Memrise Review: Numerous High-quality Language Courses, but a Restricted Free Tier
Over the years, I've utilized Memrise to study a multitude of languages—some I've achieved fluency in, while others I've only sampled. Its primary emphasis is on immediately teaching you the most essential vocabulary, employing spaced repetition technology, an approach I've consistently appreciated.
However, Memrise received a significant update in 2024, introducing new features and courses while maintaining its core principles of vocabulary priority and spaced repetition. I resumed my Indonesian studies with the Memrise course and was genuinely impressed by the depth of the material.
Memrise’s Main Features
Spaced Repetition System
As the name implies, Memrise assists you in "memorizing" material through a technique known as spaced repetition.
This means the application monitors the words you find challenging to remember and schedules them for review more frequently than those you recall easily.
Numerous studies have demonstrated the efficacy of spaced repetition for language acquisition. For instance, one study concluded that just three minutes of daily SRS practice made EFL students three times more effective at long-term vocabulary retention.
Memrise utilizes a spaced repetition algorithm to present these words at optimal intervals. This process helps transfer vocabulary from your short-term memory to your long-term memory.
While using the program, I observed that each deck contains a predetermined set of words and phrases in the selected language, organized into lessons.
The learning method is straightforward: each word or phrase has its own flashcard, and I could master each one through a sequence of repetitions.
Each repetition reinforced my knowledge of the word, symbolized by the growing stages of a flower.
Provides a Wide Array of Languages on the Community Course Website
My prior experience with Memrise, before 2024, was that it was primarily flashcard-based with fewer multimedia elements. It provided access to both official Memrise courses and "community courses" developed by users.
This allowed you to study almost any language, provided someone had created flashcard decks for it.
Currently, Memrise focuses solely on offering its complete official courses. However, all the community courses remain accessible on a separate website named community-courses.memrise.com. I still regard this as a Memrise feature since the capability to take community courses hasn't been removed, only relocated.
You can create your own courses and flashcard decks on the community site. I use it daily to study new Spanish vocabulary as I prepare for the DELE C2 exam.
Comprehensive Language Courses with Mini-courses
The official Memrise courses are highly professional, featuring videos, native speaker audio, accurate translations, chatbot conversation practice, and much more.
I was particularly impressed by the intuitive navigation, the high degree of interactivity within lessons, the course structure, and the content depth.
When I began the Indonesian course, I could choose from numerous topic-based and leveled courses—a General Course, Activities Course, Basics Course, Education Course, Health Course, Relationships Course, and others.
Once you start a course, you engage in learning sessions of about five minutes that teach vocabulary through various multimedia sources. Initially, you see the word on a flashcard with a video of a native speaker pronouncing it. The first few exercises require selecting the correct translation from four options.
The exercises gradually increase in difficulty—I progressed from selecting what the speaker said in Indonesian (a listening exercise) to being asked to translate the word after seeing it a few times.
Authentic Native Material
All the official courses include native audio and video in the target language.
This is evident in the screenshots from my Indonesian lessons—each word is introduced with a native speaker saying it in a video. I appreciate the very clear pronunciation and the high video quality, aspects where many other programs fall short.
The lessons test your listening skills as frequently as your recall skills. Periodically, I was prompted to type out or select what the native speaker said in the video clip.
While this is a standard in the company-created courses, many user-created decks also include recorded audio. There's also an option to record audio for your own custom decks.
Another significant advantage is the representation of various accents in both official and user-created courses.
For example, Memrise offers courses for both Mexican Spanish and Spanish from Spain. On the community website, you can find user-created courses for Argentinian Spanish and Chilean Spanish, among others.
After finishing a lesson, you watch a "scenario." This is a video clip of native speakers interacting using the vocabulary you've learned, after which you rate your comprehension. If you didn't understand it well, Memrise directs you to a lesson covering the unfamiliar words.
I like that these videos are incorporated early in the learning process. I completed my first video scenario right after the initial Indonesian lesson.
Weekly Progress
The Memrise homepage displays three sections: “Build vocabulary,” “Practice listening” and “Practice speaking.” These track your weekly progress towards your set goals and the practice areas Memrise recommends.
I set a goal to learn 35 new Indonesian words daily, and Memrise assigned me the objective of completing five videos and five conversations per week. I'm uncertain if this is standard for all users or if it was tailored based on my chosen daily word target.
I genuinely like the layout of this page—it's clean, easy to navigate, and allows me to assess my progress quickly. I also appreciate measuring progress by the number of tasks completed (like videos watched) rather than just a streak, which often only indicates minimal daily app usage.
How Memrise Works
Build Vocabulary
On your course page, you'll see two tabs: “Learn” and “Review.” If you haven't finished a level, it appears under the “Continue learning” section. Otherwise, the next one in your curriculum is shown.
When starting a new lesson, I could preview the list of vocabulary words I would be learning. Selecting “Continue learning” begins the study session. Memrise introduced two new words at a time in a flashcard format, accompanied by the native speaker video pronunciation I mentioned earlier.
After completing several exercises for each word, it grows a flower and is counted as part of your "learned" vocabulary.
Review
Memrise includes two review functions—“Review” and “Speed Review.”
Switching to the review tab showed me how many words from my Indonesian course and my "completed scenarios" (lessons I've finished) were due for review.
The “Difficult Words” tab is also present. This section contains words and phrases you've answered incorrectly during reviews, allowing you to concentrate on your weakest areas; it's available to Premium members. Since I just started the Indonesian course and haven't missed any words yet, my “Difficult Words” collection is empty.
The standard “Review” feature guides you through translation exercises for words learned in previous lessons. I was shown an English word or phrase and asked to type the Indonesian translation.
“Speed Review” is a timed practice session for words needing review. I found this especially helpful for words I believed I knew well, as it added an extra challenge. Typically, Memrise doesn't suggest Speed Review unless you have a substantial number of words to review—around 30-40 or more.
Difficult Words
This feature is exclusive to Premium subscribers. It identifies words you've been struggling with and encourages you to practice them in a dedicated session. You can also manually mark words as difficult if you wish.
These sessions allow you to review 20 challenging words at a time, though you can have an unlimited total number of difficult words per course. You can also manually remove a difficult word once you've learned it.
Practice Listening
As mentioned earlier, “Practice listening” is one of the three study options on the Memrise home screen. Clicking it opens a video featuring native speakers having conversations appropriate for your level. The videos only use words you know or are slightly above your level, and then ask you to rate your comprehension at the end.
Having learned only nine words in the Indonesian course so far, I've already watched two videos.
The first video was considerably above my level, so Memrise had me learn the unfamiliar words. The second video was perfectly suited to my level—I understood everything, as it only used vocabulary from the first lesson I completed. I personally value this feature and strongly believe in immersing oneself in comprehensible native content early on, even if it's a basic, one-sided phone conversation—which was the second video I watched on Memrise.
Practice Speaking
The third study tool is Memrise’s “practice speaking” feature, which uses AI to converse with you. The AI chatbot is named MemBot, and each speaking practice session starts with MemBot asking a question or initiating a conversation. You're expected to type your response and send it in the chat, prompting MemBot to continue the dialogue.
I think this is a great concept, but it's clear this feature is still in its early stages. The screenshot shows my first conversation with MemBot after completing just one Indonesian lesson. It was far beyond my current level—I had to use the “Translate” option because I didn't understand the question.
Even with translation help, I was unsure how to respond. I hadn't learned how to say "coffee" yet, but MemBot was asking me what coffee I wanted to order.
To proceed, I clicked the “Hint” button. This generated the two response options visible in the screenshot, but I barely understood those either. The only reason I had a vague idea of the response I selected was because I had learned words like *hitam* (black) on Duolingo years ago.
So, while I like this feature, I don't believe it's beneficial until you've completed several Memrise lessons. Hopefully, the AI will become more adaptive to your actual proficiency level as Memrise continues to refine it.
Memrise Cost and Subscription Plans
Memrise offers a free version and a paid subscription plan called “Pro.”
The free version allows access to the review, listening, and conversation features, along with various lessons—called “scenarios”—within your courses. However, you don't have access to all lessons, the “difficult words” feature, unlimited videos, etc. Free accounts are limited to three videos per day and a restricted number of daily conversations with MemBot.
Memrise Pro unlocks all lessons in your courses and grants full access to all features.
As of May 2024, Memrise Pro is priced at $22.99/month, $71.99/year, or $100 for lifetime access.
Pros of Memrise
Offers 22 Language Courses
Memrise has developed official courses for 22 languages. Commonly studied languages include Arabic, Russian, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese, Korean, and several others.
They also offer courses for less commonly studied languages, such as Yoruba, Slovenian, Icelandic, and Mongolian.
The depth of the courses varies by language. For instance, the Yoruba course only includes a General Course, Basics Course, and Introductions Course, unlike the more extensive Indonesian course I'm taking. However, it still contains the same multimedia content.
Based on Solid Science
Spaced repetition is recognized for enhancing memorization, aiding in vocabulary acquisition. Memrise implements spaced repetition systematically and seamlessly. In fact, its interface is so polished that it's easy to overlook you're essentially working with flashcards.
Real Native Content
Exposure to native content is crucial for improving your accent and acclimating your ear to the language. Memrise incorporates high-quality audio and video in its official courses.
Customizable Learning Regimen
The flexibility in learning content is a definite advantage. I also appreciate how the lessons organize new words and phrases into manageable segments, typically focusing on 20 to 30 words per lesson.
You can learn at your own pace with Memrise and even set personal goals for your app usage time. The weekly progress displayed on your homepage reflects your individual goals and is highly motivating.
Cons of Memrise
Words and Phrases Taught in Isolation
Memrise's primary limitation is its effectiveness for learning individual words and phrases, but often in isolation.
The program's flashcards typically present words or phrases by themselves. This can result in a disjointed understanding, potentially hindering seamless communication or comprehension.
I found this especially challenging with words possessing multiple meanings.
If you've learned a word with a single meaning, encountering it used differently to convey another meaning might cause confusion in conversations.
Lack of Grammar Explanations and Usage Practice
Another observation about Memrise is the near absence of in-depth grammar explanations and language usage notes within the program.
The User-created Decks on the Community Site Are Not Vetted
This isn't a drawback of the official Memrise site. But if you've used community courses before or plan to use the community site, be aware that the translations aren't reviewed. Therefore, user-created decks might contain errors.
Alternatives to Memrise
Memrise might meet all your needs, but several similar apps could work equally well or better for you. There are also numerous programs that can help address areas where Memrise is lacking.
(For more suggestions, see our post featuring alternatives to Memrise.)
Lingflix
Lingflix and Memrise are similar in their use of native speakers, but Lingflix extends this further. It enables you to transform authentic media into personalized language lessons, allowing you to learn your target language as native speakers actually use it. Lingflix provides access to an extensive library of real-world videos—movie trailers, news clips, music videos, and more—all categorized by topic and difficulty. You'll never have to pause to look up words or struggle to follow rapid speech again. While watching, Lingflix's interactive captions let you tap any word for an instant definition, audio, image, and example sentences. Concerned about forgetting new vocabulary from the videos? Not to worry! The engaging, adaptive quizzes reinforce your learning and provide extra practice with challenging words, ensuring long-term retention. Ready to transform every video into a language lesson? Start using Lingflix on your computer or tablet, or download the Lingflix app from the App Store or Google Play. Click here to take advantage of our current sale!
Anki
For learners who prefer Memrise's flashcard approach, Anki is an application dedicated entirely to flashcard learning.
Anki offers a vast number of flashcards (over 80 million) and also allows you to create your own.
Similar to Memrise, Anki uses spaced repetition to help you acquire new information and retain it long-term. You can even customize the review timing.
Anki's flashcard creation system is highly flexible, featuring a customizable card layout and the ability to add audio, images, and video clips to your cards.
Duolingo
Duolingo, like Memrise, is primarily structured around language exercises and drills within a gamified interface featuring bright colors and engaging feedback.
Duolingo's popularity is well-founded; it's very easy to start a language and quickly feel a sense of progress.
If maintaining a consistent language learning habit is challenging, the app incentivizes you with perks and rewards that encourage daily practice and streak maintenance.
You can also check out our post for a more detailed comparison of Memrise and Duolingo.
Drops
Drops adopts a highly visual and game-like approach to language learning—perhaps even more so than Duolingo.
Drops claims you can learn a language with just five minutes of practice per day. Each session lasts five minutes, and the free version restricts you to one five-minute session every 10 hours.
Like Memrise, Drops employs repetition-based learning (though the actual spaced repetition technology in Drops is only available in the paid version).
Drops also incorporates mnemonics to aid learning and allows you to mark a word as "learned" if you no longer wish to review it.
You can read our full review of Drops for more information.
Is Memrise Worth It?
Yes—I strongly recommend using Memrise for quickly expanding your vocabulary and familiarizing yourself with the sounds and structure of a language.
The native audio is clear and high-quality, there's a diverse range of interactive features, and the courses immediately focus on teaching words you'll actually use in real conversations.
However, the free version is quite restricted—you'll derive significantly more benefit from Memrise with the Pro version. So, if you choose not to pay for Pro, you'll certainly need to supplement Memrise with other resources to cover any vocabulary gaps.
