You can learn a good deal of European Portuguese without paying, but each free option stops in a different place. Practice Portuguese keeps its grammar notes, videos and podcasts free. Drops gives you a short free session, and Speeku gives you a few new lessons each week. This page shows where each free part stops for the Portuguese of Portugal. For courses and tutors, see our European Portuguese app comparison. For reading and listening, see our European Portuguese comprehensible input comparison.
Bubblegum
For serious learners, Bubblegum is the best app to learn European Portuguese. You learn from European Portuguese you can mostly understand, which is called comprehensible input.
Tell Poppy, your AI tutor, your level and what you like, and she writes your European Portuguese lessons. If a sentence is hard to follow, ask Poppy to explain it.
With Regenerative Review™, words you save show up again in new lessons, so that you can review words in new contexts without having to use flashcards.
- Library lessons in European Portuguese are free to read.
- Poppy explains hard European Portuguese sentences in English.
- Saved words can go to Anki too.
- Clear, expressive AI voices read every lesson aloud, with a different voice for each speaker.
- Unlimited custom European Portuguese lessons need Pro. You also can't turn a book from Portugal into a lesson, but Poppy will explain a passage you paste in.
- Custom lessons cost us money to make, so you need Bubblegum Pro for unlimited custom lessons. Lessons Poppy wrote for other learners are free for everyone to read.
- Regenerative Review™
- Teaches European Portuguese
Mobile
Practice Portuguese
Practice Portuguese suits learners who want free notes and listening from Portugal before they buy the course.
- It teaches only European Portuguese, in English.
- The grammar and culture notes, the Shorties videos, the podcasts and the offline audio are free.
- Flashcards
- Teaches European Portuguese
MobileWeb
Memrise
Memrise suits learners who like short video clips of people saying each phrase.
- It has a course called Portuguese (EU), with speaker clips and review.
- Courses, video, tests and review are free across the app.
- Teaches European Portuguese
MobileWeb
uTalk
uTalk suits learners who want phrase lists by topic and will pay for the course after a few free starter words.
- Its European Portuguese course is separate from its Brazilian one.
- Practical words and phrases by topic, with audio from native speakers.
- Teaches European Portuguese
MobileWeb
Drops
Drops suits learners who want a short daily game for words, for learning words.
- It has a course made for European Portuguese, with picture games for words.
- The free plan gives you five minutes every ten hours.
- Teaches European Portuguese
Mobile
Other Apps We Looked At (2)
- SpeekuAn app with lessons made only for Portugal, an offline dictionary and speech recognition. On iPhone, four lessons a week stay free and one purchase unlocks the full course. On Android, the first ten lessons are free, then four new lessons arrive each week.
- Mil PalavrasA website that translates everyday phrases from Portugal, with saved words, cards and a sentence builder that needs no signup. Its makers say it has no hidden cost, and the number of free lookups a day is not stated.
| App | What stays free | Where the limit is | Paid plan | English help | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bubblegum | Library lessons | Unlimited custom lessons | Pro | Partly | iPhone, iPad, Android, web |
| Practice Portuguese | Grammar and culture notes, videos, podcasts, offline audio | Full units, transcripts, Smart Review | Premium, no free trial | Yes | iPhone, iPad |
| Memrise | Courses, video, tests and review | Free share of the Portuguese (EU) course not stated | Pro | Yes | iPhone, iPad |
| uTalk | A few starter words | The full European Portuguese course | Paid course | Yes | iPhone |
| Drops | Five minutes every ten hours | Time and topic order | Premium | Yes | iPhone, iPad |
| Speeku | Four lessons a week on iPhone; ten lessons plus four a week on Android | The rest of the course | One purchase on iPhone | Yes | iPhone, Android |
| Mil Palavras | Everything its makers list | Free lookups a day not stated | None stated | Yes | Web |
Which free European Portuguese app should a beginner choose?
If you are serious about learning European Portuguese, start with Bubblegum. Poppy, your AI tutor, writes lessons at your level about things you like. Or start with Practice Portuguese if you want free grammar notes and listening that teach only the Portuguese of Portugal.
Does Practice Portuguese have a free trial?
No. Its publisher offers no free trial, and a refund policy is not a trial. What stays free is the grammar and culture notes, the Shorties videos, the podcasts and the offline audio.
Does Speeku cost the same on iPhone and Android?
The free parts differ. On iPhone, four lessons a week stay free and one purchase unlocks the full course, with no subscription. On Android, the first ten lessons are free, then four new lessons arrive each week.
Is Bubblegum free?
Yes. Lessons Poppy wrote for other learners are free for everyone to read. Custom lessons cost us money to make, so you need Bubblegum Pro for unlimited custom lessons.
