Updated October 2026
The 8 Best Online Dutch Courses in 2026
All 8 courses at a glance
| Course | Best for | Levels | Format | Price model |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Introduction to Dutch (University of Groningen) | A free university starter course | Complete beginner (introductory) | 3 weeks, about 3 hours a week, taught in English on FutureLearn | Free; optional paid FutureLearn subscription |
| Online beginners course (TU Delft) | A free, more intensive start | Complete beginner | 6-week self-study course, 8 to 10 hours a week | Free |
| Babbel | A structured self-paced course | Beginner to lower intermediate (A1 to B1) | Short app and web lessons with speech recognition | Paid subscription; first lesson free |
| Dutch Fluency | A listening-first path from A0 to B1 | Complete beginner to intermediate (A0 to B1); news up to B2 | Self-paced audio story courses with transcripts and workbooks | Let's Go Dutch Module 1 free with an account; full courses with a weekly plan or a 12, 24 or 48 week pass |
| Learn Dutch with Bart de Pau | Grammar explained on video by a teacher | Beginner to intermediate | Self-study video courses; live virtual classrooms | Free lessons; paid video courses and classes |
| DutchPod101 | Short audio and video lessons | Beginner and up | Audio and video lesson library with lesson notes | Free tier; paid Basic, Premium and Premium PLUS plans |
| italki | One-to-one lessons with a tutor | All levels | Live video lessons, booked per lesson | Pay per lesson; each tutor sets their own rate; trial lessons available |
| InburgeringOnline.nl | Civic integration exam preparation | A2 and B1 exam routes | Online exam courses, no books or classes | Paid course plans |
What each course is good for
1. Introduction to Dutch (University of Groningen)Best for: a free university starter course
Complete beginner (introductory) · 3 weeks, about 3 hours a week, taught in English on FutureLearn · Free; optional paid FutureLearn subscription
Good: Lecturers from the University of Groningen Language Centre take you from zero to introducing yourself, talking about family, work and study, and writing a short email. More than 300,000 people have enrolled.
Watch out: It stops at a lower beginner level and focuses on reading and listening, so you get little speaking practice.
Visit Introduction to Dutch (University of Groningen)2. Online beginners course (TU Delft)Best for: a free, more intensive start
Complete beginner · 6-week self-study course, 8 to 10 hours a week · Free
Good: Built on the Delft Method: you follow Maria, an Argentinian student in Delft, through interactive videos, active exercises and speaking and writing assignments. Open to anyone, with several start dates a year.
Watch out: Eight to ten hours a week is a real commitment, and you register for a fixed start date.
Visit Online beginners course (TU Delft)3. BabbelBest for: a structured self-paced course
Beginner to lower intermediate (A1 to B1) · Short app and web lessons with speech recognition · Paid subscription; first lesson free
Good: Lessons follow a clear order, use everyday dialogues with native-speaker audio and explain grammar in English when you need it. Review brings words back before you forget them.
Watch out: You pay from the start, and the course ends around B1. You still need listening practice with real speech.
Visit Babbel4. Dutch FluencyBest for: a listening-first path from a0 to b1
Complete beginner to intermediate (A0 to B1); news up to B2 · Self-paced audio story courses with transcripts and workbooks · Let's Go Dutch Module 1 free with an account; full courses with a weekly plan or a 12, 24 or 48 week pass
Good: Let's Go Dutch teaches the first 1,000 words in 50 short lessons (still being released). A2 Foundations and B1 Intermediate then give you one everyday theme a week, told as audio stories by native speakers. Every plan also includes 37 podcast shows with 5,800+ episodes tagged by level.
Watch out: There is no live teacher or group class. Pair it with a tutor or conversation partner for speaking. (This is our product.)
Visit Dutch Fluency5. Learn Dutch with Bart de PauBest for: grammar explained on video by a teacher
Beginner to intermediate · Self-study video courses; live virtual classrooms · Free lessons; paid video courses and classes
Good: Bart de Pau, a Dutch teacher and founder of the Dutch Summer and Winter School, explains vocabulary and grammar step by step in video courses from beginner to intermediate. The virtual classrooms add a live teacher and a group.
Watch out: The self-study courses are mostly explanation, so you still need listening practice with real speech and someone to talk to.
Visit Learn Dutch with Bart de Pau6. DutchPod101Best for: short audio and video lessons
Beginner and up · Audio and video lesson library with lesson notes · Free tier; paid Basic, Premium and Premium PLUS plans
Good: A large library of short dialogue-based lessons. The free tier includes a survival phrases course, and the top plan adds one-to-one access to a teacher.
Watch out: The free tier only opens the first lessons of each pathway, and most of the practice tools sit in the paid plans.
Visit DutchPod1017. italkiBest for: one-to-one lessons with a tutor
All levels · Live video lessons, booked per lesson · Pay per lesson; each tutor sets their own rate; trial lessons available
Good: More than 100 Dutch tutors teach live over video. You choose the tutor, the time and the focus, from conversation to exam preparation. Preply works the same way.
Watch out: Quality and price vary by tutor, and you build the structure yourself unless your tutor brings a course.
Visit italki8. InburgeringOnline.nlBest for: civic integration exam preparation
A2 and B1 exam routes · Online exam courses, no books or classes · Paid course plans
Good: Built only for the inburgering exams, with separate A2 and B1 courses and full online exam preparation.
Watch out: It teaches to the exam. For everyday conversation you still need listening and speaking practice outside it.
Visit InburgeringOnline.nl
How to choose by level
Complete beginner (A0 to A1): one free university course or Babbel for structure, plus a few minutes of beginner listening a day. Learn the first few hundred words before you book a tutor.
Beginner to intermediate (A2 to B1): a course that gives you a weekly theme and lots of listening, plus one tutor session a week. This is where many learners stall, because textbook Dutch and spoken Dutch start to differ.
Exam in sight: switch to the official practice exams and an exam course a few months before the date, and keep listening to real Dutch every day.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best online Dutch course?
It depends on your level and time. For a free start, take the University of Groningen's Introduction to Dutch on FutureLearn or TU Delft's online beginners course. For a paid self-paced course, Babbel gives the clearest structure up to B1. For listening and a path from A0 to B1 built on audio stories, Dutch Fluency's courses fit. Add a tutor on italki or Preply for speaking.
What is the best free online Dutch course?
Two Dutch universities offer free beginner courses. Groningen's Introduction to Dutch on FutureLearn is lighter: 3 weeks at about 3 hours a week. TU Delft's online beginners course is more intensive: 6 weeks at 8 to 10 hours a week. Dutch Fluency's Let's Go Dutch Module 1 is also free with an account.
Which online Dutch course is best for complete beginners?
Start with a free university course (Groningen or TU Delft) or Babbel for structure, then add listening at your level as early as you can. If you prefer learning through stories and audio, Dutch Fluency's Let's Go Dutch starts from zero and covers the first 1,000 words.
Can you reach B1 Dutch with an online course?
Yes, but rarely with one course alone. Most self-paced courses stop around B1, and the gap is usually listening to real speech and speaking. Combine a course with daily listening at your level and regular conversation with a tutor or language partner.
Which online course prepares you for the inburgering or NT2 exam?
Start with the official practice exams: DUO publishes them on inburgeren.nl and the Staatsexamens NT2 site publishes them for Program I and II. InburgeringOnline.nl offers A2 and B1 exam courses, and Dutch Fluency's NT2 trainer adds exam-style practice. General courses do not follow the exam format.
Online course or tutor: which is better for Dutch?
A course gives you structure and is cheaper per hour. A tutor gives you speaking practice and correction that no course can. Most learners do best with both: a course or listening programme on most days, and a tutor once or twice a week.
How long does it take to learn Dutch online?
The US Foreign Service Institute estimates about 24 to 30 weeks of full-time study for an English speaker to reach professional working proficiency in Dutch. Studying part time online, expect a year or more to reach a comfortable B1.
Not sure which level to start at?
Take the free level test. It tells you your level and which course, podcasts and exercises fit it.