The best apps to learn English in 2026

Duolingo is the best app to learn English for most beginners: its description says every course is free, the app interface comes in 32 languages, and its short daily lessons cover reading, listening, writing and speaking. To practice speaking, ELSA Speak is the strongest pick for pronunciation and accent, with Premium plans from $19.99 (monthly) on the US App Store in November 2026. The best free options after Duolingo are the British Council's LearnEnglish Podcast for listening and English Conversation Practice for dialogues you can repeat and record.

Quick answer

• Best overall: Duolingo. A free English course that starts from many native languages; ads and an energy limit unless you subscribe.
• Best for pronunciation: ELSA Speak. Detailed feedback on sounds and word stress, with American, British or Australian accent choices.
• Best structured course: Babbel. Lessons tailored to your native language, in American or British English.
• Best AI conversation tutor: Loora. Spoken chats with an AI tutor that rephrases your sentences and corrects grammar.
• Best for IELTS speaking: Stimuler. Record a one-minute answer and get feedback plus an estimated IELTS band score.
• Best for reading in English: EWA. Thousands of books with tap-to-translate words, plus movie-scene speaking courses.
• Best for real conversations: HelloTalk. Free chat with native English speakers who want to learn your language.
• Best free listening practice: LearnEnglish Podcast. British Council episodes with scripts, slower playback and offline downloads.
• Best free conversation drills: English Conversation Practice. 1,000+ dialogues with American speakers, role-play and recording.

Comparison table

How to choose an English app

This page gives speaking and listening extra weight, since reading and grammar are easier to practice on your own. Decide which accent you want to imitate first. ELSA lets you choose American, British or Australian English, Babbel offers American or British courses, the LearnEnglish Podcast comes from the British Council, and English Conversation Practice uses American speakers plus BBC and VOA lessons.

• If you are a beginner, start with Duolingo, which is free, or Babbel if your native language is one of its 9 interface languages and you want grammar explained.
• If people struggle to understand your accent, use ELSA Speak, which scores individual sounds and word stress.
• If you understand English but freeze in conversation, practice daily with Loora, then test yourself with real people on HelloTalk.
• If you are preparing for IELTS or TOEFL, Stimuler is built around IELTS speaking mock tests, and ELSA Premium includes exam preparation.
• If you learn best from stories and shows, EWA's books and movie-scene courses keep practice close to real content.
• If you cannot pay, combine Duolingo, the LearnEnglish Podcast, English Conversation Practice and HelloTalk. All four have free versions.

Duolingo: Best overall

Duolingo's English course follows the same game-like format as its other languages: short exercises for reading, listening, writing and speaking, with streaks, leagues and rewards. Its biggest advantage for English learners is reach: the description says every course is free, and the app interface is available in 32 languages, so many learners can start from their own language. The screenshots show a course list and a picture-matching exercise with an energy counter in the corner.

Super Duolingo, which removes ads and adds unlimited energy and a monthly streak repair, is listed at prices from $9.99 to $119.99 on the US App Store in November 2026, with a 14-day free trial.

Strengths: free, easy to keep up daily, 5.6 million ratings averaging 4.7.

Limits: the free version has ads and an energy meter; short drills give little practice in long conversations; the privacy label declares 8 data types used to track you, the most on this page.

ELSA Speak: Best for pronunciation

ELSA Speak is a pronunciation and speaking coach. The description lists a speech analyzer that gives detailed feedback when you speak freely, pronunciation and word-stress guidance, accent choices (American, British, Australian and more), role-plays and open-ended AI dialogues, and progress data on your pace, hesitation and grammar. It also includes job interview practice and, with Premium, preparation for IELTS, TOEFL, TOEIC and other exams. The screenshots show goal-based coaching paths and a set of workplace coaches (meeting, presentation, negotiation) marked "Unlocks with ELSA Professional", a separate tier.

On the US App Store in November 2026, the price list shows a monthly item at $19.99, 3-month items from $39.99 to $58.00, and 1-year items from $71.00 to $129.99. The description offers a 7-day free trial; it does not say what remains free after that.

Strengths: the most detailed pronunciation feedback described in any listing here; business English focus.

Limits: the age rating lists advertising; workplace coaches need a higher tier; the listing shows only one app interface language.

Babbel: Best structured course

Babbel teaches English (American or British) as a structured course. Its description says lessons are tailored to your native language and built by language experts, with grammar explained in context, speech recognition for speaking practice and Babbel Speak, an AI conversation partner marked beta. The screenshots show a "listen, then say it out loud" exercise and a start screen with self-study lessons, live online classes, podcasts and games.

Only the first lesson is free, according to the description. The price list on the US App Store in November 2026 does not show an English-specific item, but single-language one-month items are $17.99, 3-month plans $45.99, and the All Languages 12-month plan $107.99.

Strengths: clear grammar progression; a choice between American and British English; offline lessons.

Limits: courses depend on your native language, and the app interface comes in only 9 languages; almost nothing is free; rated 13+.

Loora: Best AI conversation tutor

Loora is an English-only AI tutor for spoken conversation. You talk about everyday or personal topics, and it gives real-time feedback on grammar, pronunciation and fluency; one screenshot shows it rewriting "I just need to finish this project before I can relax" as a more natural "wrap up this project". The lesson screen in the screenshots offers a classic chat with the tutor, role-plays such as a job interview, and "read and talk" articles on sports or markets. The description says it adds real-time translation and tracks a daily fluency score.

The price list on the US App Store in November 2026 shows monthly items from $14.99 to $19.99, a 3-month plan at $44.99 and yearly items from $59.99 to $119.99. The description says subscribers get unlimited access but does not mention a free tier.

Strengths: unlimited speaking practice around the clock, rated 4.9 from 40,900 ratings.

Limits: requires iOS 18.6, the highest requirement on this page; no free tier described; the listing does not say which accent the tutor speaks.

Stimuler: Best for IELTS speaking

Stimuler targets the IELTS speaking test. According to the description, you record a 60-second answer and get feedback on pronunciation, fluency and vocabulary plus an estimated IELTS band score, and live video mock tests use an AI interviewer to imitate the real exam. Feedback also covers filler words, pace, tone and pauses, and there are 100+ topics for casual practice. The screenshots show a conversation with an AI character named Sarah, with her message translated into Hindi.

The description says Stimuler is free for everyone, with a premium tier that adds a practice roadmap and full-length mock tests. On the US App Store in November 2026, the price list runs from $1.99 (weekly) to $59.99 (annual), with monthly items from $9.99 to $12.99.

Strengths: exam-style practice with a score to track; the privacy label shows no tracking.

Limits: narrow focus on speaking; the band score is an estimate from the developer's own AI, not an official result; 8,600 ratings.

EWA: Best for reading in English

EWA teaches through content. The description lists more than 10,000 books with audio in English, Spanish or French, where you tap an unknown word to translate it and add it to your list; video courses built on movie scenes and TV characters; everyday dialogues; and over 40,000 flashcards with spaced repetition. The screenshots show cartoon characters and an AI tutor screen for spoken practice.

The description says much of this is available free, but also that a subscription is needed for all courses and features, and that available courses vary by your device language. On the US App Store in November 2026, one-month items are $11.99 and $15.99, a six-month plan $34.99, and one-year plans $49.99 and $99.99.

Strengths: builds vocabulary from real texts and scenes; interface in 41 languages.

Limits: less guided than a course; the line between free and paid content is not clear in the listing; rated 13+.

HelloTalk: Best for real conversations

HelloTalk connects you with native speakers who want to learn your language, so you trade practice. You chat with partners matched by language and level, and built-in translation, transliteration and grammar tools help when you get stuck; the screenshots show a chat list with Translate and "AI Grammar" shortcuts. Voicerooms and livestreams add group speaking practice. The description mentions learners preparing for exams such as TOEFL and IELTS among its users.

Chatting with native speakers is free, according to the description. On the US App Store in November 2026, the optional VIP Membership costs $12.99 (monthly) or $79.99 (yearly), and coin packs run from $0.29 to $149.99.

Strengths: real people and natural, current English at no cost.

Limits: no lessons or pronunciation scoring; partner quality varies; rated 13+.

LearnEnglish Podcast: Best free listening practice

The British Council's LearnEnglish Podcast app collects its English-learning podcast series, with general and business English episodes. The description lists downloadable episodes for offline listening, interactive audio scripts that let you replay hard phrases, pitch control to slow the audio down, background playback with the screen off and simple exercises for every episode. It says new episodes are added every week. The screenshots show a list of series such as "Talk About" and episode descriptions.

The app is free; the only in-app purchase is Remove Ads at $1.99 on the US App Store in November 2026.

Strengths: British English from an established teaching organization; nearly free.

Limits: listening only, with no speaking feedback; ads unless you pay $1.99; the label declares tracking of location, identifiers and usage data; last updated in July 2026.

English Conversation Practice: Best free conversation drills

This app is a large library of short dialogues. The description lists 1,000+ conversations with American native speakers grouped by topic, a sentence builder game, short stories, phrasal verbs, IELTS vocabulary, an idioms dictionary and pronunciation checks with voice recognition, plus lessons from BBC Learning English and VOA Learning English. The screenshots show a dialogue on asking for directions with Transcript, Role-play and Quiz tabs, and buttons to record yourself and play back the recording.

Everything appears to be free with ads; the only in-app purchase is Remove Ads at $5.99 on the US App Store in November 2026.

Strengths: a lot of material for one small purchase, with role-play and recording.

Limits: ads and tracking of identifiers, usage data and diagnostics in the free version; built by an individual developer, with 7,600 ratings; no AI conversation.

What we left out

• Learna: an AI English tutor with 456,000 ratings and a similar chat format; Loora's listing describes its feedback and role-plays in more detail.
• Speaking English Practice: 400 conversation lessons and no data collected, but last updated in July 2023.
• LetMeSpeak: a story-based course set in New York, but last updated in September 2023 and selling game "characters" up to $239.99.

For other languages and methods, see our guide to apps for learning languages, or our list of Duolingo alternatives if Duolingo is not working for you.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best app to practice speaking English?

ELSA Speak is the best for pronunciation and accent, Loora for free-flowing conversation with an AI tutor, and HelloTalk for speaking with real people at no cost. Stimuler is the most focused option if your goal is the IELTS speaking test.

Is there a free app to learn English?

Yes. Duolingo's description says every course is free, including English. The LearnEnglish Podcast and English Conversation Practice are free with ads, and HelloTalk is free for chatting with native speakers.

Which app is best for IELTS speaking practice?

Stimuler is built for it: a 60-second recording gets feedback and an estimated band score, and it offers mock tests with an AI interviewer. ELSA Premium also lists IELTS, TOEFL and TOEIC preparation. Neither score is an official IELTS result.

Should I learn American or British English?

Choose the accent you hear most or need for work or study; both are understood everywhere. ELSA and Babbel let you pick, the LearnEnglish Podcast is British, and English Conversation Practice mostly uses American speakers.

Can I learn English only with AI tutor apps?

AI tutors such as Loora give unlimited speaking practice and instant corrections, which helps a lot once you know the basics. Beginners usually need a structured course first, such as Duolingo or Babbel, and practice with real people adds what an AI cannot.