The best apps to learn Swedish in 2026

How to choose

There is no single best app for learning Swedish, because different apps train different skills. A useful way to choose is to ask what each tool gives you:

• Structure: a path from beginner to intermediate so you do not have to decide what to learn next.
• Vocabulary: a steady supply of words, and a system that stops you forgetting them.
• Speaking: practice producing Swedish out loud, ideally with feedback.
• Listening: exposure to real Swedish at natural speed.
• People: someone to talk to and be corrected by.

Most learners need a combination: one structured course, one source of real Swedish, and, from about A2, some contact with people. The list below says honestly what each option is good and bad at.

A note on bias: we make one of these, Lingolib, and it is on the list. We have tried to describe every option, including ours, as fairly as we can. We do not list prices, because they change often; check each app's current offer.

At a glance

Duolingo

Good for: building a daily habit and getting a first feel for Swedish words and sentences.

Duolingo's Swedish course is free, fun and very good at keeping you coming back. The streaks and short lessons make daily practice easy. For an absolute beginner, it is a painless way to find out whether you like the language.

Limitations: exercises are mostly matching, choosing from word banks and short translations, so you get good at recognising Swedish rather than producing it. Grammar is largely left for you to infer. Many learners find that after months of Duolingo they still cannot build their own sentences in a conversation. We wrote about this in Duolingo for Swedish: an honest alternative.

Babbel

Good for: learners who want the grammar explained, and dialogues based on real situations.

Babbel's lessons are built around short conversations, with explicit explanations of the grammar in them, and regular review sessions. For adults who like to understand why a sentence works, this is a real advantage over Duolingo.

Limitations: it is a paid subscription, many exercises are still recognition-based, and learners often reach the end of the Swedish material around the lower intermediate level. See the full comparison in Babbel vs Duolingo for Swedish.

Pimsleur

Good for: speaking and pronunciation, especially if you learn best by listening, or if you commute.

Pimsleur is audio-first: you listen, respond out loud to prompts, and the lessons recycle material on a spaced schedule. Because it makes you speak from the start, learners often have good pronunciation and confidence with basic phrases.

Limitations: vocabulary grows slowly, there is little reading or writing, and the content is limited compared with a full course. Check how many Swedish levels are currently available before buying.

Anki and flashcard apps

Good for: keeping vocabulary in your head once you have met it.

Anki is a free, open-source flashcard program that uses spaced repetition: each card comes back just before you would forget it. It is extremely effective and extremely flexible. You can make cards with full sentences and audio, and always include en or ett with nouns.

Limitations: it is a tool, not a course. You have to decide what to learn, find the material and make or choose the cards. Ready-made shared decks vary a lot in quality. The Swedish word lists are a sensible source of the most common words to start with.

Memrise has also been popular for Swedish vocabulary over the years, but its offer has changed several times, so check what it currently provides for Swedish.

Tutors: italki and Preply

Good for: speaking practice and correction, from around A2.

Tutoring platforms such as italki and Preply connect you with Swedish teachers and informal tutors for one-to-one video lessons, priced by the tutor. A real person hears your mistakes, adjusts to your level and gives you the thing no app fully replaces: a conversation.

Limitations: cost adds up, and quality varies widely. Try a few tutors with short trial lessons. Come with a plan, such as a topic to discuss or a text you have read, rather than asking the tutor to decide. A good pattern is to learn with a course during the week and use the tutor to practise speaking what you have learnt.

SVT Play, UR Play and Sveriges Radio

Good for: real Swedish listening at every level, for free.

Sweden's public broadcasters are one of the best free language resources anywhere. SVT Play has most programmes with Swedish subtitles (svensk text). UR Play has educational programmes, some made for learners. Sveriges Radio has Klartext, a daily news broadcast in easy Swedish, and Radio Sweden på lätt svenska. The easy-read news site 8 Sidor is the reading equivalent.

Limitations: they are not courses, and some programmes are only available inside Sweden. At the start, most normal programmes will be too fast. Our guide to Swedish TV, podcasts and easy news says what to use at which level.

SFI (Swedish for Immigrants)

Good for: anyone resident in Sweden who wants free, structured classes.

SFI is not an app, but it belongs on this list because for residents it is the most important free option. It is run by municipalities, it is free, and it takes you from zero to around an intermediate level through courses A to D. You also meet other learners, which matters.

Limitations: it is only available to residents of Sweden, it is time-limited (as a rule three years since 2026), the quality and pace vary between providers, and class time alone is rarely enough. See our guides to learning Swedish when you move to Sweden and how to combine SFI with an app.

Lingolib

Good for: learners who want a structured course that makes them build Swedish sentences out loud, with real listening built in.

Lingolib is our own course, built on the free Complete Swedish YouTube course (around 450,000 views). Each lesson teaches one rule and then asks you to build sentences with it out loud before you hear the answer. Lessons have synced, tappable transcripts, so you can see and look up every word you hear, and words go into a library that tracks what you know. Speaking practice listens to what you say and brings words back on a spaced schedule. Watch turns Swedish YouTube videos into lessons with translated transcripts, and membership adds an AI tutor you can ask about any sentence.

Limitations: it teaches Swedish only, from English. The courses cover A1 to around B1, plus a Literature course for B1 and above; for advanced Swedish you will need other material. Speaking practice, Watch for any video and the AI tutor need a membership. Season 1 of Complete Swedish, all 49 lessons, is free in full with no account needed; the other courses open with membership, a yearly subscription. See pricing for details.

Our recommended combinations

Whatever you choose, the principles are the same: speak out loud from day one, study a little every day, review vocabulary before you forget it, and listen to real Swedish early. Our complete guide to learning Swedish turns those principles into a phase-by-phase plan.

FAQ

What is the best free app to learn Swedish?

For a free daily habit, Duolingo. For free real Swedish, the SVT Play, UR Play and Sveriges Radio apps, especially Klartext. For vocabulary, Anki. Combining one of each covers more than any single app.

Which app is best for speaking Swedish?

Apps that make you produce sentences out loud, rather than choose them, train speaking best. Pimsleur and courses built around saying sentences, such as Lingolib, do this. Nothing fully replaces conversation with a person, so add a tutor or conversation partner from around A2.

Can you learn Swedish with an app only?

You can reach a basic level with apps alone. To hold relaxed conversations and follow Swedes speaking normally, almost everyone needs real listening and real conversation too.

Is Pimsleur good for Swedish?

It is good for pronunciation and speaking confidence with basic phrases, because it is audio-based and makes you respond out loud. It is weaker on vocabulary breadth, reading and grammar, so it works best combined with another resource.

What is the best way to learn Swedish if I live in Sweden?

Start SFI as soon as you have a personnummer, and add daily practice between classes, such as a course or app, easy news, and Swedish in everyday situations. See SFI or an app?.

Try it

The fairest way to choose is to try. All 49 lessons of Season 1 of Complete Swedish are free, with no account needed: start with lesson 1, and compare it with whatever else you are using. A free account adds saved progress, quizzes and a word library.