Comparison

Memrise vs Lingvist

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

Lingvist

This app uses AI and scientific methods to teach vocabulary efficiently for faster language acquisition. It offers personalized learning plans, speech recognition, and spaced repetition to help users remember words long-term. Learn 16 languages with a focus on practical, high-frequency vocabulary.

Highlights
  • AI-powered vocabulary learning
  • Spaced repetition for long-term memory
  • Speech recognition for pronunciation
  • Learn grammar in context
  • Personalized learning plans
  • Customizable vocabulary lists
Features
Read full description

Lingvist is the language learning app built by scientists and language experts that teaches vocabulary better than anyone else in the world. The depth of our AI-powered courses combined with the latest research in machine learning gets you using a language with high proficiency, fast. GET LEVEL PLACED FOR FREE - TRY LINGVIST LEARN 16 LANGUAGES: English, Spanish, German, French, Swedish, Danish, Dutch, Italian, Brazilian Portuguese, Norwegian, Latin American Spanish, Estonian, Polish, Japanese, Korean and Russian. ===== WHY LINGVIST? FOLLOW CONVERSATIONS QUICKLY Learn the vocabulary that appears most often in a language first, allowing you to accelerate your learning. READ, WRITE, SPEAK, AND LISTEN Perfect your pronunciation using sophisticated speech recognition technology or type your answers. Every sentence has audio to ensure you hone your listening skills. FOR SERIOUS LEARNERS Your learning efficiency is our focus. Enjoy a clean UI with no advertising, no unnecessary clicks, and no distractions. REMEMBER A LANGUAGE FOREVER Using scientifically proven spaced repetition methodology, the vocabulary gets fixed in your long-term memory over time. LEARN GRAMMAR IN CONTEXT OR AS A FOCUS Acquire grammar passively like a native with our bite-sized sentences, or practice conjugating French verbs in our French course. SPECIALIST VOCABULARY FOR YOU Submit your own words, images, or text and Lingvist will automatically gather vocabulary related to the theme for you to learn. Whether it’s Harry Potter in German or Spanish colors, you can learn the words most important to you. Our AI works intelligently to provide appropriate context for vocabulary. MOTIVATIONAL STATISTICS Packed with data on your learning progress, you’ll be able to chart your path to success. A MUST-HAVE TOOL IN YOUR BAG Do you live in your target country, use a tutor or language school, or even read books, listen to podcasts, or watch content in your target language? Lingvist works best when used in parallel with other learning methods. It’s the difference between passing your test or acing it. Lingvist is the perfect complement to learn faster and boost your vocabulary. LEARN BY DOING Getting it wrong is one of the fastest ways to learn, and your brain will start to remember very quickly. PERSONALIZED SETTINGS Every learner is different. Personalize your learning to suit you, with various settings allowing you to learn with extra slow speech, strict diacritics, and even grammar tables. PERSONALIZED LEARNING PLAN We'll serve you new words that are most relevant to you. As we measure your memory curves, we ask you to repeat words at the optimal time – just before you forget them. This way, you'll always know what to learn next. LANGUAGE LEARNING MADE EASY Whether you are planning on spending this summer in Italy and need to learn Italian, or your next adventure is taking up a course in Germany and you need an app to learn German, or you're heading to Korea and you need to learn Korean, we have you covered. Our language learning techniques will help you to get fluent in over 16 languages. ===== SUBSCRIPTION You will need a subscription in order to get access to the full learning materials for all languages we offer. Each subscription will be automatically renewed unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current payment period. When a subscription is canceled, access to the app's courses and features will expire at the end of the current payment period. Visit our blog to get tips, tricks, and interesting facts on how to learn languages: ▸▸ Lingvist blog: https://lingvist.com/blog/ Follow us to get interesting facts on how to learn languages: ▸▸ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theLingvist ▸▸ Instagram: instagram.com/thelingvist/ ▸▸ Twitter: https://twitter.com/lingvist ▸▸ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lingvist Privacy Policy: https://lingvist.com/privacy-policy/ Terms of Use: https://lingvist.com/tos/

Screenshots

Memrise4 screens
Lingvist4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Lingvist at none against Memrise's shown. Memrise's advantage is ratings volume (218K vs 3.7K) and chart position (#183 vs unranked). On price, rating, in-app purchases and monetization model 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 10 in-app purchases, starting at $24.99 per month and Lingvist sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Memrise holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Memrise has 218K ratings behind it against 3.7K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 68% of Memrise's written reviews are positive against 59% of Lingvist's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Memrise ships an update fortnightly, Lingvist monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 9, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Memrise versus Lingvist: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMemriseLingvist
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (218K ratings) — better4.6 (3.7K ratings)
Positive reviews68.1% of reviews — better59.3% of reviews
Number of ratings218K — better3.7K
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterMonthly
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#183 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.015.0
Further details — not scored
Size240 MB94 MB
Age rating4+9+
DeveloperMemrise LimitedLingvist Technologies OU

Customer experience

Memrise

All ratings217,451 ratings
Positive96.2%
Neutral2.4%
Negative1.4%
Written reviews2,916 reviews
Positive68.1%
Neutral8.8%
Negative23.0%

Lingvist

All ratings3,703 ratings
Positive90.4%
Neutral3.1%
Negative6.5%
Written reviews457 reviews
Positive59.3%
Neutral9.8%
Negative30.9%

User reviews

Memrise

From 218K 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

Lingvist

From 3.7K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Efficient vocabulary learning
  • 👍 Useful sentence-based learning
  • 📚 Comprehensive vocabulary coverage
  • 📊 Helpful progress tracking
  • 🔊 Good pronunciation examples

Room to improve

  • 💰 Expensive subscription
  • 🔒 Limited free version
  • 🐛 Bugs and glitches
  • 🤔 Inconsistent word acceptance
  • 🤖 Robotic voice quality

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

Lingvist

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Progress reset issues
  • Keyboard blocking UI elements
  • Inconsistent audio playback
  • Placement test bugs

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add more language options
  • Improve grammar explanations
  • Allow custom word lists
  • Provide more context-based learning
  • Add speech recognition practice

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Memrise

Subscriptions7
  • Monthly Language Learning Plan$24.991 Month
  • 3-Month Language Learning Plan$24.993 Months
  • Memrise Subscription Offer$58.991 Year
Show 4 more
  • 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-time3
  • Lifetime Plan Offer$98.99
  • Lifetime Plan Offer$131.99
  • Lifetime Plan$329.99
8 purchases

Lingvist

Subscriptions8
  • Learn languages: 1-month plan2 variants$9.991 Month
  • Learn languages: 1-month plan7 Days trial$19.991 Month
  • Learn languages: 1-month plan7 Days trial$49.991 Month
Show 5 more
  • Learn languages: 1-month plan$49.991 Month
  • Learn languages: 1-month plan3 Days trial$49.991 Month
  • Learn languages: 12-month plan14 Days trial2 variants$79.991 Year
  • Learn languages: 12-month plan$79.991 Year
  • Learn languages: 12-month plan14 Days trial$199.991 Year

Questions

Is Memrise free?
Memrise is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Lingvist free?
Lingvist is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Memrise or Lingvist?
Memrise is rated higher. Memrise averages 4.8 out of 5 from 218K ratings, while Lingvist averages 4.6 from 3.7K ratings.
Do Memrise or Lingvist have ads?
Memrise shows ads; Lingvist does not.
Which is updated more often, Memrise or Lingvist?
Memrise ships an update fortnightly, and Lingvist monthly. Most recently, Memrise was updated on November 9, 2026 and Lingvist on November 6, 2026.

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