Learn Swedish online: courses, apps and tutors compared

Five kinds of online Swedish

"Learn Swedish online" covers very different things: a phone game you play for five minutes, a university course with exams, a weekly video call with a tutor, or a news podcast in easy Swedish. They are not competing for the same job, and the learners who do best usually combine two or three of them.

This guide sorts the options into five types, says what each is good and bad at, and suggests combinations for different situations. It complements two other guides: the best apps to learn Swedish, which goes app by app, and free resources for learning Swedish, which lists the public material in detail.

A note on bias: we make one of the options described here. We have tried to be fair to all of them, including where others are better than ours. We have left prices out on purpose, because they change often and vary by country; check each provider's current offer.

1. Structured video courses

What they are: a sequence of recorded lessons, usually with a teacher explaining one point at a time, and exercises or transcripts alongside. Some are free on YouTube, others are paid platforms.

Good for: knowing what to learn next. A good course decides the order for you, introduces grammar when you are ready for it and recycles vocabulary. Video also gives you a real voice from the first day, which matters for Swedish vowels and melody. Because you can pause and replay, it suits people with irregular schedules.

Limitations: a recording cannot hear you. Unless the course adds speaking practice with feedback, you need another way to practise talking. Quality varies enormously, so watch a few free lessons before committing, and check what level the course actually reaches.

What to look for: a clear path through the levels, sentences you build yourself rather than only listen to, Swedish transcripts you can read along with, and a teacher who explains in your language at the start and moves to Swedish as you improve.

2. Apps: Duolingo, Babbel, Pimsleur and others

What they are: short, gamified lessons on your phone. Duolingo and Babbel both have Swedish courses for English speakers; Pimsleur offers audio-based Swedish lessons.

Good for: building a daily habit, and very good at it. Duolingo is free to use with an optional subscription and is excellent at getting you to open it every day. Babbel explains grammar more explicitly and builds lessons around dialogues. Pimsleur makes you answer out loud, which helps pronunciation and confidence.

Limitations: most app exercises ask you to recognise Swedish (pick the right word, tap the tiles) rather than produce it. Many learners find that after months of an app they can follow a written exercise but cannot build a sentence in conversation. Apps also offer limited real listening at natural speed. We look at this honestly in Babbel vs Duolingo for Swedish and Duolingo for Swedish: an honest alternative.

3. Tutors: italki, Preply and private teachers

What they are: marketplaces where independent teachers and conversation partners offer one-to-one video lessons. italki and Preply are the best-known; both list Swedish tutors at a wide range of rates, set by the tutor.

Good for: the thing no recording can do. A tutor hears your mistakes, adjusts to you and gives you real conversation. From about A2, even one session a week makes a large difference, because it forces you to produce Swedish under mild pressure.

Limitations: cost per hour is the highest of any option, quality varies a lot between tutors, and a tutor is not automatically a curriculum. Beginners who rely only on tutoring often spend paid time on things a course could have taught them more cheaply.

How to use them well: try two or three tutors with short trial lessons. Tell them what you want, for example "I want to practise talking about my work" or "correct my pronunciation", and bring material: a text you read, a lesson you watched. Use the course for new material and the tutor for practice.

4. University and adult-education courses

What they are: credit-bearing or structured courses run by universities and adult-education providers, often online.

Several Swedish universities run beginner and intermediate courses in Swedish as a foreign language, some fully online with live sessions; Lund University's distance beginner series is one example. Applications usually go through universityadmissions.se in fixed application windows. Citizens of the EU, the EEA and Switzerland do not pay tuition fees at Swedish universities, while other students generally do. Courses typically expect basic eligibility for university study, so check each course page.

Outside the universities, Folkuniversitetet, an adult-education association, runs distance Swedish courses at several levels.

One well-known option no longer exists: the Swedish Institute's free online course Learning Swedish closed at the end of 2022, according to the Swedish Institute, although some old pages still link to it.

Good for: structure, a teacher, deadlines and, for some, a formal certificate. Deadlines are underrated: many self-learners stall without them.

Limitations: fixed term dates and pace, application windows, fees for many non-EU students and, for some courses, live sessions at Swedish times. If you live in Sweden, SFI (Swedish for immigrants) is free for eligible residents and usually a better first step; see SFI explained and SFI or an app?.

5. Free public media: SVT, UR and Sveriges Radio

What they are: Swedish public broadcasting, much of it available online for free.

• SVT Play: public television, with Swedish subtitles on pre-recorded programmes.
• UR Play: the educational broadcaster, including programmes made for SFI students.
• Sveriges Radio: public radio, including Klartext and Radio Sweden på lätt svenska, short news programmes in easy Swedish.
• 8 Sidor: easy-to-read news, with each article read aloud.

Good for: real Swedish at every level from about A2, for free, and in quantities no course can match. Listening is the skill most learners neglect, and this is where it gets trained.

Limitations: none of it is a course, it is too fast for complete beginners, and some SVT programmes are available only inside Sweden. The free resources guide and our guide to Swedish TV and podcasts say what to use at which level.

The comparison at a glance

"Strong" and "weak" here describe what each option is built for, not the quality of any particular provider.

How to combine them

A single resource rarely gets anyone to conversation. A combination that covers structure, listening and speaking does.

Three principles make any combination work:

1. One backbone. Choose one structured source and follow it in order. Hopping between three courses means repeating the beginning three times.
2. Daily over weekly. Twenty minutes a day beats a long Sunday session.
3. Produce, do not only recognise. Whatever you use, say sentences out loud. If no tool listens to you, record yourself.

If you are starting from zero, our first 30 days guide gives a day-by-day plan, and the study plan continues from there. English speakers may also want what is easy and hard for English speakers.

Where Lingolib fits

Lingolib is a structured video course, type 1 above. Complete Swedish is taught in English by a teacher and runs from A1 to around B1, with a Literature course for B1 and above and a short Alphabet course on pronunciation. Lessons have synced Swedish transcripts, and members get speaking practice that listens to what you say and an AI tutor for every lesson.

What it is not: it is not a tutoring service with live teachers, it does not offer a formal certificate, and it does not go beyond the upper-intermediate range. If you need those things, combine it with a tutor or a university course, or choose them instead.

FAQ

What is the best way to learn Swedish online?

Combine one structured course with real listening and, from about A2, regular conversation. A course gives you the order, public media such as Sveriges Radio and SVT trains your ear, and a tutor or conversation partner makes you speak.

Can I learn Swedish online for free?

Yes, to a solid level. Free structured video courses, Duolingo, SVT Play, UR Play, Sveriges Radio and 8 Sidor together cover a lot. Speaking practice with feedback is the hardest part to find for free; Swedish at work and with neighbours helps.

Is italki or Preply better for Swedish?

Both list Swedish tutors with trial lessons and prices set by each tutor. The tutor matters more than the platform, so try two or three on whichever platform you prefer and keep the one who corrects you and makes you talk.

Is the Swedish Institute's free course still available?

No. The Swedish Institute says its free online course Learning Swedish closed at the end of December 2022 and will not reopen. Free alternatives include SFI for residents of Sweden, free structured video courses and public broadcasters' learner material.

Can I take a Swedish university course online?

Yes. Several Swedish universities offer distance courses in Swedish as a foreign language, some for complete beginners. Apply in the set application periods on universityadmissions.se; EU, EEA and Swiss citizens pay no tuition fees.

Try a structured start

The fairest test is to try it. Season 1 of Complete Swedish, 49 lessons, is free in full on public lesson pages with synced transcripts and no account needed. Start with lesson 1, or create a free account to save progress and take the lesson quizzes. See pricing for what membership adds.