Duolingo alternatives for Spanish: which one fits how you learn?

Duolingo alternatives at a glance

We make Soltura, so it is listed first. The other rows come from each company’s own pages, checked October 12, 2026. Plans change, so check the linked page before you subscribe.

1. Soltura: speaking-first Spanish

Soltura is built around talking. In each spoken scene you listen to a line, then reply out loud, and your reply is checked with Apple’s on-device speech recognition when an offline Spanish model is available. You choose neutral Latin American, Mexican or Spain Spanish and can switch anytime. Around the scenes sit drills, grammar guides, listening practice, Historias (stories), a dictionary, spaced review and a phrasebook.

For people who use Spanish at work, Ruta VA is a seven-stage roadmap for virtual assistants covering inbox triage, scheduling, calls, workplace tools and client relationships. There is no Soltura account and progress stays on the device. There are no streaks to lose either: the app counts “días con soltura”, which only goes up.

The free plan stays free and includes A1 starter lessons, the complete dictionary, spaced review and the first two Ruta VA stages. Soltura Pro is $4.99 a month, or $39.99 a year with a 3-day free trial for eligible subscribers (US prices; the App Store shows local prices). Soltura runs on iPhone and iPad.

2. Dreaming Spanish: hours of comprehensible input

Dreaming Spanish describes its method as watching comprehensible content at your level, with “no drills, no memorization”, while it tracks your input hours toward milestones (Dreaming Spanish method). Its FAQ points to thousands of videos across levels and recommends aiming to understand at least 80% of the overall meaning (Dreaming Spanish FAQ). It suits learners who would rather watch than drill.

3. Language Transfer: a free audio course

Language Transfer’s Thinking Method course is free: its homepage says there are no price tags on any material, no adverts, no sign-ups and no one asking for or selling your data, and that it runs on donations (Language Transfer). It suits learners who want to understand how Spanish sentences are built, ideally alongside something that gets them speaking with others.

When Duolingo is the better pick

Duolingo’s homepage describes learning languages by playing a game, 100% free, online or in its apps (duolingo.com). Its App Store listing describes quick, bite-sized lessons that practice speaking, reading, listening and writing, and an optional Super Duolingo subscription with a 14-day free trial. Stay with Duolingo if you want:

• a light daily habit with game-style rewards,
• more than one language in the same app,
• a web version or a phone other than an iPhone, since Soltura is iPhone and iPad only,
• a mix of reading and writing exercises rather than mostly speaking.

How to choose

• You want to answer out loud and use Spanish at work: Soltura, starting with Spanish for virtual assistants.
• You want to understand native speakers by listening a lot: Dreaming Spanish.
• You want a free course that explains structure: Language Transfer.
• You want a habit and many languages: Duolingo.

Ready-made work phrases are on Spanish phrases for work with clients and Spanish phrases for customer service.