Stories, audio, and videos can all help you learn Spanish when you can follow what they mean. That is the idea behind comprehensible input: learning from Spanish you can mostly understand.
There is a lot of Spanish to choose from. Instituto Cervantes says Spanish is the second most common language on web pages, after English. The hard part is finding Spanish at your level. These apps help you find it, or make the Spanish you choose easier to follow. For courses, speaking practice, and tutors, see our Spanish app comparison.
Custom Lessons Made for You
Bubblegum
Learn Spanish with a path made just for you. Start with your level, what you like, and why you want to learn. Your path grows as you learn, with new lessons that fit you.
Poppy, your AI tutor, writes each lesson for you. If a word or a sentence is hard to follow, just ask her to explain it.
The trade-off is that Bubblegum can't help you with Spanish you found yourself. For a show, a podcast, or a book you already picked, the tools in Read and Watch Spanish You Choose are the better fit.
- Read and listen to lessons, news, and stories about things you like.
- Separate journeys for Spain, Latin American, and Argentine Spanish, so lessons follow the variety you choose.
- Regenerative Review™ brings saved words back in new lessons, so you review them by reading instead of using flashcards.
- AI voices read each lesson, not recordings of Spanish speakers.
- You cannot bring in your own books, shows, or articles.
- A new custom lesson costs us real money to make, so you can ask Poppy for a free one, and Bubblegum Pro gives you unlimited custom lessons. The lesson library is free for everyone, because we believe everyone should be able to learn.
- Regenerative Review™
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Watch Videos Made for Learners
Dreaming Spanish
Dreaming Spanish is a large library of videos made for comprehensible input, and many Spanish learners on Reddit recommend it. Its teachers speak only Spanish, about topics from cooking and travel to gaming and science. Pick a level and a topic you like, then press play.
- Videos at four levels, from Superbeginner to Advanced.
- Superbeginner videos use drawings and gestures, so you can start from zero.
- It counts your hours of Spanish for you.
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Listen to Real Stories With Help
Jiveworld
Jiveworld helps you follow podcasts made for Spanish speakers. It suits learners who can read Spanish but find fast speech hard to follow.
- True stories from Radio Ambulante, a podcast about Latin America.
- Slow the audio down and show only the hardest words in the script.
- Each story is split into short chapters.
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Read and Listen to Easy Spanish News
News in Slow Spanish
News in Slow Spanish has made weekly news programs for Spanish learners since 2009. It suits learners who want to follow current events at a pace they can understand.
- News and conversations read slowly, from beginner to advanced.
- Read the transcript with English translations as you listen.
- Choose Spain or Latin American Spanish.
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Read and Watch Spanish You Choose
These tools help you learn from shows, videos, books, and web pages you pick yourself. They suit learners who already know what they want to read or watch.
LingQ
LingQ lets you read and listen to Spanish from its library or from anything you bring in. Its Mini Stories come in a European Spanish version and a Latin American Spanish version.
- Read and listen to Spanish lessons, from Mini Stories to podcasts.
- Bring in Netflix shows, YouTube videos, books, and articles.
- It marks words you have not met yet and words you are learning.
- Flashcards
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Readlang
Readlang helps you read Spanish news, books, and web pages you choose. It suits learners who like to read and want quick help with new words.
- Click a word or phrase on any web page to see what it means.
- Upload your own texts and e-books.
- Practice the words you saved with flashcards.
- Flashcards
WebBrowser extension
Language Reactor, Migaku, and Lingopie help most with shows and videos. Shows move fast, so these work best once you can follow some of what you hear.
Language Reactor
Language Reactor shows Spanish subtitles beside a translation while you watch. It is free to install, with paid extras.
- See Spanish subtitles beside a translation on Netflix and YouTube.
- Look up words in a pop-up dictionary.
- Pause and replay one line when it goes too fast.
Browser extension
Migaku
Migaku helps you learn from real Spanish shows, videos, and web pages. Turn a word into a card, then review it later.
- Click words in Spanish subtitles on Netflix and YouTube, or on web pages.
- See how much of a video or page you already know.
- Make a card with the sentence, sound, and a picture from the scene.
- Flashcards
MobileBrowser extension
Lingopie
Lingopie is a streaming app for learners, with telenovelas, comedies, cooking shows, and cartoons in Spanish. Review the words you saved with flashcards and games.
- Shows and movies from Spain and Latin America, with Spanish and English subtitles.
- Tap a word to see what it means and save it.
- Short stories with Spanish and English side by side.
- Flashcards
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Read Two Languages Side by Side
Beelinguapp
Beelinguapp puts Spanish beside a language you know. Read the Spanish, then check the other side when you need help.
- Keep your own language beside the Spanish to check what you read.
- A voice actor reads each text, and the words light up as you listen.
- Stories, songs, and news from beginner to advanced.
- Flashcards
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Free Videos, Podcasts, and Readers
Spanish learners on Reddit often suggest these free channels and podcasts. Dreaming Spanish shares many of its videos on YouTube. Español con Juan tells stories in Spanish, and Easy Spanish films street interviews with Spanish and English subtitles. Refold's Spanish list sorts hundreds of channels, podcasts, and shows by difficulty and country, and its easiest picks include Spanish After Hours and Fabulaudit.
For listening, ¡Cuéntame! tells stories in basic to intermediate Spanish. How to Spanish is a weekly podcast about life and culture in Mexican Spanish, and No Hay Tos has real conversations in Mexican Spanish at normal speed. Hoy Hablamos posts six episodes a week for intermediate learners and one a week for beginners. Radio Ambulante, the podcast inside Jiveworld, is also free in any podcast app.
For reading, Instituto Cervantes has free graded readings called Lecturas paso a paso, at three levels with activities. Planeta Fácil writes the news from Spain and the world in easy-to-read Spanish.
Learn Spanish in Your Language
These counts cover menu-language choices, including script variants. Other apps’ counts and full lists come from their iPhone listings, except Language Reactor (Chrome Web Store) and Readlang (its help forum). News in Slow Spanish's iPhone app is called linguistica. Word meanings, lesson explanations, and other platforms may differ.
| App | Supported Display Languages | Full List |
|---|---|---|
| Bubblegum | 74 | Full list
|
| Dreaming Spanish | 1 | Full list |
| Jiveworld | 1 | Full list |
| News in Slow Spanish | 1 | Full list |
| LingQ | 17 | Full list |
| Readlang | 1 | Full list |
| Language Reactor | 27 | Full list |
| Migaku | 4 | Full list |
| Lingopie | 6 | Full list |
| Beelinguapp | 22 | Full list |
Other Apps We Looked At (12)
- ReadleReal news and stories turned into short Spanish lessons from A1 to B2, with audio for each sentence and a dictionary you can tap.
- LingardGraded books, news, and retold films in Spanish from A1 to C2, with audio and translations you can tap.
- FluentUClips from Spanish TV shows, movies, and songs, with captions you can click, quizzes, and flashcards.
- YablaSpanish videos from TV, interviews, music, and travel, with slow play, loops, and translated subtitles.
- Gritty SpanishShort audio stories voiced by Spanish speakers from across Latin America, with Spanish and English text, slang notes, and quizzes.
- Coffee Break SpanishA podcast course in four seasons, from beginners to advanced, with lessons also in the Coffee Break Academy app.
- Duolingo Spanish PodcastAn archive of more than 150 episodes of stories in easy-to-understand Spanish.
- LingoClip (LyricsTraining)Play a song and fill in the missing words of the lyrics as you listen.
- LyricFluentLearn Spanish from songs one line at a time, then review the new words.
- InklingoIllustrated, narrated Spanish stories for every level, with chat stories and flashcards. It is new and growing.
- Printed graded readersOlly Richards's Short Stories in Spanish, Juan Fernández's readers, and the Fluency Matters novels are books written for learners that many recommend.
- Anki and SpanishDictA flashcard app and a free dictionary with verb charts. Many learners use them alongside the apps above.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much should I understand?
Dreaming Spanish suggests choosing videos where you can follow at least 80% of the overall meaning, even if you miss some words. For reading, it says knowing about 98% of the words is ideal, which is one new word in 50.
When can I start listening to podcasts?
Dreaming Spanish's roadmap suggests podcasts made for learners at about level 4 of its 7 levels, and podcasts made for Spanish speakers at about level 6. Before then, you can listen to the audio of videos you have already watched.
Which Spanish accent should I listen to?
Pick the Spanish of the place you care about most. Speakers from different countries understand each other, and Dreaming Spanish says Spanish from Argentina, Chile, and most Caribbean countries takes a little longer to get used to. Our guide to Argentine Spanish covers one of them.
Is Bubblegum free?
Yes. The lesson library is free for everyone, because we believe everyone should be able to learn. It holds lessons that other learners asked Poppy for. A new custom lesson costs us real money to make, so you can ask Poppy for a free one, and Bubblegum Pro gives you unlimited custom lessons.
Sources
- Instituto Cervantes, El español: lengua para el mundo 2025, 20 claves del español en el mundo
- Dreaming Spanish, Frequently Asked Questions
- Refold, Spanish comprehensible input and immersion resources
- Bubblegum
- Dreaming Spanish
- Jiveworld
- News in Slow Spanish
- LingQ
- Readlang
- Language Reactor
- Migaku
- Lingopie
- Beelinguapp
Checked on October 8, 2026 against each app's own pages.
