Catalan’s a fun to study, with its own literature and media, close ties to other Romance languages and deep roots in Barcelona, Valencia and the Balearic Islands.
Luckily, more online course options are finally becoming available for learners who want to go beyond tourist phrasebooks.
Whether you’re planning a trip to Barcelona, living or working in Catalonia, connecting with Catalan family and heritage, or simply taking on a lesser-taught language challenge, the benefits are real.
Below I’ll give you my rundown of the best - and worst - online Catalan courses.
You’ll find the pros and cons of each Catalan course, along with pricing information and a brief summary.
Where applicable, I’ll also link to a full review of the course.
Table of contents
IMPORTANT: Some of the items listed below are probably only loosely defined as “courses” for Catalan.
The reason I’ve included them is that they’re popular enough Catalan tools and therefore should be included.
DISCLAIMER: The comments below are personal opinions and some affiliate links are used.
The best Catalan courses online (most popular Catalan resources)
1. Talk In Catalan
Cost: $97 (one-time purchase)
Summary: Talk In Catalan is definitely one of the best online courses for learning Catalan, with hundreds of lessons designed to take you from zero knowledge through to a B1 equivalent competency.
It’s a linear course that will walk you through every aspect of the language in an easy-to-understand format.
What I like:
- Very comprehensive, detailed course that covers all aspects of Catalan
- Inexpensive and no subscriptions necessary
What I don’t like:
- Linear course may not be for everyone
Use the code MEZZOGUILD20 to save 20% on their Catalan course.
2. Parla.cat
Cost: Free for self-study; subscription model for tutor-led courses
Summary: Created by the Catalan government, Parla.cat is the most comprehensive official resource for learning Catalan.
It’s divided into proficiency levels from beginner to advanced, with a strong focus on structured grammar, reading and listening.
If you want an academically rigorous free foundation - or optional human tutoring - this is the platform to know about.
What I like:
- Official curriculum created by the Catalan government
- Comprehensive grammar and vocabulary across levels
- Free self-study track plus optional tutor support
- Culturally relevant and authentic material
What I don’t like:
- Slightly outdated user interface
- Can feel highly academic or dry to casual learners
3. Loecsen
Cost: Free
Summary: Loecsen is a free phrasebook-style course aimed at travelers and absolute beginners.
It teaches essential Catalan survival phrases with simple illustrations, native speaker audio and interactive quizzes.
You can jump straight in without creating an account, which makes it a useful first stop before committing to a fuller Catalan course.
What I like:
- Completely free with no signup required
- Clear native audio paired with visual illustrations
- Practical phrases for travel and everyday situations
- Quick, low-pressure way to start Catalan from zero
What I don’t like:
- Very limited in scope and depth
- Zero grammar instruction
- Won’t take you beyond basic tourist-level phrases
4. Mondly
Cost: Free limited version; Premium around $9.99/month
Summary: Mondly provides an interactive, app-based approach to learning Catalan directly from English.
It focuses on useful phrases and daily conversations, with speech recognition, gamified daily lessons and chatbot-style practice.
A solid option if you want something more app-like than official academic portals.
What I like:
- Available directly from English
- Focuses on practical daily conversations
- Includes speech recognition and chatbot practice
What I don’t like:
- Grammar explanations are minimal
- Exercises can become repetitive over time
Read my review of Mondly.
5. Glossika
Cost: Free for Catalan (other languages use a paid subscription)
Summary: Glossika uses a mass-sentence method with spaced repetition to train fluency.
It focuses on listening and speaking rather than grammar drills, exposing you to thousands of native-speaker Catalan sentences at natural speed.
The Catalan course is currently free on Glossika, which makes it an unusually good deal compared with their paid language packages.
It’s strongest for learners who already have a few basics and want to build listening and speaking reflexes through heavy sentence practice.
What I like:
- Catalan course is currently free
- Excellent for improving listening and speaking skills
- Uses spaced repetition with full sentences in context
- Audio-first approach that builds natural fluency
What I don’t like:
- Not ideal for absolute beginners with zero grammar foundations
- Methodology can feel repetitive without other resources
Read this Glossika review to learn more.
6. uTalk
Cost: Subscription model ($11.99/month) or one-time fee per language
Summary: uTalk is a vocabulary-focused platform designed to help learners pick up practical Catalan words and phrases quickly.
It skips complex grammar rules and relies on native-speaker audio plus memory-based games covering travel, food and everyday life.
What I like:
- Extensive vocabulary spanning dozens of topics
- Features real native speaker audio (male and female voices)
- Playful, low-stress memory games
- Works offline
What I don’t like:
- Does not teach grammar or sentence structure
- Only useful for vocabulary acquisition
Check out this uTalk review.
7. Clozemaster
Cost: Free core features, Pro subscription available ($8.00/month)
Summary: Clozemaster bridges the gap between intermediate and advanced levels with fill-in-the-blank exercises across thousands of real-world Catalan sentences.
It’s a strong gamified tool for seeing how vocabulary and grammar work in context, though it isn’t a foundational course on its own.
What I like:
- Great for intermediate learners bridging the gap to advanced
- Teaches vocabulary entirely in context
- Fun retro 8-bit game aesthetic
What I don’t like:
- Overwhelming for total beginners
- Audio relies mostly on text-to-speech rather than human recordings
8. italki
Cost: Pay per lesson (varies, typically $10-$25/hour)
Summary: italki connects students with native Catalan tutors and community teachers for one-on-one video lessons.
The methodology is entirely customizable - conversational practice, pronunciation, grammar hurdles or exam prep - with direct feedback from native speakers.
What I like:
- One-on-one live speaking practice
- Highly personalized learning pace and curriculum
- Direct feedback from native Catalan speakers
What I don’t like:
- Quality and structure depend entirely on the chosen tutor
- More expensive over time than self-paced apps
Check out this italki review.
9. Memrise
Cost: Free (community courses), Premium subscription available
Summary: Memrise doesn’t currently offer an official Catalan path, but its community-created courses are useful for vocabulary and short phrases via spaced repetition flashcards.
Quality varies by course, so treat it as a supplementary tool rather than a complete curriculum.
What I like:
- Vast library of community-created Catalan courses
- Highly effective spaced repetition system
- Great for memorizing large volumes of vocabulary quickly
What I don’t like:
- Quality of community courses varies greatly
- No official Memrise-curated Catalan curriculum
Read this review of Memrise.
10. Udemy
Cost: Free course available; paid Catalan course currently around $15 USD
Summary: Udemy hosts various standalone video courses from independent instructors covering Catalan grammar, pronunciation and vocabulary.
Right now you can find both a free Catalan course and a paid option for about $15 USD, which makes it easy to try the platform before spending money.
It suits learners who prefer traditional video lectures and clear grammatical explanations, with lifetime access once a paid course is purchased.
What I like:
- Free Catalan course available to get started
- Paid option currently around $15 USD
- Structured video lessons mimicking a real classroom
- Lifetime access to purchased courses
What I don’t like:
- Course production value and teaching quality vary by instructor
- Little to no interactive speaking practice
11. Duolingo
Cost: Free with ads, or Super Duolingo subscription (around $6.99/month)
Summary: Duolingo offers a gamified, accessible introduction to Catalan vocabulary and basic grammar through bite-sized lessons.
Important caveat: the Catalan course is currently only available from Spanish, not from English.
English speakers who want to use it will need enough Spanish to study via that track.
What I like:
- Highly gamified and engaging
- Bite-sized daily lessons that build a habit
- Great free entry point for absolute beginners (if you know Spanish)
What I don’t like:
- Course is only available for Spanish speakers
- Lacks in-depth grammar explanations
See this Duolingo review or check out my comparison of Duolingo and Babbel.
Summary: best online Catalan courses
This pretty much sums up every decent online Catalan course option currently available.
Catalan is still less resourced than Spanish or French, so the best results usually come from combining a structured course like Talk In Catalan with free official material (like Parla.cat) and real conversation practice.
In addition to a Catalan course, make sure you’re getting regular Catalan practice with native speakers.
For that, italki is still the easiest way to find really inexpensive practice partners and tutors.
Just remember that even if you have all the courses on this list, you’ll still fail at Catalan without the right motivation.
Even a poor Catalan course can be effective in the hands of someone with the right amount of determination to succeed.
For tips on how to learn Catalan and overcome various language learning struggles, subscribe below by ‘Joining the Guild’ (select Catalan as your target language).
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