🇸🇦 Best app to learn Arabic
The best app to learn Arabic, honestly compared
Updated:
Quick answer
First decide what you need: Modern Standard Arabic for reading and news, or a spoken dialect for daily life, and check which one each course teaches. Learn the alphabet with Duolingo or Anki flashcards. For a human dialect teacher, italki. To speak Arabic out loud and get corrected in English, SpeakBase: the first lesson is free and Premium is $11.99 a month.
Arabic is two learning problems at once: a new script written right to left, and a gap between the written standard and the dialects people speak. A good plan names both from the start.
What makes Arabic hard to speak
Arabic has sounds English does not (the throat consonants), a root-and-pattern system for building words, verbs that change for gender and number, and a written standard that differs from everyday speech. Short vowels are usually not written, so reading aloud and speaking are real skills of their own.
The options at a glance
| App | Best for | Speaking practice | Cost model |
|---|---|---|---|
| SpeakBase (Kate, AI tutor) | Actually speaking: real conversations out loud, corrected as you go | Yes, every lesson is spoken; mistakes are corrected and explained in English | First lesson free, no card; Premium $11.99 a month for 150 minutes of conversation |
| Duolingo | A free daily habit and first vocabulary | Short repeat-after-me exercises; little open conversation | Free core app, with an optional paid subscription |
| Busuu | Getting written and spoken answers reviewed by native speakers | Recorded answers reviewed by the community, not live | Free tier, with a Premium subscription |
| Anki | Memorising a new script and thousands of words | None | Open-source flashcard app; pricing depends on the platform |
| Pimsleur | Learning by ear on a commute or a walk | You answer prompts out loud, but nobody hears or corrects you | Paid; the first 30-minute lesson is free |
| italki (human tutors) | Learners who want a real person and can schedule lessons | Yes, live with a person | Pay per lesson; each tutor sets their own price, in US dollars |
Competitor details were checked on 17 October 2026 and change often; prices are not listed where they could not be confirmed on the provider's own site.
Each option, in one paragraph
SpeakBase (Kate, AI tutor): live voice conversation with an ai tutor
Best for actually speaking: real conversations out loud, corrected as you go. First lesson free, no card; Premium $11.99 a month for 150 minutes of conversation. The catch: not a full grammar course and not a human; pair it with an app or a book for reading and writing.
Duolingo: gamified lessons
Best for a free daily habit and first vocabulary. Free core app, with an optional paid subscription. The catch: you can finish many units and still freeze in a real conversation.
Busuu: course plus community feedback
Best for getting written and spoken answers reviewed by native speakers. Free tier, with a Premium subscription. The catch: feedback arrives later, not in the moment you speak.
Anki: spaced-repetition flashcards
Best for memorising a new script and thousands of words. Open-source flashcard app; pricing depends on the platform. The catch: you build or download decks yourself; it teaches recall, not conversation.
Pimsleur: audio course
Best for learning by ear on a commute or a walk. Paid; the first 30-minute lesson is free. The catch: fixed recordings: no feedback on what you actually said.
italki (human tutors): marketplace of paid human tutors
Best for learners who want a real person and can schedule lessons. Pay per lesson; each tutor sets their own price, in US dollars. The catch: booking, time zones and cost per hour add up if you want daily practice.
Our pick for each goal
- Hold a real conversation in Arabic: SpeakBase (Kate, AI tutor). The only option here that talks back, live, and corrects what you actually said, at any hour.
- Learn the alphabet: Anki. Flashcards for letters and their forms.
- A free daily habit: Duolingo. Free core app and a streak that gets you to open it every day.
- A specific dialect with a person: italki (human tutors). Find a tutor for the dialect you need.
- Learn by ear on a commute: Pimsleur. Audio lessons you can follow without looking at a screen.
Where SpeakBase fits
SpeakBase is not trying to replace a course app. It does the one thing course apps cannot: a live spoken Arabic conversation. Kate, the AI tutor, talks with you out loud about your day, your plans or a role-play, notices your mistakes, gives you the correct sentence, explains it in plain English and asks you to say it again. Your first lesson is free with no card; Premium is $11.99 a month for 150 minutes of conversation. Not sure where you stand? The free Arabic level test gives you a CEFR level in about three minutes, and the AI Arabic tutor page shows what a lesson looks like.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best app to learn Arabic?
First decide what you need: Modern Standard Arabic for reading and news, or a spoken dialect for daily life, and check which one each course teaches. Learn the alphabet with Duolingo or Anki flashcards. For a human dialect teacher, italki. To speak Arabic out loud and get corrected in English, SpeakBase: the first lesson is free and Premium is $11.99 a month.
Can you become conversational in Arabic with Duolingo alone?
Duolingo is a good free way to build a habit and first vocabulary, but its speaking exercises are short and scripted. Most learners who only use it can recognise a lot of Arabic and still freeze in a real conversation. Add regular spoken practice, with a person or with an AI tutor such as Kate on SpeakBase, to close that gap.
What is the best free way to start learning Arabic?
Start with Duolingo's free core app for a daily habit or Busuu's free tier, and take SpeakBase's free first lesson to hear yourself speak Arabic with a tutor who corrects you in English. No card is needed for either.
How much does SpeakBase cost for Arabic?
The first lesson is free with no card. Premium is $11.99 a month, or $10 a month billed annually, and includes 150 minutes of Arabic conversation with Kate every month, all role-plays and your personal review cards. Cancel any time.
Which Arabic does SpeakBase teach?
Tell Kate what you are learning for. She speaks clear, widely understood Arabic and you can ask her in English how a phrase is said in everyday speech.
More on Arabic
Best apps for other languages
3 minutes · free · no card · then keep talking with Kate