# Pimsleur \| Language Learning — user reviews > 2,201 indexed App Store user reviews of Pimsleur | Language Learning by Simon & Schuster, rated 4.70/5 from 29,140 ratings. - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pimsleur-language-learning/id1405735469/reviews - App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pimsleur-language-learning/id1405735469.md - Rating breakdown: 5★ 24,779 · 4★ 2,897 · 3★ 523 · 2★ 235 · 1★ 706 ## What do users think of Pimsleur | Language Learning? Overall sentiment: positive **Pros** - 🚀 Great for speaking and listening practice - 👍 Effective for learning pronunciation and conversational skills - 💡 Convenient to use while doing other activities - 👍 Structured lessons build language skills progressively **Cons** - 💰 Expensive subscription model - 🐛 Occasional app crashes and bugs - 🔍 Limited content for some languages - 📚 Lacks written materials and grammar explanations **Commonly reported bugs** - Lesson downloads frequently get interrupted - Inconsistent performance on older devices - Sync issues between app and online account **Most requested features** - More levels and content for less popular languages - Ability to adjust playback speed of lessons - Tighter integration with other language learning resources - Improved voice recognition and feedback ## Newest reviews (18 of 2,201) ### 2/5 — Would be nice to get a proper tutorial of this thing *2026-08-21* Forces you to pay after one measly lesson. There is a horribly loud ringing after clicking each button that doesn’t go away even if you have the volume at low but then you can’t hear the speaker anymore. You’re not allowed to try any more than one lesson or even an advanced one. You’re forced to put in your credit card information. Overall it’s nothing special ### 3/5 — Good content, poor usability *2026-08-20, version 7.9* Actual lessons are good. Sign up requires dozens of clicks to get started. Then they pop up offers every damn time you try to use it. Please stop marketing aggressively and interrupting your own loyal customers. ### 4/5 — Learning great languages *2026-08-20, version 7.8* This is a great app. You really need repetitive practice to learn it. Stay with it, though. You'll get there. ### 3/5 — Good from Japanese 1-3, got lazy around 4 and 5 *2026-08-19, version 7.9* I found Japanese 1-3 to be very useful. However, it seemed to get lazy and much less useful around lesson 4 and 5. I repeated “it was beautiful.”, “It’s delicious.”, “It was delicious.”, and “it was tough” many times. It seemed like some of the things that should have been recognized via pattern recognition were drilled over and over with similar words (the casual versions of past i-adjectives just removing desu, etc.) instead of teaching new points. Also, some of the more complex sentences and phrases taught were completely missing from the “challenge” sections. Great for 1-3, but at that price, i expected a lot more from 4 and 5. ### 4/5 — Great tutorial *2026-08-19, version 7.8* This tutorial is great. With my brain I sometimes have to review a lesson before moving forward. Thankfully that is possible. ### 5/5 — Very effective *2026-08-19, version 7.8* I have made more progress toward conversation in a month than I did with 2 1/2 years of Duolingo (of course that was Turkish and this is Spanish). Pimsleur is a first rate method. ### 5/5 — Excellent!!! *2026-08-19, version 7.8* Love the teaching method. ### 5/5 — Excellent app *2026-08-18, version 7.8* I would give this app 10 stars if I could. I really like the 30 minute lessons, the chance to repeat each word and phrase and the extra little reading lessons and games. I visited Russia recently, and though my Russian was fairly limited because I had only made it through my third lesson at the, I was complemented on my Russian accent. The natives said that my accent was perfect! They were very impressed. I owe this to Pimsleur. ### 5/5 — Fantastic *2026-08-18, version 7.8* Super great at helping you learn a language ### 5/5 — By far, the best way to learn a language *2026-08-18, version 7.8* Over the past 20 years, I have used Pimsleur lessons to learn basic Italian, Russian, Japanese, Spanish, and now German. The Pimsleur method is the only language leaning method I have found which emphasizes learning languages FIRST by listening and speaking, and only secondarily by reading, and not at all by writing. This gives a traveler the proficiency and confidence to successfully engage in basic conversation in a foreign country easily. Pimsleur also heavily emphasizes pronunciation like a native speaker, which is critically important. I still remember the waiter at a restaurant in La Maddalena, Italy, amazed that I learned to speak from CD lessons in my car in America,because he insisted I had a near-perfect Naples accent! ### 5/5 — Better than all the gamification apps! *2026-08-18, version 7.8* I have tried every language app, and this one is the only one that actually teaches you the structure of the words and phrases so you can understand the logic of sentence structure. It's not just a recognition app like all the others, it's not just fancy flashcards. You actually learn with this app. ### 5/5 — I love this app *2026-08-18, version 7.8* It is good app ### 3/5 — Effective *2026-08-17, version 7.8* Pimsleur was very effective, portable, convenient and fun. ### 5/5 — Love it! *2026-08-15, version 7.8* I already have learned so much and I love the style of teaching. It works well with my brain. ### 5/5 — Best app I’ve ever used *2026-08-15, version 7.8* The app gets you speaking right from the very start. I love the way it starts by explaining relatively easy sentences and how it builds on the complexity and detail in the conversation. The extra learning aids like Flash Cards and the AI pronunciation coach give it that extra edge. ### 5/5 — Love the app but… *2026-08-14, version 7.8* For some reason, after I started my 7 day free trial, it skipped me to unit two. Thankfully I chose to give it another shot, but I missed out on my trial period because the style of teaching changed and was too fast. Changed from one star. ### 5/5 — Really works *2026-08-14, version 7.8* I used Duo for 6 months and I still felt quite uncomfortable trying to speak. Pimsleur is way better at helping get comfortable with the speaking of a language. Highly recommended! ### 3/5 — Não consigo mudar o nível *2026-08-14* Adoro o app, entretanto não estou conseguindo mudar de nível. Não aparecem os demais níveis para mim de forma alguma. ## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated) ### 1/5 — Terrible customer service *2026-08-21, version 7.9* Signed up for the free one week trial. Before the end of the trial was charged for the month subscription contacted customer service asking for refund as I was planning on purchasing a lifetime subscription. Received an abrupt answer from customer service saying they do not do refunds. Responded to them explaining that the charge had been placed before the end of the free trial. I received no response, and even after submitting a new request was ignored. I would highly recommend looking elsewhere for products with more customer friendly policies. ### 1/5 — Confusing *2026-08-16, version 7.8* i couldnt find a library for English for Turkish. also i would ok for plaing english. im so confused how to get benefit out of this app ### 1/5 — Profile deleted *2026-08-06* Last night, all my profile details disappeared. I’m a premium subscriber and had three profiles registered on the app: one for me, one for my daughter and one for my wife. They’ve all been deleted, and the progress in the activities has gone too. The bonus packs I’d earned, access to the reading lessons for all the activities – it’s all gone! ### 1/5 — アジア人差別表現があり不快。Anki等のほうが優秀です *2026-08-05* 英語のコンテンツ内に、日本人やアジア人を侮蔑する極めて不適切な差別用語(スラー)の発音練習や単語カードが含まれており、大変不快で傷つきました。教育アプリとして完全に不適切です。 これなら、自分で信頼できる教材や単語帳を登録して効率よく暗記学習ができる無料の「Anki (アンキ) 」などのアプリを使ったほうが、圧倒的に優秀な学習ができます。iPhone は4000円かかりますが、払う価値大アリです。 差別表現に耐えてまでこのアプリを使う価値はありません。これから利用を検討している方は十分に注意してください。 ### 1/5 — Very disappointing *2026-08-04* I purchased the lifetime plan for two accounts, but for my daughter to use her own Pinzer account, I have to give her my primary email address and password. That is completely unacceptable and a serious security issue. What’s the point of paying for two lifetime accounts if they are tied together in a way that forces me to share my personal login credentials? This defeats the purpose of having separate accounts. This system is poorly designed, inconvenient, and frankly ridiculous. I expected a proper family or multi-account solution, not a setup that requires sharing sensitive login information. Very disappointing ### 1/5 — Incredibly disappointed *2026-08-01, version 7.8* The introductory lesson was great. It spoke at a normal speed and then broke it down slowly. The actual lessons once you pay on the other hand… nothing as good as the intro lesson and I’m someone using multiple apps to learn. ### 1/5 — Double billed and refused refund *2026-07-23* I was paying for a monthly subscription but Pimsleur kept sending me emails offering annual subscriptions for much less money. So I took them up on their offer and paid in full for an annual subscription. They continued to bill me monthly and when I realized the mistake I contacted them immediately but they are refusing to refund my money. Don’t trust this company with your credit card info. ### 1/5 — Péssimo *2026-07-19* purchased the Pimsleur All Access subscription expecting a comprehensive English course. After purchasing, I discovered that English for Portuguese Speakers only includes 30 lessons, which did not meet my expectations and was not clear to me before subscribing. I would like to request a refund. ### 1/5 — The worst app ever *2026-07-19, version 7.8* Bro, this ain’t any good app it didn’t teach me anything and it also cost money which I’m eight years old. I don’t have any money. ### 1/5 — Get your wallets out. *2026-07-14, version 7.8* Get ready to pay an absolutely mind boggling amount monthly, their priority is to extract as much money as possible first, not to help users learn. YIKES!!! ## Most praised reviews (10 highest-rated) ### 5/5 — The best method to learn languages *2026-08-23, version 7.9* I have now used Pimsleur to learn at least four languages to anan intermediate level and have been super impressed by how easy it is. If you follow the program and practice out loud, you will be surprised at how quickly you feel comfortable having a conversation. As a language teacher myself, I have applied similar methodology to my classes and students ability to communicate quickly has been impressive. ### 5/5 — Amazing *2026-08-23, version 7.9* Great app to learn and practice French ### 5/5 — Best app ever *2026-08-22, version 7.9* Just great there is everything’s I need. I am talk almost fluently to my grandparents Pursuan and owe that to Pimsleur. I am only on lesson 20 ### 5/5 — Wow. *2026-08-22, version 7.9* This app was recommended to me by a friend who teaches multiple languages as the closest thing to a language learning shortcut. I’m trying to learn a little Portuguese for a trip and this has been miles better than any other language app I’ve tried. It teaches you phrases you will actually use. Each lesson builds on the one before. I’m not a natural at learning languages but with this app I think I’ll have the basics down in a week. ### 5/5 — Great for pronunciation *2026-08-21, version 7.8* This app has improved my speaking and listening a lot which had been outpaced by my knowledge of French with reading and writing via other programs. ### 5/5 — Great tool for language learning *2026-08-21, version 7.8* I use Pimsleur for Spanish, Italian, and German. I like to have the audio tracks going in my AirPods while I am working or exercising. The app works great as a part of a language learning strategy that includes other programs or workbook exercises. ### 5/5 — So far so good *2026-08-20, version 7.8* Lovin’ it. ### 5/5 — Best way to quickly learn language essentials *2026-08-20, version 7.9* After trying so many apps that teach random worlds. Pimsleur gets you speaking fast. I can listen to 5 or 10 lessons and have people ask me if I’m fluent! I just know the right few phrases to say. I have not completed any courses but as we travel a lot of countries, I can spend a simple 5 hours and it makes life so much easier on travel. I am working my way all the way through Castillian Spanish though. I also wish they had equal content. Armenian only had 10 courses while Spanish has 150 and Arabic is around 90 so they hopefully will keep adding but… I have not seen anything added in the year I have been using Pimsleur. That’s my only complaint. Make sure you see how many lessons are for the language you want. ### 5/5 — Parla, Parla, Parla *2026-08-19, version 7.6.1* The most important thing is to speak and this app is great for that! Thank you! ### 5/5 — Ingle bueno *2026-08-19, version 7.8* 5 --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-28.*