LearnEnglish Podcast review: price, free version and privacy

Our verdict

This is a good free add-on for intermediate learners who want regular listening practice in British English. It will not teach grammar or check your speaking, and privacy-minded users should note the tracking on the label.

What LearnEnglish Podcast is

LearnEnglish Podcast collects the British Council's English-learning podcast series, covering general and business English. The description lists downloadable episodes for offline listening, interactive audio scripts that let you replay hard phrases, pitch control to slow the audio, background playback with the screen off, and simple exercises with a progress screen for every episode. It says new episodes are added every week.

Who it suits

• Free listening practice
• British English

Strengths

• Made by the British Council, an established English-teaching organization.
• Interactive scripts and pitch control help with hard-to-hear phrases, according to the description.
• Episodes can be downloaded for offline listening and deleted afterwards.
• Nearly free: the only purchase is Remove Ads at $1.99.
• Rated 4.8 from about 8,200 ratings.

Limits

• Listening only, with no speaking or pronunciation feedback.
• Ads unless you pay $1.99 (the age rating notes advertising).
• The privacy label declares location, identifiers and usage data used for tracking.
• Last updated in July 2026, and the screenshots show an older interface.

What the free version does

The app and its podcasts are free, with ads. The only in-app purchase removes the ads.

Price

On the US App Store in November 2026, the only in-app purchase is Remove Ads at $1.99. There is no subscription.

Privacy

The privacy label declares that location, identifiers and usage data may be used to track you across other companies' apps and websites. The data collected is not linked to your identity, according to the label.

What the screenshots show

The screenshots show a list of podcast series (LearnEnglish from Home, Talk About, A Better World) and a series page with episode summaries, file sizes and download buttons.