Comparison

Memrise vs italki

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Memrise

Learn over 40 languages through immersive lessons that simulate real-life conversations and cultural experiences. Practice vocabulary, listening, and speaking with AI-powered bots and native speaker videos to build confidence and speak like a local.

Highlights
  • Real-life conversation simulation
  • Cultural insights
  • Vocabulary and listening practice
  • Speaking practice with AI
  • Native speaker videos
  • Learn over 40 languages
Features
Read full description

Memrise is a language learning app for people who have a specific reason to learn. Trusted by 80 million learners, Memrise offers specialised courses for your goals: passing an exam, speaking confidently at work, building relationships, or discovering cultures you love. Unlike gamified apps with robotic voices, it's built around real native-speaker videos - so you learn to speak like real people. Learn Spanish, Korean, Japanese or 136 other languages in lessons that teach you vocabulary, listening and speaking as if you were a local living in the country. 15 NEW languages to learn from: Afrikaans, Ancient Greek, Latin, Finnish, Irish, Czech, Hungarian, Cantonese, Romanian, Esperanto, Croatian, Kurdish, Serbian, Bulgarian, Azerbaijani * Showing you how to piece together natural sentences, preparing you for everyday conversation * Giving you a place to practice role-play and gain confidence * Teaching you the cultural nuances you need to feel like a local Memrise is the best language-learning app for beginners that are starting to learn a language from scratch, intermediate learners that want to build on their listening and speaking, and advanced learners who are looking to improve their conversational skills. Download Memrise so that you can confidently: * Connect with your partner and their family * Have a better time while travelling * Sharpen your mind if you’re learning a language for brain health * Prepare for a language exam * Connect with work colleagues * Better understand different cultures How do we help you have conversations in other languages? * Choose from hundreds of real-life scenarios * Practice listening to native speaker videos using what you’ve just learned * Then build confidence speaking with AI Buddies, your personalised language learning bots - Helping 80+ million learners speak confidently - Featured in BBC World Service, Forbes, The Verge, The Financial Times, and more What other learners are saying "I've been using Memrise for about two years, studying European Portuguese. I have the paid version - it's a solid learning tool, and it has been my primary resource ever since got it. I find the Learn with Locals feature to be especially useful, more so as my Portuguese improves. My wife and I spent a couple of weeks in Portugal a few months ago, and we were able to handle all of our transactions - stores, restaurants, markets, car rental, etc!" - Voloúre Need to speak a new language soon? Get the practice you need with Memrise Pro - Unlock all vocab lessons - Unlock all native speaker videos - Unlimited speaking practice - Ad free Compare with our Free Plan - Limited vocab lessons - Limited videos and conversations - Ads Download our app for free and start learning with Memrise today: Learn French, Spanish (Spain), Spanish (Mexico), German, Korean, Japanese, Japanese (no script), Turkish, Italian, Chinese (simplified), Dutch, Portuguese (Portugal), Portuguese (Brazil), Russian, Swedish, Norwegian, Polish, Danish, Slovenian, Icelandic, Yoruba, Mongolian, English (UK) and English (US)! ------ *PLEASE READ: A Memrise Pro subscription are designed for Memrise-approved courses. A subscription is required in order to access all our learning features. These features may vary depending on your device's language and language pair. Once purchased, subscriptions will automatically renew unless cancelled before the end of the current payment period. Subscriptions can be managed or cancelled in your Apple App Store account. In-app Permissions – To enable some of the features of the Memrise app we may need to ask for your permission. For example, we'll ask to access your microphone if you'd like to practice your pronunciation skills. You can change permissions at any time in your settings. Privacy Policy: https://www.memrise.com/privacy/ Terms of Use: https://www.memrise.com/terms/

About

italki

Connect with qualified native teachers for personalized language lessons. Learn Spanish, English, French, and over 150 other languages at your own pace and schedule. Practice conversation, master grammar, and immerse yourself in new cultures.

Highlights
  • Private tutoring with native teachers
  • Learn over 150 languages
  • Customizable lesson plans
  • Flexible class scheduling
  • Pay-as-you-go pricing
  • Video call tutoring
Features
Read full description

Start learning or keep improving your Spanish, English, French or any other language with private tutoring, thanks to qualified native teachers. With italki, enjoy an immersive learning experience with native teachers, and learn Spanish, French or any other language by sharing a real and human connection with your teacher. Do you want to learn a new language? Would you like to study English with a native teacher? You speak a bit of French and you’re not sure how to keep on learning? Language academies don’t fit your schedule? Download italki, register for free and learn Spanish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean and more languages. Customize the way you learn languages; connect with native teachers according to your interests, work experience, etc. In italki you’ll find qualified language teachers to learn the language you like best (English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, Korean…). Make the most of this opportunity to learn languages, practice your conversation skills, get to know new cultures and grow professionally. Aside from the italki’s community’s support, video call tutoring with native teachers is the best tool for you to learn a language. italki, the app to learn languages with tutoring More than 150 languages available with native teachers - Spanish - English - French - Japanese - Korean - German … and much more! ◉ Language classes where and when you want Do you want to make the most of your lunch break at work or your daily walk to learn Spanish? Choose the class duration (30, 45, 60 or 90 minutes) and adjust it to your schedule. Use italki Classroom, Skype, Zoom or another platform for your online language classes and start speaking the language you always wanted to learn, or practice the languages you want to get better at. ◉ Master the language skills you need the most italki's qualified teachers tailor their language classes to your current level (A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, C2). They will build every lesson based on your personal needs and weaknesses, to ensure you progress fast. Choose a course that fits your priorities: conversation, business, grammar, creative writing, exam preparation… You have lots of options available for each language! ◉ Pay as you go Forget about paying a lot without knowing if you’ll be able to attend all the classes. With italki, you pay per class. You can also buy credits to spend them little by little or buy a package and save on the final price. Educators set their own prices, from less than $10 for qualified teachers to less than $5 for tutors. You also have three classes for less than $5 each to try, so you can make sure it’s right for you! ◉ An immersive learning experience Learn and exchange with native teachers who will teach you everything you need to know about the language and its culture, and with whom you can create a real human connection, far beyond mechanical language learning. Whether you want to learn Spanish, English, Japanese or any other language, progress quickly with a total immersion. ◉ Connect with thousands of native teachers Find Spanish, English, French, Japanese, German, Italian and Korean teachers, and teachers of many more languages. Choose your teacher according to their interests, specialization, or even their accent: British or American English, to learn English and any other language you need. Some teachers use language-teaching materials in their tutoring classes, such as books, videos, cards, etc. ◉ Learning together with your friend Invite your friends to join italki to study a language, and earn $10 every time one of them spends their first $20. They will also earn $5 for adding you as their referrer. Study online, learn languages with native tutors in italki and expand your world. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Memrise4 screens
italki4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ratings volume: Memrise at 217K against italki's 9.8K. Memrise also leads on chart position (#163 vs unranked). On price, rating, review sentiment and update cadence there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Memrise sells 14 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per 7 days and italki sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Memrise against 4.8 for italki. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Memrise has 217K ratings behind it against 9.8K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 68% and 68% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Memrise ships an update fortnightly, italki weekly. Both last shipped on October 1, 2026.

Scorecard2 real differences · 9 level
Memrise versus italki: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMemriseitalki
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (217K ratings)4.8 (9.8K ratings)
Positive reviews68.0% of reviews — better67.6% of reviews
Number of ratings217K — better9.8K
Update frequencyFortnightlyWeekly — better
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#163 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.0 — better15.1
Further details — not scored
Size238 MB306 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMemrise Limiteditalki HK Limited

Customer experience

Memrise

All ratings216,707 ratings
Positive96.2%
Neutral2.4%
Negative1.4%
Written reviews2,890 reviews
Positive68.0%
Neutral8.8%
Negative23.2%

italki

All ratings9,782 ratings
Positive96.0%
Neutral1.0%
Negative3.0%
Written reviews1,457 reviews
Positive67.6%
Neutral5.1%
Negative27.2%

User reviews

Memrise

From 217K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Great for learning basics
  • 👍 Engaging and fun learning experience
  • 👍 Effective memorization techniques
  • 👍 Useful for supplementing language learning
  • 👍 Variety of languages available

Room to improve

  • 💰 Subscription is too expensive
  • 🔒 Limited functionality without subscription
  • 🐛 Bugs and glitches in the app
  • 🤖 AI conversations are not very helpful
  • 🤔 Transition from basics to more advanced content is too abrupt

italki

From 9.8K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Great platform to connect with native speakers
  • 🚀 Flexible scheduling and easy to use
  • 💰 Affordable lessons
  • 🎓 Helpful for improving language skills
  • 🤝 Positive learning experience with great teachers

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Buggy app with glitches and connectivity issues
  • 💳 Concerns about pricing changes and fees
  • 🕰️ Unreliable teachers who cancel or don't show up
  • 🤖 Poor customer service and lack of support
  • 📆 Difficulty with scheduling and calendar integration

Bugs and requests

Memrise

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • App crashes or freezes during lessons
  • Inconsistent performance across devices
  • Issues with syncing progress across devices
  • Incorrect translations or pronunciations in some courses

Requested features

6 requests
  • Add more advanced content and courses
  • Improve AI conversation feature
  • Allow more control over review and repetition
  • Provide offline access to courses
  • Improve search and discovery of community courses
Show 1 more
  • Add support for writing practice and handwriting recognition

italki

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • App crashes and freezes
  • Inaccurate teacher availability information
  • Issues with login and account management
  • Problems with video/audio quality during lessons
  • Syncing and integration problems with other platforms

Requested features

5 requests
  • Improved calendar and scheduling functionality
  • Better notification system for lessons
  • Ability to search for and connect with language partners
  • More transparency around teacher availability and cancellations
  • Streamlined payment and refund process

In-app purchases

14 purchases

Memrise

Subscriptions10
  • Weekly Language Learning Plan$2.997 Days
  • Monthly Language Learning Plan$24.991 Month
  • 3-Month Language Learning Plan$24.993 Months
Show 7 more
  • 30% off Annual Memrise Pro$42.991 Year
  • Memrise Subscription Offer$58.991 Year
  • Memrise Subscription Offer1 Month trial$59.991 Month
  • Annual Language Learning Plan$61.991 Year
  • Memrise Annual Pro$61.991 Year
  • Memrise Subscription Offer1 Year trial$61.991 Year
  • Memrise Subscription Offer$79.991 Year
One-time4
  • Lifetime Plan Offer$98.99
  • Lifetime Plan Offer$131.99
  • Lifetime Plan Offer$164.99
Show 1 more
  • Lifetime Plan$329.99
4 purchases

italki

Subscriptions4
  • italki Plus - 1 Month$5.991 Month
  • Plus Monthly Plan with Trial1 Month trial$5.991 Month
  • italki Plus - 1 Year$59.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Plus Yearly Plan with Trial1 Month trial$59.991 Year

Questions

Is Memrise free?
Memrise is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is italki free?
italki is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Memrise or italki?
Memrise and italki are both rated 4.8 out of 5 on the App Store, from 217K and 9.8K ratings respectively.
Do Memrise or italki have ads?
Both Memrise and italki show ads.
Which is updated more often, Memrise or italki?
Memrise ships an update fortnightly, and italki weekly. Most recently, Memrise was updated on October 1, 2026 and italki on October 1, 2026.

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