How to Learn Estonian for Free in 2026 (Every Genuinely Free Resource, Ranked)

If you're moving to Estonia, holding temporary protection, studying, or reconnecting with heritage, money is often tight — and the first question is rarely "what's best?" It's "what's actually free?" The honest answer: you can get from zero to a solid A2 in Estonian without paying a cent. But the word "free" hides two very different things, and knowing the difference saves you a lot of wasted evenings.

"Free" vs "free trial then paywall" — how we sorted these

A lot of apps describe themselves as "free" when they mean "free until you hit a wall." That's not dishonest, exactly — but it matters a great deal when you have no budget. So we split every resource into two buckets:

• Free forever — the full learning content is available at no cost, indefinitely, with no card required. You may see optional donations or a paid tier, but you can finish a real chunk of learning without ever paying.
• Freemium / trial trap — genuinely useful, but the free portion is a teaser. After a trial period or a daily cap, you must subscribe to keep going. Fine if you can afford it later; frustrating if you can't.

We also weighted how much real Estonian each one teaches. A free phrasebook is lovely, but it won't get you through the A2 state exam. Wherever a free tool is genuinely the best choice, we say so — even when it isn't ours. That's the whole point of this page.

Actually-free-forever resources

These are the ones you can lean on with zero budget. Roughly ranked by how far they'll take you.

Selgeks — free to start, story-driven, no account

Selgeks is the course this site is built around, so take this as the one entry we're not neutral about — but here's exactly what's free and why it fits a budget. The A1→A2 course is free to start with no account and no card: you can learn your first ten words in about five minutes and decide for yourself. It wraps the grammar in a story — a grandmother's unfinished song, a villain who erases forgotten words, and Pääsu the swallow guiding you across a real map of Estonia — so you actually come back the next day, which is the thing free courses usually fail at.

Keeleklikk & Keeletee — free, government-funded (and the real backbone)

If you want one structured, authoritative free course, start here. Keeleklikk is a free web course funded in part by the Estonian Ministry of Education and Research that takes a complete beginner to around A2, with 16 chapters, animations, grammar videos and roughly 1,200 exercises. Its follow-up, Keeletee, continues toward B1. Both are available in English and Russian, and a teacher answers your questions by email — genuinely free, genuinely thorough. The trade-off: it's more textbook than game, so motivation is on you. We dig into it in our Keeleklikk review.

50languages, LingoHut & Loecsen — free phrasebook-style courses

Three solid, free, no-paywall options for vocabulary and listening:

• 50languages — 100 free lessons with MP3 audio, plus games and tests, on web and mobile. Great for everyday phrases and shadowing the audio.
• LingoHut — 125 free lessons, no account needed, five minutes a day, focused on vocabulary and pronunciation.
• Loecsen — a free "first contact" course with clean audio and illustrations, aimed at getting you to basic A1 survival phrases fast.

Be honest with yourself about what these are: excellent free supplements for the ear and for travel phrases, but light on the explicit grammar (Estonian's case system, especially) that the exam — and real conversations — demand. Use them alongside a structured course, not instead of one.

Freemium traps to know about

These do support Estonian and are well made — but if your budget is zero, set expectations before you invest hours into a course you'll have to pay to finish.

Neither is a scam — Drops in particular is a beautiful way to drill words in tiny bursts, and the free five minutes can be enough if you're disciplined. Just don't build your whole plan on a free tier that's designed to nudge you toward paying. Confirm current pricing on each app's own site, since these terms change. For the bigger picture, see our roundup of the best apps to learn Estonian.

The best free path to A2

Here's a realistic, zero-cost routine that actually reaches A2. The trick is combining a structured backbone with daily vocabulary and a bit of listening — no single free tool does all three well.

1. Backbone: Work through Keeleklikk chapter by chapter for grammar and structure. It's free and built to reach A2.
2. Daily habit + motivation: Use Selgeks for a short, story-driven session every day, with native audio and exam-aligned vocabulary — free, no account. Export new words to Anki to review them for free.
3. Ear training: Add five minutes of LingoHut or 50languages audio so you get used to the sounds and rhythm of spoken Estonian.
4. Real input: Once you have a few hundred words, add free ERR news clips, podcasts or children's shows — even passive listening builds your ear.
5. Speak: Find a free language-exchange partner or a local keelekohvik (language café) so you're producing Estonian, not just recognising it.

If A2 (or the citizenship-track B1) is your real goal, keep the exam in view from the start. Estonia's national exams are administered by official bodies — confirm current dates, fees and rules with Harno and the Integration Foundation, and note that state-funded language courses are sometimes available to eligible residents at no cost. Selgeks is a study tool aligned to those skills, not an official exam provider, and using it doesn't guarantee a pass.

So which free resource should you pick?

• Want one free course that reaches A2? Keeleklikk.
• Want to actually stick with it day to day? Selgeks — free to start, no account, exam-aligned, with Anki export.
• Want free audio and phrases on the side? LingoHut, 50languages or Loecsen.
• Can pay a little later? Lingvist or Drops are worth the trial — just know the free part runs out.

The best learners mix two or three free tools and stay consistent. Aitäh for reading — and good luck. Want to compare everything side by side first? See our full comparison of Estonian apps and courses.