Language learning apps have transformed the experience of learning a new language. They’ve lowered the barrier to picking up a new language, gamified the process, and made it fun and convenient. They also offer lessons in many more languages than ever before—not just the usual French, Spanish, and other Romance languages. Many are also incorporating AI features that can assess and correct your pronunciation, or converse with you in a more natural way. Though you typically can’t reach fluency with these apps alone, you can get a good grasp on the basics and become conversational.
Meanwhile, translation apps are now almost essential when traveling internationally. (No more toting around a phrasebook and desperately flipping through it on the street, struggling to find the proper words in a language you don’t speak.) Translation apps enable users to instantly translate text and spoken voice into dozens of languages and make themselves understood in turn.
Below is a look at some of the best-rated language learning and translation apps of 2026 and the special features they offer.
1. Google Translate
The most widely used translator globally today, Google Translate offers an effortless experience if you want rapid results without a steep learning curve. Immediate and functional, you simply open the app, speak or paste the text, and receive a response in seconds.
Although it may not always deliver more nuanced phrasing, Google Translate remains highly reliable for immediate translation with minimal lag time. With handwriting input for drawing symbols or letters, conversion mode for bilingual exchanges, and voice, text, and camera translation, Google Translate covers more than 100 languages. Plus, it’s free.
2. Duolingo
The world’s most popular language learning app, Duolingo is the go-to option for millions of language students. Using Duolingo feels like playing a game—its bright graphics; short, snappy lessons; and badges, leaderboard, and other gamification elements all contribute to the arcade vibe. The game features coax you to return to the app daily, which can be helpful as regular practice is the key to learning any new skill.
The Duolingo app comes in free and paid premium versions, with the latter unlocking features like AI-powered conversations. With lessons in nearly 40 languages for English speakers, the app caters to beginners as well as more advanced learners, allowing you to keep going deeper into levels where content gets progressively more challenging. Duolingo also offers an extensive array of lessons for native speakers of other languages.
3. Apple Live Text/Translate
Apple’s take on Google Translate, Live Text can take words in 20 languages—from text, images, and speech—and translate them. If you select any text on your iPhone, just click Translate in the text bubble that pops up. It will automatically detect the language, and you can choose the language for the translation. Similarly, if you point your iPhone camera at any text—for example, a restaurant menu, a street sign, or printed newspaper article—then tap on the text icon, a similar Translate option will appear.
For speech translation, open the Translate app, click the microphone icon, and speak. The translation will appear as you speak, and you can tap the play icon to hear the audio translation.
4. Babbel
With its user-friendly layout, thorough lessons, and paid options for traditional online school classes, Babbel is more like a traditional foreign language course than Duolingo. The interface is more minimalist in design, and the bright colors and arcade game feel aren’t present here.
In each lesson, you are guided through translations, including word and phrase variations, pictures, and informal and formal iterations. You see and hear new words incorporated in everyday conversations, while grammar guides provide more depth into the structure and rules of the language that you might miss with simple memorization. When you’re struggling with a particular word or phrase, the app can create a lesson to help.
Babbel offers 14 languages and is free to download. The first lesson of each language course is free, but a subscription is required to proceed beyond that. Pricing depends on the particular plan, starting at $18 per month on the month-to-month plan.
5. italki
Ranking as one of the most popular conversation and personalized language learning apps globally, italki provides live lessons with real teachers and tutors. Lessons are available in more than 150 languages, in both group and one-on-one video sessions. You can select a teacher from more than 30,000 professionals who live in nearly every country on Earth. Search for options based on the language you want to learn, price, the teacher’s country, lesson type, and the lesson schedule.
With its focus on lessons from real human teachers, italki is a good option if you’re looking to practice your speech and pronunciation skills, rather than just learning vocabulary and grammar. Teachers set their own prices, which range from around $5 per hour to upwards of $100 per hour.