Overview

LingQ is a content-led language-learning service built for people who want to study through reading and listening, including material they choose themselves. It is strongest for self-directed learners who want broad language coverage and a way to turn online content into lessons; its free tier is better treated as a small trial than an open-ended study plan.

Across 52 languages, LingQ pairs contextual vocabulary discovery with personalized review and a placement test. Premium members can study any number of supported languages at once, making the paid plan more useful to multilingual learners than a single-language subscription.

Key features

LingQ’s central choice is to make reading and listening the learning material: learners encounter words in context and can save them for later review. That favors people motivated by real-world content over learners looking for a course built chiefly around a fixed sequence of lessons.

The LingQ Importer browser extension turns browser content into interactive lessons, and the service supports imports from YouTube, Netflix, TikTok, Spotify, Apple TV, Disney+, and Amazon Prime. This range lets learners bring interests they already follow into study. The free allowance of five imported lessons, however, is too limited for sustained importing.

Personalized review, a placement test, and offline access round out the learning tools. The extension is available for Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Edge, alongside mobile apps; platforms include Android, iOS, web, and browser extension. Offline access is a membership feature, not a reason to expect the free plan to work as an offline library.

LingQ says its learner community exceeds 5 million worldwide, and its homepage reports a 4.7 average rating on the App Store and Google Play. Users can earn points by tutoring, referring friends, and sharing Library lessons. Those community elements may add ways to participate, though they are secondary to the content-import and review workflow.

Pricing

LingQ uses a freemium model, with membership prices in USD. Fees are charged upfront for the selected duration and recur until canceled; there are no setup, long-term contract, or cancellation fees. Users can cancel trial or subscription auto-renewal at any time, and upgrades or downgrades take effect immediately.

Free — 0.00 USD per free: Includes 20 saved words and phrases, five lessons created from imported content, and one audio playlist. It is useful for trying the workflow, but the saving and lesson caps quickly constrain regular use.
Premium — 215.76 USD per year: The listed term is 24 months, billed upfront and recurring until canceled; the plan shows 40% off. It includes unlimited saved words and imported lessons, full sentence translations, and offline access. It suits learners who expect to use imports and vocabulary review regularly and want to study across all supported languages.
Premium Plus — 269.99 USD per year: The listed term is 12 months, billed upfront and recurring until canceled; the plan shows 25% off. It adds 6x audio transcription, AI voices, Advanced Lynx Chat, and AI simplified lessons. Choose it when those additional tools matter; the higher price is harder to justify if unlimited importing, saved words, translations, and offline access cover the need.

Premium removes the clearest free-plan bottlenecks, while Premium Plus adds a distinct set of AI and audio features. Neither paid plan has a setup or cancellation fee, but both require upfront payment for the selected duration and renew until canceled.

Platforms

LingQ spans cloud, mobile, and browser-extension use. Android, iOS, and web support provide options across devices, while the extension can capture browser content in Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Edge. This is a practical fit for learners who switch between web reading and mobile study; the service also lists offline lessons for membership users.

Who it's for

LingQ is a good fit for independent learners who want to build study around their own reading and listening, especially those who follow content on supported services or want to study multiple languages. The placement test and personalized review support a more tailored routine, while broad platform coverage helps keep that routine flexible.

It is a weaker fit for someone who wants generous free saving and importing, or whose priority is a narrow format such as a specific slow-language news edition. Its model puts the learner in charge of finding and importing material, so it is less compelling for people who want a tightly prescribed course path.

Pros and cons

Pro: Content can come from many places. The importer and support for major video, audio, and streaming services give learners a way to work with material they already choose.
Pro: Broad language and study flexibility. There are 52 languages, and Premium allows study of as many supported languages simultaneously as desired.
Pro: Useful continuity features. Personalized review, a placement test, mobile apps, and offline access support different parts of an independent study routine.
Con: The free caps are restrictive. Twenty saved words and phrases and five imported lessons are modest allowances for a method centered on collecting and studying content.
Con: Paid membership is a recurring upfront commitment. Fees recur until canceled, and the listed paid terms are 24 months for Premium and 12 months for Premium Plus.
Con: The more expensive tier is specialized. Premium Plus’s extra transcription, AI voices, chat, and simplified lessons may not matter to learners who mainly need importing, review, and offline access.

Alternatives

For a different reading-led approach, compare Readlang, which also offers a free plan across Android, extension, iOS, and web. If the priority is a free, self-hosted option and a local server setup is acceptable, consider Learning with Texts, which runs in a modern browser with a local web and database server using PHP.

E-clair is another freemium option on Android and iOS, with a limited number of collections and a monthly cap on transcribing user audio; podcast episodes receive more generous handling. For stories and news on mobile, Beelinguapp offers unlocked reading and vocabulary practice with a glossary and flashcards on its free plan, with Premium unlocking all stories.

SpeakAccent is a free iOS option with one learning language, a native-language podcast player, and limited translation and study. For Spanish audio, News in Slow Spanish offers a $6.90 USD per month audio-only plan with an edition choice and Rooms, but no transcripts or lessons. News in Slow Italian has a $5.90 USD per month audio-only plan with all audio but no transcripts or interactive features; its Full Access plan is another option.

On mobile, TeakReader is worth comparing if EPUB and subtitle imports are the priority: its $3.99 USD per month Premium plan raises usage limits, adds more translations, unlimited EPUB and subtitle imports, and offline dictionary downloads. For broader category comparisons, browse Language Immersion Apps and Language learning apps.

Verdict

Choose LingQ if you want to learn through content you select, save vocabulary as you encounter it, and carry that workflow across languages and devices. Its importing breadth and Premium’s unlimited saved words and lessons are the main reasons to pay. Look elsewhere if the free tier must support sustained study or if you prefer a tightly structured course rather than sourcing your own material.

	LingQ	Sottaku
Free plan	Yes	Yes
Free trial	No	No
Paid from	$17.98/mo	Free
Open source	No	No
Platforms	Android, extension, iOS, Web	Web, iOS, Android
Free plan	Yes	Yes
Paid from	$8.99/mo	—
Offline lessons	Yes	Yes
Placement test	Yes	Yes
Personalized review	Yes	Yes
Mobile apps	Yes	Yes
Languages offered	52	15

LingQ vs Sottaku

LingQ

Sottaku