Keeleklikk Review (2026): Is Estonia's Free Government Course Enough for the Exam?

If you're learning Estonian on a budget, someone has almost certainly told you to "just use Keeleklikk." It's free, it's official, and it's been around for over a decade. But the question that actually matters is the one nobody answers honestly: is Keeleklikk enough to pass the state language exam? This review walks through what it does well, where it falls short, and exactly how to fill the gaps — without spending a cent if you don't want to.

What Keeleklikk is (and that it's genuinely free)

Keeleklikk is a free, web-based Estonian course built for complete beginners. It was developed by the Estonian Ministry of Education and Research together with the Institute of the Estonian Language (EKI), with co-funding from the European Union. It has been around since the early 2010s, and according to its publishers it has had more than 55,000 users in Estonia and abroad — so this is not a side project; it's a national resource.

The beginner course (levels 0–A2) is genuinely free with no catch. You register on keeleklikk.ee and get unrestricted access to everything. By the numbers, the A1–A2 course is made up of:

• 16 chapters covering everyday topics from greetings to getting around
• 200+ animations that introduce dialogues and vocabulary in context
• 100+ grammar videos explaining the rules as you meet them
• ~1,200 exercises to drill what you've seen
• An email tutor — a real Estonian teacher you can write to for feedback

You can study in English or Russian, which makes it one of the few quality options for Russian-speaking residents. There's also a sequel, Keeletee, that continues toward B1 — useful if your real target is citizenship. (Access terms for the higher levels have changed over the years, so confirm current pricing and registration on the official site before you rely on it.)

What Keeleklikk does well

Plenty of "free" language resources are free because they're thin. Keeleklikk isn't. Its strengths are real:

It's authoritative and correct

Because it was built with the Institute of the Estonian Language, the grammar explanations and example sentences are trustworthy. When you learn that aitäh means "thank you," you're not getting a community guess — you're getting the standard form. For a language as case-heavy as Estonian, learning correct forms from day one saves you from un-learning bad habits later.

It teaches grammar properly

Most beginner apps hide grammar and hope you absorb it. Keeleklikk explains it — the 100+ grammar videos walk you through how Estonian actually works, which is exactly what you need when you hit the partitive case or verb conjugation and an app just keeps showing you flashcards.

It builds a real foundation, in order

The 16 chapters follow a logical sequence, so by the end you have a coherent A2-ish base rather than a random pile of words. The email tutor is a genuinely nice touch — getting a human to correct your writing for free is rare.

Where it falls short for the exam

Here's the honest part. Keeleklikk is a great course, but passing the tasemeeksam needs more than working through a course once. These are the gaps we hear about most.

1. The interface feels its age

Keeleklikk dates back to the early 2010s, and it shows. It works, but it's a clickable e-textbook, not a modern app. There's little to pull you back tomorrow — no streak, no story, no sense of momentum. For self-studiers, that quiet lack of motivation is the number-one reason people drift away before they reach A2.

2. No real spaced repetition

This is the big one. Keeleklikk teaches you words and drills them while you're in the chapter — but it doesn't track which words you're forgetting and bring them back at the right moment. That's what spaced repetition (SRS) does, and it's how vocabulary actually sticks for an exam. Without it, you finish chapter 12 and discover chapter 3's vocabulary has quietly evaporated.

3. The A2 ceiling

The free course tops out around A2. If your goal is B1 — the level required for Estonian citizenship — Keeleklikk alone won't get you there. You'll need Keeletee or other resources to bridge the gap, and the jump from A2 to B1 is where many learners stall.

4. Weak speaking and exam-style writing practice

The Estonian state exam tests all four skills — reading, listening, writing and speaking. Keeleklikk is strong on input (reading and listening) and grammar, but it can't simulate the interview-style speaking task or grade an exam-format letter or email. You can email the tutor, but that's slow and not the same as repeated, exam-shaped practice. Speaking, in particular, is the skill most self-studiers neglect and then panic about.

Keeleklikk vs Keeletee (A1 → B1)

These two are siblings, not rivals — they're meant to be used in sequence. Here's how they compare at a glance:

The practical takeaway: use Keeleklikk to get from zero to a solid A2, then move to Keeletee for the B1 push. Neither, on its own, replaces dedicated exam practice for speaking and writing.

How to fill the gaps (for free)

Keeleklikk handles the backbone — structured grammar and reading. To turn that into an exam pass, add three things it doesn't do. All of these have free options:

1. A memory system. Run the vocabulary through spaced repetition so it actually sticks. A free Anki deck works, and so does any tool with built-in SRS.
2. Real listening at speed. Estonian news, podcasts and the audio in your tools train the ear for the listening section.
3. Exam-shaped writing and speaking. Practise the exact task types — a short letter or email, describing a picture, answering interview questions out loud — and get feedback, ideally graded.

This is exactly the gap Selgeks was built to fill, and it's also free to start with no account. Selgeks wraps a verified A1→A2 course in a story you actually want to return to, with built-in spaced repetition so words don't evaporate, native-quality Estonian audio on every word (generated with TartuNLP's Estonian speech models), and practice across all four exam skills — including graded writing. Crucially, every word and form is fact-checked against Estonia's official dictionary, Sõnaveeb/EKI, and you can export your vocabulary to Anki whenever you like.

Verdict: use it — then supplement

Keeleklikk earns its reputation. It's free, it's correct, it teaches grammar properly, and for a true beginner it's one of the best starting points in Estonian. There's no reason not to open it today.

But don't mistake "finished Keeleklikk" for "ready for the exam." Its dated interface, lack of spaced repetition, A2 ceiling, and thin speaking and writing practice mean it's a strong foundation, not a complete exam plan. Pair it with a memory system and real four-skills practice, and you've got something that genuinely works. For the full landscape, see our best apps to learn Estonian, our take on learning Estonian on Duolingo, and a head-to-head on the comparison page. When you're ready to test yourself, try our Estonian A2 practice test.