12 Best Apps to Learn Spanish 2023

Spanish is no doubt one of the most popular languages to learn. There are more than 500 million Spanish speakers in the world. 13% Americans speak Spanish at home,  making it the second most spoken language in the US.

Learning Spanish does not need to be a hassle; as a matter of fact, it can be pretty fun if you equip yourself with the proper tools and stay motivated. Now, with so many language apps, tutors’ sites, books, and add-ons coming out every year, it can be pretty overwhelming to find the best resources to keep you engaged in learning Spanish. 

So to save you the time of filtering the many Spanish learning apps yourself, we have selected 12 of the best apps to learn Spanish in 2022. From structured language courses, exchange programs, to podcasts and games, you can definitely find one (or more than one) for yourself to learn Spanish.

Let’s get started!

12 Best Apps to Learn Spanish

LingoDeer

• Level: Beginner to intermediate Spanish learners
• What Is It? Standalone language learning app
• Target: Comprehensive Spanish learning from the beginning
• How is This App Different? Native speaker audio, structured lessons, various practices
• Pricing: Free with limited content or premium from $14.99 – $6.66 a month
• Available on: App store | Google play 

Rated 4.8 out of 5 on the App store, LingoDeer is by far the best app for serious Spanish learners. Unlike most apps, LingoDeer comes with five different teaching techniques to accommodate all types of Spanish learners. Its human-produced curriculum is covered with detailed grammar explanations accompanied by story video lessons, games, quizzes, and flashcards. The app focuses heavily on grammar and each lesson is customized to different types of learners. If it helps, LingoDeer also teaches Spanish Spain and Latin American Spanish separately.

At the beginning of this post, we mentioned that none of these apps should be used independently. Still, if you must, LingoDeer is the best one as it provides an integrated language learning program that covers all aspects of learning Spanish. It also teaches 12 other languages like Korean and French. Try LingoDeer today for free!

 

Duolingo

• Level: Beginner to intermediate Spanish learners
• What Is It? Language game app
• Target: vocabulary, speaking, listening
• How is This App Different? budget friendly
• Pricing: free with ads or premium at $6.67 per month
• Available on: App store | Google play 

Duolingo is one of the most popular language learning apps and it’s best known for learning western languages like Spanish and French. It’s also 100% free so you can give it a try without any budget.

Duolingo teaches Spanish by using short, bite-sized lessons that are fun and engaging. It allows you to choose your learning mode and tracks your progress along your Spanish learning journey. The cute (yet intimidating) mascot Duo also keeps encouraging (or threatening) you to log in and learn every day.

Busuu

• Level: Beginner to intermediate Spanish learners
• What Is It? Standalone language learning app
• Target: writing, speaking, grammar
• How is This App Different? social feature
• Pricing: Premium starts from $5.95 when billed annually
• Available on: App store | Google play 

Busuu is another great Spanish learning app with solid lessons and practices. You can combine it with any other official Spanish learning course or listening exercises. It better incorporates output skills (writing and speaking) than many other apps. The app offers many grammar practices and has a social function that allows you to get feedback from native speakers.

Babbel

• Level: beginner to intermediate
• What Is It? structured language learning app
• Target: listening, speaking, reading, writing
• How is This App Different? Babbel provides a more serious learning experience than
• Pricing: Free with limited time or premium starts from $37.95 per quarter
• Available on: App store | Google play 

Similar to LingoDeer and Duolingo, Babbel is another great language learning app but it’s less gamified. It’s a great source for serious or older Spanish learners who just want to learn the language and that’s it. It also has a slightly higher price than most other language apps.

Babbel’s language courses are generally well-structured with plenty of resources. From vocabulary drills, conversation practices, to reading exercises, etc. You can learn Spanish at anytime, anywhere you want.

Babbel also has an innovative algorithm that adjusts the content you will learn next based on your previous answers. In this way, you can get the most out of learning with a customized, high-quality learning experience.

HelloTalk

• Level: Intermediate to advanced
• What Is It? language exchange app
• Target: Listening, building sentences, feeling confident
• How is This App Different? While it allows you to practice with native speakers, it also works like a social media platform where you teach others, making it more engaging and fun to use 
• Pricing: Free and paid version
• Available on: App store | Google play 

HelloTalk is one of the most popular language exchange programs. The app works similarly to a pen pal website, except that HelloTalk is more language learning focused. So, if you are learning Spanish and know English, you will be paired up with a native Spanish speaker who is learning English. So you will not only learn Spanish but also help someone and even make a friend. 

While HelloTalk is free to use, it comes with a paid Pro option for whenever you are ready to take your Spanish to the next level. While this app is meant to be used as a social network to learn languages, it also has built-in language tools like audio lessons in 10 languages. In any case, ideally, this app will be used to complement a structured Spanish course.

Anki

• Level: All levels
• What Is It? Flashcard app
• Target: Learning new words
• How is This App Different? Anki uses spaced repetition technology
• Pricing: Free
• Available on: App store | Google play 

Anki is by far the best flashcard app out there. You can either create your flashcards or import them from the internet. If you import flashcard decks, you can always edit them or delete the ones you don’t like or have already mastered. 

The app works straightforwardly, just like physical flashcards, except that instead of staking them all in the back of the deck, they come with a built-in spaced repetition system. But how does this work? 

Once you build a deck (or import it), you will see your first flashcard, which you must guess what is on the opposite side. Once you reveal it, four options will appear: 

• Incorrect – 1 min
• Hard – 16 min 
• Correct – 10 min 
• Easy – 4 days

You must be sincere in this next part and select the option you believe fits your knowledge of the flashcard. The options will change depending on what you pick. The app will ensure to show the flashcards you know rarely and frequently repeat the ones you don’t. 

Although simple, this system is very effective and will keep you engaged in the app for hours. The app is also programmed only to show you a determined number of flashcards daily not to overwhelm you.

The best thing about Anki is the import options, which have a particular Spanish category. Here you can download flashcards on topics tailored to your interests, like general Spanish phrases for traveling to Spanish for art lovers.  

Memrise

• Level: Beginner
• What Is It? Spanish vocabulary app
• Target: Memorise Spanish vocabulary 
• How is This App Different? Great for memorizing vocabulary
• Pricing: Free with limited functions, premium starts from $8.49 per month
• Available on: App store | Google play 

As the name suggests, Memrise is a language app solely designed for memorizing vocabulary. That’s also what makes it different from other language apps.

One lesson typically includes 10 to 50 words together with audio, an explanation, and a native speaker video. It’s great to be able to hear how native speakers use a word in real-life situations, say in a cafe or in a restaurant. So by and practicing these words in various exercises or repeating them frequently with flashcards, you get to memorize them at no time.

Memrise also allows you to choose your own learning route based on your language level. For example, for the Spanish lesson, For example, there are “Basic Spanish”, “Advanced Spanish”, “Spanish Vocab by Frequency” etc. Choose the one that best suits you.

Infinite Spanish

• Level: Beginner
• What Is It? Spanish vocabulary game
• Target: Learning basic Spanish vocabulary 
• How is This App Different? It uses different games to teach you Spanish
• Pricing: Free
• Available on: App store | Google play 

If you wish to learn basic Spanish words and don’t know where to start, Infinite Spanish is what you need. Infinite Spanish will teach you the most used words through fun and simple games to gain confidence and build a basic vocabulary to start a Spanish course, survive while traveling, engage native speakers, or start getting a feel for the language. 

As you might know, Spanish is one of the most used languages in the world, so different countries use different words for the same things. Infinite Spanish teaches you some synonyms used in other Spanish-speaking countries to give you the confidence to speak anywhere in the world.

Words Booster

• Level: Beginner to advanced Spanish learners
• What Is It? vocabulary learning app
• Target: Learning new words, acquiring native-like pronunciation
• How is This App Different? Words Booster lets you choose Spanish vocabulary from a variety of subjects that are pertinent to you
• Pricing: Weekly subscription for $9.99 with a 0.49 offer for the first week 
• Available on: App store | Google play 

Word Booster is one of the newest apps in the market. Unlike most vocabulary apps that only teach you traditional words related to everyday activities, Word Booster lets you choose from a wider variety of topics to learn from. For example, if you wish, you can learn new vocabulary from slang, idioms, popular novels, fun metaphors, and even memes.    

Once you choose your language level (from beginner to proficient), it will let you choose from 40+ topics. Each topic deck comprises detailed illustrated examples, quizzes, and pronunciation exercises. The main aim of the app is to build you a personalized study plan that is fun and engaging to keep you motivated while enriching your vocabulary.

Spanish Podcasts Short Stories

• Level: Intermediate
• What Is It? listening and reading app
• Target: Learning new words and improving reading and listening 
• How is This App Different? Stories are written primarily for Spanish language learners to ease the learning 
• Pricing: Free 
• Available on: App store | Google play 

This app is ideal if you want to learn new words and improve your reading and listening comprehension. Spanish Podcasts include 190 + beginner short stories, divided into three difficulty levels. Each story gets progressively more challenging yet easy enough for all-language learners. All the stories are read by human beings, not an AI, and have a transcript for you to follow the story. This will help you better grasp the vocabulary and grammar in a more realistic way. 

94 Segundos

• Level: Advanced
• What Is It? Vocabulary game
• Target: Mental agility and vocabulary 
• How is This App Different? This app will not so much teach you but challenge you on your vocabulary
• Pricing: Free 
• Available on: App store | Google play 

This app is quite like the Spanish version of word puzzle. If you prefer remembering Spanish words by playing games, the word game app 94 Segundos is just for you. You will be provided a category, like fruit, and one letter, like K. Then you are given 94 seconds to come up with as many words as possible to accumulate points. 

94 Segundos is simple but very effective for remembering words on the spot, which is a very important part of language learning. Now, the game is not for beginners since there are quite a few categories in which the game can challenge you. So it’s ideal that you already have a solid vocabulary to play, but once you do, be careful because it can get very addictive. 

SpanishDict

When learning a new language, a dictionary will be one of the most essential tools for any type of study plan, so regardless of what app you choose from the list above, you need a good dictionary app, and this is the one you must get. SpanishDic is a specialized dictionary made exclusively for Spanish learners. That is why each word in the dictionary comes with an extra detailed explanation and dozens of examples and phrases so you can start using the word immediately. 

This dictionary will also include audio from native speakers in both English and Spanish, which can be played slower if needed to hear the proper pronunciation.

While most Spanish dictionary apps will simply show you basic grammar and vocabulary, SpanishDict will show you a daily word of the day, explanatory videos, and grammar and vocabulary guides for a refresher lesson. This is an ideal tool for beginners (looking for recently learned words and concepts) and for advanced learners (to refresh on lessons learned and learn more advanced vocabulary).

Remember to Use More Than One App

Remember, the trick to using apps to learn a language is to use several of them. Each app will specialize in a different language learning section, so try more than one simultaneously to achieve the best effect.

So, Which App Will You Choose?

Learning a new language is about staying motivated by your progress and goals; that is why using the proper learning apps is fundamental. So, these apps will undoubtedly benefit your goal, whatever your reason for learning Spanish this year.

Let us know which Spanish app you like in the comments! Also, appreciate your sharing this article if you find anything useful here.

Happy Spanish learning!