The shortlist
5 things that do it.
A sign language app with bite-sized video lessons by Deaf teachers, in ASL and, on the UK App Store, BSL.
- Free
- Free trial and a learn for free option (Lingvano).
- Paid
- from £13.99/month
- Best at
- A Duolingo-style course in either ASL or BSL, plus group and one-to-one sessions with Deaf tutors.
- The catch
- Premium is one of the dearer options here.
- ios
- android
- web
A gamified ASL app with lessons from native Deaf signers and a dictionary of over 11,000 signs, it says.
- Free
- Two free lessons every day (ASL Bloom).
- Paid
- from £9.99/month
- Best at
- A daily habit: two free lessons every day, at about 5 minutes a day.
- The catch
- Full access is a paid plan.
- ios
- android
- web
A free ASL learning resource with a video dictionary, sign categories and a slow-motion feature.
- Free
- Free (SignSchool and UK App Store).
- Paid
- price not checked
- Best at
- Learning ASL free: thousands of signs from a diverse group of signers and dialects.
- The catch
- More a video dictionary and modules than a gamified streak app, and ASL only.
- ios
- android
- web
A gamified British Sign Language app from SignLab, the maker of ASL Bloom.
- Free
- Free download with in-app purchases (UK App Store).
- Paid
- from £12.99/month
- Best at
- BSL in 20 modules with 120 lessons and 500+ signs and sentences.
- The catch
- BSL only; full access is a paid plan.
- ios
A UK website with an online BSL course and hundreds of free BSL signs, games, tools and printables.
- Free
- Hundreds of free BSL resources; the course is pay what you can (british-sign.co.uk).
- Paid
- price not checked
- Best at
- BSL on any budget: the course is pay what you can, with two years' access and CPD certification.
- The catch
- A website course rather than an app, and BSL rather than ASL.
- web
How they compare
Which one suits you, and why.
If you want ASL for free
SignSchool says you can learn American Sign Language for free, with thousands of signs from a diverse group of signers and dialects. It has a video dictionary, sign categories and a slow-motion feature, which helps when a sign goes by too fast to copy. It is on iOS, Android and the web.
What you give up is the Duolingo feel. It is more a video dictionary and modules than a gamified streak app, and it is ASL only. If you need a nudge to turn up every day, you will be supplying that yourself.
If you want the closest thing to Duolingo
ASL Bloom is a gamified ASL app with lessons from native Deaf signers and a dictionary of over 11,000 signs, it says. Lessons are bite-sized, at about 5 minutes a day, there are levels to unlock, and you get two free lessons every day, which ASL Bloom says is so anyone can get into the habit of signing. It is on iOS, Android and the web.
The catch is that full access is a paid plan. On the UK App Store, the one-month plan is £9.99, with monthly offers at £7.99 and £5.99, three-month plans are £47.99 to £49.99, and yearly plans run from £48.99 to £119.99, with some shown as offers. The free lessons keep you going, but the whole course needs a subscription.
If you want live practice with Deaf tutors
Lingvano pairs bite-sized video lessons made by Deaf teachers with group signing sessions and one-to-one practice led by Deaf Lingvano tutors. Watching a video is one thing; signing back to a person is another, and Lingvano builds that in. It has a free trial and a learn for free option.
You pay for the rest. On the UK App Store, Premium runs from £13.99 to £17.99 a month or £93.99 to £119.99 a year, and the BSL course also has quarterly plans at £37.99 or £47.99. That makes it one of the dearer options here.
If you are in the UK and want BSL
Bright BSL is a gamified British Sign Language app from SignLab, the maker of ASL Bloom. It has 20 modules of 4 to 7 gamified lessons each, 120 lessons in all, covering 500+ BSL signs and sentences. Lingvano's UK App Store listing also teaches BSL, if you would rather have tutors.
Bright BSL is a free download with in-app purchases, and full access is paid: on the UK App Store, monthly £12.99, quarterly £39.99 and yearly £89.99, with offers at £19.99, £27.99 and £44.99 also listed. It is BSL only.
If money is tight and you want BSL
british-sign.co.uk is a UK website with hundreds of free BSL signs, games, tools and printables. Its online course is a self-study course of 10 sections and about 20 hours, priced pay what you can, with two years' access and CPD certification.
It is a website course rather than an app, so there are no streaks and no pocket-sized lessons. You will need to be your own motivator, but the price is whatever you can manage.
When paying is worth it
ASL Bloom and Bright BSL come from the same developer, SignLab, and follow the same gamified module format, so if you like one you will know what to expect from the other. They differ in size. ASL Bloom's listing counts 23 modules, over 120 video lessons and more than 1300 signs and sentences, against Bright BSL's 120 lessons and 500+ signs.
Lingvano's UK App Store listing says 5 million people use it and calls it the most popular sign language learning app. That claim is the company's own, so treat it as a reason to look rather than as proof.
Try free first. SignSchool is free and ASL Bloom gives two free lessons a day. Pay, £9.99 a month on ASL Bloom or less when an offer is listed, when you want the full course. If you are still turning up after the free lessons, that is a fair sign the subscription will get used.
What to watch for
The catches worth knowing first.
ASL and BSL are distinct languages. ASL is historically related to French Sign Language rather than to BSL, and BSL has its own grammar and vocabulary and varies by region and generation, so an ASL course is not a BSL course. BSL is the visual language used principally by Deaf people and signing communities across the UK, so if the people you want to sign with are here, that is the one to pick.
The British Sign Language Act 2022 recognises BSL as a language of England, Wales and Scotland.
App Store prices for these apps include several offer prices for the same plan. Lingvano, ASL Bloom and Bright BSL all list more than one figure for what looks like the same subscription, so check the price at checkout before you commit.
The same shortlist, as a table
| Thing | Free tier | Paid from | Platforms | The catch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lingvano | Free trial and a learn for free option (Lingvano). | £13.99/month | ios, android, web | Premium is one of the dearer options here. |
| ASL Bloom | Two free lessons every day (ASL Bloom). | £9.99/month | ios, android, web | Full access is a paid plan. |
| SignSchool | Free (SignSchool and UK App Store). | not checked | ios, android, web | More a video dictionary and modules than a gamified streak app, and ASL only. |
| Bright BSL | Free download with in-app purchases (UK App Store). | £12.99/month | ios | BSL only; full access is a paid plan. |
| british-sign.co.uk | Hundreds of free BSL resources; the course is pay what you can (british-sign.co.uk). | not checked | web | A website course rather than an app, and BSL rather than ASL. |
How we checked
What we read, and what we haven't tested yet.
On 2026-10-02 we read the Lingvano, ASL Bloom, SignSchool and british-sign.co.uk websites, british-sign.co.uk's page on what BSL is, Signature's qualifications list, and the UK App Store listings for Lingvano, ASL Bloom, SignSchool and Bright BSL. We did not open Android listings; Android is listed where a vendor's own site links to Google Play. Nothing was tested hands-on, so this is what those pages say.
If none of these fit
The manual way.
For a recognised BSL qualification in the UK, Signature, a UK awarding body, lists British Sign Language certificates at Levels 1 to 4 and Level 6, and a GCSE in BSL.
If you were hoping for something that translates sign language for you, no app here does that. They teach it.