French apps for intermediate learners, past A2

The French apps that work for an intermediate learner either teach past A2 or turn French you already meet into review cards. 4 picks fit that, each for a clear reason:

• Busuu. Its Complete French course runs from A1 to B2, across 330+ lessons, and a placement test lets you start higher.
• Duolingo. Duolingo has taught French through B2 since 22 April 2026, as one of 9 courses.
• LingQ. It turns French you import, like YouTube videos or books, into lessons.
• An italki tutor. A person gives you speaking practice. italki's French page lists tutors at $4 to $60 an hour.

For review, add one tool that turns your own French into cards. That's Anki if you write cards by hand, or Verbamor, which I build.

What counts as intermediate French?

An intermediate French learner is someone between A2 and B2 on the CEFR scale.

A quick test: can you read a simple article and talk about your week? If a French podcast at full speed still loses you, you're in that range.

Alliance Française de Leeds puts A2 at 160 to 200 cumulative hours of tuition, B1 at 360 to 400 and B2 at 560 to 650.

So an app that stops at A2 leaves you about 200 hours of classroom tuition short of B1, and about 400 short of B2.

Which French apps go past the beginner level?

Every figure below comes from the company's own page or App Store listing, with the date I read it.

I didn't complete each app's B1 lessons, so the level column shows what each company claims. The low-star App Store reviews further down show where learners say a course fails.

italki's blog list, 5 Best Apps to Learn French in 2026, was updated on 29 May 2026. It prices Rosetta Stone at $13.99 to $16 a month, but Rosetta Stone's own checkout read $19.99 a month on 12 Oct 2026. The list never mentions Duolingo's move to B2.

Which French app should I start with at B1?

I'd start with Busuu's Complete French course and take its placement test at sign-up. Its course page names A1 to B2 and 330+ lessons, so the course still has a level above B1.

Pick Duolingo instead if you already use it and like its short lessons. Pick Babbel if you want speech recognition on your speaking, or a course page that names C1.

Whichever course you pick, add 1 hour a week with an italki tutor. The tutor gives you speaking practice with a person.

Is Duolingo enough for intermediate French?

On 22 April 2026, Duolingo said French is one of 9 courses that now teach "through B2 on the CEFR scale". Before that, Duolingo said, most of those learners "could only complete content up to A2".

The post describes course content. It doesn't say how many learners reach B2.

A 2-star App Store review of Duolingo came from a French learner in 2021. It said: "BUT when the simple steps are passed the teaching style no longer works."

So is Duolingo enough? At A2, I think it's a fine backbone. From B1 up, I'd add a tutor and French you pick yourself. My Duolingo French review has the rest.

Why do intermediate learners stall in French apps?

Intermediate learners stall for 2 reasons. The app keeps teaching what they already know, and the words it teaches aren't the words they meet.

The first problem starts at sign-up, because the starting level an app gives you is often too low. A 1-star App Store review of Memrise came from an A2 French learner. It said: "the most advanced lessons I could start with were still far too simple".

A 2-star App Store review of Mondly said: "the french courses are just too easy even if I selected a hard level". Babbel's answer is a placement test for French that you can retake.

The second problem is vocabulary. A course picks its words for every learner at once. At B1, the words you need come from your own life, like your job and the show you watch tonight.

How do I avoid redoing the basics?

Take the placement test at sign-up, then save new words from French you choose yourself.

1. Take the placement test, if the app has one.
2. Retake the test if the first lessons feel easy and the app allows it.
3. Pick a course that names B1 or B2 in its level list.
4. Choose one source of French you like, such as a podcast or a show.
5. Save the new words from that source into one review tool.
6. Remove cards you already know from study.

Can an app make cards from my own French?

Yes. LingQ does it for reading, and Lingopie saves words you click in French shows as cards. Verbamor does it from recordings and pasted text.

In Verbamor, you record a class or a conversation, up to 90 minutes per recording. You can also import an audio file or paste up to 80,000 characters of text. The Translate tab saves a single word or phrase you search for.

Then you pick which words and phrases to save. Each card has the word, an example sentence, a picture and 2 spoken clips of the sentence in native-accent audio.

FSRS-6 schedules every card, and you set how many new words arrive each day.

Mistakes from your own recordings or pasted text can become grammar cards.

Now the catches. Verbamor includes Essentials, a starter deck of about 650 common words. At B1 that's basic, so you can remove its cards from study.

AI writes the card text, sentences and pictures, using Claude and OpenAI models. Automated checks run, but no person reviews the cards. You can flag a word as wrong on the results screen after a recording.

Recording other people needs their permission, so ask your tutor before you press record. Verbamor has no Android app and no web app.

What should I pair with a French app at each level?

Each plan below keeps one review tool for new words, and changes what feeds it as you advance.

At A2

1. Pick one course that names B2: Busuu or Duolingo.
2. Do 1 lesson a day.
3. Watch 1 short French episode a week with clickable subtitles, for example on Lingopie.
4. Save the new words from it to your review tool.

At B1

1. Book 1 hour a week with an italki tutor.
2. Ask the tutor if you can record the class.
3. Record the class.
4. Save the words you couldn't say to your review tool.
5. Import 1 article or video a week into LingQ.

At B2

1. Stop the course once its lessons feel easy.
2. Listen to a French podcast every day.
3. Keep the weekly hour with your tutor for speaking.
4. Keep saving new words to your review tool.

For the review side, see French apps when you already take lessons and French flashcards app: what each one costs.

Who should pick a course or a tutor instead?

Verbamor has no grammar lessons, no curriculum, no placement test and no pronunciation scoring. These learners should buy something else.

• You want someone to plan your next lesson. Pick Busuu or Babbel. Busuu runs one course from A1 to B2, and Babbel checks your speaking with speech recognition.
• You want to speak. Pick an italki tutor. I think an hour a week with a person is the best speaking practice you can buy at B1.
• You're still below A2. Start with a beginner course. Your own French doesn't give a review tool much to work with yet.
• You use Android. Verbamor has no Android app. Anki runs on Android.

Every route, priced: the best way to learn French.

Questions people ask

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