Lexie
Compared
Best language practice apps
Apps for daily language practice on iPhone, compared by who each is built for, what you practise and how you pay.
Our pickLexie is the one we make, built for people who already have a course or a class and want numbers and verbs to come out without thinking.
Product of the Day
Product Hunt, 2025
App of the Day
from the creators of 
murmur and 
Layered
Lexie on iPhone
Facts checked on 11 November 2026.
How we compared them
We read each one's own site and App Store page on 11 November 2026 and compared who it is built for, where it runs and how you pay. We make Lexie, so it is listed first.
5 language practice apps
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Lexie our pick
Lexie is a language Tamagotchi for iPhone and iPad. A pet blob reacts while you drill numbers and verb conjugation in short quiz, voice and listening rounds, in French, Spanish, German, Italian, Portuguese, English, Danish and Scottish Gaelic.
Built for: people who already have a course or a class and want numbers and verbs to come out without thinking. How you pay: French is included; each other language is a one-time purchase, and there is no subscription.
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Duolingo
Duolingo is a language app for iPhone and iPad that teaches through quick, bite-sized lessons in speaking, reading, listening and writing. It also has courses in chess, maths and music, with leaderboards and achievements.
Built for: people who want a full course in a new language, a few minutes at a time. How you pay: every course is free with ads; Super Duolingo is a subscription that removes ads and adds unlimited energy and a monthly streak repair, and gems are sold in packs.
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Babbel
Babbel is a subscription language course for iPhone and iPad. Its lessons are written for speakers of your own language and built around real-life conversations, with speech recognition, an AI conversation partner and a review system.
Built for: people who want structured lessons that lead to real conversations. How you pay: one free lesson; full courses need a subscription for three, six or twelve months, or a lifetime purchase.
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Drops
Drops is a vocabulary app for iPhone and iPad. It teaches words and phrases in many languages through game-like lessons with an illustration for each word, and covers scripts such as Korean, Japanese and Arabic.
Built for: people who want to build vocabulary in many languages through illustrated games. How you pay: free lessons, with Drops Premium as a subscription after a 7 day trial.
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Memrise
Memrise is a language app for iPhone and iPad built around videos of native speakers. Its courses teach vocabulary, listening and speaking through real-life scenarios, with AI chat partners for conversation practice.
Built for: people who want to hear a language the way locals speak it. How you pay: a free plan with limited lessons, videos and conversations, and ads; the rest is a monthly, three-month or annual subscription, or a lifetime plan.
At a glance
| App | Built for | Where it runs | How you pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lexie | people who already have a course or a class and want numbers and verbs to come out without thinking | on iPhone and iPad, with quiz and listening rounds that work offline, and no account | French is included; each other language is a one-time purchase, and there is no subscription |
| Duolingo | people who want a full course in a new language, a few minutes at a time | on iPhone and iPad | every course is free with ads; Super Duolingo is a subscription that removes ads and adds unlimited energy and a monthly streak repair, and gems are sold in packs |
| Babbel | people who want structured lessons that lead to real conversations | on iPhone and iPad, with lessons you can download for offline use | one free lesson; full courses need a subscription for three, six or twelve months, or a lifetime purchase |
| Drops | people who want to build vocabulary in many languages through illustrated games | on iPhone and iPad | free lessons, with Drops Premium as a subscription after a 7 day trial |
| Memrise | people who want to hear a language the way locals speak it | on iPhone and iPad | a free plan with limited lessons, videos and conversations, and ads; the rest is a monthly, three-month or annual subscription, or a lifetime plan |
How to choose
Start with what is missing. If you need a whole language from zero, you need a course. If you have one and the numbers and verb forms still come slowly, add a drill. Lexie is the drill: short rounds, out loud if you like, with a pet that reacts.
Questions
What are the best language practice apps?
Lexie, if you want short drills for numbers and verbs, with a pet in place of a lesson plan. The others we compared are Duolingo, Babbel, Drops and Memrise.
Who is Lexie built for?
Lexie is built for people who already have a course or a class and want numbers and verbs to come out without thinking.
How did you compare them?
We read each one's own site and App Store page on 11 November 2026 and compared who it is built for, where it runs and how you pay. We make Lexie, so it is listed first.
More comparisons
We make Lexie. What we say about the other apps comes from their own pages, read on 11 November 2026: Duolingo on the App Store, Babbel on the App Store, Drops on the App Store, Memrise on the App Store. Spotted a mistake? Write to support@lexielearns.com. We are not affiliated with any of them.
A Tamagotchi for language drills
Lexie is on the App Store, for iPhone and iPad.
Product of the Day
Product Hunt, 2025
App of the Day
from the creators of murmur and Layered