Is the thought of learning Swedish a bit intimidating? Don’t worry—with the courses on this list, you’ll learn everything from the basics to advanced grammar and vocabulary skills.
We break down these courses into several categories depending on their quality, focus, and affordability.
Whatever your goal for learning Swedish, we hope that among these great recommendations, you’ll find your top course for learning Swedish.
Table of Contents
Table of Best Courses to Learn Swedish
Links below will send you to the course websites, and the course details are down below.
OVERALL BEST
A Strong If Not Unique Start for Swedish: Babbel
An All-Round Excellent Intro to Swedish: LearningSwedish.se
BEGINNER’S COURSES
Best Beginner Course with Engaging Stories: StoryLearning Swedish Uncovered
A Smart Way to Start Learning Swedish: Pimsleur
A Swedish Solution for Every Ability Level: Udemy
Passable Instruction for Beginner Swedish Speakers: Mango Languages
READING AND LISTENING
Audio-Centric Learning With Some Perks: SwedishPod101
Read Your Favorite Content: LingQ
SPEAKING AND WRITING
Best for Improving Oral Communication Skills: Pimsleur
Good for Intermediate Students Wanting to Practice Speaking: Glossika
VOCABULARY ACQUISITION
A Simple Intro to Swedish for the Budget-Minded: Memrise
Best for Learning Key Words & Phrases: uTalk
A Decent Course With a Useful Social Feature: Busuu
TUTORS AND LANGUAGE EXCHANGES
Tutoring Help No Matter Your Ability Level: italki
Great Way to Find Tutors and Classes: Verbling
Best Way to Find Language Exchange Partners While Taking Its Audio Lessons: HelloTalk
Overall Best Swedish Learning Courses
These are the cream of the crop when it comes to learning Swedish. They provide a more comprehensive understanding of Swedish and help you understand the different aspects of the language.
A Strong If Not Unique Start for Swedish
A STRONG IF NOT UNIQUE START FOR SWEDISH
Babbel uses a similar style to other language learning courses and apps (a bit like Duolingo), but its pricing is on point and the content is solid. If you’re anywhere from a beginner to intermediate Swedish speaker, you’ll likely feel comfortable with Babbel.
For foundational Swedish, Babbel is an excellent resource. Once you become more advanced, though, you’ll find it less useful. At the same time, you’ll need some conversational support since there’s not much verbal practice here.
Pros
- Each lesson builds on the last so your learning is progressive.
- The variety of exercises provides a variety of ways to practice.
- Very affordadable.
Cons
- Not much for advanced Swedish speakers.
- You’ll still need conversational practice/supplements.
Countdown to Summer Sale! Get 60% off Babbel Lifetime Subscriptions. See details on the website. Offer ends on 5/5/2024.
See our Super-Detailed Babbel Review
An All-Round Excellent Intro to Swedish
AN ALL-AROUND EXCELLENT INTRO TO SWEDISH
LearningSwedish.se is an all-around great resource for everything from verbal skills to reading and writing. It has exercises, videos, Quizlet flashcards, and level tests. There are three modules to work through, and there’s also a teacher-led session option (but it’s expensive).
One of the things we like about Learning Swedish is that it was created by the Swedish Institute and partners. So, you can expect good quality from this course.
Pros
- Completely free lesson options.
- There’s an app for both Android and iOS.
- Interactive flashcards for vocab study.
Cons
- The PLUS option is expensive (italki would be a cheaper option).
- For now, only the first module is available on the app.
Best Swedish Beginner’s Courses
Understanding the fundamentals of the Swedish language is important in your language learning journey. We recommend these courses because they give you a solid understanding of the basics.
Best Beginner Course with Engaging Stories
BEST BEGINNER COURSE WITH ENGAGING STORIES
StoryLeaning Uncovered comes from Olly Richards, the creator of the super popular polyglot blog. It’s quite a bit different than most courses as it revolves around a story. It can be a bit more challenging than other courses, as you begin reading somewhat long texts right off the bat. Overall, I found it to be a more fun way to approach language learning that will be great for some but not ideal for others.
Pros
- Immersive narrative approach
- Professional tutors
- Access to online student community
Cons
- Offers speaking activities, but no interactive software
- Costs more than many app-based subscription courses
See our Super-Detailed StoryLearning Swedish Uncovered Review
A Smart Way to Start Learning Swedish
A SMART WAY TO START LEARNING SWEDISH
We love Pimsleur for learning many different languages, and it’s an excellent overall resource for speaking Swedish. You start with audio lessons that feature both female and male speakers, which gets you working on pronunciation and vocabulary immediately.
Pros
- Audio-based learning is a great way to start out.
- Speaking is the focus, which is what you want for fluency.
- The cultural info is a helpful addition.
Cons
- More reading and writing practice would be preferable (you can add a supplement).
- Lessons can get a bit repetitive.
See our Super-Detailed Pimsleur Review
A Swedish Solution for Every Ability Level
A SWEDISH SOLUTION FOR EVERY ABILITY LEVEL
You can find a course on Udemy for any subject, including different levels of and subjects in Swedish. Courses can last anywhere from one hour to 15 hours, and instructors are as diverse as the content offered.
Each course comes with lifetime access, and most instructors offer printable worksheets and other resources to add to your video-based study experience. Combining audio/video resources with some written supplements is an effective learning model, so Udemy can be a well-rounded option for learning Swedish.
Pros
- Lifetime access lets you revisit the content later.
- You can choose a unit to address specific topics and vocabulary.
- Udemy covers your purchase with a money-back guarantee, so you’ve got nothing to lose.
Cons
- Some courses are costly—but if you wait for a sale, you might get an excellent deal.
- Each instructor (and their teaching style) is different, so you can never tell what you’re going to get.
Passable Instruction for Beginner Swedish Speakers
PASSABLE INSTRUCTION FOR BEGINNER SWEDISH SPEAKERS
A lot of users compare Mango Languages to Duolingo, but our judgment is that the biggest difference is the cost. Still, many libraries offer Mango for free, so it could be a worthwhile resource if you can get access.
Game-like instruction makes it fun to use Mango, even if you’re not developing super-advanced Swedish skills. If you’re studying multiple languages, Mango Languages is an even better choice since the repetitive format can help you pick up more than just Swedish.
Pros
- You might be able to get free access via the library.
- Subscription can give access to all languages (70+).
- The game-like layout and perks like stats trackers make learning fun.
Cons
- The translation function doesn’t do much, so you can’t really rely on it.
- Pretty boring as it’s very repetitive.
See our Super-Detailed Mango Languages Review
Courses to Learn Swedish Reading and Listening
Read and listen to lots of Swedish material with the courses below. With enough practice, you’ll be able to comprehend Swedish text and speech. Check these courses out and see which one works for you.
Audio-Centric Learning With Some Perks
AUDIO-CENTRIC LEARNING WITH SOME PERKS
For jump-starting your speaking and listening skills, SwedishPod101 is a great all-around resource. Hundreds of audio and video lessons make up the bulk of the materials, but there are vocabulary tools, flashcards, and lesson notes you can download.
You can take the content anywhere, which is helpful for learning on the go. And one significant highlight is that you can try it out for free—there’s a rotating selection of lessons you can access without paying a dime.
Pros
- The podcast format is a casual but effective way to start picking up Swedish.
- Even absolute beginners can start learning quickly.
- The free content is a highlight for brushing up your skills, even if you skip a paid plan.
Cons
- Pricing is kind of confusing, as you can get a free membership but with limitations.
- Not much written material—the focus is definitely on the audio/verbal aspect.
See our Super-Detailed SwedishPod101 Review
Read Your Favorite Content
ENJOY READING SWEDISH CONTENT
LingQ is a language-learning platform that focuses on extensive reading for over 30 different languages. You can import your own content or choose from the community library of books, articles, podcasts, YouTube videos, and more.
The app highlights unknown words across every lesson and makes them reviewable via different types of SRS flashcards. The more you read, the more accurately you will be able to identify content that is suitable for your level.
Although I did not find it beneficial for languages I had never studied before, I think LingQ can be helpful for upper-beginner to advanced language learners who enjoy reading. It is especially helpful if you struggle to find graded readers in your target language.
Pros
- Easily import almost any material you want to study
- Use SRS flashcards to quiz new words from a specific page
- Each lesson in the library displays the percentage of known and unknown words based on reading history
- There are many dictionaries to choose from for definitions
Cons
- Reviewing words is chaotic
- The extra features are overpriced and can be found other places for cheaper
- Very little of the content is original. Much of it was uploaded by users from other places
- The free version is extremely limited
See our Super-Detailed LingQ Review
Courses With Swedish Speaking and Writing Emphasis
If you’d like to effectively communicate in Swedish, whether through text or speech, then good spoken and written skills are needed. The courses we recommend in this section give you enough practice to help you work on these skills.
Best for Improving Oral Communication Skills
A SMART WAY TO START LEARNING SWEDISH
We love Pimsleur for learning many different languages, and it’s an excellent overall resource for speaking Swedish. You start with audio lessons that feature both female and male speakers, which gets you working on pronunciation and vocabulary immediately.
Pros
- Audio-based learning is a great way to start out.
- Speaking is the focus, which is what you want for fluency.
- The cultural info is a helpful addition.
Cons
- More reading and writing practice would be preferable (you can add a supplement).
- Lessons can get a bit repetitive.
See our Super-Detailed Pimsleur Review
Good for Intermediate Students Wanting to Practice Speaking
SOLID INSTRUCTION THAT’S PRICEY
Glossika has a ton of language options, which is the main highlight of the program. There are audio drills for listening and speaking plus comprehension. If you’re a beginner or intermediate speaker, you can pick up quite a bit of Swedish with the repetitive lessons.
The drawbacks, however, include the steep price—but it’s a worthwhile tradeoff if you’re working on multiple languages at a time.
Pros
- One subscription delivers access to all Glossika languages.
- Each language has a ton of audio resources.
- Repetitive lessons help drill the point home no matter what aspect you’re studying.
Cons
- The price is really high compared to just about every other decent resource.
- Some courses seem to have errors.
- You’ll need to be motivated—the repetitive nature of the program can get boring.
See our Super-Detailed Glossika Review
Learn Swedish Vocabulary and Grammar
Without grammar and vocabulary, reaching fluency is impossible. These are the building blocks of any language. Take a look at these courses which will help you develop a decent understanding of the Swedish language.
A Simple Intro to Swedish for the Budget-Minded
A SIMPLE INTRO TO SWEDISH FOR THE BUDGET-MINDED
Memrise is one of our favorite resources because it’s free and has tons of content. There’s a paid option, which gives access to more than just the user-generated lessons, but the free option can help expand your vocabulary and grammar understanding, too.
Pairing Memrise with lessons through italki or a robust textbook supplement can help you build your Swedish speaking skills pretty effectively.
Pros
- You can study specific vocab for different subjects.
- The user-created content is what’s free, and it’s always being added to.
- The flashcard-like format is simple to study with.
Cons
- The study decks sort of stand alone, so you can’t build your skills like you would with a more organized course.
- Not much advanced content for higher-level Swedish speakers.
See our Super-Detailed Memrise Review
Best for Learning Key Words & Phrases
LEARN SET-PHRASES WITH MEMORY GAMES
This is another app with courses available in a staggering number of languages. It’s essentially a slick flashcard app with several built-in memorization games and some opportunities for recording yourself speaking to practice pronunciation. It won’t give you any grammar practice or teach you how to form your own sentences, but it can make an inexpensive way to memorize some useful set phrases.
Pros
- Each phrase is recorded by a male and female native speaker
- You frequently get to hear recordings of yourself producing the language
- The price is very affordable
Cons
- The Memory Game exercise felt like a waste of time. It’s difficult to get a perfect score even if you know the language well
- Practice phrases are random
See our Super-Detailed uTalk Review
A Decent Course With a Useful Social Feature
A STRUCTURED COURSE WITH A COOL SOCIAL FEATURE
Busuu offers instruction in 11 different languages and is similar in approach to Babbel. The interface is exceptionally nice with this one, as is the nifty social feature. The feature allows users to get feedback from others on their pronunciation and writing skills and is free to use.
Practice happens through interactive activities with native speaker audio that are accompanied by grammar explanations, though they might not be the most in-depth explanations you’ll find. Overall, Busuu is a potentially good place to get practice in a wide variety of Swedish skills, especially for those at lower levels. It’s also hugely popular.
Pros
- The layout is easy to use and engaging
- The conversation lessons are especially useful
- The social feature is great
Cons
- The grammar explanations and practice could be better.
See our Super-Detailed Busuu Review
Tutors and Swedish Language Exchange
Are you looking for a tutor or a language exchange partner to help improve your language skills? These courses are the best to help you connect with native Swedish speakers. You’ll be communicating comfortably in Swedish in no time.
Tutoring Help No Matter Your Ability Level
TUTORING HELP NO MATTER YOUR ABILITY LEVEL
If you’re the kind of learner who prefers to work one-on-one with an instructor, italki will be right up your alley. You can choose from teachers or tutors, both of which are knowledgeable in different ways, and pick an hourly rate that works for your budget.
Most of the time, teachers have professional educational experience, while tutors tend to be native speakers or are very advanced in Swedish. You can choose someone to work on specific skills or just have conversations with to practice your pronunciation.
Pros
- It’s easy to schedule lessons and “attend” them.
- Trial lessons are available for most teachers at a lower price so you can see if you mesh with the instructor.
- There’s a language board where you can swap knowledge with other users.
Cons
- You need italki “credits” to pay, so pricing can get confusing.
- You might have to schedule in advance to book a slot with a more popular teacher.
See our Super-Detailed italki Review
Great Way to Find Tutors and Classes
EASY TO USE PLATFORM
Verbling is an online language-class marketplace where you can take lessons with teachers of your choice. It has some student-friendly extra features, including a built-in online classroom, flashcards, homework calendar, and a filing system for lesson materials. There are also useful but disorganized forums where you can discuss languages, share writing for critique, and do free language drills and exercises.
The lessons are generally high quality and well structured, plus the filters make it easy to find teachers who specialize in everything from accent reduction to interview preparation.
Pros
- You can find great teachers very quickly.
- The platform’s extra features, such as teacher-made, personalized flashcards, help you review the material learned in each lesson.
- It seems focused on long-term progression as well as immediate student satisfaction.
- You don’t have to give out your contact details, thanks to the classroom technology.
Cons
- Some teachers don’t use the platform’s flashcards and materials system.
- There are fewer languages available than on italki.
- You can only pay in US dollars, plus there’s a hidden fee.
- The forums need more moderation.
See our Super-Detailed Verbling Review
Best Way to Find Language Exchange Partners While Taking Its Audio Lessons
FIND A LANGUAGE EXCHANGE PARTNER FOR FREE
HelloTalk is a mobile app for language learners interested in language exchange. It facilitates communication between native speakers and those learning their language with the use of built-in language tools. It also offers audio lessons in 10 languages as part of a separate subscription.
Pros
- It’s exciting to practice communicating with real people
- The built-in language tools are helpful
- It’s easy to pick up and put down whenever you like
Cons
- It’s too easy to rely on google translate
- It can be hard to find good partners
- The paid audio lessons probably aren’t worth it
See our Super-Detailed HelloTalk Review
Maybe Try These Swedish Learning Courses
These courses weren’t included in our favorites section, but they still have a lot to offer. Check them out and see if you prefer any of them.
Udemy
You can find a course on Udemy for any subject, including different levels of and subjects in Swedish. Courses can last anywhere from one hour to 15 hours, and instructors are as diverse as the content offered.
Each course comes with lifetime access, and most instructors offer printable worksheets and other resources to add to your video-based study experience. Combining audio/video resources with some written supplements is an effective learning model, so Udemy can be a well-rounded option for learning Swedish.
Michel Thomas Method
Unlike other Michel Thomas-branded courses, Swedish isn’t taught by master critic Michel himself. We weren’t fans of his overly critical style—but the conversational lesson format is a positive, and he doesn’t do the Swedish courses.
Roger Nyborg, a native Swedish speaker and teacher, leads both Start and Foundation Swedish. Hours of audio content makes up the bulk of each course, and you can stream or download the lessons.
Rosetta Stone
While Rosetta Stone might have been innovative back in the ‘90s, it’s not so today. Its picture-sorting teaching methods haven’t changed, and that means it’s boring and not engaging at all.
There’s a bit of reading and writing practice, but mostly the format stays the same, using picture matching to reinforce vocabulary. In our opinion, it’s boring and not worth the price.
ALR Readers Exclusive Holiday Deal!! Get the Lifetime Subscription for 25 languages for $179 (everywhere else it’s $199 right now!). See details on the website.
See our Super-Detailed Rosetta Stone Review
Mondly
Mondly covers the basics, but beyond that, we can’t recommend it. At this price point (or below), you can get a lot more Swedish skills with another program or combination of courses.
In short, the repetitive format is unengaging, and the lessons don’t seem to build on one another in a way that makes sense.
Spring Sale! Get 96% off Lifetime Access to Mondly Premium, plus bonus access to Mondly AR & Mondly Kids! See details on the website. Offer ends on 4/30/24.
See our Super-Detailed Mondly Review
Transparent Language
Lots of languages are available with Transparent Language, but the quality of the materials doesn’t quite warrant the price. There’s not much in-depth Swedish instruction, and the teaching methods are severely lacking.
We can’t recommend Transparent Language, and the only thing it really does well is offers up a recording tool for pronunciation.
See our Super-Detailed Transparent Language Review
Best Free(mium) Courses for Learning Swedish
Looking for budget friendly courses to learn Swedish? This category incudes some of the best free and freemium options.
Free Basic Intro Course
FREE BASIC INTRO COURSE
FSI language courses vary in length and quality, and the Swedish option is a decent offering. It’s entirely free and includes 16 audio lessons (with A and B “tapes” for most sections). You can also download a PDF student text, which is outdated but still helpful as a reference.
There’s nothing modern or super high quality about FSI, but you can’t beat the quality of the instruction for a free offering.
Pros
- Completely free.
- You can download the material and take it with you (or even print the PDF book).
- There are both audio and text components for balanced study.
Cons
- The materials are really outdated.
- The PDF student manual is somewhat poor quality—readable but clearly a scanned document.
A Smart Starting Point for Speaking Swedish
A SMART STARTING POINT FOR SPEAKING SWEDISH
Duolingo is a more than adequate starting point for Swedish beginners. You’ll learn a lot of vocabulary through a variety of engaging exercises. From common phrases to basic sentence structure, Duolingo covers enough to help you communicate right away.
Of course, once you develop some higher-level skills, complementing your study with Memrise and some other more grammar-focused resources can round things out.
Pros
- Covers the basics, including essential vocabulary.
- Lessons get progressively more difficult, so you know you’re building skills.
- It’s totally free, so you can combine it with paid resources like italki for speaking practice and still stay under budget.
Cons
- It doesn’t cover the ins and outs of Swedish as well as other resources.
- Getting the pronunciation right can be a struggle because of Duolingo’s “robot” speaker.
See our Super-Detailed Duolingo Review
Great Spaced-Repetition Flashcards
THE GO-TO SRS FLASHCARD APP
It is the go-to app for free (except on iOS) Spaced Repetition System (SRS) flashcards. It has a simple user interface with various features that more hard-core users can dive into if they choose. Your flashcards will appear according to your natural forgetting curve; the app will test you in increasingly spaced out intervals, with more difficult cards appearing more than once in a session, while easier cards spacing out over weeks — or even months and years.
An SRS system is the most effective way to drive information into your long-term memory. The cards can sync between the web, desktop app, and mobile versions to keep your flashcards updated and with you at all times. You can add images and audio clips to your cards and change the text formatting (if you use it on your computer).
One feature unique to Anki, as opposed to other SRS flashcard apps, is the “Cloze deletion” function, which allows you to block out parts of your card and create a “fill-in-the-blanks” type card format. If you want a resource for how to make effective flashcards, check out the book, FluentForever. The author leaves a whole section dedicated to understanding how to use your Anki deck to advance your skills quickly.
Pros
- Offers a wide range of features
- Allows synching across multiple devices
Cons
- Anki’s interface may be a bit intimidating for beginners
- The aesthetic isn’t very appealing
See our Super-Detailed Anki Review
So, What is the Best Course for YOU to Learn Swedish?
Whatever your proficiency level—be it beginner, intermediate, or advanced—our top picks for online courses can help you hone your skills. After all, fluency requires the right resources—and fortunately, we’ve found them here.
If you prefer listening to your Swedish lessons, check out our post on the Best Podcasts For Learning Swedish.