Best French Learning Apps in 2026: The Buyer's Shortlist
Amélie Laurent French teacher, Paris Instagram ↗
Published · Updated
Checked October 2026: prices on each official site, ratings on the US App Store and Apple Podcasts, as dated in each entry.
The best French learning apps in 2026 each do one job well, and French with Amélie is the one that does the most: a complete course from A2 inside the Substack app, with real dialogues, audio at three speeds, a private podcast and a monthly level test. Kwiziq, italki, Anki, Lingopie and Duolingo fill the gaps: grammar, a tutor, vocabulary, TV and a daily habit. Below we explain what French learning apps can and cannot do, how we ranked them, and which mix fits your goal.
Key takeaways
- French with Amélie is the best all-in-one course app from A2. It covers listening, vocabulary and grammar in context through real dialogues, all inside the Substack app.
- Kwiziq is the best app for finding and fixing grammar gaps. Its free plan allows 10 quizzes a month, and the paid French plan was €207.63 a year on 2026-10-06.
- italki is the best way to get speaking time with a tutor. Each tutor sets a price, and italki gave a range of $4 to $60 an hour for French on 2026-10-09.
- Anki is the best app for vocabulary that sticks. It is free on desktop, the web and Android, and the iPhone app costs $24.99 once.
- Lingopie is the best app for learning from TV with interactive subtitles. Its annual plan was €77.94 on 2026-10-09, with a 7-day free trial.
What a French learning app actually is (and what it is not)
French learning apps are any app you study French with on your phone: complete courses, grammar trainers, flashcard programs, tutor marketplaces and streaming services with learning tools. They range from free and narrow to paid and complete. The useful question is not which app is best in general, but which app does the job you need right now.
Most learners need four things at some point: understanding spoken French, a grip on grammar, a growing vocabulary and time speaking with a person. One complete course can carry the first three if it is built on real language; the fourth needs a human. French with Amélie is built for the first job and covers grammar and vocabulary inside its lessons, through annotated notes and exercises. It runs fully in the Substack app on iPhone and Android, which is why it belongs on a list of apps.
French learning apps are not a shortcut past listening. Plenty of people finish a course and still lose the thread when two French people talk at normal speed, because the audio they trained on was slow, scripted and clean. An app that never plays you natural speech will not fix that, however many streaks it awards.
They are also not interchangeable. Anki will not explain the subjunctive, Kwiziq will not train your ear, and a tutor will not drill 2,000 words for you. Pick one main course and add one or two tools for your weakest skill.
How we ranked the French learning apps
Each app was checked on its own site and on the US App Store on the dates shown, then judged on the job it claims to do.
- Job done well: whether the app clearly beats the alternatives at one specific task, such as grammar, speaking or vocabulary.
- Real French: how much of the French you hear or read is natural, native-speed language.
- Levels covered: the CEFR range the app teaches or suits, from its own materials.
- Price per year: the published price, with currency and date checked.
- Ratings: the App Store average and the number of ratings, checked on 2026-10-14, where an app exists.
Hear a real lesson
Tour Montparnasse 🗼 Paris Series · the first minute
Read along: the transcript and translation
- Noah Alors, Mathilde, tu penses vraiment que la Tour Montparnasse va nous offrir une meilleure vue que le Sacré-Cœur ?So, Mathilde, do you really think the Montparnasse Tower will offer us a better view than Sacré-Cœur?
- Mathilde C'est ce que disait la femme avec qui on a bu de l'absinthe hier soir. Elle avait l'air convaincante, non ?That's what the woman we drank absinthe with last night said. She seemed convincing, didn't she?
- Noah Peut-être, mais ce bâtiment... C'est une tache noire corporative sur la skyline de Paris. Franchement, il gâche tout le charme.Maybe, but that building... It's a corporate black stain on the Paris skyline. Frankly, it ruins all the charm.
- Mathilde Oh arrête de râler, Noah. Je vais jeter un œil par moi-même. Si les vues sont aussi bonnes que promis, ça vaudra peut-être le coup.Oh, stop complaining, Noah. I'm going to take a look for myself. If the views are as good as promised, it might be worth it.
- Noah Si tu le dis. Mais franchement, ça va être chaud de battre le Sacré-Cœur. Ce dôme blanc avec ses petites ruelles en dessous, c'est iconique.If you say so. But honestly, it's going to be tough to beat Sacré-Cœur. That white dome with its little streets below, it's iconic.
- Mathilde Bon, on est arrivés. Qu'est-ce que tu en penses de l'intérieur ? Moi, je trouve ça un peu vide et sans âme.Well, we've arrived. What do you think of the interior? I find it a bit empty and soulless.
The best French learning apps in 2026
This list is built as one app per job, so the six work well together. French with Amélie comes first because it is the only complete course here and the only one built on real spoken French. The other five each solve one problem better than anything else we checked. Prices are as published on the date shown and vary by country.
1. French with Amélie, best for an all-in-one course app (from A2)
French with Amélie is a complete French course by Amélie Laurent, a teacher in Paris. Every lesson is a dialogue between two people speaking the way French people really do, and the whole course runs inside the Substack app on iPhone and Android. More than 33,000 learners read it, and there are 220 lessons in the library.
With the 💎 Premium Program you get 💬 2 Full Lessons a week. Each dialogue has native-speed audio, 🐢 Slow Audio and ⚡ À la parisienne, plus an English translation, annotated vocab notes, two exercises and a writing prompt. 💜 The Private Podcast puts every lesson in your podcast app with a live transcript, and ✅ Monthly Level Tests check what your ear has picked up. Series such as Hot Issues 🔥 add topics France is actually talking about.
That covers three of the four jobs in one place: listening, vocabulary and grammar in context. The price is $240 a year ($24 a month), offered at 30% off, with a 7-day free trial and a 30-day money-back guarantee. A new dialogue is free every week. It suits learners from A2 through C1, and its podcast is rated 4.9★ on Apple Podcasts.
Best suited for: Learners past the first basics who want one main course that trains their ear on real French. Add a tutor later for speaking practice.
2. Kwiziq, best for grammar gaps
Kwiziq French is a grammar-first study site. You start with a level test, then an AI coach builds a study plan from short lessons written by teachers and quick quizzes. A brain map shows which grammar points you know and which you keep missing, so you study the gaps instead of the whole book again.
On 2026-10-06 the free plan allowed 10 quizzes a month, and the paid French plan cost €33.05 a month or €207.63 a year, with a 7-day money-back guarantee. Kwiziq runs in the browser; we found no Kwiziq app on the US App Store on 2026-10-14, so it has no App Store rating.
Its strength is precision: it tells you that you get the passé composé with être wrong, then makes you practise exactly that. It covers A1 to C1. It is reading and quizzes, so it will not help you follow spoken French or speak more fluently, and the yearly price is high for a grammar tool. Use it alongside a listening course rather than instead of one, and let the brain map, not your mood, decide what you study each week.
Best suited for: Learners who keep making the same grammar mistakes and want them found and fixed methodically. Pair it with a course that trains your ear.
3. italki, best for speaking with a tutor
italki is a marketplace for one-to-one video lessons, headquartered in Hong Kong. You choose from professional teachers and community tutors, book a slot, and talk. For French there are tutors in France, Canada, Belgium, Switzerland and beyond, so you can pick an accent as well as a teacher.
Each tutor sets their own price. On 2026-10-09 italki gave a range of $4 to $60 an hour for French, and many tutors offer cheaper trial lessons; on 2026-10-14 trial prices on the first page of French tutors ran from about $10 to $70. The app is rated 4.8 from about 9,900 App Store ratings (checked 2026-10-14).
Speaking is the one skill no self-study app can give you, and italki is the most flexible way to buy it: no subscription, pay per lesson, any level from A1 to C2. Quality depends entirely on the tutor you choose, and a lesson without a plan drifts into small talk. Bring material to discuss, such as a dialogue you studied that week. Book two or three lessons with different tutors before you commit to one.
Best suited for: Learners who understand a fair amount and need to start speaking with a real person every week. Choose a professional teacher if you want structure.
4. Anki, best for vocabulary that sticks
Anki is a free, open-source flashcard program created by Damien Elmes. It uses spaced repetition: each card comes back just before you would forget it, so the words you add stay in long-term memory with the least possible reviewing.
The desktop version, AnkiWeb and AnkiDroid on Android are free, with free syncing between devices. AnkiMobile for iPhone costs $24.99 once, and it is rated 4.0 from about 2,400 App Store ratings (checked 2026-10-14). There is no subscription. Shared French decks are free to download, though their quality varies.
Anki is the most efficient vocabulary tool there is, and it works at every level from A1 to C2. It teaches nothing by itself, though: you need cards, either shared decks or your own, and the best cards come from French you have already met in context, such as a phrase from a dialogue. It is also plain and fiddly to set up, so expect an hour of getting used to it. Ten minutes of reviews a day is enough for most learners, and adding audio to your cards trains your ear at the same time.
Best suited for: Disciplined learners who want to keep the words they meet. Feed it phrases from real French, not lists from a textbook.
5. Lingopie, best for learning from TV
Lingopie is a streaming app of TV shows and films with interactive subtitles. You tap any word for a translation, save it, and review it later with flashcards, so a series you enjoy doubles as study.
On 2026-10-09 Lingopie's pricing page listed €12.99 a month, €38.97 for three months, an annual plan at €77.94 (standard price €155.88) and lifetime access at €219, with a 7-day free trial. The app is rated 4.4 from about 2,200 App Store ratings (checked 2026-10-14). Prices vary by country and with its frequent discounts.
Real TV is real French: native speed, slang and accents, which is exactly what most courses leave out. That is also the catch. Below about A2 you will understand too little to learn much, and even at B1 a show you half follow is entertainment unless you stop, replay and review. It works best as a second app next to a course that teaches you the spoken patterns first. Pick one show and rewatch episodes rather than bingeing new ones, so each scene gets easier.
Best suited for: Intermediate learners who will actually watch French TV most evenings. Use it to add hours of real listening on top of a course.
6. Duolingo, best for a free daily game
Duolingo is the game-style app from Duolingo, Inc., based in Pittsburgh. Its French course is free: lessons of a few minutes in reading, writing, listening and speaking, wrapped in streaks, leagues and stories, so studying feels closer to a mobile game than to homework.
Super removes the ads and the limit on mistakes. On the US App Store on 2026-10-06 it cost from $9.99 a month or $79.99 a year, and one plan covers every course on your account. The app is rated 4.7 from about 5.5 million ratings (checked 2026-10-14).
As a learning app it does one job better than anything else we checked: it gets you to open French every day. The streak is a real motivator, and the first few hundred words come painlessly. Its French course covers roughly A1 to B1 by our reading, and the sentences are short and recorded for learners, so it will not teach you to follow two French people talking at normal speed or explain grammar in depth. In a mix of apps that makes it the warm-up: five minutes on the bus, with your main course doing the heavy lifting.
Best suited for: Beginners who need a free, low-effort daily habit and a first vocabulary. Keep it as a warm-up next to a course built on real spoken French.
Side-by-side comparison
One table, the same tests: the job each app does best, its yearly price as published on the date checked, and the levels it suits.
| Name | Best for | Price per year | Levels |
|---|---|---|---|
| French with Amélie | All-in-one course app, from A2 | $240 a year, offered at 30% off; 7-day free trial | A2–C1 |
| Kwiziq | Grammar gaps | €207.63 (French plan, checked 2026-10-06); free plan | A1–C1 |
| italki | Speaking with a tutor | Pay per lesson: $4–$60 an hour (checked 2026-10-09) | A1–C2 |
| Anki | Vocabulary that sticks | Free; iPhone app $24.99 once (checked 2026-10-14) | A1–C2 |
| Lingopie | Learning from TV | €77.94, standard €155.88 (checked 2026-10-09) | A2–C1 |
| Duolingo | A free daily game | Free; Super $79.99 (checked 2026-10-06) | A1–B1 |
Prices as shown on the official site on the date given; they vary by country and change often. How they compare across 63 apps: language app prices 2026.
Which French learning app fits your goal
| If you… | Pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| want one main app for listening, vocabulary and grammar | French with Amélie | Real dialogues with notes, exercises and audio at three speeds, all in the Substack app. |
| understand written French but not spoken French | French with Amélie | Slow audio first, then full speed, then the transcript. |
| want to measure progress every month | French with Amélie | ✅ Monthly Level Tests built from recent lessons. |
| keep making the same grammar mistakes | Kwiziq | A brain map finds the gaps and drills them. |
| need to start speaking | italki | One-to-one lessons with a tutor you choose. |
| forget words as fast as you learn them | Anki | Spaced repetition keeps words in memory. |
| want more hours of French at native speed | Lingopie | TV shows with tap-to-translate subtitles. |
| want a free five-minute habit | Duolingo | Short game-style lessons and a daily streak, free. |
What results look like
French with Amélie has more than 33,000 learners and 220 lessons, and students rate it 9.2/10 (124 ratings). The podcast is rated 4.9★ on Apple Podcasts. What named students say:
“The dialogues are great, the lessons are fun, and I enjoy the everyday phrases which are more useful than formal language.”
Celeste
“The lessons have been really helpful in improving my understanding and providing a good challenge to test my grammar.”
Lux
“This is a great way to practice your reading comprehension and then check yourself with the English translation. I've learned a lot.”
Debbie
“I learn something new with each newsletter, but it isn't so difficult as to be intimidating.”
Ted
FAQ
What are the best French learning apps in 2026?
French with Amélie is our top pick as a complete course from A2, followed by Kwiziq for grammar, italki for speaking, Anki for vocabulary, Lingopie for TV and Duolingo for a free daily habit. Most learners do best with one main course plus one tool.
What is the best French learning app for beginners?
For your very first words, a free app such as Duolingo is an easy start. Once you are past the first basics, around A2, move to a course built on real French such as French with Amélie.
How many French learning apps should I use?
Two is usually enough: one main course and one tool for your weakest skill. More apps means more time switching and less time with French.
What is the best French learning app for listening?
French with Amélie, because every lesson is a real dialogue at native speed with a slow version and a transcript. Lingopie is a good second app for extra hours of TV once you are around B1.
Is French with Amélie available on Android?
Yes. It runs in the Substack app, which is available on iPhone and Android, and you can also read it in a browser or by email.
What does French with Amélie cost?
It is $240 a year or $24 a month, with the yearly plan offered at 30% off. You can try it free for 7 days, and there is a 30-day money-back guarantee.
How do I know if a French app is working?
Test yourself on real spoken French, not on the app's own exercises. A free level test with real audio, repeated every few months, shows whether your understanding has moved.
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