Michel Thomas French is a paid French course for beginner and intermediate learners (A1–B2). Audio-only, no homework; a quick way to start building French sentences.
Checked October 2026 on the official site ·
About Michel Thomas French
Michel Thomas French is an audio-only course with no books, homework or memorising: you listen, think and answer out loud as the teacher builds sentences up piece by piece. It is sold as separate courses, from Start French ($11.99) and Foundation French ($100, about 8 hours of audio) to Language Builder, Intermediate, Vocabulary and Insider's French, or all of them as a bundle for $273; each course has a free lesson and booklet to download, and the audio streams or downloads in the Michel Thomas Language Library app. The courses are labelled beginner to advanced; A1 to B2 is our reading. It suits a beginner who learns well by ear and wants to build whole sentences fast. It does not give you real-speed native conversation or much reading.
How it compares
| App | Price | Levels | Real-speed French | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michel Thomas French | Start French $11.99; Foundation French $100; all courses $273 | A1–B2 | No | Audio-only, no homework; a quick way to start building French sentences. |
| Language Transfer | Free (donations) | A1–A2 | No | Free audio course that teaches you to build French sentences by thinking, not memorising. |
| Pimsleur | Premium $19.99/mo; All Access $20.99/mo or $164.99/yr; one-off levels $150 each, 5 levels $575; free first lessonchecked 2026-10-09 (pimsleur.com/learn-french; subscriptions from the US App Store, 2026-10-06) | A1–B1 | No | Best for speaking from day one on a commute; thin on vocabulary. |
| Rocket French | Free trial lessons; Level 1 $149.99, Levels 1–3 $249.99 once (App Store) | A1–B1 | No | A one-time-purchase audio course for beginners; try the free lessons first. |
| French with Amélie | 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 |
Prices as shown on the official site on the date given; they vary by country and change often.
