Spain Spanish is the one to learn if you're moving to Spain, studying there, or talking with friends from Madrid or Barcelona. Most Spanish apps lean toward Latin American Spanish, so this page checks, app by app, which ones teach the Spanish of Spain and what you get from each.
Friends in Spain say for an informal "you all" where Latin Americans say , and they say for car and for juice. For apps that cover every kind of Spanish, see our Spanish app comparison. For tutors, podcasts, and TV from Spain, see the best ways to learn Spain Spanish.
Bubblegum
For serious learners, Bubblegum is the best app to learn Spain Spanish. You learn from Spain Spanish you can mostly understand, which is called comprehensible input.
Tell Poppy, your AI tutor, your level and what you like, and she writes your Spain Spanish 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.
From Level 2, the speakers in your lessons say to each other, the way they would in Spain.
Bubblegum focuses on reading and listening more than speaking, so for speaking practice, try a tutor or partner from the best ways to learn Spain Spanish.
- Lessons are in Spain Spanish, with Spain's own words, like and , and from Level 2.
- Verb tables show the forms, with the Latin American form under each one.
- Regenerative Review™ brings saved words back in new lessons, and you can export them to Anki.
- Clear, expressive AI voices read every lesson aloud, with a different voice for each speaker.
- You can't turn a book you bought in Madrid into a lesson. However, you can send Poppy a photo of a page you're stuck on, and she'll explain it.
- 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™
Mobile
These apps sell Spain and Latin America as separate Spanish courses, so pick the right one when you sign up.
Babbel
Babbel lists Spanish (Spain) beside Spanish (Mexico), so you can pick the course that matches where you'll use your Spanish. It suits learners who want a clear path and like knowing what comes next.
- Two Spanish courses, one for Mexico and one for Spain.
- Short lessons build on each other in a set order.
- Flashcards
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Pimsleur
Pimsleur keeps its Latin American course and its Castilian course apart, so you can choose the Spanish you'll talk in. It suits learners who like to learn by listening.
- A separate audio course titled Spanish (Spain-Castilian).
- Audio lessons with a Voice Coach, and a driving mode.
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Drops
Drops points its Castilian course at learners who live in or near Europe, and its Mexican course at learners in the United States or Canada. It suits people who like short word games on a phone between longer lessons.
- A separate Castilian Spanish course, with pronunciation and vocabulary specific to Castilian.
- Quick picture games, about five minutes at a time.
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uTalk
uTalk teaches words and phrases through audio and games. Because it sells Spain, Latin American, and Argentinian Spanish apart, the Spanish you hear stays in one accent.
- Its main Spanish course teaches European Spanish and plays the pronunciation used across Spain.
- Latin American and Argentinian Spanish are separate courses.
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Duolingo
Duolingo is a fine way to start, and people in Spain still understand . Add from another source once the basics feel easy.
- A Spanish course made of small, game-like exercises.
- Good for building the base words that both kinds of Spanish share.
MobileWeb
Other Apps We Looked At (3)
- BusuuSells a Complete Spanish course and a separate Complete Latin American Spanish course. Its page doesn't say which Spanish the first one teaches, so look for vosotros in a lesson before you commit.
- MemriseLists a Spanish course and a Spanish (Mexico) course. Its page doesn't say which accent the first one uses, so watch a few of its videos before you choose.
- Mango LanguagesHas a Latin American Spanish course on its site. Check your library first, since many libraries include Mango.
The number of languages you can use an app in isn't the same as the languages its lessons explain things in, so check one lesson in your language before you pay.
| App | Languages You Can Use It In | Full List |
|---|---|---|
| Bubblegum | 76 | Supported language pairs |
| Duolingo | 33 | Full list |
| Busuu | 15 | Full list |
| Babbel | 9 | Full list |
| Pimsleur | 3 | Full list |
| Drops | 16 | Full list |
| uTalk | 140+ | Full list |
| Memrise | 22 | Full list |
| Mango Languages | 2 | Full list |
Which Spain Spanish app should a beginner choose?
If you are serious about learning Spain Spanish, start with Bubblegum. Poppy, your AI tutor, writes lessons at your level about things you like. Or start with Babbel and pick Spanish (Spain) when you sign up, or with Pimsleur's Castilian course if you'd rather listen first. To combine an app with podcasts and a tutor, see the best way to learn Spain Spanish.
Do I need an app made for Spain Spanish?
Not at the start. Spain and Latin America share the same writing and most grammar, and people understand each other. An app made for Spain gets you , Spain's own words, and the sounds you'll hear around you. For how the two compare, see Spain vs Latin American Spanish.
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.
Sources
- Duolingo Blog: What Is "Vosotros" and When Do You Use It?
- Duolingo Blog: Spanish dialects (Spain Spanish: the th sound for z, ce and ci; vosotros; tío, guay)
- Bubblegum: Spain Spanish lessons
- Babbel: Spanish (Mexico) and Spanish (Spain) courses
- Busuu: Complete Spanish and Complete Latin American Spanish courses
- Pimsleur: Spanish (Spain-Castilian) audio course
- Pimsleur: Spanish (Latin American) audio course
- Drops: Learn Castilian Spanish
- Drops: Why separate courses for Mexican Spanish and Spanish from Spain
- uTalk: Learn Spanish (Spain)
- Memrise: Spanish courses
- Mango Languages: Spanish
- Bubblegum
- Pimsleur
- Duolingo
