What are good Duolingo alternatives for Spanish?

Good alternatives to Duolingo for Spanish include Babbel for structured lessons, Pimsleur for audio and speaking, Anki for vocabulary, Dreaming Spanish for listening, and italki for tutoring. The right one depends on what Duolingo isn't giving you, so start by figuring out the gap.

Why people look for alternatives

Duolingo is great at habit and basics. The usual reasons people move on are:

They can't follow real Spanish speakers, despite finishing lessons
They want grammar explained, not just practiced
They want to speak, not tap answers
The game side starts to feel like the point

Those are four different problems, and each has a different fix. For more on that, see is Duolingo enough.

If you want clearer explanations: Babbel

Babbel teaches through short lessons built around realistic dialogues, with explicit grammar notes. It suits adults who like knowing why. The trade-offs are less gamified motivation and a pace that can feel textbook-like. Here's a closer look at Babbel vs Duolingo.

If you want to speak: Pimsleur and tutors

Pimsleur is an audio course where you respond out loud from the first lesson, so it builds spoken habits and pronunciation. It's good for commutes. Its limits are slower vocabulary growth and little reading.

For real conversation, a tutor on a marketplace like italki gives feedback and live practice. It's the best option for speaking and also the most demanding on your time and wallet. Comparing it with apps is covered in a tutor versus an app.

If you want vocabulary: Anki

Anki is a flashcard program with spaced repetition. It's very powerful for retaining words, but it doesn't teach you grammar or listening, and the interface is plain.

If you want listening: Dreaming Spanish and story apps

Dreaming Spanish offers videos for learners sorted by level, spoken only in Spanish with visual support. It's a favorite among people who follow an input-first approach. Podcasts for learners and graded readers do a similar job.

I built Langtok, so take this with that bias in mind, but it's aimed at the same listening gap: short Spanish stories you swipe through, with synced word-by-word subtitles, tap-to-translate and speed control. Like Dreaming Spanish, it works best next to something that teaches structure.

If you want a dictionary-like reference: SpanishDict and WordReference

These aren't learning programs, but they're two of the most useful free tools for looking up words, conjugations and examples. See the best dictionary for learners.

How to choose

A quick way:

Need structure? Babbel or a textbook.
Need speaking? Pimsleur or a tutor.
Need memory? Anki or built-in spaced review.
Need listening? Dreaming Spanish, podcasts or story apps.

You can also keep Duolingo for the daily habit and layer one of these on top. Switching isn't an all-or-nothing choice.

My take is that the best alternative is whichever one fixes your biggest weakness, and for most people past the first few months, that's listening.