# Best Free Korean Learning Apps in 2026 (No Paywall to Start) The best free apps to learn Korean in 2026: what Duolingo, Memrise, LingoDeer, and TTMIK give you for free, what is paid, and where Tokki's 7-day trial fits. Published Nov 1, 2026. 10 min read. https://gettokki.com/blog/best-free-korean-learning-apps/ The best free Korean learning app for most beginners is **Duolingo**: the whole Korean course is free, with ads. For grammar, **LingoDeer** gives you the alphabet, Unit 1, and the travel phrasebook for free. **Talk To Me In Korean** has a free podcast and free YouTube lessons. **Memrise** has a limited free plan with native-speaker videos. **Tokki** is different: it is a 7-day free trial with full access, then a paid plan. So yes, you can learn Korean for free, at least through the beginner stage. One free app rarely covers lessons, listening, and review together, so plan on using two. We make Tokki, so it is first on this list. It is also the only app here that is a trial and not a free plan. If you want something free forever, the four apps after it are the ones to use. We checked each app in November 2026. ## How we picked (what "free" really means) "Free" means three different things on an app store page. Know which one you are getting before you build a habit on it. - **Free forever.** You can use the core of the app with no time limit. You may see ads. Duolingo is this kind of free. - **Free tier.** Part of the app stays free for as long as you want. The rest is locked behind a plan. Memrise, LingoDeer, and Talk To Me In Korean work like this. - **Free trial.** You get the full app for a set number of days. Then you pay, or you stop. Tokki works like this. All three are fair. A trial shows you the whole product for a short time. A free tier lets you stay as long as you like, with less in it. For each app, we read the official site, the help pages, and the store listing. We wrote down what you get before you pay, and what the paid plan adds. Prices change by country and by store, so we do not quote them. Check the store page before you subscribe. ## The best free Korean apps, ranked ### 1. Tokki (7-day free trial) Tokki is an app to learn Korean from real video, on iPhone and Android. You scroll a feed of short clips from Korean creators. The subtitles are split into words. Tap any word to see the meaning, hear the sound, see a breakdown into parts, and read an explanation with examples. Save the word in one tap. ![The Tokki app playing a short Korean clip, with the subtitle line split into words you can tap.](https://gettokki.com/blog/best-free-korean-learning-apps/app-screenshot-learn-korean.webp "Scroll short clips and tap any word in the subtitles.") Saved words come back on review cards with spaced repetition. You mark each card Again, Hard, Good, or Easy, and Tokki picks when you see it next. Hangul lessons are in the same app, and you trace each letter as you learn it. A streak with milestones and a lock screen widget with your saved words help you come back each day. There are no ads. **What is free:** the full app for 7 days. Tokki sends you a reminder on day 5. Cancel before day 7 and you pay nothing. **What is paid:** after the trial, a yearly or monthly plan through the App Store or Google Play. **Best for:** people who can finish lessons but still miss the words in real Korean speech. **Keep in mind:** Tokki is a trial, not a free app. It does not teach grammar chapter by chapter, and it does not ask you to speak. Pair it with one of the free courses below. [Start Tokki free today](https://gettokki.com/download): 7 days of full access to learn Korean from real clips, then a plan only if you want to keep going. ### 2. Duolingo Duolingo Korean is the easiest free place to start. Duolingo's store listing says every course in the app is free, and Korean is one of them. Lessons take a few minutes, the path starts with Hangul, and the streak is good at one thing: it gets you to open the app tomorrow. **What is free:** the whole Korean course, with ads. **What is paid:** Super Duolingo removes the ads and adds practice perks. Duolingo Max adds AI features, such as roleplay practice and extra grammar explanations based on your mistakes. The lessons themselves are the same on the free plan. **Best for:** a free daily habit in your first weeks of Korean. **Keep in mind:** the grammar notes are short, and the audio is written for the exercise. Korean in a show or a vlog is faster and less tidy. If you finish lessons but still freeze when you hear real Korean, read our [Duolingo alternatives for Korean](https://gettokki.com/blog/duolingo-alternatives-korean/). ### 3. Memrise Memrise teaches Korean vocabulary through everyday situations, with videos of native speakers saying the words you learn. It also has an AI chat partner for speaking practice. The free plan is a real sample of the app: you get some vocab lessons, some videos, and some conversations, with ads. **What is free:** a limited number of vocab lessons, native-speaker videos, and conversations, with ads. **What is paid:** Memrise Pro unlocks all vocab lessons, all native-speaker videos, unlimited speaking practice, and no ads. **Best for:** practical words for a trip, with a bit of real-world listening. **Keep in mind:** the free plan is a taste, not a full course. Use it next to a free course, not in place of one. ### 4. LingoDeer LingoDeer was built for Asian languages, including Korean. Each lesson teaches one grammar point, drills it, and the next lesson builds on it. The notes treat Korean as Korean, with particles and sentence endings explained properly. **What is free:** the alphabet, all of Unit 1 with its review, and the travel phrasebook with its review. **What is paid:** the rest of the course, plus offline learning and sync across devices, needs a membership. **Best for:** beginners who want grammar in order and like the feel of a class. **Keep in mind:** the free part is short. It is enough to learn Hangul and see if the course suits you. After Unit 1, you pay or you move on. ### 5. Talk To Me In Korean Talk To Me In Korean (TTMIK) teaches only Korean, with more than 1,700 lessons on its course site. Much of its teaching is free outside the courses. The team publishes a podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and video lessons on its YouTube channel. **What is free:** the podcast, the YouTube lessons, and one free lesson from the Core Grammar course on the TTMIK site. The Standard plan also comes with a 7-day free trial. **What is paid:** a course subscription for all lessons on web and mobile. **Best for:** learners who want Korean grammar explained in plain English, and audio for a walk or a commute. **Keep in mind:** the free material is spread across a podcast and a video channel, not one path. You choose the order yourself. For a deeper look, see [TTMIK and LingoDeer alternatives](https://gettokki.com/blog/ttmik-lingodeer-alternatives/). ## Free vs paid: what you actually get Here is the short version. "Kind of free" uses the three types from the start of this article. | App | Kind of free | What you get free | Paid upgrade | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Tokki | Free trial | 7 days free, the full app | Yearly or monthly plan | | Duolingo | Free forever | The full Korean course, with ads | Super Duolingo, Duolingo Max | | Memrise | Free tier | Some lessons, videos, and conversations, with ads | Memrise Pro | | LingoDeer | Free tier | Alphabet, Unit 1, travel phrasebook | Membership | | Talk To Me In Korean | Free tier | Podcast, YouTube lessons, one course lesson | Course subscription (7-day trial on Standard) | ![Table of free Korean apps: Tokki is 7 days free then a plan, Duolingo is the full course with ads, Memrise has some lessons free, LingoDeer has the first lessons free, and TTMIK has podcasts and some lessons free.](https://gettokki.com/blog/best-free-korean-learning-apps/free-vs-paid.webp "What each app gives you free, and what the paid plan adds.") Duolingo is the only app on this list where the whole course is free. The others give you the start of a course, a sample of each feature, or the material around the course. You do not need one app to do everything. If you decide to pay for one thing later, pay for the part your free setup does not cover. Often, that part is real listening with review, or grammar past the beginner stage. For the full list of paid and free options, see [the best apps to learn Korean in 2026](https://gettokki.com/blog/best-apps-to-learn-korean/). ## Free resources beyond apps Apps are not the only free way to learn Korean. These are worth a place in your week: - **Podcasts.** TTMIK's podcast is free on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Audio works on a walk, a commute, or while you cook, which makes it the easiest habit to keep. - **YouTube lessons.** TTMIK also posts video lessons on YouTube. Short grammar videos are a good free match for the parts Duolingo explains in one line. - **A Hangul chart.** Learn the alphabet before you collect apps. Our guide to [how to read Hangul](https://gettokki.com/blog/how-to-read-hangul/) has a free Hangul chart and explains how letters stack into syllable blocks. - **Korean videos you already like.** Vlogs, variety shows, and dramas with Korean subtitles are free practice once you can read Hangul. At first you will catch only a few words. That is normal. ## How to build a free daily routine You do not need an hour a day. A steady 15 to 20 minutes does more than a long session once a week. Here is a routine that uses only free tools: 1. **Hangul, 5 minutes (first one or two weeks).** Work through the chart in our [Hangul guide](https://gettokki.com/blog/how-to-read-hangul/) until you can sound out any block. After that, drop this step. 2. **One free course lesson, 5 minutes.** Do one Duolingo lesson, or one lesson from LingoDeer's free Unit 1. Keep the streak alive. 3. **Listening, 5 minutes.** Play a part of a TTMIK podcast episode, or watch a short Korean video with subtitles. Pick out two or three words you recognize. 4. **Review, 3 to 5 minutes.** Write down the new words from today and say them out loud. Look at yesterday's list before you start the next day. ![The Tokki streak screen showing a 17-day streak, with the next milestone at 30 days.](https://gettokki.com/blog/best-free-korean-learning-apps/app-screenshot-stay-motivated.webp "A visible streak makes it easier to come back tomorrow.") The hard part of a free routine is step 4. A notebook works, but it does not tell you which words you are about to forget. If you try Tokki, use the 7-day trial to test the listening and review steps together: tap words in real clips, save them, and let spaced repetition bring them back. Then decide if that is worth a plan, or go back to the free routine. Either way, the habit is what moves you forward. Want more on the order of study, not only the apps? Read [the best way to learn Korean](https://gettokki.com/blog/best-way-to-learn-korean/). ## Frequently asked questions ### What is the best free app to learn Korean? Duolingo is the best free app to learn Korean for most beginners, because the whole Korean course is free, with ads. For grammar explained in more depth, start LingoDeer's free alphabet and Unit 1, and listen to the free Talk To Me In Korean podcast. Memrise has a limited free plan with native-speaker videos. Tokki is a 7-day free trial, not a free app. ### Can you learn Korean for free? Yes, through the beginner stage. Learn Hangul with a free chart, do the free Duolingo Korean course, and listen to free podcasts and YouTube lessons from Talk To Me In Korean. Add Korean videos with subtitles once you can read. Free tools are thinner on structured review of your own words and on grammar past the basics, so that is where a paid app earns its price. ### Is Tokki free? Tokki is free for 7 days, with full access to the app. You get a reminder on day 5, and if you cancel before day 7, you pay nothing. After the trial, Tokki is a yearly or monthly plan through the App Store or Google Play. There are no ads. Tokki is not a free-forever app. ### Is Duolingo Korean completely free? Yes. Duolingo says every course in its app is free, and that includes Korean. The free version has ads. Super Duolingo removes the ads, and Duolingo Max adds AI features. The Korean lessons are the same on the free plan. ## Try Tokki If the free apps got you reading Hangul but real Korean still sounds too fast, give Tokki a week. Watch a clip, tap the words you do not know, and review them before they slip. Your first 7 days are free, on iPhone and Android. [Try Tokki free for 7 days](https://gettokki.com/download): learn Korean from short clips of real speech.