Discover the best apps to learn French and enhance your language skills effectively. From gamified lessons to immersive experiences, find the perfect app for your learning style.
You would really like to learn a new language and, after careful consideration, your choice has fallen on French . However, not having the possibility of following a real course in person, you have decided to download some applications that allow you to learn this language in your free time. Since you do not know any, you would like me to indicate some to you so that you can choose the one that you consider most suited to your needs.
If things are as I have just described, I will be happy to give you a hand and help you in your choice. In the next paragraphs of this guide, in fact, I will indicate a series of apps for learning French and, for each solution mentioned, I will take care not only to indicate the relative costs but also to show you the detailed procedure for creating an account and starting a new course.
Index
- Preply (Android/iOS/iPadOS)
- Mosalingua (Android/iOS/iPadOS)
- Duolingo (Android/iOS/iPadOS)
- Memrise (Android/iOS/iPadOS)
- Other apps to learn French
Preply (Android/iOS/iPadOS)
Among the first apps to learn French that I recommend you try is definitely Preply . This application for Android and iPhone/iPad devices allows you to follow private lessons to learn a new language or simply to refine your knowledge of a language already spoken and improve your pronunciation.
In addition to being one of the best apps for learning English , it also allows you to study French and many other languages, such as Spanish, German, Irish, Chinese, Japanese and many more, with teachers from over 185 countries around the world.
On Preply , you can book a first trial lesson without any obligation. After that, lessons have a variable cost depending on the teacher chosen, with the possibility of booking both single lessons and packages of multiple lessons: in any case, there is always a satisfaction or refund guarantee . Payment can be made via PayPal , credit/debit card , Google Pay and Apple Pay .
After downloading and launching Preply, tap the Start Now button and, on the Hello! What would you like to study? screen , tap on French . Then, proceed to create your account by selecting the Register with email address option , keeping in mind that you can also register using your Google , Facebook or Apple account .
Once you have done this, choose whether or not to activate Preply notifications and press the Start Now button again to find a teacher. Then, answer the questions What is your goal?, What topics do you want to focus on?, What is your level of French?, Are you interested in a specific culture or accent?, When can you take a lesson? and What is your budget per lesson? and tap the Continue button .
You will automatically be shown a series of available teachers based on the information provided previously and you will be able to choose the one you prefer, with the possibility of viewing their complete profile (where you will find a description , skills and reviews from other users) by clicking on their photo .
From here, by tapping on the cloud icon at the bottom left, you also have the option to send a private message for more information. If, instead, you want to book a first lesson, press on the Buy trial lesson item , choose the duration you prefer between 25 or 50 minutes and, based on the availability of the chosen teacher, indicate the date and time you prefer for the lesson.
Finally, I would like to point out that by tapping on the Vocabulary item located in the bottom menu of the Preply app, you can access a completely free section that allows you to learn new words by creating flashcards and other useful options. More info here .
Mosalingua (Android/iOS/iPadOS)
Mosalingua is a platform, also available as an application for Android and iPhone/iPad devices , which offers courses in various languages, including French.
It offers a significantly different approach to traditional interpersonal coaching as it uses artificial intelligence to prepare interactive lessons structured around personal goals. In addition to specific exercises to learn the language, there are videos to watch and other multimedia content that can be used without the need for a dedicated tutor. However, 1-on-1 lessons are also available if necessary.
The application can be used for free, but those who want to learn French without limitations and unlock all the available features can activate a Premium subscription, with costs starting from 7.49 euros per month , with a 7-day free trial . If you go through this link of mine , after the trial you will be entitled to a 20% discount thanks to the pre-applied code “SALVATORE-ARANZULLA” .
After starting Mosalingua, if you have an Android device , check the box next to Italian to indicate which language you are using. If, instead, you have an iPhone / iPad , check the box next to French to indicate the language you intend to learn. In both cases, tap the Next button twice in a row, indicate the reason why you have decided to learn a new language and the time you are willing to dedicate to studying each day.
Once this is done, indicate your level with French by pressing on the Choose your level option and selecting one of the available levels . Alternatively, you can establish your level of knowledge through a quick test that you can start by pressing on the Take the test for the level option .
In any case, choose whether or not to activate Mosalingua notifications, press the Next button again and proceed to create your account, entering the required data in the Email and Password fields and pressing the Create an account button . I would like to point out that, if you are proceeding from an iPhone/iPad, you can also register via your Apple account .
After creating your account, in the Learn section of Mosalingua you can view a list of all the words and phrases that you can currently learn. By accessing the Explore section, you can view all the categories of lessons present and choose the one that interests you.
Duolingo (Android/iOS/iPadOS)
If you are looking for apps to learn French for free , you can consider Duolingo . It is available for Android devices (also on alternative stores , for devices without Google services) and iPhone/iPad and allows you to learn over 40 languages, including French, through quick and simple lessons.
Unlike other apps of this kind, all lessons are free, although there are some limitations, especially regarding the time of daily use. The lessons have an increasing difficulty and have been structured in such a way that the student feels motivated to improve their knowledge and language skills.
Those who want to study without the limitations imposed by the free version of Duolingo, remove advertising banners and unlock additional features, such as personalized review, can activate the Duolingo Plus subscription starting at 16.99 euros/month with a 2-week free trial .
If you think this is a good solution to learn French, start Duolingo and tap the Start and Continue buttons twice in a row. Then, select the French option to indicate the language you want to learn and tap the Continue button again .
Now, answer the questions How did you hear about Duolingo? , How are you doing in French? and Why do you want to learn French? , set your daily study goal by selecting one of the available options between 5 , 10 , 15 and 20 minutes and, if you want, enable notifications so that Duolingo can send you a study reminder.
Then, start your first lesson, follow the instructions on the screen to complete it and press the End lesson button to complete it. At this point, you can proceed without an account by selecting the Later option or, by pressing the Create profile button , proceed to create a free account to save your study progress and synchronize it between multiple devices.
In the latter case, indicate your age and your name and choose whether to register using your Google , Facebook or Apple account . If, instead, you want the classic registration via email, after entering your name, press the Next button , enter your email address in the appropriate field, create a password to use to access Duolingo by entering it in the Create a password field and tap the Create profile button .
At this point, you can continue studying French by starting the next lesson, keeping in mind that you have 5 lives per day and each mistake you make will result in the loss of a life. To learn more, you can refer to my tutorial on how Duolingo works .
Memrise (Android/iOS/iPadOS)
Memrise is another application for Android devices (also available on alternative stores ) and iPhone/iPad that allows you to learn French and many other languages. In the free version, there are advertising banners and offers limited lessons.
To remove advertising, access all available lessons and unlock additional features, you need to activate the Memrise Pro subscription with costs starting from 24.99 euros/month which can be significantly reduced with the annual plan ( 42.49 euros/year ) or the lifetime plan ( 114.99 euros one-off ).
When you first launch Memrise, tap the Start learning button and, on the I want to learn screen , select the French option . Then, create your free account by choosing your preferred registration method between Sign up by email , Sign up with Facebook , Sign up with Google and Sign up with Apple .
In any case, indicate your starting level (e.g. Start from scratch ) and, if you wish to receive a reminder to study, specify the time and days of the lessons and press the Continue button to activate Memrise notifications.
As a final step, choose whether to subscribe to Memrise Pro or start with the free version of the service by selecting the option you are interested in between Switch to PRO now and Keep the free plan .
At this point, on the main screen of your account, you immediately have the possibility of starting the first lesson of the course by pressing the Start button. By selecting the Scenarios option located in the bottom menu, instead, you can view all the available lessons and review those already completed, while by accessing the Video and Conversations sections you have other ways to learn French.
In particular, in the Conversations section you can chat in real time with an AI-based bot and simulate conversations of various kinds.
Other apps to learn French
If the applications that I have indicated in the previous lines of this guide have not completely satisfied your needs, here is a list of other apps for learning French that you can download.
- Babbel( Android / iOS/iPadOS ) — is another language app that allows you to follow courses in 14 different languages, including French. In addition to the possibility of studying independently through a system of lessons structured on multiple levels, multimedia content and thematic courses, it also allows you to participate in study groups with a tutor. Although it is possible to have Babbel for free for a lesson, to use the service in question you need to subscribe with costs starting from 11.99 euros/month for three months. To learn more, I leave you with my tutorial on how Babbel works .
- Busuu( Android / iOS / iPadOS ) — this application allows you to learn not only French but also English , Spanish , Italian , German , Chinese, Japanese , Korean, Portuguese, Polish, Russian, Arabic and Turkish. The lessons can be organized according to your needs and time availability and it also has several sections dedicated to the study of grammar and conversation with native speakers. To have unlimited access to all the lessons, unlock additional content and remove advertisements, you need to activate a subscription with prices starting from 9.98 euros/month.
- DuoCards( Android / iOS/iPadOS ) — is an app that allows you to learn over 40 languages, including French. Studying is done through flashcards, readings and multimedia content. It is basically free with some limitations, which can be removed by activating the Premium version with costs starting from 5.80 euros/month.
- italki( Android / iOS/iPadOS ) — is a solution dedicated to those who are looking for apps to learn French (and more than 150 other languages) by participating in individual online lessons with qualified native teachers. The cost of each individual lesson varies depending on the rate of the chosen teacher, with the first three lessons that can be purchased at a discounted price.