🇪🇸 Best Spanish podcasts for beginners

Mihalis Eleftheriou records real lessons with a real student and walks you through constructing the language yourself using cognates and logic — Spanish, French, Italian, German, Greek, Turkish, Arabic and Swahili are covered. Completely free, no ads, no sign-up, funded by donations. The Spanish course in particular is one of the most recommended free resources anywhere; the trade-off is small vocabulary and no reading or writing practice.

Mark Pentleton teaches a genuine student while you listen in, across French, Spanish, German, Italian, Chinese, Swedish, Portuguese, Japanese and Gaelic. The podcast seasons are free on any podcast app and are structured as a real curriculum rather than scattered episodes; the Academy sells premium lesson notes, video and bonus audio. Ideal commuting material for beginners through B1, and the Spanish and French series are the strongest.

Mark teaches while a learner-stand-in makes the mistakes you would make, which is a well-worn format executed unusually well and in a genuinely structured sequence. All four seasons of audio are free in any podcast app; the paid versions (around £199 per season) add video lessons, bonus audio and lesson notes. Scottish-accented English explanation with Spanish from Spain — the free audio alone is a complete beginner course.

Over 300 free episodes that teach vocabulary and expressions through salsa, bachata and reggaetón lyrics alongside interviews and learning-strategy talk. The music angle makes it genuinely different from the standard 'two people chat' podcast, and it is aimed at Latin American Spanish. Courses and coaching are the paid side; the podcast itself is free and still publishing.

An English teacher and a Spanish teacher explain grammar as a double act, which works well because Gordon asks the questions a learner would actually ask. Hundreds of free podcast and video lessons are grouped from Absolute Beginners to Advanced Speaker; the VIP club, books and immersion courses are paid. The recording quality is homemade and the pace is chatty, so it suits people who like a teacher's voice over polished production.

Running since 2005 with a huge free archive split into Inspired Beginners, Intermediate and Advanced, it is the classic answer to 'I want to hear real Spaniards talking, not actors reading a script'. The audio is free; worksheets and transcripts are sold as paid packs, which is the main catch since the advanced episodes are genuinely hard without them. Madrid Spanish throughout, so expect vosotros and peninsular vocabulary.

A Valencia-based certified teacher running parallel podcast series so you can pick your exact level and stay in Spanish the whole time, with topics drawn from Spanish society rather than travel phrasebook situations. Podcasts, YouTube videos and several ebooks are free; the Español Intuitivo/Claro/Ágil/Avanzado courses open for enrolment in windows. Peninsular Spanish, strongest at the B1–B2 stage where good all-Spanish material is scarce.

A British learner and his Colombian partner record real conversations at four graded levels, so you can move up a rung without changing shows. The podcast archive is free; the Foundations courses (A1, A2) and Academy membership are paid. Colombian rather than peninsular Spanish, and the beginner episodes lean heavily on English explanation, which some people find slow.

Built on the story-and-question technique: Óscar tells a short story, then asks rapid simple questions you answer aloud in the pause, drilling grammar into reflex rather than explanation. Over 450 free episodes with free transcripts, running since 2013; the point-of-view courses are paid. Spanish from Spain, and the repetitive drill format is either exactly what you needed or maddening — try three episodes before deciding.

Weekly episodes discuss real news plus a grammar and an expressions segment, with transcripts, translations and quizzes attached, at Beginner (A1–A2), Intermediate (B1–B2) and Advanced (C1+). Having genuinely separate Castilian and Latino versions is rare and useful if you have picked a region. Subscription-only after a 7-day trial, and the 'slow' delivery is unnatural by design — good scaffolding, bad model for how people actually speak.