Editorial review

Memrise: speak a new language

Name: Memrise: speak a new language
Rating: 4.5 (1400000 reviews)
Author: Memrise

4.5

4.5Rating 50M+Download 4.5 / 5 starsRanking

CategoryEducation

Download50M+

Ranking4.5 / 5 stars

RatedEveryone

RequiresAndroid 8.0+

DeveloperMemrise

Screenshots

Memrise: speak a new language screenshot

About this app

Memrise: speak a new language is worth considering when your priority is Training your ear before a trip. Textbook audio lies to you about speed. A few weeks of watching locals deliver everyday phrases at natural tempo, complete with mumbles and regional accents, means the first real conversation abroad is far less of a shock.

Start with Learn with Locals video clips: Thousands of short clips show real native speakers saying each word or phrase on location. Hearing the same phrase from several different people, at speed, is the closest an app gets to immersion without a plane ticket.

Training your ear before a trip

Textbook audio lies to you about speed. A few weeks of watching locals deliver everyday phrases at natural tempo, complete with mumbles and regional accents, means the first real conversation abroad is far less of a shock.

Vocabulary drilling alongside a proper course

Classroom students and textbook self-learners use Memrise as their retention engine. The spaced-repetition reviews take minutes a day and quietly keep hundreds of words alive while your main course pushes ahead into new material.

Filling dead time in tiny sessions

Review sessions work in the length of a supermarket queue. Because each item is a single word or phrase, stopping mid-session costs nothing, which makes Memrise one of the easiest learning apps to use in genuinely spare moments.

Learn with Locals video clips

Thousands of short clips show real native speakers saying each word or phrase on location. Hearing the same phrase from several different people, at speed, is the closest an app gets to immersion without a plane ticket.

Spaced-repetition review engine

Every learned item is scheduled for review at widening intervals, with harder words returning sooner. The system distinguishes learning new material from watering what you already planted, and the daily review queue is the app's real backbone.

Listening and speaking modes

Dedicated audio-only sessions test pure comprehension, and pronunciation practice uses the microphone to compare your attempt against native audio. An AI conversation partner has been added for practising simple exchanges without the embarrassment of a live human.

Official courses with practical phrasebooks

The in-house courses focus on high-frequency vocabulary and survival phrases for major languages. They are strongest at beginner and lower-intermediate level; expect a phrase-and-vocab ladder rather than a full grammar curriculum.

Privacy & Data Safety

Memrise, a London-based company operating under UK and EU data-protection rules, collects roughly what you would expect from a freemium learning app: account details, detailed learning activity, device data, and analytics. Its business leans on Pro subscriptions rather than a heavy advertising machine, so the tracking burden is lighter than ad-funded rivals, though the free experience is dense with upgrade prompts rather than third-party ad clutter.

An account is required to save progress; sign-up works with an email address or a Google or Facebook login, and the social logins share extra profile data.
Your answers, review history, and study times are stored on Memrise servers to drive the spaced-repetition scheduling and cross-device sync.
Microphone access is only needed for the optional pronunciation and speaking features and can be denied without breaking the core app.
Old community-created courses are gone from the app, which also removed the loosely moderated user-generated content a child might previously have stumbled into.

Advantages

Native-speaker videos build listening skills better than any competitor
Reliable spaced-repetition system with quick daily reviews
Free tier still includes genuine learning, not just a demo
Strong for practical phrases and travel-ready vocabulary

Updates

Updates land every couple of weeks on Android, and the product direction has been consistent for a while: consolidate around official courses, expand video and audio material, and push AI-driven speaking practice into the subscription. Course content itself changes server-side, so lessons can be reorganised without any visible app update.

AI conversation practice for rehearsing simple real-world exchanges
Continued expansion of native-speaker video and immersion content
Reworked learning paths and session types replacing the older course structure

Editor's Assessment

Our verdict

Memrise is the best listening-comprehension tool in mainstream language apps, and that is a niche worth owning. Used as a vocabulary and ear-training layer on top of something with real grammar — a class, a textbook, even Babbel — it punches far above its price, and the free tier is enough to prove the method. Treat it as your only resource and you will plateau early. Longtime users mourning the community-course catalogue have reason to; newcomers will not miss what they never saw.

What works

Native-speaker videos build listening skills better than any competitor
Reliable spaced-repetition system with quick daily reviews
Free tier still includes genuine learning, not just a demo
Strong for practical phrases and travel-ready vocabulary

What to know

The retirement of community courses erased a huge long-tail catalogue, including many smaller languages
Grammar instruction is thin; this is vocabulary-first learning
Persistent and repetitive Pro upsell screens
Features have migrated behind the paywall over the years, shrinking the free tier

FAQ

Is Memrise free to use?

The core loop — learning official course vocabulary and reviewing it on the spaced-repetition schedule — is free. The Pro subscription unlocks additional modes such as the full listening practice, chat-based exercises, and offline downloads. The free tier has narrowed over the years, so expect to hit locked features regularly.

What happened to Memrise community courses?

Memrise removed user-created courses from the apps and eventually wound down community content entirely to focus on its official courses. The change cut off thousands of niche courses, from minority languages to exam-prep decks, and remains the most common complaint from long-term users. There is no way to access that catalogue in the current app.

Should I pick Memrise or Duolingo?

They solve different problems. Duolingo offers a longer structured path, more languages, and stronger habit mechanics. Memrise wins decisively on listening: real native-speaker video beats synthesised audio for training your ear. If your goal is understanding people abroad soon, start with Memrise; for a slow-burn daily habit, Duolingo fits better.

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Independent review. Not affiliated with or endorsed by the developer.

Listed pricing: Free / Optional Pro. Availability, subscriptions and in-app charges may vary; check the destination listing before installing. Google Play and App Store links open external stores. Where offered, the APK option leads to a third-party download from APKPure, not a file hosted or independently verified by Quizooly.