Best Italian Courses Online 2024

18 Best Italian courses online to become a fluent speaker.

From penne pasta and espresso macchiato to Pavarotti and Prada, Italy is the birthplace of so much of what makes everyday life interesting. You’ve probably heard that among the Romance languages, Italian is the closest one to its Latin parent. But, wait, there is more.

Did you know that according to The Italian Academy, 60% of the words in the English language derive from Latin? Andiamo! Here is your roundup of the best Italian courses online. And, who knows? Studying Italian may actually help you improve your English.

Italian Courses Online – Overview

Italian is a fairly young language, having only become official in 1861. Nevertheless, the language and its associated culture are connected to thousands of years of world history in the arts, food, and fashion. A multitude of terms in music history and art theory is Italian, making this language very useful for academic creatives.

Alphabet – As with all languages, there are a few unique features of Italian to note. For example, the Italian alphabet only has 21 letters. They don’t use J, K, W, X, or Y. Many of the consonants they do use are doubled in a multitude of Italian words. Mercifully, Italian words are generally pronounced phonetically and almost all of them end with vowels.

Italian language certifications – There are various Italian certifications you can acquire. CELI (Certificato di Conoscenza della Lingua Italiana) is designed to help pinpoint your existing proficiency. CELI Immigrati is a version for foreigners who immigrate to Italy.

Progetto Lingua Italiana Dante Alighieri (PLIDA) also offers a proficiency exam. This one is officially recognized by Italy’s Ministry of External Affairs. If you are moving to Italy to study or apply for a long-term residency permit, this exam result will support your application.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also recognizes results from the CILS (Certificazione di Italiano come Lingua Straniera, or the Certification of Italian as a Foreign Language). CILS A2 certification serves as a certificate of competence in Italian to qualify for the EC Residence Permit. Ok, below is now our review of the best Italian courses online.

Best Italian Courses Online 2024 – Top Picks

StoryLearning Italian Uncovered	Rocket Languages Learn Italian	Udemy Italian Courses	Rosetta Stone Learn Italian
$297	from $99/Level 1	from $11.99/course	from $7.99/month
★★★★★	★★★★★	★★★★☆	★★★★★
Free trial. Discounts.	Free Trial. Discounts.	Up to 95% off.	Free trial. Discounts.
Visit Website	Visit Website	Visit Website	Visit Website

*Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. Read the full disclosure at the end of this post.

Note: Our list of the best Italian courses online aims to provide a starting point to build your Italian language skills. However, it cannot cover all the online Italian classes available.

1. Italian Uncovered – StoryLearning

StoryLearning’s Italian Uncovered courses (visit website) offer a unique and full immersion learning experience to learn the Italian language intuitively. These Italian online courses are either for complete beginners or intermediate learners and will help you to dive deep into Italian through stories. Learn new useful skills, grammar, vocabulary, and communicate in Italian, and succeed on Italian proficiency tests.

The structure of each Italian Uncovered story is simple. You’ll learn Italian naturally by fully immersing yourself in a story with 20 chapters. First, you’ll read the chapter on your own. Then, you’ll listen to a recording of the story to better understand the pronunciation.

Afterward, you’ll listen to the story while you read it, ensuring that your brain is getting your senses to work together. At the end of each chapter, you can watch multiple video lessons that cover Italian vocabulary, cognates, grammar, and pronunciation. It is one of the best Italian classes online if you are looking for an immersive and intuitive approach to Italian.

Provider: StoryLearning | Level: A1-B1 CEFR. Vocab, Grammar, Pronunciation.
Price: $297/Level | Trial: Yes. 7-days full access. | Rating: 4.9 ★★★★★
Info: View course. Browse all Italian online classes from StoryLearning.

2. Rocket Italian – Rocket Languages

Rocket Languages (visit website) offers learners an immersion into “the Italian experience”. They quote experts who say that “you only need 300 words to become conversational in Italian”. Rocket Italian teaches more than 6,800 words and phrases in their Italian course.

They also offer 88 Italian culture lessons that attempt to help you feel everyday life, know relevant public figures and understand significant historical moments. They have enough lessons for you to take one hour a day every day for the next year if you want.

Rocket Italian boasts more than 30 “advanced learning techniques” in its premium learning program. These vary from the basics to more in-depth material. This is one of the best Italian courses online if you want a strategic approach to developing your vocabulary.

User Reviews: 4.8 ★★★★★ | Info: Visit website. Free trial + discounts.
Pricing: Level 1 from $99 | Level 1/2 from $249.90 | Level 1/2/3 from $259.90

3. Udemy Italian Courses Online

Udemy hosts a multitude of paid and free online Italian courses for all levels. The premium ones start from around $11.99. Let’s look at three online Italian classes to get started:

Learn to Speak Italian by Singing Beautiful Italian Songs (visit website). This online Italian class gives you a chance to learn the words and meanings of some of your favorite Italian tunes. Yes, you are expected to sing along!

3 Minute Italian (visit website). Kieran Ball’s popular 3-Minute Italian courses are designed for busy people who can only set aside small pockets of time to learn. Lessons are only 3 minutes long, but with a total of 4.5 hours of material, that adds up to lots of learning!

Complete Italian Course for Business (B1) (visit website). This is a great class if you are gearing up for meetings with Italian business associates. The course teaches vocabulary for commercial negotiation and “typical commercial language structures and expressions”.

Overall, Udemy offers some of the best Italian courses online for little money.

Italian courses: 350+ | Rating: 4.7 ★★★★☆
Info: Browse category for all online Italian Courses on Udemy. From $11.99.

4. iTalki Italian Tutors Online

iTalki (visit website) is a tutor-based language learning website that has been around for 13 years and boasts 130 foreign languages. You can learn Italian online with a community teacher or a professional teacher. Their Italian online classes cover grammar lessons, business or conversational Italian, and exam preparation help.

iTalki has a mobile app and offers three 30-minute trial lessons. They deliver the trial lessons by giving you a credit for signing up which you can use to pay. Other features include “Notebook”, where you can write for practice and get feedback, a Forum, and the opportunity to partner with a fellow learner.

Review: ★★★★★ | Info: Visit website to browse Italian classes and tutors.
Pricing: Hourly rates start from $10/hour. Average between $15-25/hour.

5. Complete Italian Course: Learn Italian for Beginners – Udemy

Linguae Learning (visit website) promises to “teach you Italian faster than you thought possible!” They load you up with vocabulary, useful phrases for everyday situations and grammar building blocks through 39 hours of instruction. This online Italian course aims to help improve your Italian pronunciation and get you reading and writing the language.

By the end, you should be able to “structure basic sentences with ease”, “read a restaurant menu” and “tackle new topics, such as working from home and global healthcare”. You can earn a certificate on completion. One of the best Italian courses online for beginners.

Rating: 4.6 ★★★★☆ | Instructor: Linguae Learning, Udemy
Info: View course. From $11.99. Up to 95% off. Browse category Italian Online Courses.

6. Rosetta Stone Italian Courses

Founded in 1992, Rosetta Stone (visit website) has been a leader in language learning for nearly 30 years. Long before language apps and wifi, founder Allen Stoltzfus had a vision of employing computer technology to optimize the learning process.

Today, the well-established system uses “real-world scenarios, interactive activities, and audio from native speakers” to surround you with Italian. They have developed several features, including Phrasebook and TruACCENT to keep you on point as you make your way through their Italian curriculum.

They also challenge you to read stories to learn new vocabulary in context. Rosetta Stone’s native Italian-speaking coaches support you through your journey. This is platform offers some of the best Italian courses online for beginners and intermediates.

Languages: 60+ | Review: ★★★★★
Pricing: from $7.99/month. Visit website.
Deals: $179 Lifetime. Access all languages. View deal.

7. Lingopie Italian

Looking for an entertaining yet effective way to study Italian online? Lingopie might offer great opportunities for you. The platform allows you to choose from a vast array of Italian television with Italian subtitles. When you come across a word you don’t know or understand, you can click on the word in the subtitles. Lingopie will provide you with a definition, as well as a recording with the correct pronunciation, of that word.

Lingopie is suitable for learners of all levels, and it claims to help everyone to learn to speak Italian like a local. It differs greatly from traditional learning methods like textbook memorization and the “repeat after me” teaching style. For some learners, Lingopie Italian is not only a more enjoyable way to learn, but it’s also more effective in the long run.

Review: ★★★★★ | Topics: Movies, TV, Context, Pronunciation, Grammar, Culture
Price: 9 languages for 1 price. From $5.99/month billed annually.

8. Varsity Tutors – Italian Online Classes

Whether you are a student, a professional, or a traveler, you can receive the learning support you need through Varsity Tutors (visit website). The platform offers various Italian online courses and classes and a highly qualified community of Italian tutors.

Suppose you’re looking to nail Italian pronunciation, understand the ins and outs of Italian grammar or enrich your Italian vocabulary. In that case, your Italian online tutor can create a custom learning plan to help you meet your learning goal through one-on-one tuition.

You can also expect the teaching to reflect your learning style. For instance, if you are a visual learner, your tutor may use videos and infographics to keep you engaged and motivated. Similarly, if you require supplementary support or you’re preparing for your AP Italian exam, there is always a tutor to help your practice to reach your goals.

Topics: Speaking, Comprehension, Grammar rules, Vocabulary, Pronunciation
Pricing: 1:1 from $45. Class packages. Self-paced packages.
Info: Visit website for Italian. Review: 4.8 ★★★★★

9. Pimsleur Italian Courses Online

The Pimsleur Method (visit website) employs Graduated Interval Recall, the Principle of Anticipation, Core Vocabulary and Organic Learning to teach you Italian. This effective method is based on the research of the late Dr. Paul Pimsleur, who was a professor at UCLA and Ohio State University.

Over more than 40 years, his method has helped millions of language learners worldwide in Italian and many other tongues. One of his discoveries entails reminding learners of new words at prescribed intervals to lock them into long-term memory.

He also discovered that capitalizing on the brain’s need to process what is said and “anticipate” a correct response helps to increase understanding. The organic learning concept delivers new words and phrases in realistic contexts. The premium online Italian course comes in 30 lesson blocks if you don’t want to buy a whole package right away.

Rating: 4.8 ★★★★★ | Price: $14.95/month. Discounts available.
Info: Visit website to start learning. | Try free: Get 7-days free here.

10. Glossika Italian Courses Online

This AI platform promises to “improve your Italian listening and speaking skills at native speed”. Their audio-based model aims to help you reach the goal of thinking in Italian.

Along the way, the bot tracks your progress and layers more onto your sentence repertoire daily. Your monthly or yearly subscription gives you 24/7 access so you can set your own schedule for studying Italian. One of the best Italian courses online with an AI approach.

Rating: 4.8 ★★★★☆ | Price: $30/month | $24.99/month annually | Trial: Yes

Reading tip: Here is a guide on how to learn a language fast. Browse our lists of language courses online or language learning apps or online tutoring services to learn multiple languages.

11. Mango Italian Courses Online

Mango Languages boasts a “personalized experience”. Their online Italian course is taught using proprietary features through a conversational learning process. They focus on grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, and culture in a variety of contexts.

The grammar modules feature notes and color-coding to help you lock down the nuances that make Italian particularly challenging. Also particular to Italian is gestures. Fortunately, Mango embeds them into the culture lessons. The software gives you an opportunity to hear the language spoken at a slower pace so you can more readily catch things.

Mango Italian aligns with the proficiency standards mentioned above in the certification section. Mango offers one of the best Italian courses online for software-based learning.

Rating: 4.6 ★★★★☆ | Price: $7.99/month. One Language | Free test lesson: Yes

Tip: Not the right language? Browse our lists of best French classes or Spanish courses or English courses or German classes or Portuguese classes or Chinese classes or Japanese classes or Arab courses or Russian courses online.

12. Live Lingua Italian Tutors Online

If you prefer human beings over AI for learning Italian, then Live Lingua can help you find a tutor. It’s set up like a social media platform where you can peruse through profiles of certified, native Italian-speaking teachers. They offer a trial 1 on 1 lesson, but they aren’t clear on if the lesson is free or not.

Live Lingua has class coordinators that can help you get matched with your “language learning guide”. Tutors set their prices per hour, so the cost will vary. If you like learning in small groups or 1 on 1, this platform could be a good fit.

Review: 4.7 ★★★★☆ | Price: $18/hour | Free trial lesson: Yes
Info: from $18/hour. Take. free lesson.

13. Busuu Italian Courses Online

Busuu (visit website) encourages you to “make lots of mistakes” so you can get feedback from their Conversations feature. Native speakers are available to support you on your journey. You can study Complete Italian, Italian for Travel, or Italian Pronunciation.

The online Italian courses feature pronunciation lessons and a study plan so you can stay consistent. To test drive your newly acquired Italian convo skills, you can send voice notes to native Italian speakers. Their replies will help you improve along the way.

Supported Languages: 10+ | Review: ★★★★☆ | Info: Visit website.
Info: Free plan | Premium from $€5.83/mo. | Premium Plus from $€6.66/mo.

14. Italian Language and Culture Level 1-3 – Wellesley College, edX

EdX teamed up with Wellesley College to bring you this three-level online Italian course program. The instructor is Daniela Bartalesi-Graf, the Senior Lecturer in Wellesley’s Department of Italian Studies. They offer situational videos, downloadable podcasts, video interviews and a discussion board in their suite of learner resources.

In the Ciak! (Italian for clapperboard) videos, learners get a peek into the daily lives of eight Italian students on a college campus. The Italian grammar charts come as PDF downloads with optional audio files. They even have short lecture readings to develop reading skills.

The prerequisites for the intermediate online Italian course are either 1-2 years of high school Italian or 1-2 semesters in college. The advanced level is designed to help you perfect your speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills in Italian.

By the end, students will be able to “express their opinions, make hypotheses on a variety of subjects” and “understand simple texts written for native speakers”. This is one of the best Italian courses online to combine language learning with cultural studying.

Review: 4.7 ★★★★☆ | Price: Free audit with verified certificates for $49
Provider: Wellesley College, edX | Duration: 12 weeks. Self-paced.

15. News in Slow Italian – Online Courses

This website features short news stories for beginners and intermediate speakers with slow audio. The stories are simple and entertaining and feature an Italian transcript with complete English translation. This combination promises to simultaneously help you improve both your listening and reading skills. The Italian texts are read by native speakers at a “slow but natural pace”. Newscasts for advanced learners are also available.

Their Italian online courses include the Get Up To Speed (G.U.T.S.) beginner class, Grammar and Expressions in the form of short, self-guided modules. The series offers students fascinating opportunities to learn that connect with their personal interests. Music, meditation and historical events are among the series on offer at various learning levels.

Levels: News Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced.
Review: ★★★★★ | Pricing: Free trial. Premium from $19.90/month.

16. Preply Italian Tutors Online

Preply’s website works like Fiverr for Italian tutors. Tutors post their profiles and set their hourly rates. Preply verifies the profiles. Students can either search through profiles and select a tutor or they can create a posting for an Italian tutor and get matched by Preply. Much like Upwork, tutors can achieve higher ratings based on feedback from students.

A tutor’s profile also tells you how many active students they are working with and how many lessons they have given on the platform. There’s a “Book a Trial Lesson” button on each profile. Through live Italian lessons, your Preply Italian teacher can help you “improve your grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, cultural knowledge and more”.

Tutors: Learn Italian online 1:1 or in small groups. Native speakers. Multiple languages.
Review: ★★★★☆ | Pricing: From $15/hour.

17. Scuola Leonardo da Vinci – Italian Courses

Scuola Leonardo da Vinci (The Leonardo da Vinci School) offers Italian courses online to fit your busy schedule. Their morning and afternoon lessons are available in different bands. The school is in Italy, so their time zone is GMT + 2.

You can take their “Intensive” online Italian course for a full immersion in the Italian language and culture. Other choices are a Part-Time online Italian Course and Private Italian Lessons. They even offer Junior Italian Lessons which are “specially designed to meet the needs and arouse the curiosity of young learners”.

The school boasts a teaching method that is “influenced by modern didactics”. Its curricula are “designed according to the ‘Concept of Foreign Languages’ of the European Council and the guidelines of the ‘Accademia Italiana di Lingua (AIL)”.

Only Italian is spoken in their online Italian classes. You will need their textbooks and you can expect to also use newspapers, magazines, and videos during your course. This is a great online school if you want to learn in Italy but stay at home.

What? Various levels and online Italian classes. Daily lessons or part-time.
Review: ★★★★★ | Pricing: From $199/week.

18. Mondly Online Italian Courses

Mondly is a language program that offers free online Italian courses and lessons. They use “rapid language learning techniques” and promise you will have fun along the way.

The teaching follows 4 basic principles. The first is that they teach common phrases instead of individual words. Other principles include hearing native Italian speakers, practicing in realistic conversations and smart repetition to lock in long-term memory.

In the 45-minute Italian lessons, you can match what you hear with images on your screen. Mondly aims to become the Italian tutor in your pocket. On their homepage, they share the story of Robert De Niro’s motivation for learning Italian to inspire learners to get started.

Languages: The system can be applied to any language.
Review: ★★★★☆ | Pricing: Free plans. Premium services available.

19. Think in Italian Courses – Repite Con Me, Short Stories, News

This learning option gives you access to a collection of Italian Short Stories that range from Beginner (A0) to Advanced (C1). You can listen to the story being read by a native Italian speaker or opt to read without audio. Students will repeat what they hear and resist the temptation to immediately look at the translation so they can begin thinking in Italian.

There is a 4 step strategy that they recommend for you to learn effectively with the readings. First, skim to get the gist, then scan and pick out what you don’t understand. At this point, you look up new words and work to learn them. Then you look at the translation of the story and finally, you write a summary.

In “Ripeti con me! “, learners listen to recordings and repeat what they are hearing. They promise to help you get to the point of thinking in Italian with just 20 minutes a day of study. This is among the best online classes to practice Italian effectively.

Class info: Italian online lessons, readings, Q&A sessions, all levels, native speakers
Review: ★★★★★ | Pricing: Free trial. Membership from $33.16mo/annually.

20. OUINO Online Italian Courses

OUINO offers learners more than 450 Italian lessons online. These are split up into 5 modules: Verbs & Conjugation, Building Blocks, Conversations, Pronunciation and Vocabulary. The Italian language program offers a generous money-back guarantee if you are not convinced that “OUINO is the best investment you have ever made”.

They are “a small family of language lovers” and they invite you to contact them if you need help clearing hurdles along your path to mastering Italian. “Never underestimate the value of human help in this automated world.” If you are looking for something niche and interesting, their online Italian courses could be a good match for your language goals.

Courses: 450+ lessons. 1000+ exercises. All systems. No ads. Offline use.
Review: ★★★★★ | Pricing: Life-time $95.76. Monthly access from $12.99.

21. Coffee Break Italian Courses

Free podcasts help you “learn or improve your Italian on the go” on Coffee Break Italian. There are also Italian language courses you can sign up for at the Coffee Break Academy. These include video lessons with notes and bonus audio content. They teach 3 levels: Absolute Beginner, Lower Intermediate, and Upper-Intermediate.

Each podcast series is presented in a unique way with different online course materials. Coffee Break Italian online courses are premium, but access to the podcast library is free. You can also check out their Coffee Break Italian Magazine. Overall, they offer some of the most popular Italian online courses and you can learn other languages too.

Levels: Various levels. Free audio podcasts. Basic grammar.
Review: ★★★★☆ | Pricing: Free plan. Premium $124 for all Italian courses.

How to Choose the Best Italian Courses Online

With so many ways to learn Italian online, you will need to narrow the field down. To start with, what is your Why? Are you going to learn Italian for pleasure or business? There are many Italian courses online that cater to these goals and other motivations you might have.

Beyond price and motivation, it helps to have an idea of your personal learning style. For example, there are some Italian courses online that are more visual and others that are more auditory. Introverts may prefer to work with AI and automation, while extroverts might love connecting with live human tutors and fellow learners.

In regards to practicing, we recommend getting clear about your preferences for grammar exercises, vocabulary drills, pronunciation practice or speaking and listening exercises. Some Italian classes are text-based, while others focus more on audio lessons.

Once you have narrowed it down, you can do your price comparison and get started on your journey. There is a myriad of Italian courses online for all budgets and time frames.

Best Italian Courses Online 2024 – Summary

Wrapping up our review of the best Italian courses online of 2024. 

Indeed, Italian is not the most widely spoken language and doesn’t have as many native speakers as some others. Nevertheless, there are numerous great reasons to learn Italian online and lots of online resources out there to help.

Take advantage of free trials and holiday sales when you can to get started. As with anything, consistency will be key to your success in becoming great at speaking Italian.

By the way, the Italian you will be learning is the Tuscan dialect that is commonly spoken in Florence. This is the one that was adopted at the Unification of Italy as the official national language. Hence, all of the Italian courses online should teach you that accent, and hopefully a variation of other dialects spoken in Italy.

Italian Language Schools in Italy

• Lingoda Online Italian Language School
• Istituto Il David – Florence, Italy
• Piccola Università Italiana – Le Venezie – Trieste, Italy
• ABC Sestri Levante – Baia del Silenzio, Italy
• Academya Lingue, Bologna, Italy
• Solemar Academy, Cefalu, Italy
• L’Italiano Porticando Srl, Turin, Italy
• Centro Italiano, Naples, Italy
• Scuola Palazzo Malvisi, Ravenna, Italy
• Venice Italian Language School, Italy
• Europass, Italian Language School, Florence, Italy
• Scuola Leonardo da Vinci, Rome, Italy

Other Best Italian Courses Online & Resources

Check out our list of best language learning apps.

Sources: What is a PLIDA diploma? – Wikipedia | What is CIFL certification? – WIki | What is ESOL? – 1 | What is IELTS? – 2 | What is TEDFL? – 3

What are the best Italian courses online? What is your learning experience? Can you recommend any online Italian classes or 1:1 online tutoring? We like to be hearing from you.

Disclosure: This site contains affiliate links to some providers of Italian courses online. courselounge may receive a commission for purchases made through these links. It does not add any extra costs. All reviews, opinions, descriptions and comparisons expressed here are our own.