Arabic learning apps, compared
Fasaha beside the other ways people learn Arabic: which Arabic each one teaches, from which language, what it does well, and where it is the better choice.
Checked on October 16, 2026
Start from what you want
- Read Modern Standard Arabic and understand real texts: Fasaha, LingQ, Al Jazeera Learning Arabic
- Understand the Qurʼan in Arabic: Quranic, Fasaha, Arabic Unlocked, Bayyinah TV, Madinah Arabic
- Speak a spoken dialect: Kaleela, Pimsleur, Mango Languages, ArabicPod101
- Talk with a teacher: italki, Preply, Madinah Arabic
- A few minutes a day, from zero: Duolingo, Drops, Memrise, AlifBee
- Review words you choose yourself: Anki, Fasaha
Side by side
Each cell is what the product says about itself. “Not stated” means we could not find it on the product’s own pages.
| Compare | Arabic taught | Languages you can learn from | Teaches the script | Real Arabic texts | Tap a word for its meaning | Roots and patterns | Grammar explained | Speaking practice | Spaced review | Offline | Platforms | How you pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fasaha | Modern Standard, Qurʼanic | 17 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Speech recognition | Yes | On paid plans | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Android | Free, with a paid plan |
| Duolingo | Modern Standard | English only | Yes | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Yes | Not stated | iPhone, iPad, Android, Web | Free, with a paid plan |
| Rosetta Stone | Modern Standard | Not stated | Yes | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Speech recognition, Live teachers | Not stated | Not stated | iPhone, iPad, Android, Web | Subscription |
| Busuu | Arabic (variety not named) | Not stated | Yes | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | On paid plans | iPhone, iPad, Android, Web | Free, with a paid plan |
| Mondly | Modern Standard | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Yes | Speech recognition, AI conversation | Yes | Yes | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Android, Web | Free, with a paid plan |
| Memrise | Arabic (variety not named) | Not stated | Yes | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | AI conversation | Yes | Not stated | iPhone, iPad, Android, Web | Free, with a paid plan |
| Drops | Arabic (variety not named), Egyptian | Not stated | Yes | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | No | Not stated | Yes | On paid plans | iPhone, iPad, Android | Free, with a paid plan |
| AlifBee | Modern Standard, Qurʼanic | 10 | Yes | Partly | Not stated | Partly | Yes | Speech recognition | Yes | Not stated | iPhone, iPad, Android, Web | Free, with a paid plan |
| Mango Languages | Modern Standard, Egyptian, Levantine, Iraqi | English only | Not stated | No | Not stated | Not stated | Yes | Spoken drills | Yes | Yes | iPhone, iPad, Android, Web | Subscription |
| Pimsleur | Modern Standard, Levantine, Egyptian | English only | Yes | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Spoken drills, Speech recognition | Yes | Yes | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Android | Subscription, One-time purchase |
| LingQ | Modern Standard, Egyptian, Levantine | Not stated | Not stated | Yes | Yes | Not stated | No | AI conversation, Live teachers | Yes | On paid plans | iPhone, iPad, Android, Web | Free, with a paid plan |
| ArabicPod101 | Modern Standard, Egyptian, Moroccan | English only | Yes | Partly | Not stated | Not stated | Yes | Spoken drills | Yes | Yes | iPhone, iPad, Android, Web | Free, with a paid plan |
| Quranic | Qurʼanic | 8 | Not stated | Yes | Not stated | Not stated | Partly | Not stated | Yes | Not stated | iPhone, iPad, Android | Free, with a paid plan, Paid courses |
| Arabic Unlocked | Qurʼanic, Arabic (variety not named) | English only | Yes | Partly | Yes | Yes | Yes | Spoken drills | Yes | Not stated | iPhone, iPad, Android | Subscription, Paid courses |
| Bayyinah TV | Qurʼanic | English only | Yes | Partly | Not stated | Partly | Yes | Not stated | Not stated | On paid plans | iPhone, iPad, Android, Web | Subscription, One-time purchase |
| Kaleela | Modern Standard, Levantine, Egyptian, Iraqi, Saudi | 10 | Yes | Partly | Not stated | Not stated | Yes | Speech recognition | Not stated | Not stated | iPhone, iPad, Android | Subscription |
| Al Jazeera Learning Arabic | Arabic (variety not named) | 5 | Yes | Yes | Not stated | Not stated | Yes | Live teachers | Not stated | Not stated | Web | Free, Paid courses |
| Madinah Arabic | Qurʼanic | Not stated | Yes | Partly | Not stated | Not stated | Yes | Live teachers | Not stated | Not stated | Web | Free, Per lesson |
| italki | Modern Standard, Egyptian, Levantine, Gulf, Qurʼanic | Depends on the teacher | Depends on the teacher | Depends on the teacher | Not stated | Depends on the teacher | Depends on the teacher | Live teachers | Not stated | Not stated | iPhone, iPad, Android, Web | Per lesson |
| Preply | Modern Standard, Egyptian, Levantine, Moroccan, Qurʼanic | Depends on the teacher | Depends on the teacher | Depends on the teacher | Not stated | Depends on the teacher | Depends on the teacher | Live teachers | Not stated | Not stated | iPhone, iPad, Android, Web | Subscription |
| Anki | Depends on the deck | Depends on the deck | Depends on the deck | No | No | Depends on the deck | No | None | Yes | Yes | Windows, Mac, Linux, iPhone, iPad, Android, Web | Free, One-time purchase |
Product by product
Fasaha
Learners who want to read real Modern Standard and Qurʼanic Arabic, explained in their own language, from the first letters to the classics.
What Fasaha does not do: Fasaha teaches written Arabic: it has no course in a spoken dialect and no live teachers, and it is an app for iPhone, iPad, Mac and Android, not a website you study in.
Duolingo
Complete beginners who want a free, game-like daily habit and a first look at the letters.
Where it is the better choice: It is free to use, and every unit practises telling Arabic sounds apart and matching them to letters.
Good to know: Duolingo teaches Arabic from English only, and its course is Modern Standard Arabic in a less formal, spoken style, with no dialect course.
Rosetta Stone
Learners who like immersion lessons with pronunciation feedback from the first day.
Where it is the better choice: TruAccent speech recognition checks your pronunciation, and one-to-one lessons with an Arabic tutor can be added.
Good to know: It teaches Modern Standard Arabic only, and Rosetta Stone itself says you will need to add a spoken dialect later. Tutoring is sold separately.
Busuu
Learners who want a structured course mapped to CEFR levels A1 to B2.
Where it is the better choice: Native speakers in its community give feedback on your speaking and writing exercises.
Good to know: Busuu’s pages do not say which Arabic its course teaches, and offline study needs Premium.
Mondly
Learners who want short daily lessons with speaking practice.
Where it is the better choice: Speech recognition and a chatbot for conversation practice, on phones, tablets, Mac and the web.
Good to know: It teaches Modern Standard Arabic only, and its pages do not say how it teaches the script.
Memrise
Learners who want to see and hear native speakers and practise short conversations.
Where it is the better choice: Video clips of native speakers and AI conversation practice are built into the Arabic course.
Good to know: Memrise does not say which Arabic its course teaches, and the free plan limits lessons and shows ads.
Drops
Building a first vocabulary in a few minutes a day through picture games.
Where it is the better choice: Quick visual word games with native audio, and a separate Egyptian Arabic course.
Good to know: Drops teaches words, not grammar, and the free plan allows only a few minutes a day.
AlifBee
Beginners who want a step-by-step course in Modern Standard Arabic from the alphabet onward.
Where it is the better choice: A levelled course with a placement test and speech-recognition practice, available from about ten languages.
Good to know: About a fifth of the lessons are free, and it teaches no spoken dialect.
Mango Languages
Learners heading to Iraq, the Levant or Egypt who want conversation-based dialect lessons.
Where it is the better choice: Four varieties including Iraqi, a long Levantine course, and free access through many public libraries.
Good to know: The courses are for English speakers, the Modern Standard and Egyptian courses are much shorter than the Levantine one, and there are no reading passages in Arabic.
Pimsleur
Learners who want to speak and understand, practising by ear on a commute.
Where it is the better choice: An audio-first speaking method that works offline and hands-free, in Modern Standard, Eastern (Levantine) and Egyptian Arabic.
Good to know: It is built for English speakers, Egyptian Arabic has a single level, and reading is taught in separate reading lessons.
LingQ
Learners who already read the script and want a large library to read and listen to.
Where it is the better choice: A big library of Arabic texts with audio, in Standard, Egyptian and Levantine Arabic, and you can import your own videos, articles and books.
Good to know: LingQ does not teach the alphabet, its grammar guide does not cover Arabic, and we found no display of roots. The free plan limits how many words you save.
ArabicPod101
Learners who like podcast and video lessons with a teacher explaining in English.
Where it is the better choice: A graded path in Standard Arabic plus Egyptian and Moroccan lessons, with downloads for offline study.
Good to know: Lessons are taught in English with transliteration beside the script, and the full library needs a paid plan.
Quranic
Readers of the Qurʼan who want to learn its most frequent words first.
Where it is the better choice: Vocabulary is taught from the Qurʼan itself, and its Qurʼan reader shows how well you know each word.
Good to know: It focuses on Qurʼanic vocabulary with short grammar lessons, not on Modern Standard or spoken Arabic, and the free plan allows one lesson every 12 hours.
Arabic Unlocked
English speakers who recite the Qurʼan and want to understand its words, surah by surah.
Where it is the better choice: Qurʼanic vocabulary ordered by surah and by frequency, with roots and word families shown inside the verses.
Good to know: It teaches from English only, and it does not say which Arabic its everyday course teaches.
Bayyinah TV
Learners who want a long, structured grammar programme for reading the Qurʼan.
Where it is the better choice: A deep video course in Arabic grammar and rhetoric (naḥw, ṣarf and balāgha), taught in English.
Good to know: It is lecture-based, with no speaking practice described, and it teaches Qurʼanic and classical Arabic rather than modern spoken Arabic.
Kaleela
Learners who need a particular spoken dialect alongside Modern Standard Arabic.
Where it is the better choice: Separate courses in Levantine, Egyptian, Iraqi and Saudi Arabic, from about ten base languages.
Good to know: Only three topics are free before a subscription, and you study in the mobile app.
Al Jazeera Learning Arabic
Intermediate learners who want free news and media texts graded by level.
Where it is the better choice: Free levelled news and media texts with vocabulary lists, a grammar section and a placement test, from five interface languages.
Good to know: It is a website, and we found no app for it. Live teaching is a separate paid course.
Madinah Arabic
Learners of classical and Qurʼanic Arabic who want a teacher who follows the Madinah books.
Where it is the better choice: Free reading and grammar courses online, plus one-to-one lessons with teachers who follow the Madinah books.
Good to know: It is a website, and we found no app for it. Lessons are paid at each teacher’s own rate.
italki
Learners who want conversation with a teacher in the Arabic of their choice.
Where it is the better choice: Live one-to-one lessons with teachers who list Modern Standard Arabic or a particular dialect, and single lessons without a subscription.
Good to know: Materials and method depend on each teacher, and there is no built-in Arabic course or reader.
Preply
Learners who want regular weekly lessons with one teacher.
Where it is the better choice: Live one-to-one lessons, including teachers for Egyptian and Moroccan Arabic and for the Qurʼan, and a free switch if a teacher is not a good fit.
Good to know: Lessons are a recurring subscription with each teacher, and the method depends on the teacher.
Anki
Disciplined learners who want to review words and sentences they choose themselves.
Where it is the better choice: A strong, free spaced-repetition scheduler that you control completely, on every platform.
Good to know: Anki has no Arabic course: you make your own cards or use shared decks, and the iPhone and iPad app is paid.
How we compared
On October 16, 2026 we read each product’s own website, help pages and store listings, and recorded only what they state. We left out prices, which change by country and month: each card links to the product’s own pricing page instead.
We checked Babbel too: it offers no Arabic course.
Product names are trademarks of their owners and are used here only to identify them. Fasaha is not affiliated with any of them.