Duolingo is a partly free French app for beginner and intermediate learners (A1–B1). The easiest free habit for week one; plan what comes after it.
Checked October 2026 on the official site ·
About Duolingo
Duolingo is the free, game-style app that teaches French in bite-sized lessons covering reading, writing, listening and speaking, and every course on it is free. Paid plans remove ads and add extras. It suits a complete beginner who needs a daily habit and a painless first few hundred words. It does not get you to conversation: the sentences are short and recorded for learners, and most people who finish the tree still cannot follow two French people talking.
How it compares
| App | Price | Levels | Real-speed French | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duolingo | Free; paid plans: see site | A1–B1 | No | The easiest free habit for week one; plan what comes after it. |
| Busuu | Free tier; Premium: see site | A1–B2 | No | A solid A1 to B2 path with a usable free tier. |
| Babbel | See site; first lesson free | A1–C1 | No | The most course-like app; a good spine for A1 to B1, light on real listening. |
| Memrise | Free plan; paid plan: see site | A1–B1 | Yes | Native-speaker clips for beginners; a supplement, not a course. |
| French with AmélieRuns this site | Free weekly lesson; Premium $24/mo or $240/yr | B1–C1 | Yes, with a slow version and a transcript | Real-speed dialogues by email and a private podcast. Not an app. Visit |
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Further reading
A longer guide on this topic from French with Amélie: read the guide.
