Best app to learn French 9 French apps compared by goal
For a free French course, pick Busuu: it goes up to C1, and native speakers correct your exercises. Pick Babbel for grammar explained step by step, Lingoda for live classes with a teacher up to B2, and Duolingo for a free daily habit up to B2. Memrise and Lingvist train vocabulary, Pimsleur trains listening and speaking by audio, and Tandem connects you with French speakers.
9 French apps at a glance
| Name | Best for | Price | Free plan | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Busuu | Free French course up to C1 | Free; Premium €57.99/yr, Premium Plus €69.90/yr | Yes: the complete French course and community corrections, with an ad before each lesson | 4.7 on the App Store (101.1K) |
| Babbel | Grammar explained before the exercises | From €8.99/mo on the 12-month plan; Lifetime €299.99 | Partly: the first lesson of every course | 4.7 on the App Store (755.2K) |
| Lingoda | Live French classes with a teacher | French group classes from €79.99 per 4 weeks for 5 classes; private from €179.99 | No, 7-day trial with 3 group classes or 1 private class | 4.8 on the App Store (177) |
| Duolingo | A free daily habit up to B2 | Free; Super from $83.99/yr in the US App Store | Yes: the complete French course with ads and limited energy | — |
| Memrise | French words from native-speaker videos | Free; Pro €69.99/yr, US $61.99/yr | Partly: limited lessons and videos, one speaking session a day, with ads | 4.8 on the App Store (217.2K) |
| Pimsleur | Speaking practice by audio on the go | $150 per level or $575 for Levels 1–5; sales cut these prices | Partly: a free first lesson | — |
| Tandem | Talking with French speakers for free | Free; Pro $69.99/yr (US App Store) | Yes: partner search, chats, voice notes and corrections, with ads | 4.6 on the App Store (38.3K) |
| Lingvist | Most frequent French words first | €9.99/mo or €79.99/yr; US App Store $9.99 and $79.99 | No, 14-day trial on the yearly plan | 4.6 on the App Store (3.7K) |
| Mondly | Learning French from another language | $15.90/mo or $74.90/yr (US App Store) | Partly: Daily Lessons, the Hello category and one chatbot lesson; 7-day trial | 4.7 on the App Store (33.2K) |
- Free French course up to C1
Busuu
🇬🇧 London, United Kingdom · founded 2008Busuu’s French course runs from A1 to C1 in lessons of 3 to 5 minutes. You send written and spoken exercises to the community, and native French speakers correct them. Complete courses are free with a short ad before each lesson.
Pros
- French goes up to C1, the highest level on this list
- Premium adds a Busuu certificate for each French level
- Premium Plus adds AI conversations in French
Cons
- Busuu certificates are not official diplomas like DELF
- Live lessons with tutors only on business accounts
- Price
- Free; Premium €57.99/yr, Premium Plus €69.90/yr
- Free plan
- Yes: the complete French course and community corrections, with an ad before each lesson
- Rating
- 4.7 on the App Store (101.1K)
- Grammar explained before the exercises
Babbel
🇩🇪 Berlin, Germany · founded 2007Babbel’s French course takes you from A1 to B2 in structured lessons, and extra content reaches into C1. Every lesson explains the grammar and checks your pronunciation with speech recognition. Babbel also publishes French podcasts from A1 to B2, such as Parlez Away and French en route.
Pros
- Grammar explanations in every lesson
- Free French podcasts for A1 to B2
- Lifetime access for €299.99 once
Cons
- The full course needs a paid plan
- Structured lessons stop at B2
- Price
- From €8.99/mo on the 12-month plan; Lifetime €299.99
- Free plan
- Partly: the first lesson of every course
- Rating
- 4.7 on the App Store (755.2K)
- Live French classes with a teacher
Lingoda
🇩🇪 Berlin, Germany · founded 2012Lingoda is an online school from Berlin. Native-speaking teachers run 60-minute French classes on Zoom around the clock, in groups of 3 to 5 or one to one. The French course goes from A1 to B2, and each level has about 50 classes.
Pros
- A Lingoda certificate for each French level you finish
- French Sprint: 30 classes for €450, with 50% back if you attend all
- New students get 15% off the first payment on plans from 12 classes
Cons
- French stops at B2, while English and German go to C1
- French costs more than English: 12 group classes cost €154.99
- Price
- French group classes from €79.99 per 4 weeks for 5 classes; private from €179.99
- Free plan
- No, 7-day trial with 3 group classes or 1 private class
- Rating
- 4.8 on the App Store (177)
- A free daily habit up to B2
Duolingo
🇺🇸 United StatesDuolingo is a US app with a free French course in short game-like lessons. Since April 2026 the French course for English speakers teaches content up to B2. Duolingo Max adds Roleplay and Video Call with Lily, an AI character, in French.
Pros
- The whole French course is free
- French content reaches B2
- AI calls in French with Duolingo Max
Cons
- No human teachers
- Duolingo does not publish the Max price on the web
- Price
- Free; Super from $83.99/yr in the US App Store
- Free plan
- Yes: the complete French course with ads and limited energy
- French words from native-speaker videos
Memrise
🇬🇧 London, United Kingdom · founded 2010Memrise’s French course has more than 1,100 lessons, 8,000 words and 800 videos of native speakers. Spaced review brings each word back before you forget it. MemBot, an AI partner, runs more than 75 French conversations.
Pros
- Native speakers say every French word on video
- Lifetime costs €254.99 once in the EU
Cons
- Free plan has daily limits
- Focus on words and phrases, less on grammar
- Price
- Free; Pro €69.99/yr, US $61.99/yr
- Free plan
- Partly: limited lessons and videos, one speaking session a day, with ads
- Rating
- 4.8 on the App Store (217.2K)
- Speaking practice by audio on the go
Pimsleur
🇺🇸 United StatesPimsleur is a US audio course published by Simon & Schuster. Its French course has 5 levels of 30 lessons, and each level takes about 16 hours. You listen, answer out loud and repeat, and a hands-free mode works in the car.
Pros
- 150 French lessons, about 80 hours in all
- Works without looking at the screen
Cons
- Level 5 ends at an intermediate level, and Pimsleur gives no CEFR level
- One French level costs more than a year of most apps here
- Price
- $150 per level or $575 for Levels 1–5; sales cut these prices
- Free plan
- Partly: a free first lesson
- Talking with French speakers for free
Tandem
🇩🇪 Berlin, Germany · founded 2015Tandem pairs you with a French speaker who wants to learn your language. You chat, send voice notes and correct each other’s messages. You can search partners by location.
Pros
- Real conversations with native speakers
- Corrections and translation inside the chat
Cons
- New members need Pro for audio and video calls
- No course and no levels for French
- Price
- Free; Pro $69.99/yr (US App Store)
- Free plan
- Yes: partner search, chats, voice notes and corrections, with ads
- Rating
- 4.6 on the App Store (38.3K)
- Most frequent French words first
Lingvist
🇪🇪 Tallinn, Estonia · founded 2013Lingvist ranks French words by how often they appear in real texts and teaches the most common ones first. Each card shows a sentence with one word missing. A separate exercise trains French verb conjugation.
Pros
- French verb conjugation exercise
- Custom Decks turn any French text into a course
- No ads
Cons
- No free plan
- Grammar comes only as notes on cards
- Price
- €9.99/mo or €79.99/yr; US App Store $9.99 and $79.99
- Free plan
- No, 14-day trial on the yearly plan
- Rating
- 4.6 on the App Store (3.7K)
- Learning French from another language
Mondly
🇷🇴 Brașov, Romania · founded 2013Mondly teaches French from A1 to B2 and lets you learn it from your own language, among 1,320 language pairs. A chatbot with speech recognition runs practice conversations. The company comes from Brașov, Romania, and Pearson has owned it since 2022.
Pros
- App interface in 32 languages
- Mondly VR for Meta Quest and Steam
Cons
- French stops at B2
- The trial bills automatically, and many complaints are about these charges
- Price
- $15.90/mo or $74.90/yr (US App Store)
- Free plan
- Partly: Daily Lessons, the Hello category and one chatbot lesson; 7-day trial
- Rating
- 4.7 on the App Store (33.2K)
How to choose a French app, by goal
For a full course with levels, Busuu goes up to C1, Babbel teaches structured lessons up to B2 with extra C1 content, and Duolingo and Mondly reach B2. Busuu and Duolingo open the whole French course for free.
For speaking, Lingoda puts you in a live class with a native-speaking teacher, Tandem connects you with French speakers, and Pimsleur trains you to answer out loud by audio. Duolingo Max and Busuu Premium Plus add AI conversations in French.
For vocabulary, Memrise plays every word in a native-speaker video, and Lingvist sorts words by frequency and drills verb conjugation.
Apps and French exams: DELF, DALF, TEF
The French Ministry of Education awards the DELF for levels A1 to B2 and the DALF for C1 and C2, and the diplomas have no time limit. The Paris Chamber of Commerce and Industry runs the TEF. For Canada’s Express Entry, IRCC accepts TEF Canada and TCF Canada, and TEF Canada results stay valid for two years.
None of the apps on this list sells a dedicated DELF, DALF or TEF course on its official pages. Busuu and Lingoda give their own certificates for each level, and these do not replace an official diploma. Lingoda’s French classes up to B2 cover the levels of the DELF, and Busuu’s course reaches the DALF C1 level.
None of the nine apps lists a separate Canadian French course. To hear Quebec French, search Tandem partners by location.
How we picked
Seven apps come from companies founded in Europe. Duolingo and Pimsleur are US products. We added them as reference points for the European apps. For each app we checked the highest CEFR level of its French course, French lessons and prices on official pages and the App Store in October 2026, and the profiles in this catalog. Some European apps now have owners outside the EU: Chegg (US) owns Busuu, and Pearson (UK) owns Mondly.
More on the EdTech map
Comparisons
- Busuu vs Duolingo
- Babbel vs Busuu
- Babbel vs Duolingo
- Babbel vs Rosetta Stone
- Babbel vs Pimsleur
- Memrise vs Duolingo
- Tandem vs HelloTalk
- Mondly vs Duolingo
Other lists
- Best app to learn Spanish
- Best app to learn Japanese
- Best app to learn German
- Best app to learn Portuguese
- Best app to learn Italian
- Best app to learn English
- Duolingo alternatives
- Best language learning apps
- Best flashcard app
- Quizlet alternatives
- Best study apps
- Kahoot alternatives
- Mentimeter alternatives
- Best LMS
Categories
Sources, checked on 7 October 2026
- Busuu Premium plans
- Busuu help center
- Busuu help center: certificates
- Babbel: French language levels
- Babbel: learn French
- babbel.com/prices
- Lingoda French course
- Lingoda pricing, French
- Lingoda Sprint prices
- Lingoda French B1 course and certificates
- Duolingo blog: courses up to B2
- Duolingo App Store lookup, US
- Duolingo Help Center: Super, Max
- Memrise French course
- Memrise plans
- Pimsleur French products
- Pimsleur languages
- Tandem FAQ
- Tandem on the US App Store
- lingvist.com/pricing
- Lingvist French course
- Mondly free vs Premium
- Mondly on the US App Store
- French Embassy in Hong Kong: French proficiency tests
- French Embassy in New Zealand: DELF
- IRCC: language tests for Express Entry
- Le français des affaires: TEF Canada
Best app to learn French: FAQ
Host your courses on Kinescope.
DRM, a white-label player and analytics for online schools and EdTech platforms.
