Comparison

Memrise vs Preply

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

Preply

Connect with professional tutors for live, personalized language classes. This platform offers a structured alternative to gamified apps, focusing on real conversations and customized learning paths to achieve fluency.

Highlights
  • Live, personalized classes
  • Thousands of expert tutors
  • Practice real conversations
  • Flexible scheduling
  • Study over 90 languages
  • Track progress
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Preply: Learn Languages with Real Tutors - Anytime, Anywhere Looking for the best way to learn a new language? Preply is more than just another language learning app: It’s a complete online learning platform and app that connects you with thousands of professional tutors for live, personalized classes. Unlike gamified apps that rely only on repetitive exercises, Preply gives you the flexibility of self-study combined with the structure, accountability, and human connection of real teachers. With the Preply app, you can: • Learn on the go - Book and attend lessons from anywhere, right from your phone. • Access thousands of expert tutors - Choose teachers based on price, ratings, availability, or specialization. • Practice real conversations - Build confidence by speaking with a live tutor instead of memorizing phrases. • Flexible scheduling - Book lessons that fit your lifestyle, whether daily practice or weekly study. • Study over 90 languages - English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Chinese, Arabic, and more. • Track your progress - Follow your learning journey with clear goals and personalized feedback. Why Preply? Most language apps stop at vocabulary drills or gamified practice. Preply takes you further by connecting you with real people who adapt lessons to your goals. Want to prepare for exams? Boost your career opportunities? Improve pronunciation? Preply tutors customize your learning path, so every lesson gets you closer to fluency. Key Benefits of the Preply App • Structured alternative to gamified apps: Skip endless exercises and focus on meaningful progress. • Personalized learning: Lessons tailored to your level, learning style, and objectives. • Affordable options: Tutors for every budget, with transparent pricing and secure payment. • Convenient experience: Same great Preply platform, optimized for mobile so you can learn anytime. • Trusted by learners worldwide: Millions of students already use Preply to achieve their language goals. How It Works • Download the Preply app. • Choose your tutor: Filter by language, specialty, budget, or availability. • Book your first lesson: Flexible scheduling makes it easy. • Learn & track progress: Stay motivated with real results and ongoing support. Whether you’re a beginner or advanced learner, preparing for exams, traveling abroad, or building a global career, Preply helps you succeed. With Preply, you’re not just downloading an app, you’re joining a global learning platform built to support your growth. Learn languages your way, with the flexibility of an app and the reliability of real classes. Start your language journey today. Download Preply and discover why it’s the best app for live tutoring, online language classes, and personalized learning.

Screenshots

Memrise4 screens
Preply4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Preply at none against Memrise's 16. Preply also leads on ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (weekly vs fortnightly). Memrise's advantage is review sentiment (68% vs 54%) and ratings volume (217K vs 44K). On price, rating, monetization model and chart position 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. Preply asks for nothing beyond the download.

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 Preply. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 217K and 44K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 68% of Memrise's written reviews are positive against 54% of Preply's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Memrise ships an update fortnightly, Preply weekly. Both last shipped on September 24, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Memrise versus Preply: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMemrisePreply
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (217K ratings)4.8 (44K ratings)
Positive reviews68.0% of reviews — better54.0% of reviews
Number of ratings217K — better44K
Update frequencyFortnightlyWeekly — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#117#101 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.0 — better15.1
Further details — not scored
Size238 MB237 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMemrise LimitedPreply Inc.

Customer experience

Memrise

All ratings216,707 ratings
Positive96.2%
Neutral2.4%
Negative1.4%
Written reviews2,889 reviews
Positive68.0%
Neutral8.8%
Negative23.2%

Preply

All ratings44,382 ratings
Positive96.2%
Neutral1.1%
Negative2.7%
Written reviews2,138 reviews
Positive54.0%
Neutral5.8%
Negative40.2%

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

Preply

From 44K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Great app for learning languages
  • 👍 Easy to use and navigate
  • 💡 Flexible scheduling and wide range of tutors
  • 🤩 Excellent tutors who are patient and knowledgeable
  • 📚 Helpful lesson materials and resources

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Technical issues with the app, including freezing, crashing, and audio/video problems
  • 🤑 Concerns about the subscription model and hidden fees
  • 💤 Lack of customer support responsiveness
  • 🤯 Frustration with tutors canceling or not showing up for lessons
  • 🤖 Complaints about the app's user interface and navigation

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

Preply

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Lessons not properly credited or refunded
  • Inability to transfer lesson credits between tutors
  • Automatic subscription renewals without user consent
  • Inconsistent app functionality across devices
  • Tutor profiles and availability not accurately reflected

Requested features

5 requests
  • Calendar integration and scheduling improvements
  • Better note-taking and lesson history features
  • Ability to purchase individual lessons instead of subscriptions
  • Improved customer support and communication channels
  • More robust tutor vetting and quality control

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
None

Preply

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Memrise free?
Memrise is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Preply free?
Preply is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Memrise or Preply?
Memrise and Preply are both rated 4.8 out of 5 on the App Store, from 217K and 44K ratings respectively.
Do Memrise or Preply have ads?
Memrise shows ads; Preply does not.
Which is updated more often, Memrise or Preply?
Memrise ships an update fortnightly, and Preply weekly. Most recently, Memrise was updated on September 24, 2026 and Preply on September 24, 2026.
Which is more popular, Memrise or Preply?
Memrise currently peaks at #117 in the App Store charts, and Preply at #101. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

Other comparisons