Arabic is really a family of languages. Modern Standard Arabic, or MSA, is the one you read in newspapers and hear on the news across the Arab world. At home, in shops and on the street, people speak a dialect: Egyptian in Cairo, Levantine in Beirut and Amman, Gulf Arabic in Dubai. Most apps teach only one of these, and many do not say clearly which. That makes the app choice for Arabic more important than for almost any other language.
TL;DRFor spoken Arabic by ear in MSA, Egyptian or Levantine, pick Pimsleur. For a structured MSA course with human feedback, pick Busuu. For Levantine Arabic built around your own goal or passion, pick Slova. For learning the script for free, pick Duolingo. For a choice of dialects on a library card, pick Mango. For an Arabic only app with MSA and dialects, pick Kaleela.
We learned Arabic on every app below with a paid plan in 2026, on iPhone and Android, starting from the alphabet. Each app got the same tests over a week: the first lessons, reading a few words in Arabic script, greeting someone out loud, asking for a price in a shop and one short conversation. We then asked two questions: could we read more than on day one, and could we say something a real person would understand?
This is a set of matches, not a ranking. Someone learning MSA for university, someone with in-laws in Cairo and someone moving to Amman for work need different apps. Each one below is here for a specific kind of learner, so start with the line that describes you.
Comparison table
✓Yes◐Partly✕No
| App | Best for | Which Arabic | Script and reading | Talk with AI | Speaking out loud |
|---|
| Pimsleur | Speaking by ear | MSA, Egyptian, Levantine | ◐ | ✕ | ✓ |
|---|
| Busuu | A structured MSA course | MSA | ✓ | ◐top plan only | ◐ |
|---|
| Slova | Your goal or passion | Levantine | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
|---|
| Duolingo | Learning the script free | MSA | ✓ | ✕ | ◐ |
|---|
| Kaleela | An Arabic only app | MSA and dialects | ✓ | ✕ | ◐ |
|---|
| Mango | Dialect choice | MSA, Egyptian, Levantine, Iraqi | ◐ | ✕ | ◐ |
|---|
| Praktika | A friendly AI tutor | Not stated | ◐ | ✓ | ✓ |
|---|
| Talkpal | Cheap chat practice | Not stated | ◐ | ✓ | ◐ |
|---|
| Mondly | Short daily lessons | MSA | ✓ | ◐chatbot | ◐ |
|---|
How we chose
- Honest about the variety. We checked which Arabic each app teaches, and said so in the table. An app that hides this is not a good first choice.
- A real way into the script. Arabic letters change shape with their position in a word. We looked for apps that teach reading step by step, not only transliteration.
- Sounds English does not have. Letters like ع and ح need practice out loud. We gave credit to apps that make you speak and listen closely.
- Something to say on day seven. We favoured apps that got us to a useful spoken phrase within a week, not only a list of letters.
The best AI apps to learn Arabic
1
Pimsleur
Best for spoken Arabic by ear, in the variety you need
Pimsleur teaches through 30 minute audio lessons where you answer out loud, then hear the right answer. What makes it special for Arabic is choice: it has separate courses in Modern Standard Arabic, Egyptian Arabic and Eastern Arabic, which is Levantine. If you care most about speaking and understanding, it is one of the most reliable options.
We started the Egyptian course on a morning walk, and by the end of lesson one ezzayak?, how are you, and ana mish fahem, I don't understand, came out with sounds close to the speaker's. By lesson five we could order and ask a price without looking at anything. The lack of a screen is the point, but it also means the script waits until you add another app.
GoodReal spoken Arabic in three varieties, with excellent pronunciation and listening practice.
Watch outExpensive, slow for vocabulary, and very little reading or writing.
- About 20 to 21 dollars a month
- 50+ languages
- iPhone, Android, web
2
Busuu
Best for a structured MSA course with human feedback
Busuu teaches Modern Standard Arabic along the CEFR levels, with lessons that cover the script, vocabulary and grammar. At the end of many lessons you write a short answer and Arabic speakers in the community correct it. It suits learners who want a clear course and a real person checking their work.
On day four we wrote a line about our flat and used هذه كتاب for "this is a book". The next morning an Arabic speaker had corrected it to هذا كتاب, with a note that كتاب is masculine. It was a small fix that taught the whole idea of gender in Arabic. The Arabic course is thinner than Busuu's European ones, though.
GoodA clear MSA course, with human corrections that feel personal.
Watch outOnly MSA, and Arabic has less content than Busuu's biggest languages.
- About 7 to 14 dollars a month
- 14 languages
- iPhone, Android, web
3
Slova
Best for Levantine Arabic built around your own goal or passion
Slova starts with one sentence about why you want Arabic, then builds a path around it. Its Arabic course is Levantine, the spoken Arabic of Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Palestine. Your reason can be a career goal like a posting in Amman, a life goal like talking with your partner's family in Beirut, or something you love, like Arabic music or Lebanese cooking. Behind the path sits a full A0 to C2 curriculum made by language learners and computer scientists, and every lesson can be done visually at your own pace or out loud with our AI tutors, who listen and correct you.
That makes it immersive from the first day. You learn the Arabic of your own life straight away, instead of weeks of phrases you will never need. You can make your own practice with AI as well: describe a place and Slova draws the scene and labels every object in Arabic, or ask for a short podcast or story on your topic at your level. It is the only app on this list where you make your own practice material with AI.
That is why results come fast. The words you learn today are the words you need tomorrow, so you use them right away and they stay. Every word from lessons, tutor conversations, pictures and texts you read lands in one list, the Lexicon, and comes back for review. And because the course is about your life, it is much easier to open in week six than a course made for everyone.
We tried it with a family goal: Sunday lunch with a partner's family in Beirut. The path opened with greetings and the kitchen, and a labelled scene of a family kitchen gave us طنجرة, صحن and إبريق, pot, plate and jug, in one picture. In the tutor lesson we greeted the mother of the house with kifak? and were corrected to kifik?, with a short note that you change the ending when you speak to a woman. A podcast about a Lebanese family lunch taught us yislamo idayki, bless your hands, which we used for real the next weekend.
GoodSpoken Arabic people actually use, built around your reason for learning, so you keep coming back.
Watch outNewer than the big names, with 10 languages today rather than 40, and Levantine rather than MSA.
- 10 languages and growing
- A0 to C2 curriculum
- AI tutors in every lesson
4
Duolingo
Best for learning the Arabic script for free
Duolingo's Arabic course teaches Modern Standard Arabic, and it starts with the alphabet in small, friendly steps. It is free, short and easy to open every day. For many people it is the least scary way to start reading Arabic.
The first week was all letters, and by day six we could read باب, door, and see how ب changes shape at the start, middle and end of a word. That felt like a real win. The speaking was light, though, and we could not say much by the end of week two. Its AI Video Call is not part of the Arabic course.
GoodFree, gentle and the best free way to learn to read the script.
Watch outMSA only, little speaking practice, and no AI conversation in Arabic.
- Free, or about 10 to 13 dollars a month
- 40+ languages
- iPhone, Android, web
5
Kaleela
Best for an Arabic only app with MSA and dialects
Kaleela is built only for Arabic, with a path for the alphabet, one for Modern Standard Arabic and courses in spoken dialects, including Egyptian, Levantine and Saudi Arabic. Lessons cover speaking, listening, reading, writing and culture. It suits learners who want both the formal language and a dialect in one place.
On day three we switched from the MSA path to the Levantine one and could compare كيف حالك؟ in MSA with كيفك؟ in Levantine, which made the difference between the two very concrete. Short culture notes sat between the lessons. It is a smaller app than the big names, and the design feels simpler.
GoodMSA and several dialects side by side, from a team that only does Arabic.
Watch outA smaller app with fewer reviews, and no AI conversation partner.
- Free lessons, with a paid plan in the app
- Arabic only
- iPhone, Android
6
Mango
Best for a choice of dialects, often free with a library card
Mango Languages teaches conversation through short dialogues, and for Arabic it offers four courses: Modern Standard, Egyptian, Levantine and Iraqi. Many public libraries give members free access. Its Levantine course is the largest of the four.
We signed in with a library card, picked Levantine, and on day two were practising shu akhbarak?, what's new, with the colour coding showing which word matched which. The voice comparison tool let us hear our own recording next to the native one, which was humbling. The lessons are the same for everyone, though, and there is little AI.
GoodRare dialect choice, and often free through your library.
Watch outLittle personalisation, and the dialect courses differ a lot in size.
- About 12 dollars a month, or free through many libraries
- 70+ languages
- iPhone, Android, web
7
Praktika
Best for a friendly AI tutor to practise speaking
Praktika gives you an avatar tutor with a face and a voice, and you talk. Arabic is one of its 12 languages. The app does not say clearly which variety its Arabic tutors use, so test it in the free trial before you pay.
On day three we played a shopper at a market and asked about the price of a scarf. The tutor answered, then the feedback screen fixed our word order and showed the full sentence in script. Talking to a face made the new sounds less embarrassing to try. We still wanted a list of the new words afterwards and could not find one.
GoodPlenty of speaking time for a low price, with feedback you can make gentler or stricter.
Watch outThe Arabic variety is not clearly stated, and words from calls are not saved for review.
- About 7 to 10 dollars a month
- 12 languages
- iPhone, Android
8
Talkpal
Best for cheap Arabic chat practice
Talkpal lets you chat with an AI tutor by voice or text, with roleplays, debates and a free daily allowance. It covers Arabic among a very long list of languages. It is a low cost way to practise once you know some basics.
The free ten minutes a day were enough to try a hotel check in and to practise typing in Arabic script, which helped more than we expected. The voice sounded robotic at times, and it was not always clear which kind of Arabic it was aiming for. As extra practice it works; as your only app it is too loose.
GoodA free daily allowance and flexible chat practice in text or voice.
Watch outNo real course around the chat, and the voice and variety are uneven.
- Free 10 minutes a day, or about 10 to 20 dollars a month
- 100+ languages
- iPhone, Android, web
9
Mondly
Best for short daily Arabic lessons
Mondly teaches Modern Standard Arabic in short, game like daily lessons, with speech recognition and a chatbot for simple exchanges. One subscription covers 41 languages. It suits beginners who want a quick daily routine.
On day five the lesson matched pictures to words like ماء, water, and قهوة, coffee, then had us say them out loud. The chatbot asked our name and where we were from, which was simple but pleasant. After two weeks the lessons started to feel thin, and grammar notes were rare.
GoodShort, friendly lessons and a low price for many languages.
Watch outShallow after the beginner stage, and the app is updated slowly.
- About 8 to 16 dollars a month
- 41 languages
- iPhone, Android, web
Best app by goal
| Your goal | Our pick | Also good |
|---|
| Read the Arabic script | Duolingo | Busuu |
|---|
| Standard Arabic for study or work | Busuu | Mondly |
|---|
| Egyptian Arabic | Pimsleur | Kaleela |
|---|
| Levantine Arabic for family or a move | Slova | Pimsleur |
|---|
| Several dialects in one place | Mango | Kaleela |
|---|
| Speak out loud with an AI tutor | Slova | Praktika |
|---|
| Learn on the commute | Pimsleur | Mango |
|---|
| Spend as little as possible | Duolingo | Mango |
|---|
MSA or a dialect: decide before you pay
Pick MSA if you want to read news and books, study Arabic at university, work with official documents or understand the Quran better. It is shared by every Arab country, so it travels well on paper. The catch is that nobody speaks it at the dinner table, and using it in a shop sounds very formal.
Pick a dialect if your goal is people. For Egypt, Egyptian Arabic is also the one you hear in many films and songs across the region. For Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Palestine, choose Levantine. Dialects share most of their core vocabulary with MSA, so nothing you learn is wasted if you add the other later.
A practical plan many learners follow: learn the script first, which takes two to four weeks with daily practice, then choose one spoken variety for speaking and use MSA mainly for reading. Trying to learn MSA and two dialects at once is the fastest way to quit.
Which one should you pick
If you want to start for free, learn the alphabet on Duolingo, then decide which Arabic you need. For MSA with a clear path, Busuu is the best course here, and Mondly adds short daily lessons. For Egyptian, Pimsleur is the most reliable, with Kaleela as a second app.
If you want to compare dialects, check whether your library offers Mango for free. If you mainly want to talk, Praktika and Talkpal give you cheap conversation time, but test which variety they use first.
If you are learning for a person or a place in the Levant, a partner's family in Beirut, a job in Amman or a love of Lebanese food and music, Slova is where we would start. It teaches Levantine Arabic around that reason, with AI tutors for speaking and one list for every word.
Conclusion
The best Arabic app is the one that teaches the Arabic you need. Pimsleur is the best for spoken dialects by ear, Busuu the best MSA course, and Duolingo the easiest free way into the script. Mango and Kaleela are rare in offering several dialects. If your goal is Levantine Arabic for real life, taught around your own reason, give Slova a try.
Just starting Arabic? See the best language apps for beginners. To talk sooner, try the best apps for speaking practice or the best AI conversation apps. Learning more than one language? We also rank apps for Spanish and Italian.
Frequently asked questions
Should I learn Modern Standard Arabic or a dialect first?
Choose by goal. For reading, study or formal work, start with MSA. For talking with people, start with the dialect of the place or family you care about, and add MSA for reading later.
Which app is best for Egyptian Arabic?
Pimsleur has a full spoken Egyptian Arabic course, and Mango and Kaleela also offer Egyptian lessons. Many other apps, including Duolingo and Busuu, teach only MSA.
How long does it take to learn Arabic?
The US Foreign Service Institute puts Arabic in its hardest group for English speakers, at about 88 weeks of full time study. With apps and daily practice, you can read the script within a month and hold simple conversations within a year.
Is there an app for Levantine Arabic with an AI tutor?
Slova teaches Levantine Arabic, and every lesson can be done out loud with its AI tutors, built around your own goal. Pimsleur and Mango also have Levantine courses, without an AI tutor.
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