LingQ Review: Helpful or Overhyped? What You Need to Know
Chad Emery
Published on December 29, 2022
Useful supplement to practice listening and reading
LingQ is an app that helps you learn a language through reading and listening to native content. One of its best features is that you can import your own content and automatically create new lessons. Overall, LingQ’s platform is a little buggy and difficult to navigate in places, but it provides solid value for its price.
PROS
- Wide variety of languages
- Interactive ways to learn
- Effective combination of reading and listening
- Helpful for everyone: offers beginner to advanced levels
CONS
- Less common languages don't have much content
- Doesn't focus on all language skills
- Not the easiest to navigate
Languages Available on LingQ:
Arabic, Armenian, Belarusian, Bulgarian, Cantonese, Catalan, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Esperanto, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Gujarati, Hebrew, Hungarian, Icelandic, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latin, Malay, Norwegian, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak, Spanish, Swedish, Tagalog, Turkish, Ukrainian
Table of Contents
LingQ Overview LingQ Price LingQ Review: Main Features- Authentic, Native-language Text & Audio
- Flashcard Creation & Interactive Interface
- Content for All Levels
- Adding Your Own Content
- LingQ vs Duolingo
- LingQ vs Babbel
- LingQ vs Pimsleur
- LingQ vs Rocket Languages
- LingQ vs Glossika
- LingQ vs MosaLingua
LingQ Overview
LingQ has a huge library of audio and written content in a variety of languages. The founder, Steve Kaufman, invented the LingQ method. He’s a polyglot who has had quite a journey learning different languages. He now speaks around 20 languages and you can find videos of him practicing each one around the web.
LingQ offers popular languages like English, German, French, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese, and Italian. They’ve also added less common languages like Croatian, Icelandic, and Catalan, but it’s important to note that there isn’t as much content for these languages.
The LingQ method immerses you in the language and helps you acquire new words in context. You can select exactly what you want to study. After you choose a course or lesson, you listen to the content. You can click on new words and phrases to see the definitions and add them to your own vocabulary list to review later. Some lessons have vocabulary practice and questions to reinforce what you heard.
By incorporating LingQ into your language study plan, you’ll gain more exposure to the language through authentic, engaging content. It’s a decent option for all levels, from beginner to advanced learners.
LingQ Price
There’s a limited free version of LingQ available as well as two different paid subscriptions. The LingQ Premium subscription costs between $8.99 and $14.99 per month, depending on the length of your subscription.
The LingQ Premium Plus subscription costs $35.99 to $41.99 per month and includes 3,000 LingQ points to buy additional features. With these points, you can:
- Book classes on Skype with tutors to help you better learn the language.
- Submit writing for correction in whichever language you are learning.
- Buy premium content in the LingQ store
The cost of a LingQ Premium subscription is similar to other popular language apps like Duolingo Plus, Babbel and Mondly. The price of the LingQ Premium Plus subscription (which includes live tutoring) may seem pricy, but it’s reasonable when compared to other platforms like italki and Preply that offer live tutoring without the added benefit of the free content on the app.
LingQ Free Trial
LingQ offers a free 7-day trial. This lets you test the different features of the app. There is also a 30-day money-back guarantee if you pay for a subscription and end up changing your mind. Payments after your first month are non-refundable.
LingQ Discount
We’ve partnered with LingQ to get a special discount. You can save 35% when you upgrade to a LingQ Annual Premium Plan with our code. Click on the button below to get the discount.
LingQ also offers discounts if you refer your friends to the platform. When they create a LingQ account, they will be linked to your account for as long as they are active on the app. You and your friend will each earn 100 LingQs as a bonus. You will also receive 20% of all payments they make on LingQ.
LingQ Review: Main Features
LingQ is different from most other language apps. Instead of having a set lesson plan that teaches grammar and vocabulary, LingQ offers more flexibility and lets you learn your way. Its features are cool, but they’re not perfect, Let’s take a closer look at what you get when you use LingQ.
Authentic, Native-language Text & Audio
LingQ’s main selling point is its authentic language learning content. This means that the content was made in your target language, not translated from English. These materials are mostly from outside sources, like YouTube videos, podcasts, and songs. LingQ enhances the language learning aspect by creating automatic lessons from the content. There are transcripts of what is said as well as the ability to click on a word or phrase and see the translation. LingQ’s method is similar to another app called Lingopie.
LingQ makes the content accessible no matter what your level is. You can choose lessons for beginners to advanced, and can speed up or slow down the audio based on your abilities.
Flashcard Creation & Interactive Interface
LingQ is a useful tool for building vocabulary. It has interactive features to help you understand the words more clearly, and it also creates customized flashcard sets for you to practice. I prefer LingQ’s flashcards over other apps, like Memrise.
Each lesson includes audio and a transcript. As you read through the transcript while listening, you can click on words you don’t understand. When you do this, you’ll see the translation and also how the word is used in other contexts.
This is an interesting feature because most other language apps only teach you the direct translation of words. They don’t show you how to use it in different situations. Another app that does this well is FluentU.
Content for All Levels
LingQ has a an extensive amount of content, especially for popular languages like Spanish and French. It’s easy to find something interesting because the app organizes content into different categories like business, sports, science, self-help, and more. LingQ also separates the content into six different levels, from Beginner 1 to Advanced 2.
Adding Your Own Content
The main reason LingQ stands out from some other popular language apps is that it allows you to import your own content. If there’s a podcast or YouTube channel you like, you can import it into the app and use it to study (as long as there’s a text transcript). There’s already a lot of material available in LingQ, but if it’s missing something you like, just add it!
What can you upload? Basically, anything that involves text or audio. Podcasts, YouTube videos, emails, songs and their lyrics, e-books, news stories, and other types of content can all be imported into the app.
LingQ Languages
LingQ currently offers courses in 41 languages: Arabic, Armenian, Belarusian, Bulgarian, Cantonese, Catalan, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Esperanto, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Gujarati, Hebrew, Hungarian, Icelandic, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latin, Malay, Norwegian, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak, Spanish, Swedish, Tagalog, Turkish, Ukrainian
You can access all of these courses from both the free and premium versions of LingQ. However, not all language courses have the same amount of content. Depending on the language you’re learning, LingQ may or may not be the best choice. To help you decide, let’s take a closer look at some specific languages available.
LingQ Korean Review
LingQ offers a developed Korean course that’s useful for beginner and intermediate learners. It’s important to note that LingQ doesn’t teach you to read and write Korean. You’ll need to use other Korean learning apps to do that. Once you can understand the Hungul alphabet, there’s a lot of Korean content to practice with.
Korean is also becoming a more popular language to learn, and users continue to add more and more Korean content to the platform. LingQ is a fun way to discover what’s popular in South Korea.
LingQ Spanish Review
The LingQ Spanish course can help learners of all levels improve their communication skills. There’s a large amount of Spanish content available, like books, news, podcasts, YouTube videos, and more.
While LingQ won’t help you improve your speaking skills (there are other apps for that), it’s a useful tool for improving your listening and reading. Some Spanish words have different meanings in different countries, and LingQ’s library shows you how native speakers use those words differently. This is a powerful resource.
LingQ Japanese Review
There is a full course on Japanese, with the content and features to match. LingQ offers varied levels (beginner to advanced) and a large range of topics within the Japanese course. There’s also a lot of content that can teach you about everything from entertainment and sports to technology.
Unfortunately, you don’t learn to write Japanese in LingQ’s course, so you’ll need to find other Japanese apps to do that.
LingQ Review: Overall Learning Experience
Overall, I enjoyed using LingQ because it makes immersing yourself in a language easy. It’s a flexible app to use and getting started is simple. LingQ is more self-directed than other immersion apps like Rosetta Stone. You can choose what you want to learn and follow your interests.
Between browsing the content library, listening to native speakers, creating your own flashcards, and importing new lessons, LingQ will help you improve your language skills. It’s not for everyone though. If you prefer a more structured course, apps like Busuu or Mondly may be better options.
LingQ Review: Areas of Improvement
Despite the benefits it provides language learners, LingQ still has some areas of improvement. The user interface is one of the app’s biggest flaws. It has a basic appearance compared to other apps, and it’s not the easiest to navigate. It takes some getting used to and it’s not always easy to find what you want. Overall, it’s a little clumsy.
There is no grammar practice available. LingQ believes that grammar should not be taught directly; learners should “acquire” grammar as they immerse themselves in the language. But this approach doesn’t work for everybody. It would be nice to include at least some grammar explanations in the courses. Other apps like LingoDeer have a strong focus on teaching you grammar rules.
Additionally, the free version is limited in what it offers. That’s understandable, but don’t count on studying a lot with LingQ on the free version. If you’re looking for apps that offer a lot more content for free, you may want to check out Duolingo and Clozemaster.
LingQ Review: Alternatives & Competitors
LingQ is a unique language learning app, but it’s certainly not the only one. Some of the best LingQ alternatives include Duolingo, Babbel, Pimsleur, Rocket Languages, and MosaLingua. Each app offers different languages, teaching methods, and focuses on different aspects of language learning.
LingQ vs Duolingo
With the Duolingo app, you essentially just translate from one language to the other. In LingQ, however, you learn through immersion. This is usually more effective. In terms of the user interface, Duolingo is a lot easier to navigate than LingQ. Plus, it offers more languages. As for price, both apps have free accounts with a wide selection of content, but LingQ offers more value for its premium account price with additional features. You can learn more about Duolingo in this review.
LingQ vs Babbel
The main difference between LingQ and Babbel is the approach to language learning. Babbel guides you through a complete language course. LingQ is a bit more flexible and lets you focus on what you want to learn. Both methods have their advantages. If you’re a complete beginner, Babbel is the better choice between the two. Both offer free trials and content, so give each one a try and see which you prefer. Learn more about Babbel in this review.
LingQ vs Pimsleur
Pimsleur offers a total of 51 languages, and it focuses on helping you become conversational quickly. It’s price is a little higher than LingQ’s, but you’ll learn to speak a lot faster. LingQ, on the other hand, helps you improve your listening and reading skills. It doesn’t include much speaking practice though. Depending on your needs, both apps are solid options. If you’re focused on speaking, Pimsleur is the better choice. Learn more about Pimsleur in this review.
LingQ vs Rocket Languages
Rocket Languages offers in-depth language courses that start from absolute zero. LingQ’s courses are a solid competitor to Rocket Languages, but LingQ’s courses aren’t as elaborate. Where LingQ beats out Rocket is its additional content. You can completely immerse yourself in another language with LingQ, while Rocket tends to have a much slower pace. Read more about it in this Rocket Languages review.
LingQ vs Glossika
The main focus of the Glossika app is learning through repetition. In my opinion, LingQ offers more value for money with the interactive and engaging nature of its interface. It’s easy to get bored with Glossika, while using LingQ is much more motivating. LingQ is also quite a bit cheaper, but Glossika offers many more languages, including some endangered ones. You can learn more in this Glossika review.
LingQ vs MosaLingua
MosaLingua and LingQ are similar in their approaches to language learning. Both give you a lot of content and resources in your target language. They also help you create flashcards with words you want to learn. Their main difference is price. MosaLingua is quite a bit cheaper than LingQ. And for its low price, MosaLingua offers a huge amount of value. It also offers a free 7-day trial. Read more about it in this MosaLingua review.
Frequently Asked Questions
LingQ has a free subscription as well as premium subscriptions that range from $8.99 to $41.99 per month. While the free subscription lets you access quite a bit of content, you need a paid subscription to use all of LingQ’s additional features. The price you pay depends on the features you want and the length of your subscription.
LingQ has one of the most comprehensive collections of language learning materials, and it’s generally worth it if you plan to use it consistently. But not all its language courses have the same amount of content. LingQ isn’t worth it if you’re learning a less studied language like Turkish or Arabic.
LingQ can help you improve your fluency, but it won’t make you fluent by itself. The app has a lot of resources for practicing your target language, but you’ll still need a more robust app to actually become fluent. The best way to become fluent is to practice with native speakers. Apps like italki and Lingoda help you do this easily.
You can use LingQ for free and access a lot of language content, but the features are limited. To take advantage of all of LingQ’s features and access all content, you need a paid subscription. These subscriptions cost anywhere from $8.99 to $41.99 per month.
LingQ’s free trial is 7 days long and it gives you access to all of the app’s features. It’s the perfect way to test everything out and decide whether or not LingQ is a good fit for you.
About This LingQ Review
This is an independent LingQ review, and the company has not sponsored this article. To write this review, I used the 7-day free trial to thoroughly test its content and features. I also found additional information on the LingQ website to verify my findings.
2 Comments
Hamed says:
I have been using Lingq system to improve my skills in engliah. To be honest, the main idea is great but as mentioned on this review there are some cones and the important one from my point of view is that you can’t focus on speaking.
Elaine says:
LingQ seemed promising, but let’s get real about its pros and cons.
Firstly, there’s a concerning issue with how they handle content. It looks like they’re using stuff without giving credit or paying the original creators. Ethical questions, anyone? It’s a red flag that needs addressing.
Now, when it comes to learning material, they’ve got only the basics covered. But, if you want more, you’re on your own. You’ve got to upload your lessons, and surprise, you’re paying for the privilege, for creating content, for them!
Navigating the site feels like a puzzle. Finding playlists is one thing, but figuring out how to get back after playing one entry from it, is a whole other challenge.
Customer service is like a missing person case. When you need help, good luck finding someone to talk to. It’s frustrating, to say the least.
Lastly, the community vibe needs work. Some forums give off a not-so-friendly vibe, especially towards women. We’re in the 21st century, folks. You do not get to unleash seemingly very third world attitude and shut up women.
In a nutshell, LingQ has potential, but due to money-grabbing attitude without giving the service, I do not feel it will ever reach its potential. I would say that they have a long way sorting out content issues, making the site more user-friendly, and creating a positive community atmosphere. Until then, it’s a bit of a mixed bag and for my money I can find much better and professional options.