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List Of Best Apps To Learn French In 2024

List Of Best Apps To Learn French In 2024

On this post, we set out to provide a comprehensive look at all the apps on the market for learning French. In total, we have listed out 32 apps. Of these apps, we like FrenchToday, Rosetta Stone and Pimsleur, which we reviewed on our site. Our general view on apps is that they’re “just okay” for getting started but many more tools are required for reaching fluency.

Apps for learning French

List of the top-10 best apps to learn French:

  1. FrenchToday
  2. Rosetta Stone
  3. Pimsleur
  4. FrenchPod101
  5. Babbel
  6. LingoPie
  7. iTalki
  8. Hello Talk
  9. Tandem
  10. Duolingo

Best apps to learn French overall

Of all the French learning apps on the market, our top-5 favorites are French Today, Rosetta Stone, Pimsleur, FrenchPod101, Rocket French and Babbel. We have know FrenchToday’s main teacher, a native speaker named Camille, for many years and think very highly of her course, À Moi Paris.

French Today

French Today

French Today focuses on teaching French in the way that it’s spoken by the population today. It has over 150 hours of French audio lessons and audio books, which can be accessed on a variety of platforms. The combination of modern and traditional French teaching techniques will help to improve your confidence in no time at all.

Key Features:

  • Available on most major platforms, including iOS, Android, Mac OS, and Windows OS.
  • Focuses on teaching French in the way it’s spoken and used in France today

Pricing: Free to download and use, but there are add-on purchases to enhance your learning as you progress.

Read our review of A Moi Paris, French Today’s flagship course.

Rosetta Stone French

Rosetta Stone

Rosetta Stone is one of the most well-respected companies for language learning. The Rosetta Stone app focuses on conversational French lessons, but it offers an extensive range of classes for all abilities. One of the best things about this app is that you don’t see any English during your lessons. This immersion into the language helps to speed up your learning when you don’t have the opportunity to visit France.

Key Features:

  • Only features native French speakers
  • Build upon previous lessons as you progress
  • Very easy to sign up and get started

Pricing: $36 for three months, but there are options for longer subscriptions on offer too. Try out the three-day free trial to test the app for yourself first.

Read our complete review of Rosetta Stone French.

Pimsleur French

Pimsleur

If you find that you learn best by listening, you’ll want to consider Pimsleur for your French lessons. It uses a gradual immersion program, which slowly builds upon your vocabulary. We highly recommend this app for first-time French learners, as you’ll find that it breaks down grammar and verbs in a way that’s easy to understand.

Key Features:

  • Short lessons to fit around your busy schedule
  • Audio lessons focus on conversational French
  • Focus on speaking the language as opposed to writing and grammar

Pricing: Ranging from $14.95 to $19.95 a month, or invest in the full course for $119.95. Try out the app with their free seven-day trial before buying.

Read our in-depth Pimsleur French Review.

FrenchPod101

FrenchPod101

Podcasts are a great way to learn a new language, and we appreciate the variety in the lessons on FrenchPod101. You’ll experience audio, text, and video lessons, which help to prepare anyone to travel to France. We found the app to be well organized, which means it’s easy to track your progress and continue with your lessons.

Key Features:

  • Regular updates to the content on the app
  • Additional option to use their French tutoring service
  • A wealth of extra resources to continue your learning

Pricing: $8 a month, but this can be reduced when you take out a longer subscription.

Read our in-depth FrenchPod101 review.

Babbel

Babbel

Babbel offers a fully customized course for learners, with interactive lessons to make the experience more varied. You’ll usually watch a video or listen to a piece of audio, and then you can respond to questions with voice recognition technology. This is an effective way to improve your French when you don’t have hours a day to dedicate to lessons.

Key Features:

  • Focuses on realistic situations you may need to use your French for
  • Some repetitive exercise to reinforce your learning at certain stages in the course

Pricing: From $12.95 a month, but this can be reduced by signing up for a longer subscription. Try out a free lesson before you buy to ensure this is the right choice for you.

Lingopie

Lingopie

Lingopie is a language-learning app that streams French TV shows and movies. The apps has a library of French video content. They app’s key feature is that the video shows show both English and French subtitles simultaneously. You can pause the video to learn individual words. The app also allows you to create flashcards and build vocabulary lists.

Key Features:

  • Available on mobile and desktop devices
  • French TV shows including kids cartoons, cooking shows and TV series
  • Library of movies covering many genres

Pricing: Subscriptions start at $12.00 per month or $65.00 per year.

Best app for French finding native speaker conversation partners

iTalki

Italki

Speaking with native French speakers is one of the best ways to quickly pick up the language. italki connects you with over 1,000 tutors, all of whom have various qualifications to allow them to teach you French. You’ll find it easy to filter and find the right match for you, based on your expectations for your French lessons.

Key Features:

  • Search through thousands of tutors to find the perfect match
  • Enjoy discounts when you return to a teacher
  • Full control over your lessons and learning experience

Pricing: Prices are set by the tutor, so you’ll be able to search for someone to fit your price range. Look out for trial lessons, which offer you a discount to test a tutor’s services.

HelloTalk

HelloTalk is a free language exchange app that connects you with native French speakers. There are currently over 30 million members registered on the app, so you should have no trouble finding someone to practice your French with. You can choose how you feel comfortable speaking to your partner, including voice messages, text, and video calls.

Key Features:

  • A language learning social app which connects you with French speakers from around the world
  • Chat via text, voice call, video call, voice message, or doodles

Pricing: The app is free to download and use, making it one of the most accessible language apps.

Tandem

Tandem

Tandem pairs users with a language exchange partner in France who will help you to go beyond the basic vocabulary you might already know. You’ll learn from locals themselves, helping you to perfect your pronunciation and boost your confidence. It’s ideal for anyone traveling to France who needs to be confident in conversational French.

Key Features:

  • Get paired with a French speaker to improve your fluency
  • Free to use or upgrade to the paid version
  • Ideal for improving conversational French

Pricing: Enjoy a limited version of Tandem for free, or try the pro version from $6.99 a month or $3.99 per month for three months.

Best game apps for learning French with free trials

Duolingo

Duolingo

When researching apps for learning a language, Duolingo is an option that comes up everywhere online. The basic app features are free to use, but you can upgrade to a paid Plus option for a more enjoyable experience. Duolingo is based on levels and tries to make learning languages as fun as possible. As well as basic lessons, you can enjoy listening to and reading stories to help immerse yourself in the French language.

Key Features:

  • Free to use, or you can upgrade to the Plus version
  • A long course, so you can keep progressing through the levels
  • It feels like playing a game instead of taking serious French lessons

Pricing: The app is free to download and use, but more serious learners may want to upgrade to Duolingo Plus, which costs at least $6.99 a month.

Clozemaster

Closemaster

Clozemaster uses gamification to expose you to more French vocabulary than you would receive on other apps. It focuses on using this vocabulary in context, helping you to prepare for scenarios you may experience in France. It’s an ideal app to use after Duolingo and will help you quickly master more French terms.

Key Features:

  • Focus on listening instead of reading for the full experience
  • Concentrates on using vocabulary in context
  • Gamification makes learning more fun


Pricing:
Choose from either the free version of the app or upgrade to the premium version for $8 a month.

Best app for listening comprehension

News in Slow French

News In Slow French

News in Slow French is available for Apple and Android devices. It provides users with weekly stories and series, but you’ll want to use the browser version for a complete experience. The podcast talks about current news in slow French, which will help to quickly increase your vocabulary and understanding of the language.

Key Features:

  • An immersive podcast that contains relevant and up to date news from around the world
  • Available in three different difficulty levels

Pricing: The first seven days are free, but then you can subscribe for $19.90 a month.

Best French video app for visual learners

FluentU

FluentU

Beginners through to advanced students can benefit from using FluentU. This immersion app will help with your grammar, listening, speaking, and vocabulary. The app offers users short videos which are full of content, and you’ll work to sound like a native when speaking French.

Key Features:

  • Videos come with subtitles and English translations
  • Features native speakers, so you learn how to properly pronounce French words and phrases
  • Suitable for beginners to advanced users.

Pricing: The app starts at $30 a month, or save by subscribing for the year at $240.

Best app for learning French verbs and grammar

Lingodeer

Lingodeer

As an interactive language app, you’ll find that you are quickly immersed in the French language with Lingodeer. The various activities on the app help you to learn more vocabulary and grammar, so you can speak with native French speakers in no time at all. It spends a good amount of the lessons on verbs and grammar, which are sometimes skipped over on other apps.

Key Features:

  • A great option for beginners
  • Each lesson was created by a real-life French teacher
  • Clear grammar explanations

Pricing: From $13.99 a month, but choose a longer subscription to save more on the app. You can cancel within seven days for a full refund if you don’t enjoy the experience.

Best app for building French vocabulary

Lingvist

Lingvist

In just 30 minutes a day, Lingvist helps you to learn the words that you really need to get by during conversations in French. You’ll improve your understanding of vocabulary, ready to travel to any French-speaking country. The app aims to cover 80% of everyday situations. This means it’s ideal for business or personal use and will help to improve your conversation skills quickly.

Key Features:

  • Track your progress from the beginning stages until you are a more advanced learner
  • Learn up to 4000 words in four months
  • Bite-sized sessions to enjoy throughout the day

Pricing: New users can take part in the free trial, so you can see if this is the right option for you. From there, you can select a monthly or annual package starting at $19.99.

Best apps for French travel and cultural immersion

Memrise

Memrise

Memrise focuses on speaking real-life French with their online course. You’ll virtually visit stunning cities and sample French dishes, preparing you for your upcoming business trip or vacation to France. You’ll enjoy thousands of different videos which transport you to France and immerse you in the language with native speakers.

Key Features:

  • Free learning content, but you can upgrade for a more advanced experience
  • Fun tests to boost your memory and speed up your learning

Prices: Free to use, but you can upgrade to the premium features from $8.99 a month.

MosaLingua

Mosalnigua

Learning French is so much more interesting when you focus on immersing yourself in the culture. MosaLingua doesn’t just teach you French vocabulary but will also share more about what life is like in France. You’ll learn with videos and songs, making it a very interactive app for French students.

Key Features:

  • A huge variety of learning tools, including books to help your studies
  • Focuses on the French culture as well as learning the language

Pricing: $4.99 a month or $59.90 for the year.

Best apps for practicing reading and writing French

Busuu

Basuu

For anyone who needs to focus on their writing skills, Busuu is a great choice. It is ideal for school or university studies and encourages you to increase your vocabulary and grammar knowledge with native speakers. Enjoy a variety of exercises, including games and flashcards, to make learning more fun.

Key Features:

  • Connect with native speakers who will correct your work
  • Level certifications are available
  • Focuses on both writing and speaking

Pricing: Free to use, or you can upgrade to the premium subscription for $9.99 a month. Longer subscriptions may reduce the price slightly for the premium option.

Beelingua

Beelingua

Reading is an important activity for anyone looking to improve their understanding of the French language. Beelingua provides stories and books in English and French, which you can read by each other to help improve your French comprehension. On top of that, it offers audiobooks, songs, and the news, helping to quickly increase your French vocabulary.

Key Features:

  • Read books in English and French
  • Learn new words from the various stories

Pricing: Choose from a free version with ads or upgrade to the premium version for $1.99 a month with no ads.

LingQ

LingQ

LingQ offers language courses in 42 different languages, and the app is free to download and use for beginners. It strives to bring you to complete fluency if you desire, making it a more effective option than other apps which simply familiarize you with the language.

Key Features:

  • Immerse yourself in the French language by reading and listening
  • LingQ is ideal for individuals looking to progress to fluency

Pricing: Free to use, but you can upgrade to the paid version for more features from $12.99 a month.

Mango Languages

Mango Languages

If you need to increase your confidence in speaking and reading French, you’ll find that Mango Languages is ideal for improving your conversational skills. It helps you to learn grammar in practice sessions and will offer real-life scenarios that make learning more relatable.

Key Features:

  • Focuses on reading, listening, speaking, and culture
  • Ideal for beginners and intermediate learners

Pricing: There is a free version, but you can upgrade to the membership for $7.99 a month for the full experience.

Best app for speaking practice

Speechling

Speechling

Speechling is a non-profit language-learning platform that is focused on speaking the language you are trying to learn. Users can enjoy language coaching to improve their confidence in French. You’ll also have access to 1000s of fun exercises, which make learning French feel like less of a chore.

Key Features:

  • Uses professional voice actors to immerse you in the French language
  • Beginners will start by repeating sentences, whereas more advanced learners are challenged to answer questions and interact more

Pricing: Free to use on the website or app, but you can upgrade to include unlimited tutoring for $19.99 a month.

Best apps for pure beginners

Mondly

Mondly

Mondly is the ideal app for anyone learning French for the first time. It starts with very basic vocabulary, and you’ll build up from there as you progress. One of the features we particularly like with Mondly is that you can practice speaking with the app’s chatbot. It also uses virtual reality, bringing learning to life in a whole new dimension.

Key Features:

  • Great for beginners
  • A modern and colorful app
  • Use VR and AR to enhance your learning

Pricing: There is a free version of the app, but you’ll find that it’s worth considering the premium version for $9.99 a month for the best experience.

Best French learning app for kids

Gus on the Go

Gus On the Go

Children can enjoy learning French alongside you with the Gus on the Go language app. It has ten interactive lessons and offers fun games to make their sessions more exciting. Parents who are learning French will find this to be a more suitable solution for teaching their children some basic vocabulary ahead of their next trip to France.

Key Features:

  • Created with children in mind
  • 10 interactive lessons
  • Games make learning more fun

Pricing: $3.99 per month for full access to the French app. There are educational discounts available as well.

Best apps for learning with videos (TV shows and movies)

One of the best ways to learn French beyond books and common apps is to watch TV shoes and movies.

Netflix

Netflix

Netflix is the leading global service for streaming TV shows and movies. Netflix offers an extensive library of French-language films and TV series. A key feature to Netflix is the ability to toggle subtitles between English and French for any given scene. When combined with WordReference (a dictionary app), Netflix can service as a very powerful language-learning tool.

Key Features:

  • Available on TVs as well as mobile and desktop devices
  • Extensive library of French-language TV series and films

Pricing: Basic monthly subscription is $9.99. Upgrade to Standard ($15.49/mo) or Premium ($19.99/mo).

Best apps for French music

One of the best ways to learn French is to use music. The following two apps are very useful for finding and listening to French.

TuneIn

TuneIn

TuneIn provides access to radio stations all over the world. Just type in the name of any city or country anywhere in the world and you will be able to access that region’s radio stations.

Search Paris, for example, and you can listen to all the major French radio stations including France Bleu, France Inter and NRJ. Search Montréal, for example, and you can listen to Ici Radio Première, Canada’s leading talk radio in French.

Key Features:

  • Access to 100,000+ radio stations worldwide

Pricing: Free to use with commercials. Premium membership with fewer ads starts at 9.99 per month.

Spotify

Spotify

Spotify is a leading service for listening to music available both in an app and on a website. It is also an excellent app for learning French with song lyrics. Spotify offers access to hundreds of French artists and thousands of French songs. Click on the microphone icon and listen to songs as you read the lyrics. Spotify also offers access to many podcasts for learning French.

Key Features:

  • Create play lists of favorite French singers and songs
  • Access to song lyrics
  • Playlists with various French songs based on time period and genre.

Pricing: Monthly subscription costs $9.99.

Best free apps flashcards, vocabulary and more

Word Reference

WordReference

Word Reference is a free online dictionary that comes in the form of an app. Search any word or expression and you will immediately find translations including multiple synonyms as well as example sentences. The online dictionary can do French to other languages as well including German and Italian.

Key Features:

  • Free to use for mobile and desktop devices
  • All entries including synonyms as well as example sentences for context

Pricing: Free to use.

Reverso

Reverso

Reverso is a free online dictionary that comes in the form of an app. In addition to the online dictionary, Reverso is most useful for finding translations of sentences. Type any expression in either English or French into the “Context” area of the app you will be sure to find a good translation. Reverso so also does a great job providing synonyms for French vocabulary words.

Key Features:

  • Free to use for mobile and desktop devices
  • Superior online dictionary
  • Context tool for looking up expressions
  • Synonym tool
  • Verb conjugation charts

Pricing: Free to use.

Anki

Anki

Anki is a free open source app that makes remembering your French vocabulary easier than ever before. It’s more efficient than traditional lessons, and you’ll soon pick up new words and phrases before your trip. As well as French, you can use this study app for any subject or language you might be trying to learn.

Key Features:

  • Free to use app for mobile and desktop devices
  • Flashcards make studying easier and help to quickly increase your vocabulary
  • Clickable audio icon for hearing pronunciation

Pricing: Free to use.

Brainscape

Brainscape

Brainscape claims to offer the most complete and efficient French flashcards online today. They will help to enhance your language learning, no matter where you are in your journey currently. In just a few months, you’ll be able to learn four years’ worth of French, ready to travel the world and interact with native speakers.

Key Features:

  • Boost your French vocabulary with an extensive range of flashcards
  • Learn years’ worth of vocabulary in just a few months
  • Created by top linguists and publishers
  • Multiple levels to choose from

Pricing: The basic version is free, but you can upgrade to the pro version for $9.99 a month.

Nemo Languages

Nemo Langauges

Nemo Languages uses native speaker audio to immerse you in the language for your first lesson. You can use this app on your phone, tablet, or Apple Watch. You’ll master your accent with the help of the included Speech Studio, so you’ll quickly sound like a native French speaker. The app isn’t built around traditional lessons, and instead, it’s designed to be used for a few minutes here and there throughout the day.

Key Features:

  • No prior knowledge of French is needed
  • Can be used in the offline mode after downloading the lessons
  • Master your accent with the help of the Speech Studio

Pricing: A free-to-use app.

Conclusion

As you can see, there are so many options to choose from when it comes to apps for learning French. Any of these apps will make learning more interactive and help you to feel more confident in speaking and reading French in no time at all.

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Sign up to download your free trial of À Moi Paris a French course which I recommend to my personal students to help with pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar. After that, upgrade for access to 77 hours of audio lessons.

Read our full review of À Moi Paris and find out why we love it so much!

Are you struggling with French verb conjugations? Then we highly recommend French Today's French Verb Drills course. Get over 28 hours of audio exercises to build reflexes and dramatically improve your French level and confidence.

Read our full review of French Verb Drills and find out why we recommend this course!

David Issokson

David Issokson is a lifelong language enthusiast. His head is swimming with words and sounds as he speaks over six languages. Of all the languages he speaks, he's the most passionate about French! David has helped hundreds of students to improve their French in his private online lessons. When procrastinating working on his site, FrenchLearner.com, David enjoys his time skiing and hiking in Teton Valley, Idaho.

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