Memrise vs Pimsleur | Language Learning
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- Real-life conversation simulation
- Cultural insights
- Vocabulary and listening practice
- Speaking practice with AI
- Native speaker videos
- Learn over 40 languages
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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/
Pimsleur | Language Learning
Master over 50 languages with daily 30-minute audio lessons. Achieve native-like fluency through a scientifically proven method focused on speaking and pronunciation, even offline. Perfect for busy adults seeking flexible, effective language learning.
- Learn 50+ languages
- 30-minute daily lessons
- Offline mode
- Hands-free learning
- Pronunciation practice
- AI language tutor
- Sync across devices
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Learn languages fluently with Pimsleur - Learn to speak 50+ foreign languages like a local with just 30 minutes of language learning practice a day! The Pimsleur Method™ is the most effective way to learn a foreign language, achieve native conversational fluency, and use the language in your everyday life. Learn to speak fluent Spanish, French, Korean, German, Chinese, Arabic, Japanese and more with ease. Pimsleur’s language learning resources make learning a language fun, flexible and rewarding. Practice speaking fluently with just 30 minutes of language practice a day! For 50 years, we’ve been helping people rapidly learn languages in 30 days. Want to learn Spanish to speak to Mexican friends? Need to learn Japanese for a trip to Tokyo? Choose from over 50 languages to learn while driving, at the gym, or while cooking. No Internet needed with offline mode. Plus the built-in hands-free mode makes it easy to learn a new language anywhere, anytime, even in the car! Our innovative online audio lessons focus on enhancing your vocabulary, pronunciation and speaking skills without the burden of grammar tables, making language learning and practice enjoyable and accessible. Dive into cultural topics that enrich your understanding and language fluency, and join thousands of adults who have transformed their language skills online with Pimsleur. Whether you're a beginner or already looking to improve your language fluency, Pimsleur offers a convenient and effective online language learning platform for adults designed for a flexible study schedule that fits into your daily routine. Learn to speak a new language anytime, anywhere - even in the car as a family. Why Choose Pimsleur as Your Language Partner? - Scientifically proven method for fast, lasting language fluency. - Just 30 minutes a day to speak a new foreign language with confidence. - Learn languages offline, hands-free, and without distractions, no Wi-Fi needed. - Perfect your pronunciation and practice real conversations with a smart AI language tutor. - Sync across devices to track your progress and keep your learning streak going. - Join the global community of Pimsleur language learners! Discover the full list of language courses here: Albanian, Eastern, Egyptian or Modern Standard Arabic, Eastern or Western Armenian, Cantonese or Mandarin Chinese, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dari Persian, Dutch, Farsi Persian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Haitian Creole, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Indonesian, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Lithuanian, Norwegian, Ojibwe, Pashto, Polish, European or Brazilian Portuguese, Punjabi, Romanian, Russian, Latin American or Spain-Castilian Spanish, Swahili, Swedish, Swiss German, Tagalog, Thai, Turkish, Twi, Ukrainian, Urdu, Vietnamese. FREE TRIAL AVAILABLE Don’t miss out - try Pimsleur for FREE and start learning different languages today! With a complimentary lesson in 51 languages, you'll experience the most effective way to achieve conversational fluency from Day 1. PREMIUM FEATURES CORE CONVERSATIONAL LANGUAGE LEARNING LESSONS Enjoy 30-minute conversational language lessons anywhere. Quickly learn to speak another language in just 30 days! READ You won’t just learn foreign languages; you'll learn to read without sacrificing speaking skills! SPEAK Don't be shy! Learn to speak fluently with conversation partner role-play & review transcripts using AI language learning & voice recognition. Now available for Spanish learners. SKILLS Practice phrases by topic & learn easily with visual language learning through vocabulary flashcards. Learn foreign languages with Quick Match & Speed Rounds. SYNC PROGRESS Track learning progress across different devices, sync & stream offline with no ads. Feature availability depends on the language. Visit our website for more info & a complete list of the different languages available. CA Privacy/Info We Collect: Privacy Policy Do Not Sell My Personal Information: Do Not Sell
Screenshots
Verdict
Memrise and Pimsleur | Language Learning both sit at 4.8 stars, but that hides the real split: 83% of Pimsleur | Language Learning's written reviews are positive against 68% of Memrise's. Pimsleur | Language Learning also leads on chart position (#6 vs #117). Memrise's advantage is ratings volume (217K vs 30K). On price, rating, update cadence and ads 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
Both are free to download. Memrise sells 14 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per 7 days and Pimsleur | Language Learning sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $19.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Memrise against 4.7 for Pimsleur | Language Learning. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Memrise has 217K ratings behind it against 30K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 68% of Memrise's written reviews are positive against 83% of Pimsleur | Language Learning's.
Memrise ships an update fortnightly, Pimsleur | Language Learning every 2 weeks. Both last shipped on September 24, 2026.
| Parameter | Memrise | Pimsleur | Language Learning |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (217K ratings) — better | 4.7 (30K ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 68.0% of reviews | 82.5% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 217K — better | 30K |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly — better | Every 2 weeks |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #117 | #6 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 15.1 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 238 MB | 131 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Memrise Limited | Simon & Schuster |
Customer experience
Memrise
Pimsleur | Language Learning
User reviews
Memrise
From 217K App Store ratingsWhat 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
Pimsleur | Language Learning
From 30K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 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
Room to improve
- 💰 Expensive subscription model
- 🐛 Occasional app crashes and bugs
- 🔍 Limited content for some languages
- 📚 Lacks written materials and grammar explanations
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
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- Add support for writing practice and handwriting recognition
Pimsleur | Language Learning
Reported bugs
3 issues- Lesson downloads frequently get interrupted
- Inconsistent performance on older devices
- Sync issues between app and online account
Requested features
4 requests- 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
In-app purchases
Memrise
- Weekly Language Learning Plan$2.997 Days
- Monthly Language Learning Plan$24.991 Month
- 3-Month Language Learning Plan$24.993 Months
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- 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
- Lifetime Plan Offer$98.99
- Lifetime Plan Offer$131.99
- Lifetime Plan Offer$164.99
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- Lifetime Plan$329.99
Pimsleur | Language Learning
- Spanish Premium Subscription3 variants$19.991 Month
- Italian Premium Subscription$19.991 Month
- Japanese Premium Subscription$19.991 Month
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- All Access Subscription$20.991 Month
- All Access Subscription7 Days trial$20.991 Month
- All Access Subscription1 Month trial$20.991 Month
- All Access Annual Subscription7 Days trial$131.991 Year
- All Access Subscription Annual7 Days trial$164.991 Year
Questions
Is Memrise free?
Is Pimsleur | Language Learning free?
Which has better reviews, Memrise or Pimsleur | Language Learning?
Do Memrise or Pimsleur | Language Learning have ads?
Which is updated more often, Memrise or Pimsleur | Language Learning?
Which is more popular, Memrise or Pimsleur | Language Learning?
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