11 Best Duolingo Alternatives for Language Learning

Ciao, amici! Do you love learning new languages? Is it your passion or are you learning out of curiosity? Either way, several language-learning websites and apps exist to help you. Duolingo is by far the most well-known. However, it has its flaws despite being my favorite. I had to search for alternatives to understand Italian better.

Fortunately, due to the abundance of language-learning websites, finding a specific alternative to Duolingo is easy. Learning and assimilating a new language into your daily life can’t be done with a snap of a finger. It takes time, effort, and, to a certain extent, plain old luck.

The Duolingo alternatives I am about to suggest will make a marked difference to your learning journey. They will ease the frustration most people feel bubbling up whenever they try something new. You may ask how that is possible. These websites have been around for a long time and are familiar with the difficulties their learners face.

Therefore, they have designed and adjusted their courses accordingly. So, all you have to do is decide which language you want to learn and pick a website based on that. Ready? Let the games begin!

Things To Consider When Choosing A Duolingo Alternative

A mistake many make while perusing alternatives for Duolingo is giving weightage to popularity rather than content quality or instructor experience. You may argue that popular websites are widely recognized for a reason. While that is true, sometimes the lesser-known platforms have surprisingly great content and stellar learning techniques.

So, we picked what we consider the better alternatives to Duolingo based on course quality, practical focus, teaching methods, and additional resources instead of relying on popularity alone. You should analyze which criteria you value more and select a platform.

Best Duolingo Alternatives in 2024

Language learning websites like Duolingo all have one thing in common. They aim to make you comfortable enough to start incorporating what you learn in day-to-day conversations. However, the languages they teach and how proficiently they do that differ. So, let’s see what unique benefits each alternative has to offer.

Rocket Languages is one of the best alternatives to Duolingo. Why? Because it focuses more on an area that Duolingo doesn’t emphasize much. It helps perfect your pronunciation and dramatically improves your conversation skills. Its voice recognition system is awesome (something Duolingo cannot claim), meaning it catches any mistakes you make easily.

This website’s algorithm then helps you avoid those errors through more practice. You can also use the downloadable audio tracks to familiarize yourself with how the native speakers talk. 

Rocket Languages teaches Spanish, French, Italian, German, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Portuguese, Arabic, English, and Sign Language. The languages taught may be few compared to Duolingo (40+ languages), but the quality of the courses makes up for it.

Your search for excellent websites like Duolingo ends here if Japanese is your target language. Rocket Languages’ comprehensive course structure and high-quality content make it the best Duolingo Japanese alternative. The instructors are professionals who know their stuff. Otherwise, this platform wouldn’t have been around for 21 years.

The best thing about this platform is the free trial that doesn’t expire. The catch? You can’t access the full course. Nevertheless, it is fantastic that we can use all the learning tools available in the paid version.

Memrise is a fabulous option for building your vocabulary. It is similar to Duolingo in many ways. It uses learning techniques that closely resemble Duolingo’s. Practice exercises like listening to audio to pick the right word, choosing the right word order from word banks, selecting the correct translated word, etc. are available on both websites.

Therefore, you won’t regret choosing the Memrise app version if you prefer using apps similar to Duolingo. If the sites are so similar, what sets it apart from Duolingo? Its focus on teaching you useful phrases and sentences right from the beginning makes it different from Duolingo. 

Many people agree that Memrise is the best platform to learn the essentials of a language within a short time if you are about to travel for business or pleasure to a foreign country. As the platform claims, fluency is nothing but the mastery of essential conversations.

You can improve your conversational skills through conversations with the Memrise chatbot. The trouble with the conversations with the AI-based practice is that the website doesn’t always consider your skill level when recommending scenarios to try. 

In a scenario meant for the beginner level, the AI assumed the role of a friend’s mom. I floundered around trying to carry on the conversation. It was clear the scenario didn’t match my skill level. That is the only drawback I came across while using Memrise. Otherwise, it is truly a fantastic website. 

Though it is one of the best Duolingo alternatives for French, you can confidently achieve B1 or B2 level in any target language (out of the 23 languages taught) using Memrise. Use it to become familiar with how natives speak if for nothing else.

Decided to go with Memrise? Wait. Check this Memrise vs Duolingo comparison before you take the final call.

Babbel is a better alternative to Duolingo because of its comprehensive, structured courses. You can specify why you want to learn a particular language, making it possible for it to recommend relevant courses. The in-depth explanation of grammar and intriguing insights into different cultures and slang make the learning process fun.

The additional resources like podcasts and games are highly informative and entertaining. Babbel has courses for 14 languages and is one of the best alternatives to Duolingo for Spanish. Lastly, Babbel is one of the few websites with lessons for all skill levels (beginner to advanced).

Mondly helps you learn 30+ languages. However, it focuses more on helping you get through simulated conversations in your target language rather than teaching you the grammar, structure, and nuances. 

The use of VR elements is mind-blowing though. The learning paths are pretty good, too. In short, it is effective when used in tandem with other language-learning resources. Opt for the free version if you don’t mind limited access to the courses. You can always upgrade to the premium version later.

Check out our detailed comparison of Mondly and Duolingo to find which suits you the best.

Italki is the most flexible among the Duolingo alternatives for Spanish. Though the platform offers 150+ languages, Spanish (next to English) is the most popular with 2,595 instructors. The course content is pretty great, as the instructors are talented professionals. No matter what your target language is, you can pick which instructor you want and book a session.

The one-on-one lessons add a personal touch to the learning process. A lesson costs $10 on average and is well worth the money spent. You can select an instructor based on their proficiency level in your target and native language, availability, and teaching style. Using trial sessions to determine whether your chosen instructor’s teaching style suits you is wise.

In my opinion, Busuu is the best alternative to Duolingo. The explanations are crystal clear, the tips to remember sentence structures and changing forms of words are helpful, and the topics covered are relevant. Learning with Busuu is an exciting experience even though it doesn’t have gamified elements like Duolingo.

The free version grants you access to the full course, making it one of the few sites similar to Duolingo to do so. The premium version allows you to earn certifications to indicate your proficiency level in the chosen language. Also, you won’t be disturbed with unwanted ads. One more thing in favor of Busuu is its stellar community.

The learners help each other out and you can ask others to correct the practice exercises you try. They will provide useful feedback on what you did wrong (if you made a mistake) and how to prevent it from reoccurring.

Preply and Italki have similar features. You choose what language to learn, and the tutor you want, and book a session. However, I believe Preply is even better than Italki. The number of qualified instructors is surprisingly in the thousands no matter what language you pick. And, I love the search filters that make picking an instructor easy as pie. 

You can opt for group classes if you find one-on-one sessions overwhelming. Preply teaches many popular languages like Spanish, French, German, Italian, etc. However, I find that this platform teaches Chinese (Mandarin) better than other websites. 

This site meets your expectations irrespective of what you want to focus on: business Chinese, conversational Chinese, Chinese literature, or traditional Chinese. In my book, that makes it the best Duolingo Chinese alternative. You can also choose whether to learn beginner Chinese or intensive Chinese. Wonderful, right?

I heard some time ago that people are looking for a ‘less stupid alternative to Duolingo’. Man, I laughed my head off. Well, I can go so far as to say that Preply is not only a less stupid choice but is definitely one of the good alternatives to Duolingo. Its users have only good things to say about it, and I tend to agree. 

On another note, Preply also has tutors for programming languages, arts, marketing, data science, psychology, and other obscure languages. So, it’s clear that Preply is a well-rounded platform.

Rosetta Stone’s tagline – from second language to second nature – pretty much sums it up. This website’s unique strength is the immersive experience it provides. It aims to expose you to the language you chose as much as possible and help you learn through conceptual clues.  

This method may seem odd. Can you learn something without learning the translation? Turns out, you can. Think about it, we grasped the knowledge of our native language that way, didn’t we? As a child, we listened to others speak and picked up the grammar, sentence structure, etc. That’s precisely what Rosetta Stone is going for.

So, this platform is the right choice if you are looking for an immersive Duolingo alternative. In addition to improving your reading, writing, pronunciation, and listening skills, Rosetta Stone provides useful phrasebooks, downloadable audio tracks, and live lessons & tutoring (only for limited languages).

Lingoda has courses for only six languages, which is like a droplet compared to Duolingo’s ocean of courses. However, there is no point in faulting a website for prioritizing quality over quantity. Besides, it is one of the few alternatives to Duolingo that actually has lessons. Need I say more?

Anyway, you can choose one-on-one sessions or take a group class consisting of five students including you. The small size of the group ensures that you get personalized feedback from your instructor. If you are an introvert like me, you will consider this both a blessing and a curse.

A blessing because you will have to talk, and a curse because, again, you have to talk. Does anyone feel a deep shudder run down their spine at the very thought? No? Just me? Oh, well, moving on. You can also choose the Lingoda Flex or Sprint program according to your requirements.

Lingoda Flex allows you to adjust your subscription, schedule lessons (and decide how frequently they take place), opt for group or private classes, etc. Live tutoring is available at all hours. Lingoda Sprint is awesome because if you complete the 30 or 60 classes (your choice) in two months, 50% of the money you spend is refunded. Awesome, sign me up!

FluentU is a fantastic website for learning Spanish, French, Mandarin Chinese, German, Japanese, Italian, Russian, Brazilian Portuguese, and Korean. You learn through watching video clips, movie scenes, music videos, etc. The translations and subtitles are highly accurate, making it possible for you to have fun while learning.

FluentU recommends that you first watch a video with subtitles in your native language and then switch it to your target language. The third time you watch the video turn off the subtitles and try to discern the words you hear. This way you can train your ears without feeling frustrated because you don’t understand what is being said.

I have to say, this is stellar advice. At least, it works for me. The quizzes are thought-provoking and relevant. But what I love most about the website is that it allows us to learn from Netflix videos. You can use the 14-day free trial to ascertain whether FluentU teaching methods work for you.

You can learn 50+ languages on Lingvist for $4.99/month or $39.99/year. It’s affordable and more importantly it works. The unique thing about Lingvist is that it first teaches you the most common and relevant words to everyday conversations. Only later does it move on to less relevant words.

After all, what is the use of learning words or phrases you may never use? We aren’t going to write a novel in our target language, are we? You can also customize the lessons to learn industry-specific vocabulary. This is a boon to those learning a language for business trips. Of course, you can also learn phrases and sentences related to your preferred topics.

Dedicating a mere ten minutes a day can significantly improve your language skills. This site is fast becoming one of my favorites. The only thing I don’t like about this site is the lack of great content for advanced learners.

Now that you have seen the pros, cons, and unique benefits of choosing Duolingo similar sites, what do you think? Have I listed all the best Duolingo alternatives? Let me know how effective the various language learning platforms are in improving your skills. You’ve got this! You can master your chosen language; just keep learning happily.