The Best Duolingo Alternatives for Learning English, Ranked by Goal

Key takeaways

• People leave Duolingo for four main reasons: the free-tier energy limit, light grammar explanations, little real conversation on free plans, and gamification that can outweigh learning.
• Match the alternative to the skill you are missing, not to a general "best app" list.
• Human practice, from tutors or live classes, is the biggest step up from any app, and also the most expensive.
• Free options exist for every part of a study plan except a live human partner.
• You can keep Duolingo as a warm-up and add one alternative for the gap.
• Check prices in your own country before paying; most apps change them often.

This page lists alternatives for learning English specifically. If you want the direct head-to-head between Duolingo and our own course, read LearnLingo vs Duolingo. For a broader view of apps without the Duolingo angle, see our guide to the best apps to learn English and our earlier article on Duolingo alternatives.

Why people look for alternatives to Duolingo

Duolingo is the most downloaded language app for good reasons: it is free to start, polished, and very good at building a daily habit. The reasons people look elsewhere come from the way the product is built, not from any scandal or single bad lesson.

The energy limit. In 2025 Duolingo introduced Energy, which it calls a learning battery. Each lesson uses some energy, a run of correct answers earns some back, and it recharges in about a day; rewarded ads and gems refill it. Super and Max remove the limit. Duolingo has said it tested Energy with a group of learners and would keep adjusting it. For a learner who wants a long study session on a free plan, any limit is a reason to look around.

Light grammar. Duolingo mostly teaches by doing. You see patterns and guess the rule. That suits some learners but frustrates others, especially adults who want to know why. The paid Max tier adds an AI Explain My Answer feature, but free learners often look up rules on other sites.

Little real conversation. Free speaking exercises are read-aloud drills. Duolingo Max adds AI Video Call and Roleplay, which Duolingo launched for certain course pairs and has expanded since. Even so, an AI conversation is not a human one, and learners preparing for interviews or exams often want real people.

Gamification fatigue. Streaks, XP and leagues are excellent motivators, but some learners notice that they start choosing easy lessons to protect a streak or win a league. If that sounds like you, read our guide on language learning habits.

One course for many languages. Duolingo's platform covers dozens of languages and even chess and math. An English-only product can go deeper into English-specific problems such as articles, phrasal verbs or the present perfect.

The alternatives at a glance

Rank	App	Best for	Price model	Real human practice
1	Babbel	Structured courses built around real dialogues	Subscription; some free lessons	Optional paid live classes
2	Cambly	Casual conversation with native speakers	Paid subscription by minutes	Yes, tutors on demand
3	LearnLingo	Free English-only course with grammar	Free; optional Plus	No
4	Preply	Choosing your own tutor and price	Pay per lesson, tutor sets price	Yes, one-to-one
5	Busuu	CEFR-labeled courses and community feedback	Freemium with Premium	Community corrections
6	Lingoda	Scheduled small-group classes	Paid class plans	Yes, live classes
7	ELSA Speak	Pronunciation feedback	Freemium with Pro	No, AI feedback
8	Memrise	Vocabulary with video clips of real speakers	Freemium	No
9	BBC Learning English and British Council	Free videos, articles and exercises	Free	No
10	Anki	Flashcards you control	Free on most platforms	No

The ranking reflects how well each tool covers the gaps people most often feel in Duolingo for English, weighted by quality and value. It is not a ranking of overall company quality. Prices change constantly and differ by country, so we describe price models rather than numbers.

1. Babbel

Best for: adults who want structured lessons around everyday conversations, with grammar explained.

Price model: subscription by single language or all languages, with free sample lessons; live online classes cost extra.

Strengths: Babbel builds each course for the learner's native language and organizes lessons around realistic dialogues with grammar tips and culture notes. It has speech recognition, offline downloads, podcasts and a beta AI conversation partner. It feels more like a course and less like a game.

Limits: less gamified, so daily motivation is up to you. Most lessons are behind the paywall. Its exercises are still mostly recognition and short typing, like other apps. Read our full LearnLingo vs Babbel comparison for the detail.

2. Cambly

Best for: learners who need to speak, now, with native speakers.

Price model: subscription based on minutes per week; occasional free trial minutes.

Strengths: you can talk to a tutor on demand, which builds fluency and confidence in a way no app can. Good for conversation practice and for getting used to different accents.

Limits: lessons are conversation-led, so structure depends on the tutor and on you. It costs far more than any app. Tutors are not always trained teachers.

3. LearnLingo

Best for: learners who like Duolingo's style but want English only, free lessons and clearer grammar.

Price model: every lesson is free in the browser and on iOS; LearnLingo Plus is optional and adds unlimited hearts, more help from Sage the Turtle and early access to every game.

Strengths: CEFR levels A1 to C1 shown clearly, grammar tips and unit guides, spaced practice of your own mistakes, 13 English games including Grammar Gap, Listening Lab and Speaking Coach, and a Turkish interface with Turkish explanations. A free 5-minute level test places you.

Limits: no human tutors, no live classes, no AI conversation partner, no certificate, no Android app and no offline mode on web. Sage is a rule-based helper, not a chatbot. Speaking practice is a pronunciation drill, not conversation.

4. Preply

Best for: learners who want one-to-one lessons with a tutor they choose.

Price model: pay per lesson; each tutor sets their own price, so the range is wide.

Strengths: you can filter tutors by price, accent, specialty such as business or exam preparation, and languages spoken, which helps beginners who want explanations in their own language.

Limits: quality varies by tutor, and you need to try a few. It is the most expensive option if you take many lessons.

5. Busuu

Best for: learners who want CEFR-labeled courses and feedback on their writing and speaking from other users.

Price model: freemium with a paid Premium plan.

Strengths: clear level structure, grammar review, and a community feature where native speakers correct your exercises.

Limits: community feedback quality varies, and much of the course needs Premium.

6. Lingoda

Best for: learners who need regular, scheduled classes and a fixed curriculum.

Price model: paid plans by number of classes per month.

Strengths: small-group or private online classes with qualified teachers, following a CEFR curriculum. Excellent for accountability.

Limits: you must book and attend at set times, and it costs much more than an app.

7. ELSA Speak

Best for: pronunciation and accent work.

Price model: freemium with paid Pro plans.

Strengths: detailed feedback on individual sounds, stress and intonation using speech recognition.

Limits: narrow focus; it will not teach you grammar or a full vocabulary path.

8. Memrise

Best for: vocabulary and phrases, with clips of real people speaking.

Price model: freemium.

Strengths: fast vocabulary review and authentic audio.

Limits: less grammar and less structure than a full course.

9. BBC Learning English and British Council LearnEnglish

Best for: free, high-quality videos, articles, podcasts and exercises.

Price model: free.

Strengths: trusted material, real-world topics and many levels. Ideal for listening and reading practice; see also how to learn English with podcasts.

Limits: no personalized path or progress tracking, so you must organize it yourself.

10. Anki

Best for: learners who want full control over vocabulary review.

Price model: free on desktop and Android; the official iOS app is paid.

Strengths: powerful spaced repetition; you decide exactly what to review. Read our explainer on spaced repetition.

Limits: you build or find your own cards, and it teaches nothing new by itself.

How to choose: a decision guide

By goal

Your goal	Best choice	Add this
Understand grammar	LearnLingo or Babbel	A grammar reference such as our English grammar hub
Speak with confidence	Cambly or Preply	A self-study app for vocabulary
Pass an exam	Preply tutor with exam specialty	Official practice tests
Better pronunciation	ELSA Speak	Shadowing, explained in our shadowing technique guide
Build a habit cheaply	Duolingo or LearnLingo	Ten minutes of podcasts a day
Workplace English	Lingoda or a business-focused tutor	Our guide to job interview English

By budget

• Zero: LearnLingo plus BBC Learning English plus Anki. Speak with a friend or record yourself.
• Low: one app subscription, such as Babbel, Busuu or Duolingo Super, plus free listening.
• Medium: one app plus a tutor once a week on Preply.
• High: Lingoda classes or several tutor sessions a week.

By level

• A1 to A2: structured apps matter most. Choose one course and follow it. Tutors help, but a beginner gets more from a tutor after a few weeks of basics.
• B1: add real conversation now. This is where most app-only learners stall.
• B2 and above: apps become review tools. Spend most of your time on real content and human conversation.

Not sure where you are? Our guide to CEFR levels gives can-do statements for each level.

Level self-check: ten quick questions

Answer quickly. Count how many you get right.

1. Choose: I ___ from Turkey. (am, is, are)
2. Choose: There ___ two apples on the table. (is, are, be)
3. Complete: She ___ coffee every morning. (drink, drinks, drinking)
4. Choose: I have lived here ___ five years. (since, for, during)
5. Choose: If I ___ rich, I would travel. (am, was, were)
6. Choose: The report ___ by the manager yesterday. (wrote, was written, has written)
7. Choose: He asked me where I ___. (live, lived, do live)
8. Choose: I am looking forward to ___ you. (see, seeing, saw)
9. Choose the natural phrase: make a mistake or do a mistake?
10. Choose: Hardly ___ I arrived when it started to rain. (had, did, have)

Answers: 1 am, 2 are, 3 drinks, 4 for, 5 were, 6 was written, 7 lived, 8 seeing, 9 make a mistake, 10 had.

Scoring: 0 to 3 correct, start at A1. 4 to 6, A2 to B1. 7 to 8, B1 to B2. 9 to 10, B2 or higher. For a proper estimate, take the full English level test.

A 30-day plan: one free app plus real practice

This plan assumes 20 to 30 minutes a day and no budget. Swap in a paid tool if you have one.

Week 1: set up and start

• Day 1: take a level test and pick one main course. Duolingo or LearnLingo both work.
• Days 2 to 6: one lesson a day, then five minutes of listening to a learner podcast.
• Day 7: review every mistake from the week. Write five sentences using new words.

Week 2: add grammar

• Each day: one lesson plus one grammar point. Read the rule, then do ten exercises.
• Twice this week: record yourself reading a short dialogue and compare it to the audio.
• Day 14: try a short quiz on the week's grammar.

Week 3: add speaking

• Each day: one lesson and ten minutes of shadowing.
• Twice this week: speak for five minutes about your day. Use a free trial with a tutor if you can, or a language exchange partner.
• Day 21: write down ten phrases you wanted to say but could not. Learn them.

Week 4: real content

• Each day: one lesson, plus fifteen minutes of real English such as a short video, a news story at your level or a podcast.
• Day 28: take the level test again.
• Days 29 to 30: plan the next month. Keep what worked, drop what did not.

A detailed routine for busy days is in our daily English study routine.

Can you keep Duolingo and add an alternative?

Yes, and for many learners it is the best answer. Duolingo is excellent at the habit. Keep it for five minutes as a warm-up and add one tool for the skill you are missing: LearnLingo or Babbel for grammar, a tutor for speaking, ELSA for pronunciation. The mistake is running three full courses at once. Pick one main course and give every other tool a narrow job.

People Also Ask

What is the best alternative to Duolingo for English?

There is no single best one. For structured grammar and courses built around real dialogues, Babbel and Busuu are strong. For speaking with real people, Cambly and Preply are better. For a free, English-only course in the same game style, LearnLingo is a good fit.

Is there a free alternative to Duolingo for English?

Yes. LearnLingo keeps every English lesson free in the browser, BBC Learning English and British Council LearnEnglish offer free materials, and Anki is a free flashcard tool on most platforms. Most paid apps also have limited free lessons.

Why do people look for Duolingo alternatives?

The most common reasons are the energy limit on the free tier, light grammar explanations, little real conversation without the paid Max plan, and the feeling that streaks and XP matter more than learning. These come from how the product is designed, not from a flaw in any single lesson.

Which Duolingo alternative is best for speaking English?

Human tutors on Cambly or Preply give the most real speaking practice, and Lingoda offers scheduled live classes. Among self-study apps, ELSA Speak focuses on pronunciation feedback.

Should I stop using Duolingo completely?

Not necessarily. Duolingo is good for a daily habit. Many learners keep it for a few minutes a day and add a second tool for the skill Duolingo does not cover well, such as grammar or conversation.

Which alternative is best for Turkish speakers?

LearnLingo offers a Turkish interface and grammar explanations, and Babbel and Busuu tailor courses by base language. For speaking, tutors on Preply can explain in Turkish if you filter by language.