Apps for German
Best app to learn German: every app that teaches it, compared
German learners more often than most have an exam in view: Goethe, telc, a visa or a university admission with a named CEFR level. That makes the CEFR column in this table the one to read first. Every app whose vendor lists German is here, sorted by published price per month at annual billing.
22 of the 24 apps in the dataset list German; 16 of them have a free tier. Sorted by price per month at annual billing; newest read 2026-09-06.
Links to apps on this page are plain, untracked links to the vendor. This site is funded by affiliate links: if an app's programme is joined, its link will earn a commission at no cost to you and will be listed on the affiliate disclosure page. Commercial relationships never affect order or inclusion; tables sort by price. Affiliate disclosure and how the data is collected.
Every app that teaches German
| Type | Lifetime | Free tier | Speech | Tutor | Offline | CEFR stated | Refund or trial | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| uTalkPhrase and vocabulary games with native-speaker audio in many languages | Vocabulary and flashcards | $2.50annual total not printed | $4.99 | none | Starter Words, a free 26-word pack in every language, plus an online demo at demo.utalk.com | No | No | Yes | not stated | 28-day money-back guarantee |
| TandemLanguage exchange with native speakers; the paid tier adds translation and visibility | Language exchange | $3.33$39.99 a year | not published | none | Free account with many features; Tandem Pro unlocks the rest | No | No | Not stated | not stated | Google Play purchases refundable within 14 days of a 1-month subscription or 30 days of a 3-month or 12-month subscription; iOS refunds requested from iTunes within 14 days |
| MondlyShort daily lessons across many languages, with a chatbot | Course app | $4$47.99 a year | $9.99 | none | Free version with Daily Lessons, the Hello category and a chatbot lesson. | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | not stated | 7-day free trial |
| MemriseShort video clips of native speakers plus spaced-repetition review | Vocabulary and flashcards | $5.17$61.99 a year | $24.99 | $329.99 | Limited free version of the app; the paid plan unlocks the rest. | Yes | Not stated | Not stated | not stated | not stated |
| DropsFive-minute visual vocabulary sessions | Vocabulary and flashcards | $5.83$69.99 a year | $12.99 | $159.99 | Free access capped at 5 minutes of play every 10 hours, with topics unlocked one at a time through gameplay | Not stated | Not stated | Yes | not stated | 7-day free trial on the Yearly plan; affiliate terms reference a 14-day refund period |
| BusuuCourse app with corrections from native speakers and CEFR-labelled levels | Course app | $6.08$72.99 a year | not published | none | Free account with limited features; paid tiers remove ads and add review tools. | Not stated | Not stated | Yes | not stated | not stated |
| ClozemasterFill-in-the-blank sentences for vocabulary in context | Vocabulary and flashcards | $6.67$79.99 a year | $12.99 | none | Free account with unlimited play; Pro unlocks advanced features | Not stated | Not stated | Yes | not stated | 30-day money back guarantee on the Yearly plan; no refunds on Monthly plans |
| HelloTalkChat and call with native speakers; the paid tier lifts limits | Language exchange | $6.67$79.99 a year | $12.99 | none | Free account with ads and daily limits (for example ten translations a day); occasional randomly offered 3-day VIP trials | Yes | No | Yes | not stated | Occasional randomly offered 3-day free VIP trial; refunds handled by Apple or Google for in-app purchases |
| LingvistAdaptive vocabulary drilling in sentence context | Vocabulary and flashcards | $6.67$79.99 a year | $9.99 | none | Free level placement before subscribing, and a 14-day free trial on the annual plan; the monthly plan has no trial | Yes | No | Not stated | not stated | 14-day free trial on the annual plan; cancel before it ends and you are not charged |
| BabbelShort structured lessons with grammar notes and review sessions | Course app | $8.95$107.40 a year | $17.99 | $299.99 | Free account; the first lesson of every course is free, and up to 80 free lessons depending on the language. | Yes | Not stated | Not stated | A1 to C1 | not stated |
| LingQRead and listen to real content, save words, review them | Immersion (video, reading) | $10$119.99 a year | $14.99 | none | Free account capped at 20 saved words and phrases, 5 lessons created from imported content, and 1 audio playlist | Not stated | Not stated | Yes | not stated | not stated |
| Mango LanguagesConversation-based courses, often free through a library card | Course app | $10annual total not printed | $13.99 | none | Free trial on both personal plans; the first lesson of any language is free; 10 endangered and indigenous language courses are free; free full access through participating public libraries | No | No | Yes | not stated | Free trial on Individual and Family plans; cancel before it ends and you are not charged |
| LingCourse app with a focus on Asian and less-taught languages | Course app | $12.50$149.99 a year | $16.99 | none | Free tier with limited lessons and limited dialogue practice, with ads | Yes | Ling Live Online Tutor | Not stated | not stated | 7-day free trial on the 12-month plan; 30-day money-back refund for yearly and lifetime subscriptions bought via Ling web (app-store purchases follow Apple's or Google's refund policy) |
| Rosetta StoneImmersion-style lessons without translation, with speech scoring | Course app | $13.25$159 a year | $19.99 | none | Free sample lessons from the site (TRY A LESSON); no ongoing free plan is described on the pricing page. | Yes | Tutoring | Yes | not stated | 14-day money-back guarantee |
| PimsleurHalf-hour audio lessons built on spoken recall, made for commutes | Audio course | $13.75$164.95 a year | $19.95 | $150 | No | Yes | Not stated | Yes | not stated | 7-day free trial on subscriptions; 30 Day money back guarantee on purchases |
| LingopieTV and film with interactive subtitles and flashcards | Immersion (video, reading) | $13.98$167.80 a year | not published | $763 | No | Not stated | Lingopie Lessons | Not stated | not stated | 7-day free trial; yearly subscription is charged after the trial and cannot be refunded |
| GlossikaSentence-pattern audio drills with spaced repetition | Audio course | $16.58annual total not printed | $19.99 | none | 7-day full access with no credit card, plus a permanent Freemium tier covering nine minoritized languages | No | No | Yes | not stated | 7-day free trial with no credit card; monthly payments are non-refundable, annual plans refundable pro rata within 60 days of purchase |
| FluentUReal-world videos with interactive captions and quizzes | Immersion (video, reading) | $20$239.99 a year | $29.99 | none | No | Yes | Group classes (select languages) | Yes | not stated | 14-day free trial with no payment up front, plus a 20-day money-back guarantee |
| DuolingoGamified free lessons; paid tiers remove ads and add practice features | Course app | not published | not published | none | Full free tier with ads and limits; paid tiers remove ads and limits. | Not stated | No | Not stated | A1 to B2 | 1 week free trial on Super |
| italkiMarketplace of professional and community tutors, priced per lesson | Tutor marketplace | not publishedper lesson | sold differently | none | No | Not stated | italki (the whole product is 1-on-1 lessons; Group Class also sold) | Not stated | not stated | Discounted trial lesson with a 100% Satisfaction Guarantee: up to two credit refunds on trial lessons if the teacher did not show up or did not meet expectations, requested within 48 hours |
| LingodaLive online classes with teachers, structured by CEFR level | Tutor marketplace | €54.99Group classes, 4 classes | sold differently | none | Not stated | Not stated | Group classes and Private classes | Not stated | not stated | Free 7-day trial |
| PreplyMarketplace of private tutors, booked and paid per lesson | Tutor marketplace | $3 to $50per lesson | sold differently | none | No | Not stated | Preply (the whole product is 1-to-1 tutoring) | Not stated | not stated | Paid trial lesson; up to 2 free trial replacements per account if the trial did not meet expectations or the tutor did not attend |
Which one, for whom
You need a certificate at a named level
Lingoda, then Busuu for the homework
Lingoda is a German company running live German classes structured by CEFR level, sold as packages (from €54.99 for four group classes per four-week cycle on the page this site could read) with a 7-day free trial. Busuu labels its German course with CEFR levels at $6.08 a month on its 12-month Premium plan. A class gets you speaking at the level; the app gets you through the grammar between classes.
German grammar is what scares you
Babbel
Babbel is a German company whose lessons explain grammar in English as you go, which for German cases and word order is the feature that matters. Its 12-month plan was $107.40 on the read date, or $8.95 a month for all 14 languages. Rosetta Stone teaches by immersion without translation and does not describe grammar explanations; for German specifically, know which you want.
You want vocabulary that sticks
Memrise, Lingvist or Clozemaster
Memrise pairs native-speaker clips with spaced repetition at $5.17 a month on its annual plan; Lingvist drills words in sentence context with a placement test, at $6.67 a month on its annual plan; Clozemaster is free to play without limits and $6.67 a month on its yearly Pro plan. None of the three is a course; all three are what you run beside one.
You want to listen your way in
Pimsleur, or LingQ once you have the basics
Pimsleur's audio method suits German's long compound words because you hear them whole before you see them; it states offline mode and a 30-day money-back guarantee. LingQ turns German podcasts and articles into lessons at $10 a month on its 12-month plan, for a learner who already has a few hundred words.
Questions people ask
What is the best app to learn German?
For an exam at a named level, Lingoda's CEFR-structured classes with Busuu beside them; for grammar explained, Babbel; for vocabulary, Memrise, Lingvist or Clozemaster; for listening, Pimsleur. The table shows every app that lists German with its published price.
Which German app prepares for Goethe or telc exams?
None of the apps in this dataset states a specific exam on the pages read. Lingoda and Busuu state CEFR levels, which is what the exams are set at; tutor marketplaces such as Preply and italki list tutors who can teach to a named exam.