You can get a long way in Swedish without paying for anything. Here are ten games that are free to play, sorted by the level they suit, from your very first words to the point where you compete with Swedes on their own terms.
The list at a glance
| Game | Level | Best for | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duolingo | A0–A2 | A daily habit from day one | Adverts, paid upgrade |
| Ba Ba Dum | A0–A1 | First words, with pictures | 100% free |
| Digital Dialects | A0–A1 | Numbers, colours and basic phrases | Adverts |
| Bildkryss: Learn Swedish | A0–B2 | Recalling and spelling words | 100% free |
| Drops | A1–A2 | Vocabulary by topic, five minutes a day | Daily limit, paid upgrade |
| Clozemaster | B1–B2 | Words in real sentences | Limited, paid upgrade |
| Ordlig | B1–C1 | A daily word puzzle, the Swedish Wordle | Adverts |
| Wordfeud | B2–C2 | Playing against Swedes | Adverts, paid upgrade |
| Quizkampen | C1–C2 | Fast reading and general knowledge | Adverts, paid upgrade |
| Melodikrysset | C2 | Listening, culture and crossword skill | 100% free |
The levels follow the European scale, where A0 is no Swedish at all and C2 is mastery. Every game on the list can be played without paying. Three of them are marked 100% free: they have no adverts, no paid version and nothing to buy. The others pay their way with adverts or sell an upgrade, as the last column shows.
Complete beginner (A0–A1)
1. Duolingo
The app most people start with, and for good reason. Short lessons teach you words and simple sentences, and the streak counter brings you back every day. The whole Swedish course is free with adverts, and a paid version removes them.
Good for: anyone starting from zero who needs a routine. Less good for: speaking, and it gets slow once you know the basics.
2. Ba Ba Dum
A website with five small games built on 1,500 illustrated words. You match words to pictures, pictures to words, or type the word yourself. There is nothing to install and no account is needed. 100% free: no adverts and nothing to buy.
Good for: learning your first nouns by sight, and for children. Less good for: anything beyond single words.
3. Digital Dialects
A plain, old-fashioned website with small games for numbers, colours, days, food and common phrases. It needs no registration and is paid for by adverts on the page.
Good for: drilling one basic topic in ten minutes. Less good for: keeping you interested for long.
4. Bildkryss: Learn Swedish
We may be biased, but this one is our favourite, because it is our own. Learn Swedish with crosswords has puzzles in five levels, from A0 to B2. At the first levels the clues are in English and the answers in Swedish. From B1 the clues are in simple Swedish. After each puzzle you get a list of its words to read through. 100% free: no adverts, no account and nothing to buy.
The point of a crossword is that it never shows you the answer among four choices. You have to find the word in your own head and spell it right, and the crossing words help when you are unsure.
Good for: making words stick, and spelling with Å, Ä and Ö. Less good for: listening and speaking.
Getting going (A2–B1)
5. Drops
A vocabulary app where you swipe words onto pictures, sorted by topic: food, travel, the home and so on. The free version gives you five minutes a day, which is less of a limit than it sounds, because it makes the habit easy to keep.
Good for: widening your vocabulary topic by topic. Less good for: grammar and sentences.
Intermediate (B1–B2)
6. Clozemaster
You get a Swedish sentence with one word missing and fill it in. That sounds simple, but it teaches words where they live, inside real sentences, and there are thousands of them. The free version covers plenty, and a paid version adds more.
Good for: the long middle stretch, when beginner apps are too easy and real Swedish is still too hard. Less good for: beginners, who will not understand the sentences.
7. Ordlig
The Swedish take on Wordle: one hidden five-letter word a day, six guesses. It is free in the browser, with adverts. You need a fair stock of words to enjoy it, but it takes two minutes and teaches you how Swedish words are built.
Good for: a small daily challenge. Less good for: learning what the words mean, since the game does not tell you.
Advanced (C1)
8. Wordfeud
The word game Swedes play on their phones, much like Scrabble, with a Swedish dictionary to choose. It is free with adverts. You will lose often to anyone who grew up with the language, but you will learn the short, strange words that hold Swedish together.
Good for: daily contact with a Swedish friend or a stranger. Less good for: your pride.
9. Quizkampen
A Swedish quiz app where two players answer questions against the clock. It is free with adverts. You have to read quickly and know a little about everything, including Swedish history, television and sport.
Good for: reading speed and Swedish general knowledge. Less good for: anyone below an advanced level, since there is no time to look things up.
Mastery (C2)
10. Melodikrysset
A Swedish institution. Every Saturday morning, the radio channel P4 plays pieces of music, and the host gives spoken clues to a crossword that listeners fill in. You can solve it on Sveriges Radio's website. As public radio it is 100% free, with no adverts. To finish one you need to follow fast speech, know decades of Swedish songs and solve a crossword at the same time.
Good for: finding out whether you are really fluent. Less good for: a quiet Saturday morning.
When you have reached this point, our vanliga bildkryss, the kind Swedes solve, are waiting as well.
How to choose
Pick one game for the habit and one that makes you work. For a beginner that could be Duolingo every day and a crossword a few times a week. Later, swap in Clozemaster and Ordlig. When a game starts to feel easy, move one step down the list. Lycka till!
Ready to try number four? Pick your level and solve your first Swedish crossword.
Learn Swedish with crosswords