SpanishPod101 Review: Is It REALLY That Helpful?

Related Language apps

Babbel Spanish

Mondly

MosaLingua

Rocket Spanish

See more related apps

SpanishPod101 Overview

SpanishPod101 is a course developed by the Innovate Language company which has 34 different language courses. It’s a unique app because it offers a lot of free content that you can access without entering any credit card information. There are 3-5 new free lessons every week. The lessons are all audio or video-based. In the beginning levels, most of the explanation is in English and you often repeat after the native speaker to practice pronunciation and vocabulary. Once you reach the intermediate and advanced levels, you are learning mostly in Spanish.

The content is engaging and you learn phrases for everyday situations, as well as holidays and culture. One interesting feature is that you can choose which type of Spanish you want to learn, such as European Spanish, Mexican Spanish, Costa Rican Spanish, or Peruvian Spanish. You can also jump between the different types to see what accent you prefer.

SpanishPod101 has 5 levels: absolute beginner, beginner, intermediate, upper intermediate, and advanced. This app works well for beginners. Starting a new language can be scary and the lessons do a good job of introducing new concepts and phrases gradually without being overwhelming.

But the content is a bit lacking in the upper intermediate and advanced levels. There are way fewer lessons available. In my opinion, they use too much English to explain concepts at these levels. In the higher levels, lessons should be almost entirely in Spanish to give the learner an immersive experience. They also present difficult grammar concepts but don’t give enough practice exercises to understand them.

SpanishPod101 Price

SpanishPod101 has free lifetime access to certain content. Additionally, there are three paid subscription levels. You can choose a 1, 3, 6, 12, or 24-month plan. The more months you buy, the cheaper it costs per month. A basic subscription costs from $8 per month to $96 for 24 months (50% cheaper per month). A premium subscription costs from $25 per month to $240 for 24 months (60% cheaper per month). A premium+ subscription costs from $47 per month to $549 for 24 months (51% cheaper per month).

With the free access, you can get about 100 lessons, with 3-5 new lessons a week. The Basic level gives you access to all the lessons, but almost no additional study materials. The Premium subscription gives you access to all lessons and the study materials such as vocabulary lists, quizzes, and grammar bank. Premium+ gives you all of the above plus access to a Spanish teacher who will create a personalized lesson plan for you and give you feedback on written assignments.

It’s up to you to decide which level best meets your study goals. SpanishPod101 does a good job laying out what the options are and what each subscription level includes. I liked the premium level because I think I would get bored just listening to the lessons. I liked mixing it up with the practice exercises.

SpanishPod101 Free Trial

SpanishPod101 offers a free 7-day trial. You do not have to enter any credit card information. The trial gives you access to all content that is available with a Premium subscription. You can access all the lessons and additional resources

SpanishPod101 Discount

When you sign up for the first time, you will be offered a one-time deal. For $1, you get premium access for an entire month, plus other exclusive lessons and content. But if you don’t cancel after 1 month, you will be charged for a premium subscription, so keep an eye on that. I also received various discounts in my email and through the website.

Students get 20% off any 12-month subscription. The discount is automatically applied and you don’t have to verify a student email address.

SpanishPod101 Review: Getting Started & Features

Getting started is easy! After entering and confirming your email address, you choose the level you want to begin with. Most levels begin with a quick assessment to see if you should jump ahead or start from the beginning of the level.

Once you choose your level, you start on a “pathway” that guides you through the level. Each pathway has tons of audio/video lessons and assignments. Apart from this, there are also other pathways you can add that focus on different cultural topics, reading comprehension, dialogues, and more.

SpanishPod101 Lessons

The lessons are all audio or video-based. The lesson begins by listening to a conversation between native speakers. The rest of the lesson discusses the dialogue, going into depth on the vocabulary and grammar. I know I sometimes freeze up when I hear native speakers having a conversation, so this is an excellent way to get your ear used to how it sounds. Every lesson includes the audio transcript so you can follow along if you get lost.

With the basic subscription, you can only listen and follow along with the lesson. With the premium subscription, you get a wide variety of useful resources and practice exercises. You can download the complete lesson notes and save them for later. There are also multiple-choice quizzes and vocabulary practice to make sure you understood the lesson. These extra features are why I think a premium subscription is a good choice.

SpanishPod101 Vocabulary

In both the free and paid versions, there are different vocabulary practices that you can access. Some of the best free activities are the list of Spanish key phrases and 100 Core Spanish words. These are useful if you are a beginner and want to quickly learn some words and phrases for an upcoming trip. With a paid subscription, you have access to many interactive flashcard lists and can go up to 2000 core words.

SpanishPod101 My Teacher

The My Teacher feature is only available if you have the Premium+ subscription. You get access to a Spanish teacher who will help you through the process of learning the language. But, you don’t actually take classes with the teacher. After an assessment, your teacher sets up a learning plan with different assignments for you to complete. You communicate through audio or video messages sent to the teacher, not in real-time. The teacher corrects your assignments and gives you feedback to help you improve.

SpanishPod101 Review: Overall Learning Experience

Overall, SpanishPod101 was an interesting way to practice Spanish. There are many ways to practice Spanish, and this app combines many of the techniques to learn Spanish fast. By listening to native speakers, you are hearing real conversations, instead of just individual words and short phrases.

The lessons do a good job of adding cultural elements and explanations that other apps don’t. There are also quite a few different kinds of activities so if you are tired of the lessons, you can move on to another activity. The lessons are a good length, at about 15-20 minutes each.

SpanishPod101 Review: Areas of Improvement

SpanishPod101 is a useful resource for learning Spanish, but there are a few areas that could be improved. In my opinion, the lessons rely too heavily on English. Even in level 4, they explain topics in English and directly translate the dialogues. This is necessary in the beginning levels. But by the intermediate and upper-intermediate levels, it feels like a time-waster to hear the dialogue repeated line-by-line with the English translation. 

I’ve always been a fan of a more immersive approach, where almost everything is in the target language, which you can find on the Rosetta Stone app. You can also consider taking lessons on a platform like italki or Live Lingua.

I was disappointed in the advanced pathway (level 5). There are way fewer lessons available than in the other levels. The lessons are 100% in Spanish, which they should be at this level, but all lessons focus on listening and vocabulary. There is no grammar taught, and the quizzes are too basic and simple. Babbel is a good app if you want to learn advanced grammar. You can also check out these other Spanish language apps to learn more grammar.

It’s a small detail, but there are multiple-choice assessments after some of the lessons, and when you get an answer wrong it doesn’t tell you why it’s incorrect. I would prefer to have an explanation so I can learn and not repeat the same mistake.

SpanishPod101 Review: Alternatives & Competitors

SpanishPod101 is a good choice for learning Spanish, but if you feel that it isn’t right for you, there are many other options available. A similar app is Babbel or MosaLingua. If you have a busy schedule and prefer faster lessons, Mondly might be a better choice. If you want more practice material, Rocket Spanish or Pimsleur are good alternatives.

SpanishPod101 vs Babbel

Babbel and SpanishPod101 break down the lessons in a similar manner by using dialogues to practice vocabulary and grammar. Babbel’s lessons are shorter and more visual. There’s less listening and more reading. Spanishpod101’s lessons are more audio, so you can do them while on the go without looking at the screen. With the different subscription levels, SpanishPod101 is the less expensive option. SpanishPod101 is the winner in my opinion because it offers much more content for a lower price. Read more about Babbel in this review.

SpanishPod101 vs Mondly

Mondly offers quick, 5-minute lessons. SpanishPod101 goes more into detail and explains the different concepts, while Mondly lessons you learn by answering the questions. You can choose the one that better fits your learning style. Mondly is one of the cheapest options out there, but they don’t have as much content. Because Mondly uses automated voices and not conversations from real speakers, SpanishPod101 is the better choice. Learn more about Mondly in this review.

SpanishPod101 vs Rocket Languages

The lessons on Rocket Languages are similar to those on SpanishPod101. You listen to an audio track to learn different grammar and vocabulary topics. Rocket Languages has more practice exercises that go along with each lesson. Rocket Languages is more expensive because you have to pay by the level, and not per month. But, I think Rocket Languages is better because they have more practice exercises to help you remember what you learned. Read more about it in this Rocket Spanish review.

SpanishPod101 vs Pimsleur

Pimsleur also uses the audio lesson style that SpanishPod101 uses. You listen to a native speaker and repeat after them to make your pronunciation sound similar. Pimsleur offers more practice exercises after the lesson to reinforce what you learned. With Pimsleur, you pay by the level so it is more expensive up-front compared to the monthly payment option of SpanishPod101. I think SpanishPod101 is the better choice because the lessons are taught by real people. Pimsleur uses an automated voice which quickly becomes annoying. Read more about Pimsleur in this review.

Frequently Asked Questions

About This SpanishPod101 Review

This is an independent SpanishPod101 review, and the company has not sponsored this article. To write this review, I signed up for the Premium subscription to thoroughly test its content and features. I also found additional information on the SpanishPod101 website to verify my findings.