There is no single best app to learn Greek: the right choice depends on whether you need the alphabet, grammar, listening or vocabulary, and most learners do best with one structured course plus one practice app. This comparison looks at the apps that actually offer Modern Greek as of 2026, and judges them on five things: how they teach the alphabet, whether they explain grammar, how much listening and speaking they offer, how close their Greek is to real life, and what level you can realistically reach. We leave out prices, because they change often; most apps have a free trial or a free part.
Two popular apps are missing on purpose: Babbel and Busuu do not offer Greek. If a list of "Greek apps" includes them, it has not been checked.
The comparison at a glance
| App | Type | Alphabet | Grammar explained | Listening and speaking | Realistic level |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duolingo | Gamified course | Yes, at the start | Short tips | Audio, speaking exercises | A1 to A2 |
| Mondly | Short lessons and dialogues | Not a focus | Basic | Speech recognition, dialogues | A1 to A2 |
| Pimsleur | Audio course | Not a focus | Implicit | Strong: listen and answer aloud | A2, speaking |
| Rosetta Stone | Immersion with pictures | Implicit | No, you infer it | Speech recognition | A1 to A2 |
| Drops | Visual vocabulary game | Through words | No | Word audio only | Vocabulary support |
| Memrise | Words and phrases | Through words | Little | Native-speaker audio | A1 to A2 |
| Ling | Gamified lessons | Yes | Short notes | Audio, chatbot | A1 to A2 |
| Clozemaster | Fill-in-the-blank sentences | No | No | Sentence audio | From A2, vocabulary in context |
| LingQ | Reading and listening library | No | Reference only | Strong listening | A2 to C1 with effort |
| Glossika | Sentence repetition | No | No | Strong: many spoken sentences | A2 to B1 |
| grecfacile | Structured CEFR course | Yes, full first unit | Yes, a note for each point | Audio for every lesson, live tutors | A1 to C2 |
"Realistic level" is what a motivated learner reaches using only that app, measured on the European CEFR scale. A1 and A2 are beginner levels, B1 and B2 intermediate, C1 and C2 advanced. See how long it takes to learn Greek for what each level means in hours.
Duolingo: the free daily habit
Good at: getting you to open the app every day, teaching the alphabet gently, and building a first vocabulary for free. Less good at: explaining why a sentence is built the way it is. The Greek course is smaller than the big courses like Spanish, and its sentences are sometimes unnatural. It is a good start, but most people stall around A2 if they use nothing else. We tested it in detail in our Duolingo Greek review.
Mondly: short dialogues and speaking practice
Good at: quick lessons built around everyday situations, with speech recognition so you say phrases aloud from day one. Less good at: grammar depth. Mondly gives you useful sentences, but the case and verb system is not explained in much detail, so it works best as a phrasebook you can practise with.
Pimsleur: the best for speaking and listening
Good at: making you speak. Each lesson is about thirty minutes of audio in which you listen, answer aloud and recall earlier phrases. It is ideal for commuting or walking, and the pronunciation you pick up is good. Less good at: reading, writing and grammar. You learn patterns by ear without seeing tables, and the vocabulary is limited. Combine it with a course that teaches the written language.
Rosetta Stone: immersion with pictures
Good at: making you think in Greek, with no translation. You match words and sentences to pictures and repeat them with speech recognition. Less good at: anything that needs an explanation. Greek grammar, with its genders, cases and verb aspects, is hard to guess from pictures alone, and many learners find this frustrating.
Drops and Memrise: vocabulary builders
Drops teaches words in five-minute visual games, with pictures and audio. It is fun and effective for vocabulary, but it does not teach sentences or grammar. Memrise teaches words and useful phrases with native-speaker audio, and spaced repetition helps you remember them. Both are good companions to a course, not replacements for one. For core words, also see our list of the 100 first Greek words.
Ling: a gamified course for many languages
Good at: covering Greek with games, short grammar notes and a chatbot to practise simple conversations. Less good at: depth and progression beyond the beginner levels. It is a reasonable alternative to Duolingo if you prefer a different style.
Clozemaster, LingQ and Glossika: for after the basics
- Clozemaster shows you real sentences with a missing word to fill in, sorted by word frequency. It is great for vocabulary in context once you can read Greek, but the sentences come from a community database, and some of them contain errors.
- LingQ is a library of Greek texts with audio. You read, click unknown words and save them. It is one of the best tools for building reading and listening at intermediate level, but it does not teach you the basics.
- Glossika trains you with thousands of spoken sentences that you listen to and repeat. Good for listening speed and fluency; dry if you have not yet learned the grammar behind the sentences.
grecfacile: a structured course from A1 to C2
We are obviously not neutral here, so we will stick to facts. grecfacile is a course, not a game: it follows the CEFR levels from A1 to C2 in order, and every grammar point has a written grammar note with examples. The alphabet gets a full unit at the start, every lesson has audio, and the exercises check what you have just learned. The A1 level is free; the next levels are paid packages, and you can add live lessons with a tutor to speak with a real person. The levels use the same CEFR scale as the official Greek language certificate. What it is not: a quick, playful five-minute app. If you want streaks and leagues, use Duolingo alongside it.
How to choose: three combinations that work
- Complete beginner: learn the letters with the Greek alphabet guide, then follow a structured course for grammar, and add Duolingo or Drops for daily vocabulary.
- You mainly want to speak, for travel or family: Pimsleur in your ears plus a course for reading, and a tutor as soon as you can say a few sentences.
- You already have A2: keep a course for grammar, and add LingQ or Clozemaster to grow your reading and vocabulary.
Whatever you pick, no app replaces real conversation. Apps get you to A2; regular speaking with a teacher or a Greek friend gets you further. For books, podcasts and websites, see the best resources to learn Greek, and for the free options only, how to learn Greek for free.
Frequently asked questions
Which app is best to learn Greek?
For a free daily habit, Duolingo. For speaking, Pimsleur. For a structured path with grammar explained up to advanced level, a CEFR course such as grecfacile. Most learners combine two of them.
Does Babbel have Greek?
No. As of 2026, Babbel does not offer Greek, and neither does Busuu.
Can you become fluent in Greek with an app?
Apps alone usually take you to A2, sometimes B1. Fluency needs grammar study, a lot of listening, and real conversation.
Is there an app for Greek grammar?
Most apps only give short tips. For real explanations, use a course with grammar notes, like the grecfacile grammar notes, which cover every level from A1 to C2.
The easiest way to compare is to try. Our free A1 Greek course starts with the alphabet; you can begin here without paying anything.