Which Spanish app to use if you're moving to Spain

The best Spanish app for moving to Spain is a course that sells Spain Spanish by name: Babbel, Pimsleur, Rosetta Stone or Memrise. Duolingo's own blog says its Spanish course "teaches ustedes and not vosotros".

The course is half the job. The other half is the Spanish of your new life. That means the rental contract, the bank's emails, the padrón (town hall registration) and the doctor.

Verbamor, which I build, helps with that second half. It has no course and no conversation partner. It runs on iPhone and iPad. Its Apple Watch app records a lesson on your wrist and sends it to the phone. There's no Android app and no web app.

If you're starting from zero, start with a Spain course. Use Verbamor beside it.

Which Spanish apps teach the Spanish spoken in Spain?

Four course apps sell Spain Spanish as a separate course, named on their own pages. Each row below quotes the app's own site or App Store listing.

The table shows what each company sells. It can't tell you which course teaches best, because I haven't taken all four.

Verbamor's prices are US prices, read off the app's own plan definitions on 21 September 2026. More on what Pimsleur costs after year 1.

Is Latin-American Spanish fine for the move?

Latin-American Spanish works in Spain. Pimsleur sells both and says on its Castilian page that the two are "mutually intelligible". It compares the gap to British and American English, which is Pimsleur's own claim.

The differences you'll notice first are vosotros and some everyday words. Here are 5 common pairs:

• Mobile phone: el móvil in Spain, el celular in Mexico.
• Computer: el ordenador in Spain, la computadora in Mexico.
• Car: el coche in Spain, el carro in Mexico.
• Flat: el piso in Spain, el departamento in Mexico.
• Waiter: el camarero in Spain, el mesero in Mexico.

So if you already have a year of Latin-American Spanish, continue with it. Add Spain's words as you meet them.

What if the move is to a Latin-American country?

Pick the Latin-American version of the same courses. Those are Babbel's Spanish (Mexico), Pimsleur's Latin-American course, Rosetta Stone's Spanish (Latin America) and Memrise's Spanish (Mexico).

Duolingo's course fits too. Its blog says the Americas use ustedes for any group of people, and ustedes is what the course teaches.

Spain's DELE and CCSE rules below don't apply there. The steps for learning from your own paperwork work in any country.

Do I need vosotros?

You'll need to understand vosotros in most of Spain. Duolingo's own blog says "in Spain you'll hear lots of vosotros used". Rosetta Stone's Spanish page says vosotros "is common in Spain".

The Canary Islands are the exception. Duolingo's blog groups them with the Americas, where ustedes became the way to talk to any group of people.

If your course skips vosotros, these are the forms to add. In Spain you use them with a group of friends or family, and ustedes with a group you'd address formally.

• Verbs: vosotros habláis (you all speak), where ustedes says hablan.
• Object pronoun: os, as in os llamo mañana (I'll call you all tomorrow).
• Possessives: vuestro, vuestra, vuestros, vuestras (your, said to a group).
• Commands to a group: hablad (speak) and venid (come).

A waiter in Spain may ask your table ¿Qué queréis tomar? That means "What would you all like?"

What level of Spanish do I need to live in Spain?

Spanish nationality by residence needs the DELE at A2 or higher, plus the CCSE. The CCSE is a test on the Constitution and Spanish society. The Instituto Cervantes designs and runs both, under Royal Decree 1004/2015, article 6.

Nationals of Spanish-speaking countries, such as Mexico, Argentina and Venezuela, don't sit the DELE. They still sit the CCSE.

The CCSE is 60% questions on the Constitution and how Spain is organised, and 40% on culture, history and society. Check current fees and exam dates with the Instituto Cervantes.

For daily life I can't point to an official number. I'd aim for A2 first, because it's the level Spain asks of new citizens.

Should I learn Catalan or another regional language?

Learn Spanish first, wherever in Spain you're moving. Article 3 of the Spanish Constitution makes castellano (Spanish) the official language of the whole State. It makes the other Spanish languages official in their own regions too, under each region's statute.

Add the regional language once your Spanish works. Verbamor doesn't teach any of them.

Which Spanish words will I need in my first month?

Your first weeks usually take you to 4 places: the town hall, the landlord, the bank and the health centre. These are common words for each, as Spain uses them.

Your own list will be longer. Each contract, bank and town hall uses its own wording.

How do I learn the Spanish my new life needs?

Two 1-star App Store reviews describe the gap between a course and daily talk. "3 months and I can’t speak with locals at all," says one of Rosetta Stone, from 2022.

A 1-star App Store review of Speak is blunter: "not a single local would take you seriously."

Your landlord, your bank and the padrón office reuse a narrow set of words. Here's how I'd turn one exchange into review cards with Verbamor.

Recording other people needs their permission. If the person says no, don't record.

To record an appointment:

1. Ask the other person if you can record the conversation.
2. Start a recording in Verbamor only after they agree.
3. Stop the recording when the conversation ends.
4. Save the words and phrases you want from the results.

If they say no:

1. Note the phrases you missed right after the appointment.
2. Paste those notes into Verbamor.
3. Save the words and phrases you want from the results.

To learn from a rental contract or the bank's email:

1. Remove your NIE and bank details from the text.
2. Paste the text into Verbamor.
3. Save the words and phrases you want from the results.

To save one phrase:

1. Type the phrase into the Translate tab.
2. Save it.

Then review your cards each day.

Each card has the word, an example sentence, a picture and native-accent audio of the sentence. AI (Claude and OpenAI models) writes the text and makes the pictures, with automated checks and no human review. If a word looks wrong on the results, flag it.

If you haven't moved yet, read how many hours of Spanish a semester abroad really buys. For where your cards should come from, see Spanish flashcards.

Who should pick something else?

Beginners from zero should start with a course. Verbamor has a starter deck of about 650 common words. Beyond it there's no curriculum, no grammar lessons and no placement test.

Pick Babbel if you want people's voices on every line. Babbel says "all 100,000 hours" of its content are voiced by native speakers. Verbamor's audio is generated speech with a native accent.

Pick Speak or a tutor if you want speaking practice. Verbamor has no conversation partner and doesn't score your pronunciation.

Pick something else if you use Android or want a web app. Verbamor has no Android app and no web app.

Questions people ask before the move

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