Best apps

The best app to learn Spanish for English speakers in 2026

Updated: October 2, 2026

We make Typeflu, so weigh this accordingly. We checked prices and features on 2 October 2026, and we say plainly when another app is the better choice.

English speakers have more good options for learning Spanish than for almost any other language. That is great news, and also the reason it is hard to choose. The apps below take very different routes: hours of easy videos, an audio teacher who explains the logic, a structured course, a daily game, hands-free audio lessons, or reading real content. We ranked seven by how well they help an English speaker go from zero to understanding and speaking real Spanish. Our own app, Typeflu, comes last, and we explain why: our Spanish course for English speakers is a single A1 course today, useful as dictation practice next to a main course, not as the course itself.

The picks

1. 1 Dreaming Spanish

   Best for

   Learning to understand real Spanish by listening a lot

   Price

   Large free library; paid Premium plan with more content, check their site for the current price

   How you practise

   Watch graded videos in Spanish, from superbeginner up, and track your hours

   Dreaming Spanish is built on comprehensible input: you watch videos in simple Spanish, starting at superbeginner level, and move up the levels as your ear improves. There is no grammar drilling, and the app tracks your hours so you can see progress. The free library alone is enough to start. The trade-off is time and output: it takes hundreds of hours before you feel it, and there is no speaking or writing practice built in, so add something for production. If your goal is to understand Spanish speakers, not to pass a grammar test, this is the better choice than every other app here.
   Visit site: Dreaming Spanish ↗

2. 2 Language Transfer

   Best for

   A free, clear start that explains the logic of Spanish

   Price

   Free, funded by donations, no ads, no sign-up

   How you practise

   Audio lessons: a teacher guides a student to build sentences by thinking

   «Complete Spanish» is a free audio course where a teacher guides one student to build Spanish sentences step by step, using what English speakers already know. You pause, answer, and hear the answer. It is excellent for seeing how verbs and sentences work without memorising tables, and you can download the tracks in the app for offline listening. It gives you little vocabulary and little native-speed audio, and there is just one teaching voice, so pair it with Dreaming Spanish or a course app. On a zero budget, Language Transfer plus Dreaming Spanish is hard to beat.
   Visit site: Language Transfer ↗

3. 3 Babbel

   Best for

   Adults who want a structured course with real grammar

   Price

   First lesson free. Paid plans from about $9 to $13 a month in the US on the web; Babbel Live classes cost extra

   How you practise

   10 to 15 minute lessons with review, speech recognition and AI speaking practice

   Babbel teaches Spanish like a well-planned course: each lesson builds on the last, grammar is explained, and review brings words back at the right time. You can choose Latin American or Spain Spanish, and Babbel Speak adds AI conversation practice. Spanish is also one of the few languages with Babbel Live, small online classes with real teachers, if you want a human in the loop. The downsides: only the first lesson is free, and reviews often mention surprise renewals, so note your renewal date. Babbel is the better choice than Duolingo if you want structure and explanations more than games.
   Visit site: Babbel ↗

4. 4 Duolingo

   Best for

   A free daily habit and the basics

   Price

   Free (with ads and an energy limit). Super from about $84 a year in the US, prices vary by country

   How you practise

   Short game-like lessons: tapping, typing, listening and speaking

   Duolingo's Spanish course is free, long and very good at one thing: getting you to practise every day. Streaks, leagues and reminders keep you coming back, and Duolingo says its main courses now reach about B2. The paid tiers add AI features such as Video Call conversations. The weak spots are well known: short sentences rather than real listening, little grammar explanation in the free app, and the energy system that interrupts sessions. Plenty of people keep a long streak and still cannot follow a conversation, so treat Duolingo as a habit tool and get your listening elsewhere.
   Visit site: Duolingo ↗

5. 5 Pimsleur

   Best for

   Commuters who want to start speaking hands-free

   Price

   First lesson free. About $19.95 a month for one language, or courses to buy from about $150

   How you practise

   30-minute audio lessons where you answer out loud

   Pimsleur is audio only: a 30-minute lesson asks you to say things out loud, then repeats them at spaced intervals so they stick. It is the best option here if you learn in the car, on walks or while doing chores, because you never need to look at a screen, and lessons can be downloaded for offline use. It is also the most expensive per month, and there is very little reading or writing. Pick Pimsleur if hands-free speaking practice is what fits your life.
   Visit site: Pimsleur ↗

6. 6 LingQ

   Best for

   Intermediate learners who want lots of real content

   Price

   Free tier with limits. Premium about $14.99 a month or $119.99 a year

   How you practise

   Read while listening, save new words and review them

   LingQ is for when you can already get by and want to read and listen to large amounts of real Spanish. You read texts with audio, click unknown words to save them, and review them later; you can also import articles, videos and podcasts. Lessons can be downloaded for offline use. Beginners usually find it cluttered and hard, so it fits best from about A2 or B1 onward. If you are past the basics and want volume, LingQ is a better next step than staying in a beginner app.
   Visit site: LingQ ↗

7. 7 Typeflu Made by us

   Best for

   Short dictation practice next to a main course

   Price

   Free (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 word by word, fix mistakes letter by letter

   Typeflu is a dictation app. You hear a full Spanish sentence in a natural Latin American voice, type it, and see exactly which letters and accents you missed. Each word shows its meaning in English and its grammar role, one tap explains a mistake, spaced review uses the FSRS memory model, and you can import your own text or a link to turn it into a lesson with audio. Dictation makes you notice what your ear skips, which is useful next to Dreaming Spanish or Babbel. But be clear about what you get: our Spanish for English speakers is one A1 basics course. There is no speaking practice, no tutors, no certificate, it is typing-heavy so not for hands-free learning, and it is a web app you install from the browser rather than a store app. Every app above has far more Spanish content than we do today.
   Try Typeflu free

At a glance

How we chose

We ranked apps an English speaker can use from day one on five things:

• Listening: does it get you to understand real spoken Spanish, not just read it?
• Depth: how much content there is and how far it takes you.
• Speaking and grammar: does it make you produce Spanish, and does it explain why?
• Price: what is free and what the paid plan costs, as checked on 2 October 2026.
• Honesty about limits: a thin course ranks lower, including ours.

Which one should you pick?

• Zero budget: Language Transfer for the logic, Dreaming Spanish for listening, Duolingo for the daily habit.
• You want a proper course: Babbel, and Babbel Live if you want a teacher.
• You learn in the car or on walks: Pimsleur.
• You are past the basics and want volume: LingQ and Dreaming Spanish.
• You want to check what your ear actually catches: add short dictation sessions. Typeflu's A1 course is free to try, and our guide Spanish dictation practice shows how to do it with any audio.

Who should skip Typeflu

If you want one app to carry you from zero to conversation, skip Typeflu for now. Our Spanish course for English speakers is one A1 course, and we would rather tell you up front. Typeflu has its deepest content for Arabic speakers learning English; for English speakers it is a small, free dictation add-on. You can try the A1 Spanish course without paying.

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.

Practise it

Spanish Basics

Spanish for English speakers

With a Latin American voice

A1 · 3 units · 12 lessons