We looked at every major way people actually learn German today — apps, tutors, and AI conversation — and scored each on four things: how much real conversation practice you get, how structured the grammar teaching is, pronunciation help, and price.
A note on bias: Na is our own app. It's ranked second below, and we've tried to be straight about where it falls short — it's iOS-only, newer than every incumbent here, and doesn't teach grammar as a structured course. Nothing here is affiliate-linked.
The rankings
A marketplace of real German tutors and conversation partners you book by the lesson. Nothing beats a real person adjusting to you in real time — corrections, culture, actual back-and-forth. The catch: it costs per session, requires scheduling, and quality varies a lot by tutor.
The real thing, if you can afford the time and the per-lesson cost.
Our own app — read this one with that in mind. What it offers that nothing else on this list does: unlimited daily conversation practice, in text first (zero pressure) with the option to switch to voice when you're ready, with 30 characters (A1–C1) who remember what you told them. It loses points for being iOS-only, newer than everything else here, and it doesn't teach grammar as a structured syllabus — it assumes you're building on some base, or picking it up as you go.
The best way to actually practice speaking without paying per session or booking a tutor. Try it free →
The best on-ramp for absolute beginners and the best free option, full stop — the gamification genuinely gets people to show up daily. Its exercises are mostly multiple-choice and word-matching, though, which builds recognition fast but rarely gets you producing German in an open conversation.
Great for the first few weeks and for staying consistent. Pair it with something conversational once basics stick.
Structured, grammar-forward courses built by real linguists, with dialogue practice that's genuinely useful for building sentence structure. The dialogues are scripted rather than live, though, so you're rehearsing set exchanges more than holding a real conversation.
A strong structured course if you want a syllabus, not a conversation partner.
An audio-first method built around spaced repetition and listen-and-repeat drills — genuinely excellent for pronunciation and getting comfortable with how German actually sounds. There's no texting, reading, or open conversation, and it's the most expensive subscription on this list.
Best in class for your ear and your accent. Pair it with something that makes you produce sentences on your own.
A solid all-rounder with a nice feature: you can submit writing exercises and get corrections from native-speaker community members. Useful, but corrections come from volunteers, not trained tutors, and depth varies. The free tier is fairly limited.
A reasonable generalist pick if you want one app that does a bit of everything.
A grammar-first course that explains rules clearly instead of just drilling patterns by exposure — appreciated by learners who want to understand why a sentence is built the way it is. It's better known for its Asian-language courses; the German course is solid but not its deepest offering.
Good if grammar explanations, not conversation, are what's missing for you.
For most people starting from scratch, the strongest combination in 2026 is free to start and adds cost only where it earns it:
Duolingo for the first few weeks, to build the daily habit — free
Na for daily conversation practice, texting then voice — free to start
italki for a monthly session with a real tutor once you have something to say — pay per lesson
Structure from a course, daily reps from an app, reality-check from a human — in that order.