--- title: "Best Language Learning Apps for English in 2026 | Carna" description: "Duolingo, Babbel, Speak, ELSA, Praktika, Cambly, Preply, ChatGPT and more: what each app is best for, checked in May 2026, and where Carna fits." canonical: https://carna.ai/en/compare/best-english-learning-apps/ lang: en dateModified: 2026-10-30T00:06:08+03:00 --- 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. [Join the early-access list](https://carna.app/individual-waitlist) [Book a demo](https://carna.ai/en/schools/#demo) Where Carna falls short, its column says so The short answer The rows of the table below that decide between Top English Apps and Carna. | 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 | 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. Free tier: No · The app will open with a free plan [The Carna app, in early access](https://carna.ai/en/) ### Language-learning apps - #### Duolingo Good for a daily habit Free: All courses Paid, from: Super from $9.99 a month (US App Store) [Carna vs Duolingo](https://carna.ai/en/compare/duolingo/) - #### Babbel Good for a structured course Free tier: No [Carna vs Babbel](https://carna.ai/en/compare/babbel/) - #### Busuu Good for exercises corrected by other learners Free tier: Yes [Carna vs Busuu](https://carna.ai/en/compare/busuu/) - #### Memrise Good for vocabulary by spaced repetition Free tier: Yes [Carna vs Memrise](https://carna.ai/en/compare/memrise/) - #### Rosetta Stone Good for immersion lessons Free tier: No [Carna vs Rosetta Stone](https://carna.ai/en/compare/rosetta-stone/) ### AI speaking apps - #### Speak Good for conversation practice Free: 7-day trial Paid, from: $17.99 a month (US App Store) [Carna vs Speak](https://carna.ai/en/compare/speak/) - #### ELSA Speak Good for pronunciation Free: 8 lessons, once, and a 7-day Premium trial Paid, from: $89.99 a year [Carna vs ELSA Speak](https://carna.ai/en/compare/elsa-speak/) - #### BoldVoice Good for accent coaching Free tier: No [Carna vs BoldVoice](https://carna.ai/en/compare/boldvoice/) - #### Praktika Good for conversations with AI avatars Free: 3 avatars, limited practice Paid, from: $9.99 a month (US App Store) [Carna vs Praktika](https://carna.ai/en/compare/praktika/) - #### Loora Good for more speaking time Free: One full lesson Paid, from: $14.99 a month (US App Store) [Carna vs Loora](https://carna.ai/en/compare/loora/) - #### TalkPal Good for short daily chat and voice practice Free: 10 minutes a day, and a 14-day Premium trial Paid, from: $19.99 a month (US App Store) [Carna vs TalkPal](https://carna.ai/en/compare/talkpal/) ### Live tutor marketplaces - #### Cambly Good for human tutors Free: Self-study activities and a $1 trial lesson Paid, from: 453 TL a month for small groups (prices shown in Turkey) [Carna vs Cambly](https://carna.ai/en/compare/cambly/) - #### Preply Good for a specialist tutor, paid by the hour Free tier: No [Carna vs Preply](https://carna.ai/en/compare/preply/) - #### italki Good for a tutor you choose, paid per lesson Free tier: No [Carna vs italki](https://carna.ai/en/compare/italki/) - #### Lingoda Good for scheduled live classes Free tier: No [Carna vs Lingoda](https://carna.ai/en/compare/lingoda/) ### A general assistant - #### ChatGPT Good for one-off questions and drafting Free tier: Yes [Carna vs ChatGPT](https://carna.ai/en/compare/chatgpt-for-english/) 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. Carna and the top English apps, feature by feature, checked May 2026 | 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 | Checked May 2026 The Top English Apps column reflects the plans and features the top English apps publish. Products change quickly: check each app's own site for the latest, and read how this comparison was built in the questions below. 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. [Book a demo](https://carna.ai/en/schools/#demo) [See Carna for Schools](https://carna.ai/en/schools/) 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. — KEEP EXPLORING ## Carna vs the rest. - [Carna vs ChatGPT](https://carna.ai/en/compare/chatgpt-for-english/) - [Carna vs Duolingo](https://carna.ai/en/compare/duolingo/) - [Carna vs Babbel](https://carna.ai/en/compare/babbel/) - [Carna vs Busuu](https://carna.ai/en/compare/busuu/) - [The best AI English tutors, free and paid](https://carna.ai/en/blog/best-ai-english-tutor-2026/) - [All Carna comparisons](https://carna.ai/en/compare/) - [What is an AI English tutor?](https://carna.ai/en/ai-english-tutor/) - [What is Carna?](https://carna.ai/en/what-is-carna/) 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. [Join the early-access list](https://carna.app/individual-waitlist) [Book a demo](https://carna.ai/en/schools/#demo)