Best App to Learn German in 2026 (Including Apps That Explain in Hindi and Arabic)

The short answer: there is no single best app to learn German. There is a best app for each job. For a free daily habit, Duolingo. For structured grammar lessons, Babbel or Busuu. For a complete free course with video, DW Learn German. For listening to real German, with every word explained in your own language (Hindi, Telugu, Arabic and 20 more), Soma. For flashcards you control, Anki. Most learners who get to B1 combine two: one for structure and one for listening.

"Which app is best to learn German?" is one of the most-asked German questions online, and the answers usually list the same five apps. This guide sorts them by what you actually need: a free start, real listening, explanations in a language other than English, vocabulary that sticks, or a Goethe exam.

How we compared them

We looked at each app's own pages in October 2026 and asked five questions:

1. What do you actually do in it? Lessons, videos, songs, flashcards, audio stories.
2. Do you hear real German? Meaning natural speech at natural speed, not single words.
3. Which language explains the German? For many learners in India, the Gulf and Latin America, English is a second language too.
4. Does it bring words back before you forget them (spaced repetition)?
5. What does it cost? Free, a free tier, or a subscription after a trial.

We don't quote prices, because they change by country and month. Each app's own page has the current price.

German learning apps compared

Best free app to learn German

DW Learn German is the most complete free option. Deutsche Welle, Germany's international broadcaster, runs a full course from A1 to C1 at no cost. It includes Nicos Weg, a video series that follows Nico, who arrives in Germany from Spain, a vocabulary trainer with bilingual audio, and a der/die/das trainer.

Duolingo is free with ads and is good at one thing: making you open it every day. Its weakness for German is depth. Learners often reach the end of a unit able to read sentences but not to follow a conversation.

Soma is free for one language, with every song, story and picture in it. If German is your one language, you get all of the German.

Best app for listening to real German

Courses teach you German. Listening teaches you to understand it, and most apps underserve listening because it's hard to make interactive.

• Soma builds listening in three ways. Original German songs are sung word by word in karaoke, with the translation under every line; you can slow them down or switch the vocals off and sing. Spoken stories and dialogues come at four levels, and in a dialogue you can take a part and answer aloud. And any German YouTube video you paste becomes a lesson. Tap any word for its meaning and its dictionary form; nouns come with their article (der Spiegel, the mirror).
• Lingopie does this with TV shows: click a word in the subtitles to translate it and save it. It suits intermediate learners who can already follow a scene.
• DW has Deine Band (pop songs with exercises, A2) and Kurz und leicht (daily news at beginner level).

Try one before you decide: Rauch im Licht is an A2 German song with the full karaoke on the page, no sign-in needed.

Best app if English isn't your first language

Most German apps explain German in English. If your strongest language is Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Arabic or Portuguese, you are learning German through a second language, and every explanation costs you twice.

Three options explain German in other languages:

• DW Learn German has full Hindi (जर्मन सीखो) and Arabic versions of its site.
• Langmitra teaches through audio stories, with explanations in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and other languages.
• Soma explains German in the language you choose. It offers 23, including Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Marathi, Kannada, Gujarati, Bengali, Arabic, Portuguese and Spanish. The app's menus switch to that language too.

Best app for German vocabulary and der/die/das

German nouns come with a gender you have to learn with the word. The tools that help most:

• Anki, if you like control. Free on desktop and Android, with the modern FSRS scheduler built in.
• DW's Artikeltrainer for drilling der/die/das.
• Soma keeps every word or line you save in one spaced-repetition review, and each word comes from a song or story you heard, so it arrives with a melody and a sentence attached. More on that in Der, Die, Das: learn German articles with songs.

If you're wondering which words to learn first, the German frequency list is a better guide than any textbook: see the most common German words.

Best app for the Goethe A1 to B1 exams

Be careful here: a general app is not an exam course.

• For exam format and practice papers, start with the exam bodies themselves. The Goethe-Institut and telc both publish practice material, and DW's Deine Deutschprüfung explains every exam from A1 to C2.
• Busuu and Babbel follow CEFR levels, which helps you see where you stand.
• Langmitra offers Goethe A1–C2 preparation.
• Soma doesn't do mock tests. What it adds is the listening and speaking that exams test and courses underserve: the Hören section rewards hours of real German, and shadowing trains the Sprechen part.

Is Duolingo enough to learn German?

For a start, yes; for B1, almost never on its own. Duolingo is excellent at habit and early vocabulary. It gives you little long, natural listening and little speaking under pressure, and those are exactly what you need to follow a conversation or pass Hören and Sprechen. Keep the streak if it motivates you, and add one listening tool and one way to speak. More options in Duolingo alternatives.

Frequently asked questions

Which app is best to learn German for free? DW Learn German is the most complete free course (A1–C1, with video). Duolingo is free with ads. Soma is free for one language, including all its German songs and stories.

Which app teaches German in Hindi? DW Learn German has a Hindi version of its site, Langmitra explains in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu, and Soma explains words and song lines in Hindi when you choose Hindi as your language.

Can I learn German with songs? Yes, as part of a routine. Songs make words and grammar stick because the melody carries them, but you also need to read, speak and review. See learn German with songs and our list of German songs for beginners.

How long does it take to reach A1 or B1 with an app? It depends on your hours, not the app. A common guide is a few months of daily study for A1 and roughly a year or more for B1. Be wary of any app that promises a level in a few weeks.

What is the best app for German listening practice? For beginners, songs and short stories with a translation under every line (Soma, DW's Deine Band). For intermediate learners, TV with dual subtitles (Lingopie) or German YouTube turned into lessons (Soma's YouTube Learn).

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Sources: vendor pages checked October 2026: babbel.com/learn-german, busuu.com, learngerman.dw.com (English, Hindi and Arabic versions), langmitra.com, lingopie.com, duolingo.com, apps.ankiweb.net and docs.ankiweb.net.

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Try Soma free. Hear German in songs, stories and real YouTube videos, with every word explained in your own language and kept with spaced repetition. Start at app.soma.ninja; plans are on the pricing page.

Drafted with AI, edited and fact-checked by a human.