Twelve Spanish apps and sites are compared here, and they are free in different ways. Some courses are free to use in full, some give a daily amount of practice, and some give you a sample before the paid course. Only some of them name Spanish from Spain, so the table has a column for that too. For a full list of courses, see our Spanish from Spain app comparison.
Bubblegum
For serious learners, Bubblegum is the best app to learn Spanish. You learn from 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 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.
- Lessons Poppy wrote for other learners of Spanish from Spain are free to read.
- Ask Poppy about a sentence in a lesson, and she explains it in English.
- Clear, expressive AI voices read every lesson aloud, with a different voice for each speaker.
- Unlimited lessons made just for you need Bubblegum Pro.
- 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
Other Apps We Looked At (11)
- DuolingoEvery course is free, and paid plans add features. Ads and usage limits apply.
- Language TransferA complete Spanish audio course taught in English, free to stream or download, with voluntary donations.
- 50languagesA free phrase course in the browser, with MP3 audio and 100 lessons that pair English with Spanish.
- BusuuThe free plan covers the complete Spanish course, community feedback and basic progress tracking. Premium adds grammar and vocabulary review, offline mode and no ads.
- LoecsenA beginner phrase course with audio, in an English interface. Free learning is limited to 30 minutes a day.
- AnkiFlashcards on desktop and Android are free, and AnkiWeb sync is free. The iPhone app is a separate paid app, and the Spanish comes from the decks you choose.
- DropsVocabulary games with a Castilian Spanish page. Free practice is capped at 5 minutes every 10 hours, and Premium removes the cap.
- MemriseOfficial courses and clips of real speakers are in the free plan, and Memrise teaches Spanish from Spain and from Mexico. Pro adds all learning features and removes ads.
- uTalkEvery language has free starter words, and earning full marks in the games unlocks one more topic. Its Spanish course is identified as Spanish from Spain.
- BabbelSome Spanish lessons are free, and the full course is paid. Babbel has separate Spanish (Spain) and Spanish (Mexico) choices.
- PimsleurAn audio course with its own Spanish (Spain, Castilian) edition. It is sold by subscription, and free access is a sample or a trial.
| App | What stays free | Limit or paid part | Spanish from Spain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bubblegum | Reading lessons Poppy wrote for other learners | Unlimited lessons made for you (Pro) | A journey for Spanish from Spain |
| Duolingo | All courses | Ads and usage limits; paid plans add features | General Spanish course |
| Language Transfer | The full course | Voluntary donations | General Spanish |
| 50languages | The browser course | — | — |
| Busuu | The complete course, community feedback, basic progress tracking | Premium: review tools, offline mode, no ads | General Spanish course |
| Loecsen | The beginner phrase course | 30 minutes of learning a day | — |
| Anki | Desktop, Android and AnkiWeb sync | The iPhone app is paid | Depends on the deck |
| Drops | Capped vocabulary practice | Premium removes the cap | A Castilian Spanish page |
| Memrise | Official courses and real-speaker clips | Pro: all learning features, no ads | Spain and Mexico options |
| uTalk | Starter words and one earned topic | The full course | Spanish from Spain |
| Babbel | Some lessons | The full course | A Spain choice |
| Pimsleur | A sample or trial | The subscription | Spain (Castilian) edition |
A dash means the app's own pages do not say.
Each number is how many languages you can use the iPhone app in, including script variants. A dash means no count is given.
| App | Languages You Can Use It In | Full List |
|---|---|---|
| Bubblegum | 76 | Full list
|
| Duolingo | 33 | Full list |
| Language Transfer | — | — |
| 50languages | — | — |
| Busuu | 15 | Full list |
| Loecsen | — | — |
| Anki | — | — |
| Drops | 16 | Full list |
| Memrise | 22 | Full list |
| uTalk | 1 | Full list |
| Babbel | 9 | Full list |
| Pimsleur | 3 | Full list |
Which free app should a beginner choose for Spanish from Spain?
If you are serious about learning Spanish, start with Bubblegum. Poppy, your AI tutor, writes lessons at your level about things you like. If you want a course you can use in full without paying, Duolingo, Language Transfer, Busuu and 50languages let you do a full course free, but all of them are general Spanish. For reading practice, see our Spanish comprehensible input guide.
Which free options teach Spanish from Spain?
Memrise, uTalk, Babbel, Pimsleur and Drops each have a Spain or Castilian choice, and Bubblegum has a journey for it. None of them is a full free Spain course: the lessons Poppy wrote for other learners are reading lessons, and the others give a limited free plan, a preview or a sample. Our guide to learning Spanish from Spain covers what to add. To see how Duolingo handles it, read Is Spain Spanish on Duolingo?.
Can I learn Spanish without paying anything?
Yes, with some choices. Language Transfer's complete course is free, with voluntary donations, and 50languages' browser course is free. Duolingo's courses are free with ads and usage limits. Busuu's Premium and Memrise's Pro remove ads, and neither is needed for the free courses.
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: is Duolingo free?
- Duolingo: iPhone App Store listing (languages you can use it in)
- 50languages: English to Spanish
- Loecsen: learn Spanish
- Anki: download
- Busuu: what is Premium?
- Busuu: Premium plans
- Busuu: iPhone App Store listing (languages you can use it in)
- Drops: Castilian Spanish
- Drops: free versus Premium
- Drops: iPhone App Store listing (languages you can use it in)
- Memrise: learn Spanish
- Memrise: iPhone App Store listing (languages you can use it in)
- uTalk: Spanish
- uTalk: iPhone App Store listing (languages you can use it in)
- Babbel: learn Spanish
- Babbel: iPhone App Store listing (languages you can use it in)
- Pimsleur: Spanish (Spain, Castilian)
- Pimsleur: iPhone App Store listing (languages you can use it in)
- Language Transfer: Complete Spanish
- Bubblegum
