Mondly Review: Okay for beginners

Mondly claims that it can have you speaking a language “faster than anyone else”. In this Mondly review, we're going to see if this platform lives up to these bold claims.

We'll be looking at what makes Mondly so special, from its key features to its user-friendly interface. We'll also be comparing it to its competitors and discussing whether it's worth its high price tag.

TL;DR Mondly Review

Here’s a quick summary of our Mondly review, if you’ve only got a second.

What is Mondly?

Mondly offers its users the chances to master the basics in 33 languages, either via an app or on a computer. Some of the platform’s more popular languages include Spanish, Russian and Chinese, while the less popular ones include Latvian, Catalan and even Latin. It's learning methods rely on quick audio and text-based games aimed to help you memorise target vocabulary and phrases. 

What Can You Do On Mondly? 

Mondly consists of a series of language lessons based on quick game-like activities. This includes activities such as swiping up or down to select your answers or selecting the correct word order. All of the games on Mondly are quick and effective, aimed at helping you to grow your vocabulary while keeping you entertained. 

There are a number of different ways you can explore Mondly's extensive selection of lessons.

Daily Lessons

Daily lessons appear when you first log in to the app. They are there to keep you on the right track and ensure that you complete at least one lesson (around 10 minutes) of language learning each day. These lessons will also make sure that you revisit any vocabulary learnt in previous lessons.

Topic-Based Lessons 

The majority of lessons on Mondly are based on topics, such as travel, business, school, at the airport, forming friendships and many more. This handy feature allows you to quickly skip past topics that you’re not interested in, and visit those that grip your attention a little more.  Most languages include the following topics as part of the learning process:

Scoring Points 

The stars at the top of each lesson indicate the number of lives and points you have per lesson. When you drop down to one it does not mean you have one final life left – it actually gives you three more lives by dividing the star into thirds. Very generous! 

The number of stars you have at the end equates to the number of points you get from that lesson. However, losing your lives doesn't mean that it's the end of your language learning journey. You can restart that lesson or simply continue. The scoring feature simply keeps track of your mistakes and tracks your progress.

Chatbot 

Mondly also offers a chatbot feature which is great for practising ‘live' conversations with native speakers (or in this case – native speaker robots?), as well as your pronunciation.

Although the chatbot does have a limited amount of conversation ability, some of them are very useful: such as making an appointment at the doctor's office or participating in a meeting. 

While this feature can help you to practice before you muster up the courage to speak to a real native speaker, it’s not clever enough to hold in-depth conversations. 

Grammar 

For those who enjoy learning grammar – fear not! While Mondly does not heavily rely on grammar learning, it does include some grammar tips as well as verb conjugation tables throughout. These are easily accessible by clicking on a verb in any given moment during your lesson. 

Checking Your Progress

You can check your progress on Mondly using the ‘’statistics' tab. 

This useful feature helps you to track your progress. It shows you how many words and phrases you’ve learned, as well as how many hours, days, or weeks you’ve spent on the app. This definitely comes in handy as a motivational tool for many learners!

What Does Mondly Look Like?

If you're familiar with other language learning platforms and their interfaces you will notice a lot of similarity with Mondly. It's very easy to use for first-timers thanks to its friendly and easy interface. 

On a desktop, you'll be met with something that looks a little like this:

From here, you can choose to delve into your daily lessons, pickup some core vocabulary, have a quick conversation with Chatbot or pick a specific topic that you want to concentrate on for the day.

Who is Mondly Best For? 

Mondly is great for polyglots and first-time language learners, as well as those who are looking for a new hobby to fill those quieter weekends. However, in our opinion Mondly is best suited for beginners.

It offers a lot of topics and, within each topic, a wide range of vocabulary. But can you actually become fluent in a language using Mondly? Unfortunately not. Mondly is a great aid for your studies – but it won't be enough to master a language.

What Languages Can You Learn on Mondly? 

With Mondly you can learn as many as 33 languages from 33 native languages :

One of the most unique aspects of Mondly is that it doesn't just offer English as the source language. You can learn using your native language too. Whether it's French, Ukrainian, Hindi or Hebrew, Mondly caters to a wide vairety of mother tongues.  

How Much Does Mondly Cost? 

Mondly offers a free account that will help you figure out if their approach works for you. Although it only allows access to six lessons, including one conversation and one vocabulary section with the Chatbot, it will be enough for you to get a taste for the app. 

You can also sign up for a 7-day free trial of the premium account which gives you access to the full app. 

If you decide to continue with Mondly Premium after the free trial, you can upgrade to a paid subscription. You have a choice between: 

• One-month Premium subscription which costs $9.99, or 
• Year-long subscription for $47.99. 

However, there is a catch. For this price, you can only access one language. If you are a heavy app-user and your dream is to become a hyperpolyglot that you are looking at around $180.99 per month. 

What Are The Pros and Cons of Mondly? 

Pros

• Simple interface: easy to navigate for all ages.
• Includes weekly and monthly quizzes to keep revising. 
• Access to detailed statistics.
• Opportunity to learn using your native language. 
• Offers transliteration as well as voiceover features.
• The chatbot feature can help you practice pronunciation and ‘live' conversation.

Cons

• Doesn't teach huge amounts of grammar – for some that could be a dealbreaker. 
• Sometimes the games can get boring and repetitive. 
• Somewhat expensive – especially if you want to learn more than one language. 
• You will need to put in additional work and resources to learn a language fluently.

What Else Can You Do On Mondly? 

Aside from the classic features you’ll find in the app and desktop version, there is also Mondly VR and AR, as well as Mondly Kids. 

Mondly AR 

Mondly AR is a very new and popular technology that has been making its way into the world of education and especially Edtech. We can definitely see it being introduced into other language learning platforms, however, as of now, Mondly is the only platform that offers such a unique experience. 

After downloading an additional app, you will be able to use your camera to find a good surface area – ideally something with little obstructions. After you are done, you should be able to interact with images in your surroundings. 

Unfortunately, this did not work for us at Actual Fluency, so we can't comment further. Perhaps a glitch in the system? Who knows! This feature is still in its early stages so we are eager to see how they can improve it.

Mondly Kids 

With kids language learning apps becoming more popular, it's no wonder Mondly decided to follow this trend. The Mondly kids' app is very similar to the regular Mondly app. It allows you to choose your source and target language and then it gives you two levels to select from: for preschool and school-aged children. The interface of the app is the same, however, it's more kid-friendly with its fun and engaging colours and cartoons. 

Are There Any Mondly Alternatives? 

Mondly vs Duolingo

If you’re an avid language learner, you’ll notice the similarities between Duolingo and Mondly as soon as you open the app. Both use interactive games to help you memorise vocabulary, for instance, by dragging the foreign language word to its English equivalent. Duolingo also offers a chatbot feature, some grammar tips and conjugation tables. However, unlike Mondly it is completely free.

We've got a longer review of Duolingo you can check out too.

Mondly vs Memrise 

Memrise can also be compared to Mondly, however, it is considered more of a flashcard platform. It will help you grow your vocabulary by repeating the words you are learning and helping you associate them with an image. Like Mondly, it also offers similar lesson plans organised by topic and the chatbot interaction. However, Memrise is considerably cheaper, costing $8 a month, or $59 a year. What stands out a lot is their lifetime membership for $139.00. This is offered across all their languages (even multiple languages at once) , and you can use it offline. 

Mondly vs Babbel

Babbel and Mondly both offer similar learning tools in the form of games and activities. However, the big difference is that Babbel offers grammar lessons offering a slightly more serious approach to language learning. It provides more depth and more language lessons.

To find out more about this platform, head over to our in-depth review.

Mondly vs Busuu

Busuu is also an interactive app that helps you learn a foreign language. It offers games and activities to help you quickly and effectively memorise vocabulary, just like Mondly. However, it really stands out with its: 

• Study plan feature where you can pick and choose what to study based on your language goal ( i.e travel, business, study), 
• Its social feature where you can aid others in learning your native language and speak to other language learners and, 
• Cultural tips to help you better understand the language and the people that speak it.

A Round-Up of Our Mondly Review

Mondly is a good addition to your language learning process, however, it’s not enough to reach actual fluency in your target language. It's easy to use, efficient and fun…in the beginning. However, lessons can get boring and repetitive if you’re quick to catch onto the basics of a language.  

Mondly is ideal for a beginner in any language as it offers a lot of introductory topics and vocabulary. However, it is not enough for an intermediate or advanced speaker. There is also a lack of grammar instruction, which leaves you questioning many aspects of the language. 

Would we be confident to speak Greek on holiday after a month with Mondly? Probably not. But perhaps we could just about dissect the menu.