About 396 million people speak French, and about 65% of them live in Africa, according to the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie. French is an official language in many countries, from France and Canada to Senegal and Haiti. Many apps teach it, but many courses end at about the intermediate level, and French to read and hear at your level is harder to find.
Here are the apps and services that teach French, grouped by what they help you do. You can start with one and add another when you need it.
Custom Lessons Made for You
Bubblegum
Bubblegum suits learners who want French built around their own lives. Tell Poppy, your AI tutor, what you want to learn. She writes lessons for your level and helps you understand the words and grammar. You can read and listen, and ask her about anything that is unclear. News and stories give you more French to read about music, food, family, and other things you care about.
The trade-off is that Bubblegum does not replace real French voices. For recorded speakers, Pimsleur and Mango are the better fit. For a fixed course, try Duolingo or Busuu, and for conversation, try the apps in Learn With People.
- Separate France French and Quebec French journeys, with lessons written and voiced for the variety you choose.
- Lessons fit your level, interests, and goals.
- Read and listen to news and stories in French about things you care about.
- Ask Poppy about a sentence while you read.
- Regenerative Review™ brings saved words back in new lessons, so you review them by reading instead of using flashcards.
- Lesson audio uses AI voices, not recordings of French speakers.
- You cannot import your own books or articles.
- The free plan includes one new custom lesson each day.
- Regenerative Review™
Mobile
France and Quebec French
French sounds a little different in Quebec, and some everyday words differ too. Mango Languages has a separate Canadian French course, and our guide to Quebec French covers more ways to learn it.
Follow a French Course
If you want someone to choose what comes next, start here. These apps give you an ordered path through French words and sentences.
Duolingo
Duolingo's French course teaches reading, writing, listening, and speaking. Intermediate learners can also listen to the Duolingo Podcast, where episodes cover regions and people who speak French.
- A free course with short, game-like lessons.
- Stories and DuoRadio give you French to read and listen to.
MobileWeb
Busuu
Busuu has a Complete French course and shorter courses for travel, business, and pronunciation. AI tools review your grammar and vocabulary.
- More than 330 lessons from A1 to B2.
- Feedback from a community of French speakers.
MobileWeb
Memrise
Memrise has official French courses for beginners and for intermediate learners. They focus on vocabulary, pronunciation, and listening.
- Thousands of video clips of French speakers using the words you learn.
- Words and phrases chosen by French language experts.
MobileWeb
Mango Languages
Mango Languages teaches French through conversations spoken by native speakers, with color-coded grammar notes. A voice comparison tool lets you check your accent against their audio.
- Grammar and culture notes alongside native-speaker conversations.
- Specialty courses such as Argot French for slang.
- Flashcards
MobileWeb
LingoDeer
LingoDeer teaches French grammar one step at a time, and native speakers voice every word and sentence. Its Fluent module adds dialogue lessons that build conversation skills.
- A full course and a faster Accelerated course.
- Download the whole course to study offline.
MobileWeb
Babbel
Babbel guides you through listening, speaking, and writing. Its lessons use conversations you might have at work, while traveling, or with friends.
- Short lessons built around everyday conversations.
- Grammar explanations and review exercises.
- Flashcards
MobileWeb
Practice Speaking and Listening
Pimsleur
Pimsleur's French course starts at the very beginning. Level 2 opens with the past tense and more informal speech, and level 4 covers talking about your work and personal life.
- Five levels of 30-minute audio lessons.
- Reading lessons and an AI voice coach come with the audio.
MobileWeb
Build Vocabulary
Drops
Drops teaches French words in short, playful lessons with pictures. You can pick topics such as buildings, seasons, and sports.
- Illustrated word games with beginner, intermediate, and advanced topics.
- Quiz mode puts words in context, and audio mode plays French pronunciation.
Mobile
Clozemaster
Clozemaster is a game where you read a sentence with a missing word and fill it in from the context. It also has grammar challenges and listening and reading modes.
- Fill in the missing word in real French sentences.
- Start with the 1,000 most common French words, or pick topics such as food and technology.
MobileWeb
Read and Watch French
If you want French you can read and watch, these tools work with real articles, shows, and videos.
LingQ
LingQ is made for learners who read and listen to real French, from YouTube and podcasts to ebooks. Its reader highlights every word you know and every word you are learning.
- Thousands of hours of French audio lessons with transcripts.
- Import your own French content and turn it into lessons.
- Flashcards
MobileWeb
Language Reactor
Language Reactor is a browser extension that adds learning tools to Netflix and YouTube. It works with thousands of YouTube channels, and it has a page of French videos to start with.
- Bilingual subtitles on Netflix and YouTube.
- A Netflix catalogue that helps you find titles with good subtitles.
Browser extension
Migaku
Migaku makes the subtitles of French shows on Netflix and YouTube interactive. Click a word to see its meaning or hear it, and Migaku can give you an AI breakdown of a sentence you do not follow.
- Shows how hard a video is for your level.
- Flashcards include the sentence, a native speaker recording, the show's audio, and a screenshot.
- Flashcards
MobileBrowser extension
TV5MONDE EDU
TV5MONDE EDU teaches French through news reports, music videos, and film clips. Teachers build exercises around the videos, and you can save words to review.
- Free exercises built around TV clips, with French transcripts and subtitles.
- Beginner explanations are translated into nine languages.
- Flashcards
MobileWeb
Learn With People
Choose a tutor if you want teaching and correction. Choose a language exchange if you want a practice partner and are happy to help with another language in return.
italki
italki has tutors for beginners, conversation practice, grammar, and exam preparation such as DELF, DALF, and TCF. You can book a trial lesson to see whether a tutor fits.
- Tutors who teach French from Europe, Canada, Africa, and the Caribbean.
- Browse tutors by price, accent, availability, and specialty.
MobileWeb
Preply
Preply has French tutors for private classes on speaking, general French, or exam preparation.
- Search by accent, country, availability, price, and teaching focus.
- Free tutor replacement if a tutor is not a good fit.
MobileWeb
HelloTalk
HelloTalk has native French speakers in France as language partners. You chat by text and voice, and you can correct each other's writing.
- Partners in France who help with your French while you help with their English.
- Exchanges with French speakers who are learning other languages too.
- You spend part of each chat helping your partner with their language.
Mobile
Tandem
Tandem is a language exchange app where people teach each other their native languages. It has a page for learning French online and pages for many cities.
- Members ready for a French exchange in cities such as New York, London, and Toronto.
- You can also practice online with members anywhere.
- You split your time between French and your partner's language.
MobileWeb
Free Courses, Podcasts, and Dictionaries
Lawless French has free grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation lessons, including a 30-unit beginner course and verb tables for more than 1,600 French verbs. WordReference is a free dictionary with a French verb conjugator and forums where you can ask about words and grammar.
For listening, Journal en français facile from RFI is a 10-minute news show that airs on weekdays and uses carefully chosen simple words, with a transcript and exercises on its website. Coffee Break French has free podcast lessons of 15 to 20 minutes from beginner to advanced. InnerFrench is a podcast for intermediate learners, and Easy French talks about cultural and everyday topics, with transcripts for members.
Learn French in Your Language
These counts cover menu-language choices, including script variants. Other apps’ counts and full lists come from their iPhone listings. Lesson explanations and other platforms may differ.
| App | Supported Display Languages | Full List |
|---|---|---|
| Bubblegum | 74 | Full list
|
| Duolingo | 32 | Full list |
| Busuu | 15 | Full list |
| Memrise | 22 | Full list |
| Mango Languages | 2 | Full list |
| LingoDeer | 15 | Full list |
| Pimsleur | 3 | Full list |
| Drops | 16 | Full list |
| Clozemaster | 37 | Full list |
| LingQ | 17 | Full list |
| Language Reactor | 27 | Full list |
| Migaku | 4 | Full list |
| italki | 19 | Full list |
| Preply | 19 | Full list |
| HelloTalk | 16 | Full list |
| Tandem | 14 | Full list |
| Babbel | 9 | Full list |
| TV5MONDE EDU | 10 | Full list |
Other Apps We Looked At (9)
- TV5MONDE EDUAn app and website with exercises from A1 to B2 built around TV5MONDE videos such as news reports and music videos, written by teachers at Alliance Française centers, with TCF practice tests.
- Kwiziq FrenchA quiz finds your French level and builds a personal study plan, with grammar lessons from A1 to B2 and fill-in-the-blank tests.
- GlossikaListen to and say more than 6,700 French sentences recorded by native speakers, from A1 to C1.
- uTalkMore than 2,500 words and phrases across 60+ topics with native speaker audio, and you choose France French or Canadian French when you start.
- LingA French course with games, quizzes, and speaking and listening activities, plus an AI chatbot for practice conversations.
- ReadlangClick a word on any web page, or in an uploaded text or ePub file, to see a translation in context, then practice with flashcards. Its French library has starter stories.
- BeelinguappBilingual audiobooks and music with French and your own language side by side, read by native speakers.
- TalkpalPractice French with AI chatbots that play roles such as ordering at a café, with feedback on pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary.
- Alliance Française ParisLive French courses in Paris and online from A1 to C1, with preparation for the DELF and DALF exams.
Common Questions
Which French app should a beginner choose?
Start with Duolingo if you want a free course. Add Pimsleur if you want audio lessons, or a tutor on italki or Preply if you want feedback. Bubblegum suits learners who want lessons around their own interests. French uses the Latin alphabet with accent marks such as é and ç, so you do not need to learn a new script first.
Can I learn French for free?
Yes. Duolingo's French course is free, and TV5MONDE's app has about 4,000 free exercises. Lawless French, WordReference, and the Coffee Break French podcasts are free too. Bubblegum's lesson library is free to read as well.
Is Bubblegum free?
Yes. You can read the free lesson library and ask Poppy for one new custom lesson each day on iPhone and Android. Become a Bubblegum Pro for unlimited custom lessons and to support our team.
Sources
- Organisation internationale de la Francophonie: La langue française dans le monde 2026
- TV5MONDE EDU: Learn (App Store listing)
- Babbel: current iPhone listing
- TV5MONDE EDU: features and access
- TV5MONDE EDU: features and access
- Bubblegum
- Duolingo
- Busuu
- Memrise
- Mango Languages
- LingoDeer
- Babbel
- Pimsleur
- Drops
- Clozemaster
- LingQ
- Language Reactor
- Migaku
- italki
- Preply
- HelloTalk
- Tandem
Checked on October 5, 2026 against each app's own pages.
