COMPARE · GENERAL TOOLS AND ROUND-UPS
The best apps to learn English in 2026.
The most popular English apps each do one thing well — Carna brings all eight into one place.
Where Carna falls short, its column says so The Top English Apps column checked May 2026, and dated on this page Carna: eight skills scored from 0 to 100, on the CEFR scale from A1 to C2 Schools and teams run on Carna today; individuals join the early-access list
| Question | Top English Apps | Carna |
|---|---|---|
| Use a single-purpose app when you want to start free and need only one thing: vocabulary streaks, pronunciation drills or casual conversation. | ||
| Free tier, no credit card Carna: The app will open with a free plan | Yes | No |
| Use Carna when you want all eight skills scored on one A1 to C2 path, instead of stitching three apps together. | ||
| All eight skills | No | Yes |
| Full A1 to C2 curriculum | No | Yes |
See all 8 rows Checked May 2026
IN SHORT
Which app, and where Carna fits.
Which app is right for you?
Pick by the one thing you want most: a daily habit (Duolingo), conversation (Speak, Praktika or Loora), pronunciation (ELSA Speak), or a human tutor (Cambly, Preply or italki). Below, each app has a line on what it is good for and what it gives you free.
Where does Carna fit?
Carna is for the learner who wants all of it in one place: eight skills scored from 0 to 100 on one path from A1 to C2, instead of three apps side by side. Its column answers no to live teachers, and on the free tier it says the app will open with a free plan. The Carna app is in early access; schools and teams run on Carna today.
THE APPS
What each app does best.
The 16 apps we compare Carna with, grouped by what they are built for: what each is good for, and what it gives you free.
OUR APP
Carna
Use Carna when you want all eight skills scored on one A1 to C2 path, instead of stitching three apps together.
Language-learning apps
-
Duolingo
Good for a daily habit
-
Babbel
Good for a structured course
-
Busuu
Good for exercises corrected by other learners
-
Memrise
Good for vocabulary by spaced repetition
-
Rosetta Stone
Good for immersion lessons
AI speaking apps
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Speak
Good for conversation practice
-
ELSA Speak
Good for pronunciation
-
BoldVoice
Good for accent coaching
-
Praktika
Good for conversations with AI avatars
-
Loora
Good for more speaking time
-
TalkPal
Good for short daily chat and voice practice
Live tutor marketplaces
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Cambly
Good for human tutors
-
Preply
Good for a specialist tutor, paid by the hour
-
italki
Good for a tutor you choose, paid per lesson
-
Lingoda
Good for scheduled live classes
A general assistant
-
ChatGPT
Good for one-off questions and drafting
Where a free plan and a price are shown, they were read on the app's own pages on 27 September 2026; the other free-tier answers were checked in May 2026.
— SIDE BY SIDE
Feature by feature.
The same questions, asked of the top English apps and of Carna.
| Feature | Top English Apps | Carna |
|---|---|---|
| What you learn | ||
| All eight skills | No | Yes |
| Full A1 to C2 curriculum | No | Yes |
| Real conversation practice | No | Yes . Live speaking practice with Mia, the AI tutor |
| Pronunciation feedback | Yes | Yes . Scored from your own voice, one of eight skills |
| Essay & writing evaluation | No | Yes . Writing scored by AI on four criteria |
| Adaptive learning path | Yes | Yes . Each day's plan picked from your answers |
| IELTS / TOEFL exam prep | No | Partly . An IELTS band on a practice grading, not a course |
| How you get it | ||
| Free tier, no credit card | Yes | No . The app will open with a free plan |
Running in schools today
Kept on one page.
A general assistant will talk about anything; Carna keeps the score. In Carna for Schools, which runs today, every course sits on one student's report with its latest score, the attempts it took and whether it came in late, and a teacher reads the same page.
One student's report in Carna for Schools, course by course: the latest score, the attempts it took and what came in late. Carna School London is a sample school; the names, courses, levels and scores are demo data.
FAQ
Common questions.
Straight answers about the top English apps and Carna, including how this comparison was built and what the individual tutor cannot do yet.
What is the best English learning app in 2026?
It depends on your goal: Duolingo for casual streaks, Speak for conversation, ELSA for pronunciation. If you want eight skills scored on one path from A1 to C2, that is what Carna is built for, and individual access opens through the early-access list.
Why use Carna instead of a popular single-skill app?
Single-skill apps are great at one thing. Carna scores speaking, writing, reading, listening, grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation and general English on one sequenced path, so the skills are measured on the same scale.
Is there one English app that covers everything?
No app answers yes to every question in these tables, Carna included. Carna covers eight skills from A1 to C2 in one place; it is not open to individual learners yet, so the early-access list is how you get in first, and schools and teams run on it today.
How did you check the top English apps?
The Top English Apps column reflects the plans and features the top English apps publish, as we checked them in May 2026. The free plans and prices in the list above were checked on 27 September 2026, on each app's own site. Carna's column is held to the same standard as the Top English Apps column, so where it falls short, it says so. "Partly" means a feature exists with a limit, and the limit is named under the row. Products change quickly, so check each app's own site for the latest.
EARLY ACCESS
Get in first.
The Carna app is in early access: no individual sign-up yet, and it will open with a free plan. Leave your name on the early-access list, free to join, and we write once, when your place opens.