New Year's resolutions: Apple's 5 top-rated apps for learning a new language in 2025

• There are a large number of excellent language learning apps available in the App Store
• The best ones often feature a blend of speaking, listening, reading and writing exercises
• Some of the most highly-rated apps require a paid membership, but usually offer a free trial
• Others are free, but you can pay for added extras
• Many apps have now harnessed AI into helpful tools for practicing speaking or analysing your progress

The New Year is here, and many of those whose 2025 resolution was to learn a new skill will have already taken their first steps.

Learning a new language is a fun and popular choice. On top of that, it’s good for you - with research suggesting people who speak more than one language develop better memory, problem-solving abilities, concentration and creativity, according to the Language Connects Foundation. Phone apps are an easily-accessible way into language learning, but with so many educational apps on the market now, it can be tricky finding the right one for you.

We’ve sorted through the most popular free ‘education’ apps in the Apple App Store for users in Great Britain (as of Thursday 9 January), and curated a list of those aimed specifically at teaching second languages to English speakers. This means that we’ve excluded some high-rated education apps, including those aimed at teaching English as a second language, classroom apps, and those that are more game than study tool. Although we sorted by free, it’s also worth noting that most have either additional features or membership options which you’ll need to pay for.

Here are five of the top-rated education apps for Apple devices which can help you pick up or study a new language:

1. Duolingo

Duolingo is a juggernaut in the world of free language learning. It is currently the number 1 education app in Great Britain for iPhones (3rd for iPads), with a rating of 4.7 stars out of 5 by nearly 700 thousand users. It offers more than 40 languages, from popular favourites like French, Spanish, German and Japanese, to less common options like Hawaiian, Navajo, Scottish Gaelic and Yiddish.

Duolingo’s famously bite-sized lessons include speaking, listening, reading and writing exercises to master all facets of a new language. They are also fun and game-like, and the app (and its quirky owl mascot) are infamous when it comes to motivating users to turn learning into a daily habit.

One recent user wrote: “Duolingo’s gameification of learning a language makes it fun and easy to keep coming back. Drawing on similar techniques that addictive phone app games do to reward your neurotransmitters with dopamine, you’ll be more motivated to learn than by conventional methods.”

While classified as free, it does offer in-app purchases. Duolingo is suitable for children aged 4 and up. You can find it in the Apple App Store here.

2. Busuu

If being threatened by a little green owl isn’t your thing, Busuu might be a good choice for you. It has a rating of 4.6 stars out of 5 by more than 19 thousand users, and is 15th overall in education apps for Great Britain. Busuu offers 14 languages, including Korean, Spanish, Italian, Brazilian Portuguese, Turkish and Polish.

Created by US education company Chegg with courses designed by native speakers, Busuu also offers a bite-sized lesson format. But it has other cool features including the ability to create personalised study plans, a record of all of the grammar and vocab you have learned for easy revision, and in some languages, AI-powered speaking practice.

One recent user wrote they found the app was “the more comprehensive learning tool” than Duolingo, after using both. “Busuu is way more complete in terms of the grammar and general instruction on the structure of the language, I’m now really enjoying the lessons.”

While classified as free, it does offer in-app purchases. Busuu is suitable for children aged 4 and up. You can find it in the Apple App Store here.

3. Teuida

Teuida is rated 4.8 stars out of 5 by about 2.6 thousand users, and is currently rated 19th overall in education apps for Great Britain. It currently offers Korean, Japanese, and Spanish.

One of the key aims of the Teuida app is to help learners overcome the confidence barrier when it comes to speaking, with a focus on first-person, POV conversations. It hones in on teaching essential expressions for real-life scenarios, paired with useful tools like instant AI pronunciation analysis and cultural tips.

A recent user wrote: “I’ve tried so many apps to help me learn Korean, but none of them have helped me as much as this has! It teaches you how to say hello and thank you in the first lesson which is no more than 5 minutes.”

While classified as free, it does offer in-app purchases. Teuida is suitable for learners aged 12 and up. You can find it in the Apple App Store here.

4. Jumpspeak

Jumpspeak is rated 4.4 stars out of 5 by around 600 users, and is currently 36th overall in education apps for Great Britain. It currently offers 17 languages, including Spanish, Dutch, Swedish, and Russian.

As its name suggests, Jumpspeak will have you practicing speaking from day one, using “AI Immersion”. With three-minute conversation lessons built to fit around a busy schedule, a paid membership will get you accurate and personalised feedback on your overall language learning skills, as you learn how to make small talk at parties, chat with an Uber driver, ask someone on a date, or order at a restaurant.

A recent user wrote that they “really liked the lessons side of the app”, and “felt it was helpful in learning the pronunciation of the words”. But they said that as a beginner to Spanish, the AI Tutor “threw me in the deep end” a little bit.

Suitable for learners aged 12 and up, you can download Jumpspeak and try a language lesson for free here. Memberships cost about £65 per year - or £37 for three months.

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5. Babbel

Rated 4.7 out of 5 stars by 76 thousand users, and 44th overall when it comes to education apps in Great Britain, Babbel is perhaps another more familiar name in language learning apps. It offers 14 different languages - including German, Polish, Norwegian, Dutch, and Indonesian.

Babbel also operates on a membership model, but offers free download and trial lessons. But it also has a very wide array of tools in each of its languages on top of regular lessons for a more complete immersion, making it well worth the price. These include podcasts, games, vocab flashcards, live online lessons with language tutors, and special business or workplace-oriented courses.

One recent learner who had finished the Duolingo Italian course wrote: “I needed something well structured, planned and guide me throughout the learning process. So I researched a bit and decided to give Babbel a go. And that was a great choice... I learnt a lot of vocabulary, situations, there are dialogues, grammar well explained, constant reminders and refreshers to help stick what you’ve learnt.”

Suitable for learners aged 12 and up, you can download Babbel and try a language lesson for free here. Memberships usually cost about £48 for six months or £66 for a year, but they have a substantial New Year’s sale during the first half of January.

Have you tried any of these, or found another app particularly helpful when learning a new language? Let us and other learners know by leaving a comment below.