Top 5 Apps for Learning English in 2026

By The Dobi Apps Team · Published 2026-09-10 · Originally published at dobiapps.com

Duolingo builds a daily habit, Storybook teaches through stories, ELSA Speak fixes pronunciation, HelloTalk finds native speakers, and Anki locks in vocabulary.

In short: The five strongest apps for learning English each cover a different skill: Storybook for reading and vocabulary through stories, Duolingo for daily habit-building, ELSA Speak for pronunciation, HelloTalk for conversation with native speakers, and Anki for long-term vocabulary retention through spaced repetition.

Hero image: Story Book - English App, App Store listing.

What Are the Top 5 Apps for Learning English in 2026?

The five apps worth trying to learn English in 2026 each target a different skill rather than competing on the same one: Storybook for reading and vocabulary through stories, Duolingo for daily habit-building, ELSA Speak for pronunciation, HelloTalk for conversation with native speakers, and Anki for long-term vocabulary retention. No single app on this list replaces the other four; a learner who wants real fluency typically needs at least two.

App	Best for	Notable data point	Cost
Storybook	Reading and vocabulary through stories	Over 1,000,000 free books, comics, and audiobooks organized by level	Free
Duolingo	Building a daily English habit	English is Duolingo’s #1 most-studied language in 154 countries	Free, with a paid tier
ELSA Speak	Pronunciation feedback	A 2026 study found a significant pronunciation gain after app-based practice	Free, with a paid tier
HelloTalk	Conversation with native speakers	Reports over 70 million users across 200+ countries	Free, with a paid tier
Anki	Long-term vocabulary retention	Schedules review with the SM-2 or FSRS spaced repetition algorithm	Free (desktop, Android); $24.99 one-time on iOS

Which App Is Best for Reading and Building English Vocabulary Through Stories?

Storybook, from Dobi Apps, is the strongest pick for a learner who wants to build English vocabulary the way extensive reading is documented to work: through repeated exposure to words inside a story rather than an isolated word list. Its App Store listing counts more than 1,000,000 free books, comics, and audiobooks, organized by level, plus reading games and progress tracking, the kind of reward system covered in do English learning games improve vocabulary, which looks at what separates a game mechanic that builds real vocabulary from one that only tracks time in the app. Its comics library in particular gives beginners and reluctant readers a research-backed alternative to text-only stories, covered in do comics and graphic novels help you learn English.

Storybook’s library spans the full range from picture books for beginners to unabridged material for advanced readers, which matters because choosing a story at the right level is what makes extensive reading effective in the first place. A learner who wants a matching audiobook to practice pronunciation while reading can pair Storybook with Audiobook, Dobi Apps’ companion app for leveled English audiobooks from A1 to C2, for the same reading-while-listening approach that improved English listening scores in a controlled study.

Storybook is free with no subscription, which sets it apart from most of the other apps on this list, all of which reserve their fuller feature sets for a paid tier.

Which App Is Best for Building a Daily English Learning Habit?

Duolingo is the best fit for a learner whose main obstacle is consistency rather than access to content. Its lessons run a few minutes each, and streak tracking and daily reminders are built around getting a learner to open the app again the next day rather than around depth in any single lesson.

154 countries — where English is Duolingo’s #1 most-studied language, up 14% over 2024

Source: Duolingo, 2025 Language Report

Duolingo’s own 2025 Language Report states that “English learning soared again, becoming the #1 language in 154 countries,” and that English is now the most-studied language in 79% of all countries on the platform. Duolingo does not break out its total user base by course, but its Q2 FY2026 shareholder letter reported 140.6 million monthly active users for the quarter ended June 30, 2026, up 10% year over year, so a large share of that base is very likely studying English specifically.

The trade-off is depth of speaking practice. Duolingo’s exercises are mostly multiple choice, word banks, and short recorded phrases, which build recognition faster than they build the unscripted, back-and-forth speaking a learner needs for a real conversation.

Which App Is Best for English Pronunciation and Speaking Practice?

ELSA Speak is the strongest choice for a learner working specifically on pronunciation. The app uses AI speech recognition to score a spoken phrase sound by sound and flag which specific phoneme, not just which word, a learner mispronounced, then gives a targeted drill for that sound.

A 2026 quasi-experimental study of 39 vocational high school students in Indonesia measured pronunciation scores before and after four weeks of practice with ELSA Speak, finding an increase from a mean of 73.08 in the pre-test to 81.56 in the post-test, a statistically significant gain (p < 0.001) confirmed by a paired sample t-test (Navia & Fediyanto, 2026). The study covered one class at one school with no separate control group, so the result is best read as evidence that the app can help within a classroom setting, not as proof of a fixed score gain for every learner.

“”AI-based applications such as ELSA Speak can serve as a viable supplementary tool in the EFL classroom, particularly for enhancing students’ pronunciation through autonomous and technology-assisted practice.””

— Navia & Fediyanto, 2026, Journal of English Language and Education

ELSA Speak works best as a supplement a learner uses for short, focused pronunciation drills alongside a broader English learning routine, rather than as the only app in that routine.

Which App Is Best for Practicing English Conversation With Native Speakers?

HelloTalk is the best option for a learner who wants unscripted conversation with a real native English speaker rather than a scripted exercise or an AI tutor. The app matches learners who want to practice each other’s languages, so an English learner typically pairs with a native English speaker who is learning the English learner’s own language in return.

HelloTalk reports more than 70 million users across 200-plus countries and support for over 260 languages, which gives an English learner a wide pool of potential language partners to message, voice call, or video call at any hour rather than during a scheduled class. Built-in correction tools let a native speaker mark up a learner’s message directly, and a translation feature lowers the barrier to a first conversation.

Because HelloTalk connects a learner with strangers, the same caution that applies to any messaging platform applies here: keep early conversations to the in-app chat, and treat a request to move to another platform or app immediately as a reason for caution rather than urgency.

Which App Is Best for Long-Term English Vocabulary Retention?

Anki is the best tool for making new English vocabulary stick once a learner has already met it in reading, a class, or a conversation. Rather than reviewing every flashcard on a fixed daily schedule, Anki schedules each card’s next review individually, using either the classic SM-2 algorithm or the newer FSRS algorithm, both of which ship in current versions of the app.

This scheduling approach is the same spaced repetition principle documented in a 2024 meta-analysis of 48 experiments and 3,411 learners, which found spaced practice produces a medium-to-large effect on second-language vocabulary retention compared to massed study (Lafleur & Kanazawa, 2024). Anki is not English-specific: a learner builds or downloads their own deck of English words rather than following a built-in course, which makes it a companion to the other four apps rather than a full replacement for any of them.

Anki is free on Android, desktop, and the web. The official iOS app, AnkiMobile, is a $24.99 one-time purchase that funds the project instead of running on subscriptions or ads.

How Should You Combine These Apps to Learn English Faster?

None of these five apps covers every skill an English learner needs, so combining two or three that target different skills works better than relying on one alone. A learner building vocabulary through Storybook’s leveled stories meets a new word in context; reviewing that same word in Anki on a schedule timed to when it is about to be forgotten is what keeps it from fading a few weeks later.

The same layering applies to speaking. Duolingo builds recognition of grammar and core vocabulary through short daily lessons, ELSA Speak sharpens the pronunciation of individual sounds once a learner has something to say, and HelloTalk supplies the unscripted, back-and-forth conversation that neither an app running exercises nor an AI feedback loop can fully substitute for.

A learner short on time gets more from two apps used consistently, one for input and one for output, than from all five apps used for a few days each before being abandoned.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Duolingo enough on its own to become fluent in English?

No. Duolingo builds vocabulary and grammar through short daily lessons, but its exercises give a learner little unscripted speaking practice. Pairing it with a pronunciation app such as ELSA Speak or a conversation app such as HelloTalk covers the speaking practice Duolingo’s format does not.

Which of these five English learning apps are free?

Storybook, Duolingo, HelloTalk, and ELSA Speak are all free to download with an optional paid tier for extra features. Anki is free on Android, desktop, and the web; the official iOS app, AnkiMobile, is a one-time $24.99 purchase that funds the project’s development.

What is the best app for a complete beginner in English?

Storybook or Duolingo both work well for a true beginner. Storybook suits a learner, including a child, who wants to build vocabulary through leveled stories, comics, and audiobooks. Duolingo suits a learner who wants short, structured, gamified lessons in grammar and core vocabulary.

Sources

📖 Read the original article on the Dobi Apps blog: Top 5 Apps for Learning English in 2026

Learn English with the Dobi Apps: Audiobook · Storybook · All articles · ← Dobi Apps