listening.
• It serves our readers: we gave weight to apps that work in Arabic or Spanish, not just English.
• Honest pricing: we checked prices on 2 October 2026 and say when they vary by country. Always confirm on the official site.
• Breadth and depth: a bigger, deeper catalog ranks higher. That is why Typeflu, with a strong English for Arabic speakers catalog but a small one elsewhere, sits in the middle.

Which one should you pick?

• You want grammar to finally make sense: Babbel (in English or Spanish) or Busuu (in Arabic).
• You want to speak: italki for real conversations, Pimsleur for speaking practice on the go.
• You understand written English but not spoken English: Typeflu. Read our guide to English dictation practice.
• You need IELTS listening: Typeflu's IELTS course for Arabic speakers, plus the official free IELTS practice apps for the test format.
• You want European Portuguese: Typeflu if you study in Arabic, Pimsleur or Memrise if you study in English.
• You just want something lighter and free: Memrise, or simply stay with Duolingo.

Who should skip Typeflu

Skip Typeflu if you need speaking or pronunciation feedback, a certificate, a live teacher, or a language we do not teach. Skip it if you mostly study while commuting, because typing needs your eyes and hands. And if you are a Spanish speaker past the basics, our English catalog for you is still one A1 course, so Babbel or Busuu will give you much more today. Typeflu is for learners 13 and older.

We checked every price and feature on this page on October 2, 2026. Prices change and can differ by country, so confirm on each app's own site before you pay.

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