French by Nemo review: price, free version and privacy

Our verdict

Pick Nemo if you want to drill useful French phrases offline before a trip, for one small payment. If you want to understand grammar or follow a course, choose a maintained course app.

What French by Nemo is

French by Nemo is a phrase trainer, not a course. The developer says it is not built around lessons and is meant to be opened for a few minutes at a time to practice the most common words and phrases, each with native speaker audio. Its Speech Studio lets you record yourself and hear your voice next to the teacher's, and all audio is stored on the device.

Who it suits

• Offline phrases for travel
• Pronunciation practice in short sessions

Strengths

• Works offline, with audio downloaded to the device
• Speech Studio to compare your pronunciation with a native speaker
• A one-time purchase instead of a subscription
• The privacy label declares no data collected
• Runs on Apple Watch, per the description

Limits

• Last updated in August 2024
• Teaches words and phrases, not grammar
• No lessons or structured progression, by design
• The screenshots show an older iPhone design

What the free version does

The app is free to download with the most common basic words. The description says upgrading to the complete version adds topics such as directions, travel, hotel, food and shopping phrases, key verbs and conversation starters.

Price

On the US App Store in November 2026, the only in-app purchase is the Nemo French Foundation pack at $14.99. There is no subscription.

Privacy

The privacy label says the developer does not collect any data from the app, so nothing is declared for tracking or linked to your identity.

What the screenshots show

The screenshots show a card introducing Bonjour with its English meaning, record and play buttons, and a topic list with food, shopping, hotel, money and travel.