Duolingo, Babbel, Busuu, Memrise and Mondly compared — Brazilian vs European coverage, native corrections, real-speaker video and nasal-vowel work.
Before opening any course you have to settle a question most apps skip: European or Brazilian Portuguese. The two variants sound noticeably different, diverge in some spelling, and the vast majority of apps teach only the Brazilian one, which quietly decides a lot about your first months. The 5 apps in this guide are the strongest general tools, and each is marked by what it does about that split, from a long free Brazilian course to human corrections that catch habits before they set.
Duolingo has a long, free Brazilian Portuguese course with quick early units that build momentum.
Duolingo applies its five-minute, streak-driven formula to one of its longer courses, and the Brazilian Portuguese content moves fast enough in the opening units to keep a daily habit alive at no cost, with ads. As elsewhere, the free version is lighter on real conversation than Babbel, ad-free Super is paid, and you should not expect European pronunciation or vocabulary from it.
Babbel explains Portuguese's traps in your language and works the nasal vowels from early lessons.
Babbel uses its usual linguist-designed, conversation-first lessons and everyday dialogues with speech recognition, and for Portuguese it targets the specific traps English speakers meet, including the nasal vowels that define so much of the sound of the language. Full access requires a subscription, it teaches fewer languages than Duolingo, its content leans Brazilian, and the less gamified style is less sticky.
Busuu gets your Portuguese writing corrected by native speakers, catching habits early.
Busuu pairs structured grammar, vocabulary and conversation lessons with a community of native speakers who correct your exercises, plus personalised plans and official certificates, which makes it a solid choice for serious study rather than phrase-collecting. Premium is required for the strongest features, it offers fewer languages than Duolingo, and the usefulness of corrections depends on an active community.
Memrise plays Brazilians and Portuguese at real speed, essential because speech outruns the written word.
Memrise's native-speaker video clips, reinforced by spaced repetition, let you hear Portuguese as it is actually spoken, which matters here because connected speech is much harder to follow than written Portuguese. It is the strongest tool for vocabulary and listening. Full access is subscription-based, grammar is less structured than in Babbel or Busuu, and the emphasis stays on words over writing.
Mondly teaches Portuguese from your own language and drills specific topics, handy for work or travel.
Mondly covers 41 languages with short lessons taught directly from your first language rather than via English, speech recognition and a chatbot for basic conversations, and its topic-based structure suits learners preparing for specific situations at work or abroad. The free tier limits you to one lesson a day, its grammar depth is below Babbel's, and quality varies across language pairs.
Pros
Taught directly from your language
Topic-focused lessons and chatbot
Speech recognition for pronunciation
Cons
One free lesson daily
Less grammar depth than Babbel
Quality varies by language pair
Download price only. In-app purchases and subscriptions may cost extra.
Questions & answers
Should I learn European or Brazilian Portuguese?
Follow what you need it for. Brazilian Portuguese is what nearly every app teaches, has far more speakers and clearer pronunciation for a beginner. European Portuguese sounds quite different, with closed vowels that are hard to follow at first. If you will live or work in Portugal, look specifically for European Portuguese courses, because Duolingo and Babbel mostly cover the Brazilian variety.
Is Portuguese easy to learn?
Reading it is easy if you know any Romance language; speaking it well is harder. The particular danger is that people understand you even when you speak badly, so mistakes fossilise and your level stalls. That is why an app that corrects you, like Busuu with its native-speaker feedback, beats trusting your intuition.
What are the trickiest Portuguese false friends?
Several are worth knowing early: puxe means pull rather than push, constipado means having a cold, esquisito means strange rather than exquisite, and pretender means to intend. They catch people out precisely because so much of the language looks familiar; Babbel and Busuu deal with these pairs explicitly.
How long does it take to learn Portuguese?
It is among the faster languages if you already speak Spanish, French or Italian. Fifteen minutes a day takes most people to A2 in four or five months and a reasonable B1 in a little over a year. Reading comprehension improves almost immediately; the ear and the accent are what genuinely take time.
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