Best apps to learn English in 2026
For a free daily habit, start with Duolingo: all its courses are free, with Super Duolingo as a paid extra. For speaking and pronunciation, ELSA Speak gives AI feedback on how you sound. For grammar, the British Council’s LearnEnglish Grammar is free, with over 1,000 practice questions per the developer. Full breakdown, and new vocabulary apps worth a look, below.
How we picked: English apps do different jobs, a daily course, speaking practice, grammar drills or vocabulary. We checked each app’s own store description for what it teaches, what is free and what needs a subscription, then added a separate section for new vocabulary apps surfaced by visit traffic from the Censuus ranking.
New vocabulary apps, rising by visit traffic from Censuus
The same few big names top every English-app list. Censuus runs a live count of traffic, so it sees the newcomers earning an audience right now. Among tracked apps, these vocabulary tools are climbing:
Flipo: Vocabulary BuilderApp Storeturns vocabulary into a habit that sticks.
Cards.my: Language Flashcards4.9★ App Storevocabulary flashcards made for language learners.- Seu app aquiGrátis, para semprePublicar meu app
Vocabyx: Vocabulary FlashcardsApp Storelearn the words that matter to you, in any language.
Calleo: Learn Words with AI5.0★ App Storea smart, interactive vocabulary app.
GrammarTrack: English Grammar5.0★ App Storeteaches grammar by doing: short exercises aimed at the exact mistakes you keep making, instead of rules you forget by tomorrow.
Grammar by doing
GrammarTrack: English Grammar teaches grammar through short interactive exercises aimed at the exact mistakes you keep making, instead of rules to memorize. It is on iOS and Android.
Can you learn English with a free app?
You can get far. Duolingo says all its language courses are free, and LearnEnglish Grammar from the British Council is a free grammar practice app across four levels. Paid tiers mostly remove ads or add AI features; the core practice is free. Learning German too, see apps to learn German.
Best app for speaking English
Speaking is where most apps are weakest. ELSA Speak is built around it: an AI coach listens and gives feedback on pronunciation and word stress, with role-plays for interviews and meetings. Its speech analyzer is part of ELSA Premium.
Learn English by watching real videos
If textbook dialogues bore you, learn from what native speakers actually say. Deep In, made by a Ukrainian team, has you watch real YouTube videos in English, from travel vlogs to podcasts and interviews, with subtitles in two languages; you stop on any phrase to take it apart, keep words together with the sentence they came from, review them as flashcards and talk them through out loud with its AI companion. It is free to download, with a subscription. LingQ takes the same input-first approach and lets you import YouTube videos, Netflix, podcasts and articles as lessons, with unlimited imports on Premium.
| App | Best for | Platforms | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| DuolingoApp StoreGoogle Play | a free daily course | iOS, Android | all courses free; Super Duolingo by subscription |
| BabbelApp StoreGoogle Play | structured lessons | iOS, Android | subscription for full courses; a free first lesson |
| PromovaApp StoreGoogle Play | lessons for busy adults | iOS, Android | free to download; Promova Premium |
| ELSA SpeakApp StoreGoogle Play | pronunciation and speaking | iOS, Android | free to download; ELSA Premium |
| LearnEnglish GrammarApp StoreGoogle Play | grammar practice | iOS, Android | free |
| Deep InCensuusApp StoreGoogle Play | English from real YouTube videos | iOS, Android | free to download; subscription |
Perguntas frequentes
What is the best free app to learn English?
Duolingo says all its courses are free, and LearnEnglish Grammar from the British Council is free for grammar practice.
Which app helps with English pronunciation?
ELSA Speak is built for speaking: an AI coach gives feedback on pronunciation and word stress. The detailed speech analyzer is in ELSA Premium.