Mexican Spanish is the one to learn if you're moving to Mexico, studying there, or talking with Mexican friends and family. Mexico has more Spanish speakers than any other country. Our Spanish app comparison covers apps for every kind of Spanish.
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, that you're moving to Mexico City for work. She writes you a lesson at your level about your first morning there, like asking a neighbor for directions or ordering at a taquería. Ask her about any word you don't know.
Bubblegum focuses on reading and listening more than speaking, so for speaking practice, try a tutor or partner in Practice With People From Mexico.
- Lessons are in Mexican Spanish, with everyday Mexican words and prices in pesos.
- Lessons are read aloud by voices with a Mexican accent.
- Lessons show when tú fits, like with a friend, and when usted fits, like with a stranger at a clinic.
- 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.
- Lessons teach everyday Mexican Spanish and don't cover every regional way of speaking.
- 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
Babbel
Babbel offers two Spanish courses, one for Mexico and one for Spain. Its lessons mix new words with short dialogues and grammar tips. It suits learners who want a clear path and like knowing what comes next.
- Pick Spanish (Mexico) when you start, and the course follows Mexico.
- Short lessons build on each other in a set order.
- Flashcards
MobileWeb
uTalk
uTalk picks words that people understand across much of Latin America. Each topic, like food or travel, is a set of short games.
- Its Latin American Spanish course uses voice artists from Mexico and Honduras.
- Record yourself and compare your voice with the speaker's.
MobileWeb
italki
Ask a tutor from Mexico to role-play a visit to the doctor, so you practice usted with a stranger and tú with a friend.
- Filter Spanish tutors by where they're from.
- Book one-to-one lessons over video at a time that suits you.
MobileWeb
Tandem
Tandem's Mexico City page lists Spanish speakers who want a language partner. You trade a voice note in Spanish for one in your language.
- Leave a voice note for a partner, or call them by video.
- Partners can fix your Spanish messages with a correction tool.
MobileWeb
Doorway to Mexico is a podcast for intermediate and advanced learners. Paulina, a native Mexican Spanish teacher, hosts conversations in Spanish, and the newest episode is from 2021. Learn Mexican Spanish with Diego has 16 episodes about Mexican expressions and travel tips, and the newest one is from 2023. If you'll live in Mexico City, the National Autonomous University of Mexico runs CEPE, a center that teaches Spanish to foreigners.
| App | Free? | What's Free |
|---|---|---|
| Bubblegum | Free version | 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. |
| Babbel | Some lessons free | The first lesson of every Babbel course is free, and some languages have more free lessons. The full course needs a subscription. |
| uTalk | Some lessons free | Every language has free starter words, and getting full marks in the games opens one more topic for free. For the rest, you subscribe or buy a language or topic. |
| italki | Paid | You pay for each lesson, and each teacher sets their own price. Practicing with the community and taking the level test are free. |
| Tandem | Free version | Signing up is free, and Tandem reviews each new member first. Many features are free, and Tandem Pro gives you all of them. |
Try one lesson in your language before you pay.
| App | Languages You Can Use It In | Full List |
|---|---|---|
| Bubblegum | 74 | Supported language pairs |
| Babbel | 9 | App Store |
| uTalk | 140+ | Full list |
| italki | 19 | App Store |
| Tandem | 14 | App Store |
Which Mexican Spanish app should a beginner choose?
If you are serious about learning Spanish, start with Bubblegum. Poppy, your AI tutor, writes lessons at your level about things you like. Or start with Babbel if you'd like a set course, and pick Spanish (Mexico) when you sign up.
Should I use tú or usted in Mexico?
Both are common. Use tú with friends, and usted with strangers and people you want to show respect. When you aren't sure, usted is the polite choice.
What makes Mexican Spanish different?
Mexican Spanish has words from Nahuatl, like guajolote for turkey and popote for a drinking straw. People use small endings like -ito a lot, and not always to mean small.
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
- Bubblegum: Mexican Spanish lessons
- Wikipedia: Mexican Spanish (most Spanish speakers of any country; tú and usted; diminutives; Nahuatl words)
- Babbel: Learn Spanish (Spanish (Mexico) and Spanish (Spain))
- Babbel: home page (free lessons and subscription)
- Babbel on the App Store
- uTalk: Latin American Spanish (voice artists from Mexico and Honduras)
- uTalk: Learn Spanish (courses offered)
- uTalk: Languages you can learn from
- uTalk on the App Store (free starter words)
- Tandem: Learn Spanish in Mexico City
- Tandem: home page (what is free)
- Tandem on the App Store
- italki: Spanish teachers (Teachers from filter)
- italki: home page (what is free)
- italki on the App Store
- Doorway to Mexico (Apple Podcasts)
- Learn Mexican Spanish with Diego (Apple Podcasts)
- UNAM CEPE: Spanish courses for foreigners
- Bubblegum
- Babbel
- Tandem
