The best apps to learn Turkish, compared honestly
There is no single best app for Turkish. It depends on whether you need a course, vocabulary practice, audio lessons or a dictionary that can read inflected words. Here is how the main options differ. Ekle is our own app; we say so and compare it on the same terms.
How to choose
- You want a structured course from zero: look at Babbel or Busuu, which are built as sequenced courses, or Duolingo if you want a free, game-like start.
- You mainly want vocabulary: Drops and Memrise are word- and phrase-first.
- You learn best by listening: TurkishClass101 is built around audio and video lessons with lesson notes.
- You keep meeting words you cannot look up: a dictionary that understands suffixes helps. Tureng is a large English–Turkish dictionary; Ekle breaks inflected forms into stem and suffixes.
Why Turkish needs a second tool
Turkish attaches suffixes to a stem, so a single word can carry what English spreads over a whole phrase. Course apps teach you the common forms in order; sooner or later you meet a form they have not covered, and an ordinary dictionary does not list it. Many learners therefore pair one course with a dictionary or a suffix-aware tool.
None of these apps replaces speaking with people. They are for building vocabulary and understanding, not for getting a conversation partner.
The apps, one by one
The list is in the order most beginners meet these tools, not a score. We only state what each vendor says on its own public pages, and leave out prices because they change and differ by country.
Disclosure: Ekle is made by the people who run this site. It is listed here on the same terms as the others, and it is not a course.
Duolingo
- Best for:
- Free, short daily lessons as a starting point.
- For Turkish:
- Has a Turkish course for English speakers. Check the course list in the app to see whether it is offered from your own language.
- Pricing:
- Free to start.
Babbel
- Best for:
- Structured lessons that explain grammar in your own language.
- For Turkish:
- Offers Turkish courses with grammar units, vocabulary and conversations voiced by native speakers, and has a Turkish page written for German speakers.
- Pricing:
- The first lesson is free; the rest needs a subscription (monthly, multi-month or lifetime plans).
Busuu
- Best for:
- A course that follows the CEFR levels.
- For Turkish:
- A Complete Turkish course from A1 to B2 with more than 120 lessons.
- Pricing:
- Free to start; see busuu.com for paid plans.
Memrise
- Best for:
- Everyday phrases with native-speaker audio and video.
- For Turkish:
- An official Turkish course built around everyday situations.
- Pricing:
- The free plan includes official courses; Pro adds all learning features and removes ads.
Ling
- Best for:
- Playful practice of words and sentences.
- For Turkish:
- Turkish is one of 70+ languages in the app, taught with mini-games, flashcards and sentence exercises.
- Pricing:
- Free to download, with in-app subscriptions.
Mondly
- Best for:
- Short daily lessons with audio.
- For Turkish:
- A dedicated Learn Turkish app covering vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation in daily lessons.
- Pricing:
- Free daily lessons; unlimited access is a paid in-app purchase.
Drops
- Best for:
- Building vocabulary in five-minute sessions.
- For Turkish:
- Concentrates on words; its own page says grammar gets limited focus, with only basic structures in its Travel Talk category.
- Pricing:
- Free, with a Premium tier.
TurkishClass101
- Best for:
- Audio and video lessons with lesson notes.
- For Turkish:
- A free account includes the first three lessons of every series; paid plans add all lessons and in-depth lesson notes, and higher tiers add spaced-repetition flashcards and teacher feedback.
- Pricing:
- Free account, then tiered paid plans.
Tureng
- Best for:
- Looking up English–Turkish words and phrases.
- For Turkish:
- An English–Turkish dictionary with more than three million words and phrases. It describes itself as an online service.
- Pricing:
- Free with ads and an optional subscription.
Ekle
- Best for:
- Understanding the Turkish words you meet, suffix by suffix. It is not a course.
- For Turkish:
- An offline dictionary of about 45,000 entries and 170,000 word forms with meanings in English, Russian, German or French, a suffix breakdown of each form, and spaced repetition. Premium adds full conjugation tables, grammar reference and a Reader. iPhone only.
- Pricing:
- Looking words up is free and needs no account; saving and reviewing use a free Sign in with Apple, with a daily review limit. Premium is $9.99 a month or $49.99 a year (US prices).
Sources checked
Checked on 23 October 2026 against each vendor’s public page, listed below. Apps change; confirm the details in the store before you pay for anything.
- Duolingo: www.duolingo.com/course/tr/en/Learn-Turkish
- Babbel: www.babbel.com/learn-turkish
- Busuu: www.busuu.com/en/course/learn-turkish-online
- Memrise: www.memrise.com/en/learn-turkish
- Ling: apps.apple.com/us/app/ling-learn-languages-easily/id1403783779
- Mondly: apps.apple.com/app/learn-turkish-language-course/id923981975
- Drops: languagedrops.com/learn-turkish
- TurkishClass101: www.turkishclass101.com/pricing
- Tureng: apps.apple.com/app/id412673288
Frequently asked questions
- What is the best app to learn Turkish for beginners?
- A course-style app such as Babbel, Busuu or Duolingo is the usual starting point, because it gives you an order to follow. Add a dictionary that can handle suffixes once you start meeting words your course has not taught.
- Is there a free app to learn Turkish?
- Several apps have a free tier, including Duolingo, Busuu, Memrise and TurkishClass101 (its free account has the first three lessons of every series). In Ekle, looking words up is free.
- Can I learn Turkish with an app alone?
- Apps are good for vocabulary, listening and getting started. Speaking and writing improve fastest with a tutor or conversation partner, which none of these apps replaces.
- Which app explains Turkish suffixes?
- Ekle is built around it: it splits any form it knows into stem and suffixes and names each one. Course apps such as Babbel teach grammar in lessons rather than analysing the words you meet.
- Is Ekle a replacement for Duolingo or Babbel?
- No. Ekle is not a course. It is a dictionary and review tool to use alongside one.