Memrise and Mondly are two very similar language learning apps, which I think are both well-suited for beginners. With a focus on vocabulary development and essential grammar, each one is a great place to start as you learn a new language. But which one is better for you? See which language learning company we prefer in this detailed comparison.
Given this is a detailed article, we’ve included jump-to links above for quick navigation.
In this video, team member John breaks down the key components of the Memrise and Mondly language learning programs. He assesses how they stack up so can you figure out which one is a better fit for you. As always, continue reading for more detail.
To kick this comparison off, let’s quickly cover what the core lessons are like from both Memrise and Mondly.
For Memrise, each lesson typically begins with a series of short videos where locals speaking their native tongue introduce you to new words and phrases.
From there, you complete a variety of exercises and drills that span listening, speaking, reading, and writing to ensure you understand what you’ve just learned (similar to the practice drills from Babbel and Pimsleur).
These drills include multiple-choice questions, fill-in-the-blanks, speed games, selecting correct translations, writing sentences, and more. The other nice thing with Memrise is that you can adjust your preferences to essentially control how long you want each lesson or learning session to be.
You can learn 10 new words per session, or you can stretch out the lessons to cover 50 new words and phrases if you want (i.e., you’re in the driver’s seat).
Now switching sides to Mondly, their lessons are actually fairly similar to those of Memrise, minus the video clips of native speakers.
Each Mondly lesson is made up of a dozen or so quick-hit, interactive drills and exercises. However, where Mondly really makes their mark is with their focus on practical, everyday vocabulary. With 5-minute lessons covering essentials, I find myself going back to Mondly more often for quick study sessions.
Next, let’s compare pricing. Both companies actually offer a free version, but as you might expect with anything that is free, there are some drawbacks. To cut right to the chase, the free versions from both companies are very limited.
Therefore, most people choose to upgrade to the paid plans from both companies. With Mondly, that would be the Premium Plan, which unlocks all content and features. The Premium plan costs $10 per month or around $48 if you want to pay up for an entire year in advance.
Alternatively, with Memrise, you can upgrade to their Pro Plan, which costs around $23 if you’d like to go month-to-month or $90 if you want to pay up for an entire year in advance.
Both companies also offer lifetime options as well if you’re looking to learn multiple languages over an extended period of time, with Mondly again being more affordable at under $100.
Overall, pricing between the two companies is not really that close. Mondly is clearly more affordable for you budget hawks.
Next, let’s cover the specific strengths of the Mondly language program.
One of my favorite things about Mondly is how quick the lessons are, as well as how they focus on everyday vocabulary.
Unlike other apps that teach you a bunch of nonsense words and phrases (see Duolingo), Mondly focuses on the essentials. They will teach you how to order food, ask how much something costs, and give directions. In other words, this is very practical instruction.
Moreover, because the typical Mondly lesson only takes 5-10 minutes, I find myself going back to Mondly more often than Memrise for those quick study sessions. There is something about the quick-hit and practical nature of this program that I just love.
Another advantage in favor of Mondly is how they gamify the language learning experience and really make it unique. To be more specific, I’m mainly referring to their virtual reality and augmented reality learning apps, which are designed to supplement the company’s standard lessons.
This is really where Mondly differentiates itself from Memrise and other competitors, and why they’re widely considered a trailblazer in the digital language learning space.
The Mondly VR app is a virtual immersion mechanism that places you in simulated environments. You’ll be immersed in all sorts of situations that require you to speak to locals, whether you’re ordering lunch in a restaurant, checking into a hotel, or making small talk with a taxi driver.
The VR app costs around $5 extra, which isn’t bad, but the bigger bummer is that you’ll need an Oculus headset to use it.
Unfortunately, this might rule the app out for a good portion of customers who aren’t willing to splurge on a special headset.
Luckily though, if you don’t have an Oculus headset, Mondly also offers their AR app, which is free as long as you sign-up for a premium account. The AR app takes a scan of your room and then uses augmented reality technology to generate a CGI teacher and animations in the room right in front of you.
For example, if you’re learning about Spanish food, the teacher will show you animations of soup, steak, bread, etc. The instructor will provide some background and instruction in this CGI space, and then have you practice using the words in sentences.
You can interact with the animations and even get up to walk around and get a 360-degree view, which is pretty amazing.
Beyond the cool animations in the AR and VR apps, I found Mondly to be a powerful tool for pronunciation and conversational practice, which is an area where Memrise could use some improvement. With Memrise, you really just end up listening to and repeating words independently.
In contrast, Mondly places you in locations and environments to simulate real-world situations and conversations, which in my opinion, is more effective.
Therefore, I have to give the win to Mondly in this category. With that said, I do think there are better courses and apps out there to help you develop your speaking skills. For example, I think Rocket Languages and Pimsleur are better than both Mondly and Memrise in this regard.
Lastly, I’m a big fan of the job-specific courses and lessons that Mondly offers. This is another key attribute that separates Mondly from Memrise and other competitors. I think these courses are super useful for career-orientated professionals.
For example, a few of the courses Mondly offers are directly related to marketing, negotiations, customer service, finance, and healthcare.
Bottom line, if you’re learning a new language in part to advance your career prospects, then Mondly is a fantastic option.
👉 Related: Mondly vs Babbel Comparison
Now let’s dive into the primary strengths of the Memrise language program in relation to Mondly.
The first advantage in favor of Memrise has to be the video clips of native speakers integrated into their lessons. This is a key difference between the two companies.
Within the Memrise lessons, you actually get to watch locals teach you new vocabulary, which really helps make the lessons feel more authentic and personal.
You get to examine their body language, hand gestures, and inflection as they speak, which in my opinion, is extremely beneficial. This really helps you understand the subtle nuances and learn the target language faster.
The second advantage in favor of Memrise is that they provide customers access to hundreds of user-generated courses in addition to their own proprietary courses. This allows you to go beyond the standard lessons and really explore specific topics that may be of interest to you.
For example, if you’re learning Korean, there are courses that touch on local colleges, romance, K-pop music, Korean Slang, and more. There are also courses for Spanish, German, and French, among other languages too.
I think it’s awesome that you can find super unique courses that match your distinct interests. You can essentially build an entire curriculum plan around your individual passions to keep you interested and motivated.
Lastly, I like that you can tailor the length of lessons and learning sessions with Memrise by adjusting your preferences. Essentially, you can sort of mold the lessons around your specific schedule.
If you’re generally free during the day, you can set your words per review session to 100 and quickly make a lot of progress.
Alternatively, if you have a full-time job or you’re a busy mom/dad and don’t have a ton of time to spare, you can set your words per review session to five and progress at your own pace.
👉 Also Worth Reading: Memrise vs Rosetta Stone
Although I like Memrise with its short video clips, user-generated courses, and flexible lesson length, it just doesn’t do it for me like Mondly does. At times, it felt a little gimmicky, while Mondly felt like a more robust app. Mondly feels like a true language learning program, while Memrise feels more like a flashcard app. That’s the best way to describe it.
With short lessons, a focus on practical vocab, smart review sessions, and cool AR and VR apps, it’s hard not to like Mondly here. That is the app I would go with.
👉 Read Next: Memrise vs Rocket Languages
The language apps from Memrise and Mondly each have their own strengths and weaknesses; however, after testing both, our team thinks Mondly is the more effective option between the two. We prefer their focus on practical vocab and review sessions.
Mondly is significantly cheaper than Memrise. At around $10 per month, Mondly is less than half the cost of Memrise.
Yes, both Memrise and Mondly each offer lifetime plans in case customers want to learn multiple languages over an extended period of time.
The lessons from both companies are similar in several respects; however, Memrise separates itself from Mondly in that they offer video clips of native speakers and hundreds of user-generated courses, while Mondly offers a greater focus on conversational vocab.