Memrise shows you real people saying the words. Immersed gets you hours of real people talking.
Memrise has moved from flashcard courses to a course app built on short videos of native speakers, scenario lessons and AI conversation practice. Immersed is a language immersion tracker and planner: a free plan built from your answers, then a daily timeline for the shows, podcasts and books you learn from, with reports of your hours. Memrise is a good bridge toward real speech. Immersed is for the real speech itself.
Free. About two minutes. No account, no card.
The short version
Checked October 24, 2026.
Something out of date? Tell me.
If you want to learn useful words and phrases by hearing native speakers say them, with AI chat to practise using them, Memrise is a friendly, affordable start. Immersed teaches no grammar or vocabulary.
If you already know a base of words and want to understand full shows, podcasts and books, Immersed plans those hours around your day, tracks them by activity and shows you the proof.
Words learned is one number, and so is hours watched. What you did in those hours (which of nine activities, at what level, how much you understood) is what makes real speech click, and that is what Immersed shows you.
01What Memrise is now
Less flashcard app, more course with real voices.
Memrise used to be known for community-made flashcard courses. In March 2024 those moved off the app to a separate community courses site, which is still running in 2026, and about 800 of them have come back into the app as word lists.
The main app is now one course per language, built from topic Scenarios with Learn and Review sections. Words come with clips of native speakers saying them at natural speed in different accents. MemBot, an AI chatbot, lets you practise in speech or text. In 2026 Memrise added Exam Prep, Podchats for advanced speaking and Memrise Stories, and brought back Mems, the picture memory aids, with AI-made images.
02The next step
A two-second clip is a taste. A forty-minute episode is the meal.
Memrise's clips are a real improvement on robot voices: you hear how people actually say things. They are still short and picked to match the word you are learning. Understanding a real conversation means following minutes of speech you didn't choose, at full speed, with words you haven't met yet.
That comes from hours of listening and reading real content. Immersed's free blueprint plans those hours: about two minutes of questions about your time, goals, level and what you already watch, then milestones for your first months, a daily protocol, the Hidden Immersion Time in your day, and an Immersion Library of things to watch, listen to and read. No account needed, just a name and email.
03While you immerse
A timeline for your day, and a timer that knows immersion.
With Immersed Pro you plan your day from Wake up to Wind down and press play when you start. Pick one of nine activities: Active Listening, Passive Listening, Active Subtitles, Reading, Study, SRS, Speaking, Writing or Shadowing. Rate how much you understood.
Memrise lessons fit as Study or SRS, and MemBot chats as Speaking or Writing. Discover gives you a feed of native creators and podcasts in 11 languages, and scrolling it logs itself as immersion.
04Looking back
What your hours were made of, not just words learned.
Memrise counts the words and phrases you have learned and what is due for review. Words learned tells you what you have met. It doesn't tell you whether you can follow it when it is real, and neither does a bare count of hours: your 1,000 hours and someone else's 1,000 are not the same.
Immersed's Growth page stacks your time by the nine activities, draws your comprehension line over time and keeps a consistency grid with streaks. Reports list your top shows and channels, with links back to them, so you can see which kind of listening is moving you. Export a PDF, Excel or CSV, or share a report link.
Side by side · checked October 24, 2026
Immersed and Memrise, feature by feature.
What it is for
Teaches vocabulary and phrases
Immersed · No
Memrise · Yes, through scenario lessons
Absolute beginners
Immersed · Free listening games in 12 languages, studio voices, all-time leaderboards; otherwise better after a course
Memrise · Yes
Native-speaker audio and video
Immersed · Full shows and podcasts you choose, via the Library and Discover
Memrise · Short clips matched to each word
Plan for real immersion in your day
Immersed · Free blueprint and daily timeline
Memrise · No
What to watch, listen to and read next
Immersed · Immersion Library, Toolkit and Discover feed
Memrise · Course content and Memrise Stories
Practice
Spaced review
Immersed · No, logs your SRS time
Memrise · Yes, built into lessons
AI conversation practice
Immersed · No
Memrise · MemBot, by voice or text
Exam preparation
Immersed · No
Memrise · Exam Prep for IELTS, GCSE, A-Level, IB
User-made courses
Immersed · No
Memrise · Word lists in the app; older courses on a separate site
Tracking
Hours by activity
Immersed · Nine immersion activities, stacked in reports
Memrise · No
Comprehension rating
Immersed · Per session, charted over time
Memrise · No
Top shows and channels in reports
Immersed · Yes, with links back to them
Memrise · No
Play YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts in a session
Immersed · Yes
Memrise · No
Export your history
Immersed · PDF, Excel, CSV and share links
Memrise · No
Rewards for hours of real content
Immersed · Outfits for Aim, badges and monthly Sprints, earned by immersing
Memrise · No
Apps and price
Languages
Immersed · Any; Library in 22, hand-picked Toolkit in 11
Memrise · Over 100 listed, counting community content
Phone and computer
Immersed · Web app on both; Android app in testing for Google Play
Memrise · iOS, Android and web
Free plan
Immersed · Blueprint, games with leaderboards, Discord, sample app
Memrise · Yes, with limits on videos and AI practice
Paid plan
Immersed · $60 a year or $9.99 a month
Memrise · About $62 a year in the US App Store; lifetime option
Credit where it's due
Both are good. At different things.
What Memrise does well
- Real native speakers on video, so you hear natural speed and different accents from day one
- Hundreds of thousands of clips matched to the words you are learning
- MemBot AI conversation practice, by voice or text
- Scenario lessons built around things you will actually say
- Exam Prep, Podchats and Memrise Stories added in 2026
- Mems are back, with AI-made images to help words stick
- A generous language list, and an affordable yearly plan
What Immersed does that Memrise doesn't
- Plans hours of real, full-length immersion around your day, starting with a free blueprint
- Tells you what to watch, listen to and read in your language, with a feed that counts as immersion
- Breaks your hours down by nine activities, from Passive Listening to Shadowing, and charts how much you understood
- Shows your hours, consistency and top shows and channels in reports you can export and share
- Rewards real immersion: Aim's outfits, badges that level up and monthly Sprint medallions are earned from logged hours, and none are sold
Pick Memrise if
- You are a beginner and want useful words and phrases with real voices attached
- You want AI conversation practice to use what you learn
- You are preparing for IELTS, GCSE, A-Level or IB
- You liked Mems and spaced review and want them in a modern course
- You learn a smaller language that bigger courses skip
Pick Immersed if
- You know a base of words and want to understand full shows and podcasts
- You want a plan for listening and reading that fits your actual day
- You want help finding content at your level
- You want to see what your hours were made of, and your comprehension rising
Use both, or move over
Use Memrise to learn, use Immersed to immerse
Memrise is a good warm-up: ten minutes of words with real voices, logged in Immersed as Study or SRS. Around it, plan a learner podcast on the commute and an easy show at night.
Start full-length immersion early, once you know a few hundred common words. The clips have tuned your ear; now it needs volume. Over time, let the immersion hours grow and keep Memrise for the words you keep hearing and want to nail down.
Pricing · checked October 24, 2026
What each one costs.
Immersed
- Free: the blueprint for one language (with the Toolkit, Library picks and the Fluency Checklist's Foundations), the listening games in 12 languages with their leaderboards, Aim Runner, the Discord and the sample app. A free account also gets the Fitting Room's day-one outfits for Aim, Hour Marks and badges from game time.
- Immersed Pro: $60 a year (starts with a free week, about $5 a month) or $9.99 a month. Timeline, sessions with the nine activities, Discover, Library, Growth and reports, monthly Sprints, more languages.
Memrise
- Free: start any course, with daily limits on native-speaker videos and AI conversation.
- Pro: all lessons, unlimited videos and speaking practice, no ads. The US App Store lists an annual plan at $61.99 and monthly plans; prices shown vary by offer.
- Lifetime: listed at $329.99 in the US App Store, often discounted.
Memrise prices differ a lot between offers, stores and countries, so check the app before you buy. The yearly plans of Memrise and Immersed cost about the same. They do different jobs: Memrise teaches words, Immersed plans and tracks your immersion.
FAQ
Questions people ask.
What happened to Memrise community courses?+
In March 2024 they moved off the app and memrise.com to a separate community courses site, which was still running in 2026. About 800 community courses have since come back into the app as word lists, and Memrise says it is not shutting them down.
Are Memrise videos enough immersion?+
They are a great start for hearing real voices, but they are short clips matched to single words. Understanding real speech takes hours of full-length shows, podcasts and reading. Immersed plans and tracks those hours.
Does Immersed teach vocabulary like Memrise?+
No. Immersed doesn't teach grammar or vocabulary and isn't a flashcard app. It plans, tracks and shows your immersion.
Can I log my Memrise time in Immersed?+
Yes. Log lessons as Study or SRS and MemBot chats as Speaking or Writing, live with the timer or afterward. Immersed doesn't connect to Memrise or track it automatically.
What is MemBot?+
Memrise's AI chatbot for practising the words you have learned in spoken or written conversation. Free users get limited access; Pro gets more.
Is Immersed free?+
Partly. The blueprint, the listening games with their leaderboards, the Discord and the sample app are free, and a free account opens the Fitting Room for Aim. The timeline, sessions, Discover, reports and monthly Sprints are Immersed Pro: $60 a year with a free week first, or $9.99 a month.
More comparisons
Stop guessing. See what your hours add up to.
Answer a few questions and Immersed builds your plan: a daily routine that fits your life, milestones for your first months, and things to watch at your level. Free, about two minutes, no account needed.
The plan is free and stays free. No card.
Checked October 24, 2026 against published product information. Prices and features change; if something here is out of date, tell me on Discord and I'll fix it.