Duolingo, Babbel, Busuu and Memrise compared — a free daily habit, conversation from lesson one, corrections from native speakers and training your ear on real accents.
Starting from zero, reviving school English for a job or preparing for an exam, daily practice is what actually moves you forward, and it happens on your phone, and the blocker is usually consistency rather than talent. Apps solve different parts of that: one builds the streak, one forces you to speak early, one gets a human to correct your writing and one tunes your ear. The 4 apps in this guide were picked so that together they cover habit, grammar, feedback and listening, since no single app does all four equally well.
Duolingo is the free place to start English: short gamified lessons that make daily practice happen.
Duolingo is the world's most popular language-learning app, with more than 40 languages and a method built around five-minute lessons, streaks, levels and rewards that turn study into a daily game. It is free with ads and the obvious way to start a language or keep one alive with little effort. It shows ads between lessons, it is less focused on real conversation than Babbel, and the ad-free Super version is paid.
Babbel gets you speaking English early, with linguist-made dialogues, everyday situations and pronunciation recognition.
Babbel takes a practical, conversation-first approach: linguists design lessons around real everyday situations so you start talking from the beginning, and speech recognition works on your pronunciation. It is the right choice when speaking soon matters and offers more structure than Duolingo. Full access needs a subscription, it covers fewer languages than Duolingo, and the less gamified format can feel less addictive.
Busuu is the serious-learner choice for English: complete courses with native-speaker corrections and official certificates.
Busuu pairs structured lessons in grammar, vocabulary and conversation with a community of native speakers who correct your written exercises, which is feedback most apps cannot offer at all. It adds personalised study plans and official certificates, so it suits exam preparation and anyone learning properly rather than casually. Its strongest features require Premium, it offers fewer languages than Duolingo, and the corrections depend on other users being active.
Memrise trains your English ear on videos of real native speakers and locks in vocabulary through spaced repetition.
Memrise stands out for teaching through short videos of genuine native speakers, backed by a strong spaced-repetition system, so you meet the language as it is actually spoken, with real expressions and varied accents. It is the best fit for widening vocabulary and listening rather than theory. Full access requires a subscription, its grammar is less structured than Babbel or Busuu, and the emphasis stays on words rather than writing.
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Questions & answers
What is the best app to learn English from scratch?
Duolingo is the best zero-experience starting point: it is free, easy to begin and its level-by-level path covers the basics without overwhelming you. Babbel is the strongest alternative if you want a conversational approach from the first lesson, though it requires a subscription. Both suit beginners; the difference is whether habit-building or speaking comes first.
Which app is best for preparing an English exam?
Busuu is the closest fit: courses structured from level A1 to C1, corrections from native speakers and official certificates that document your progress. No app alone is the whole strategy, though. Pair it with real conversation practice and official mock exams, which is the combination that actually moves exam scores.
How long does it take to learn English with an app?
It depends on your starting level, consistency and goal, but fifteen to twenty minutes a day brings noticeable progress within a few months at a basic-to-intermediate level. Fluency takes longer and, above all, requires conversation practice. Regularity is the lever: a short daily session beats an occasional long one.
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