The best Duolingo alternatives depend on what Duolingo is not giving you. For speaking, our pick is Speak Better Spanish coaching (our own, and not an app), with italki and Pimsleur as app options. For grammar, try Babbel or Language Transfer. For listening, try Dreaming Spanish or LingQ. For vocabulary, Anki.
This lesson comes from Speak Better Spanish, live one-to-one Spanish coaching for adults with Hannah, Arturo and Jacky. Rated 5.0 on Google. Get a free speaking plan →
Speak Better Spanish is our own coaching school, so we are telling you that up front. We list it as the pick for speaking because speaking is what we do, and it is the thing most people tell us their app streak did not give them. Every other fact below comes from the provider’s own website or its US App Store listing on October 25, 2026. App prices change often, so check before you pay.
Key Takeaways
- Start with what you miss: speaking, grammar or listening. Then pick one tool for that.
- You do not have to quit Duolingo. Many people keep it for the daily habit.
- For speaking, nothing replaces a real person who corrects you.
- For grammar, pick something that explains the rule, not only drills it.
- For listening, pick content at your level and in the accent you need.
Duolingo alternatives at a glance
| Alternative | What it fixes | Free option | Spanish variety |
|---|---|---|---|
| Speak Better Spanish (ours, not an app) | Speaking, with a live coach | Free Roadmap Session | Mexican Spanish |
| italki | Speaking, with a tutor you choose | No, pay per lesson, with trial lessons | Depends on the tutor |
| Pimsleur | Speaking and listening, by audio | Free trial | Latin American or Spain |
| Babbel | Grammar, explained in context | Free download, paid plans | Latin American or Spain, plus a Mexican Spanish plan |
| Busuu | Feedback from native speakers | Free download, paid Premium | Not stated |
| Language Transfer | Understanding how Spanish works | Completely free | Not stated |
| Dreaming Spanish | Listening you can follow | Free app download, paid Premium | Guides from Mexico, Spain and more |
| LingQ | Reading and listening to real content | Free to start | Not stated |
| Memrise | Vocabulary from real native speakers | Free download, paid plans | Spain and Mexico courses |
| Anki | Remembering vocabulary | Free on computer and Android | Any, you make the cards |
Duolingo itself is free, and its App Store listing offers a 14-day free trial of Super Duolingo. If it keeps you showing up every day, that is worth a lot. The tools below fill in what it leaves out.
Knowing the rule is the easy part. Using it mid-conversation is where most adults freeze. In a free roadmap session, a coach hears you speak and gives you a plan for what to practice next.
Best Duolingo alternatives for speaking
1. Speak Better Spanish: best for real speaking practice
This is us, and we are a coaching school, not an app. Our coaching is live on Zoom with Hannah, Arturo and Jacky, in real Mexican Spanish. You can do 60-minute coaching sessions built around a topic you choose, or 30-minute conversation sessions where you talk about your real life and your coach corrects what matters. You get the recording and notes after. One small thing to practice, nothing to hand in.
It costs more than an app. Current prices are on our pricing page. If you want to see why apps struggle with speaking, read why apps do not work for speaking Spanish.
2. italki: best for picking your own tutor
italki is a marketplace with more than 2,300 Spanish tutors when we checked. Professional tutors are certified teachers, and community tutors are native or fluent speakers who focus on conversation. Its Spanish page says lessons cost between $4 and $60 an hour, and you can book up to three trial lessons, one per tutor.
3. Pimsleur: best for speaking out loud on the go
Pimsleur is an audio course: you listen and answer out loud, in 30-minute lessons you can do on a walk or a drive. Its App Store listing offers Latin American or Spain Spanish, a free trial, and an AI Conversation Coach in beta for Latin American Spanish with an All Access subscription.
Best Duolingo alternatives for grammar
4. Babbel: best for grammar explained as you go
Babbel teaches in structured lessons with grammar explained in context. You can choose Latin American or Spain Spanish, and you can practice out loud with speech recognition and Babbel Speak, an AI conversation partner. On the US App Store, a 1-month Mexican Spanish plan was listed at $17.99.
5. Busuu: best for feedback from real people
Busuu mixes lessons with feedback and tips from its community of native speakers, and its Smart Review keeps track of the grammar and words you have learned. It is free to download, with paid Premium plans.
6. Language Transfer: best free grammar course
Language Transfer’s Complete Spanish is an audio course that helps you understand how Spanish works instead of memorizing it. The site says there are no price tags and no sign-ups, and it runs on donations.
Best Duolingo alternatives for listening
7. Dreaming Spanish: best for listening you can follow
Dreaming Spanish, now at dreaming.com, is a video library built on comprehensible input: you watch Spanish you can understand and slowly move up. Its guides come from Mexico, Spain, Argentina, Colombia and other countries. The app is a free download with a paid Premium plan. Pair it with our passive listening guide.
8. LingQ: best for reading and listening to real content
LingQ has thousands of hours of Spanish audio with matching transcripts, and you can import your own content and turn it into lessons. It reviews new words with spaced repetition, and you can get started for free.
9. Memrise: best for vocabulary from real people
Memrise teaches vocabulary with videos of real native speakers and has speaking practice with AI. It has separate courses for Spanish from Spain and Spanish from Mexico, and it is free to download, with paid plans.
Best Duolingo alternative for vocabulary
10. Anki: best for flashcards you build yourself
Anki is a flashcard app that is free on computers and Android. AnkiMobile for iPhone was $24.99 on the App Store, a one-time purchase. Make cards from phrases you hear in real conversations and they will stick much better than a ready-made deck.
How we picked these alternatives
- We grouped them by what people tell us they miss after Duolingo: speaking, grammar and listening.
- We only used facts from each provider’s own site or its US App Store listing on October 25, 2026.
- We did not give star ratings, and we left out prices we could not see clearly.
How to build a simple routine after Duolingo
- Keep one app for a 10-minute daily habit, whether it is Duolingo or one of these.
- Add one listening source for walks and drives.
- Make flashcards only for phrases you actually need.
- Have one real conversation a week, with a coach, tutor or exchange partner.
Wondering whether apps can get you all the way? Read are language apps enough to become fluent. If you understand a lot but freeze when it is your turn, see why you freeze when speaking Spanish. See Speak Better Spanish vs Duolingo side by side, or all our comparisons.
Frequently Asked Questions
It depends on what you miss. For speaking, we recommend Speak Better Spanish coaching, which is our own and not an app, or an italki tutor. For grammar, Babbel or Language Transfer. For listening, Dreaming Spanish or LingQ. Many people keep Duolingo for the habit and add one of these.
Yes. Language Transfer is completely free, with no sign-up. Anki is free on computers and Android. Dreaming Spanish, LingQ, Busuu and Memrise are free to start, with paid upgrades. Try a free version for two weeks before you pay for anything.
Talking with a real person who corrects you is the best way to improve speaking. That can be a coach, like Speak Better Spanish (our own), or an italki tutor. Pimsleur is a good app option because you answer out loud in every lesson.
Not if it keeps you practicing every day. A daily habit is hard to build, and Duolingo is good at that. The problem comes when it is the only thing you do. Keep it for the habit and add speaking and listening practice.
Babbel is better if you want grammar explained and a more structured course, and it offers Latin American or Spain Spanish. Duolingo is better for a free daily habit. Neither one replaces speaking with a real person, so add conversation practice either way.
Keep the habit, add the speaking
Pick the one thing Duolingo is not giving you, choose one tool from this list for it, and use it for two weeks.
If you have a long streak and still freeze when someone speaks to you, book a free Spanish Roadmap Session. We will build a plan that keeps your app and adds real conversation.
Keep Learning Mexican Spanish Every Week
Every week I send one real piece of Mexican Spanish you will actually hear: an expression, a usage difference, or something that trips up learners who already speak well. No filler, no textbook Spanish.
Subscribe to the free Speak Better Spanish newsletter and receive practical lessons, helpful language tips, cultural insights, and exclusive resources to support your Spanish learning journey. Every email is designed to help you build confidence and make steady progress.
SPANISH FLUENCY COACHING
Reading about Spanish is the easy part. Speaking it is where we come in.
Most adults who find this page already know a lot of Spanish and still freeze in real conversations. A coach works on that freeze directly: what stops you, what you need to say, and real practice until it comes out on its own.
- A personal plan from a free roadmap call
- Live one-to-one sessions on Zoom
- The recording and notes after every session
- Email support between sessions
- Three coaches, so you hear more than one accent
- 100% money-back guarantee within 28 days
Hannah, Arturo and Jacky. Coaching since 2014, based in Monterrey, Mexico.“Hannah assured me one day it will start to click but I was convinced I would never master the language. […] [Recently] I had a full conversation with a worker who was pointing and repairing my windows. He spoke no English and the boss was not on site. I understood almost everything this man was explaining about the work […] I felt so proud of myself! It clicked!”
Catherine, student since 2023“Working with Hannah has dramatically improved my Spanish as well as my confidence in using Spanish in actual conversations.”
Cat Adams, Google review · Read every reviewNot sure of your level? Take the free Spanish level test and bring your result to the call.
Free on Zoom, no payment details. Rated 5.0 on Google. You leave with a plan either way. See pricing
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