Learn the Quran Online Free: Ten Free Routes, and Which Ones Hear You Read
Yes, you can learn the Quran online for free. Free apps and websites let you hear any verse recited and follow the text word by word. A handful of free live classes, sponsored places and the remote circles of the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah put a real teacher in front of you at no cost. And most online academies, ours included, give the first lesson free.
What decides how far you get is not the price but whether anyone hears you read. Reading the Quran is learned aloud, and an app or a recording cannot tell you which letter you got wrong. So we have sorted the free routes by that question.
We checked every route below against its own website on 28 September 2026 and describe each only as it describes itself. None of them pays us. If you would rather have a tutor hear you from the first day, our first lesson is free and plans start at $34 a month. Every paid class we teach, by age and goal, is on our online Quran classes page.
Free routes where a teacher hears you read
These seven give you a person who listens. Each one asks something of you in return, and the last column says what.
| Route | What you get free | The catch |
|---|---|---|
| Quran circles of the Prophet’s Mosque | Remote recitation-correction circles run from Masjid an-Nabawi, one for men and one for women. The circles’ set curriculum is al-Qa’ida al-Madaniyya | Circles are held in periods from Fajr to Isha, Madinah time (table below). Ask which language the circle is taught in before you rely on it |
| Maqraa al-Haramain | The two Holy Mosques’ platform: live audio or video sessions with qualified teachers for recitation, tajweed and memorisation | Its site names no fee but does not use the word free either, so confirm when you register |
| Free Quran School | “A free, worldwide Quran school” with live classes on Google Meet and recorded Noorani Qaida and Tajweed courses | On 28 September its live courses were for sisters, twice a week, set in Central and Makkah time |
| New Muslim Academy | “100% free” classes for reverts, private help with Surah al-Fatiha, live sessions and a mentor | It is for new Muslims |
| Sponsored places at academies | One-to-one lessons paid for by donors, at Al-Azhar Quran Teaching and QuranHost among others | Limited seats each month, only for those who qualify, often with a waiting list. Al-Azhar Quran Teaching asks for 90 per cent attendance |
| Your local mosque | Weekly Quran classes, many free or for a small fee, and a teacher you can meet | In a large class, each child may read aloud for only a few minutes. Finding a Quran class near you covers what to ask |
| A free first lesson at an online academy | One live lesson with a tutor. Ours is free on every subject, with nothing to pay and nothing to sign up to | One lesson. After it, lessons are paid: $34 to $84 a month with us |
Free tools with no teacher
These three are free to everyone and worth having whatever else you choose. They are how you hear the Quran recited correctly between lessons. None of them hears you.
| Tool | What it does free | What it cannot do |
|---|---|---|
| Quran.com | The whole Quran with translations, tafsir, word-by-word meanings and recitations by well-known reciters. Run by a US nonprofit, “free of charge and without commercial interests” | It assumes you can already read the letters |
| Quran Central | Recitations by more than 600 reciters, with offline listening. “Free. No Ads.” | Listening trains your ear, and nothing tells you what you said wrong |
| Tarteel | Follows along as you recite and finds a verse from your voice | Flagging your mistakes is a paid feature. Tarteel’s Alim Program gives it free “to those in genuine need” |
Our own free material works the same way. For the letters there is an Arabic alphabet chart, flashcards and tracing worksheets. For reading there is a Tajweed chart, and fourteen Tajweed rules, each heard in a verse recited by Sheikh al-Husary. Every printable is a PDF you can download without signing up.
Masjid an-Nabawi’s online Quran classes, in your time
Two official routes run from the two Holy Mosques. The Quran circles of the Prophet’s Mosque hold remote circles that correct your recitation, with separate circles for women, and the registration site works in English, Arabic, Urdu and Spanish. Maqraa al-Haramain is the platform of the Presidency for the Religious Affairs of the two mosques, with live sessions and an app. Many pages that rank for Masjid Nabawi Quran classes are academies selling their own lessons; these two are the official doors.
The circles are held in periods from Fajr to Isha by Madinah’s clock, which is three hours ahead of GMT all year. This is where those hours fall for you.
| Where you live | 5am in Madinah, around Fajr | 8pm in Madinah, around Isha |
|---|---|---|
| New York, Toronto | 10pm the evening before | 1pm |
| Chicago | 9pm the evening before | Noon |
| Los Angeles, Vancouver | 7pm the evening before | 10am |
| London | 3am | 6pm |
| Sydney | Noon | 3am the next day |
Times are for the northern summer. From about November to March, move the North American and London times an hour earlier; from October to April, move Sydney’s an hour later. Fajr in Madinah falls between about 4 and 5:30am through the year, and Isha between about 7 and 9pm. So a family in North America can reach the Madinah dawn periods on the evening before, and a family in the UK can reach the evening periods after school.
A free route for each level
Start with the level you are at now, not the one you want to reach. The last column is where free material stops being enough on its own.
| Your level | Free route | Where you need a listener |
|---|---|---|
| The letters, from zero | Our alphabet chart and flashcards, then Free Quran School’s recorded Noorani Qaida course; tick pages off on a Qaida progress tracker | Letters that sound alike to an English speaker, such as ح and ه, or ق and ك. Nobody on a screen hears which one you said |
| Reading slowly, learning the rules | Our Tajweed chart and the fourteen rules with al-Husary’s recitation; a verse on Quran.com played three times before you read it | You can learn what a rule is from a recording, but not whether you applied it |
| Memorising | The passage on repeat from Quran Central, Tarteel’s follow-along, our short surahs tracker and revision planner | A mistake memorised is hard to unlearn, so revision needs someone to hear it from the start |
| New to Islam | New Muslim Academy’s help with al-Fatiha, and a mosque’s new Muslims circle | Al-Fatiha is recited in every prayer, so it is worth having a teacher check it early. Our Quran classes for reverts set out a first year |
What you need to start is small: a phone or laptop, headphones so you hear the reciter clearly, and fifteen to twenty minutes most days. Short daily practice does more than one long session a week. If you want to go it alone for a while first, our guide to learning the Quran as a beginner sets out the steps in order.
If nobody at home reads Arabic
Most of the families we teach have nobody at home who reads Arabic, and this is where free self-study breaks down for children. The apps and charts assume someone in the room can tell a right letter from a wrong one. When nobody can, a child can practise the wrong sound for weeks and it sets hard.
You do not need to read Arabic to fix that. You need a listener once a week and a routine at home in between. The listener can be a mosque teacher, one of the free circles above, or a free first lesson used as an assessment. Ask the tutor which letters your child gets wrong, then practise exactly those with the free chart and flashcards. At home your part needs no Arabic at all: play the recitation, sit beside your child for ten minutes, and tick the page on the tracker. Our guide to teaching Arabic when you do not speak it lists what a parent can check without reading a word.
Free, a free lesson, a sponsored place, or a discount
The word free covers four different offers, and the pages that rank for it mix them up. One page ranking in the US for free online Quran classes offers adults a discount of 30 to 50 per cent. That is a fair offer, but it is not free.
| What the page says | What it usually means | What to ask |
|---|---|---|
| “100% free” | Free to everyone, usually group classes on the school’s timetable | Who teaches, and how many students are in a class |
| “Free trial” or “free first lesson” | One lesson free, then paid | Do you need a card to book? What does a month cost afterwards? |
| “Sponsored” or “donation-based” | Free for those who qualify, with limited seats | Who qualifies, is there a waiting list, and what happens if you miss a class? |
| “Free” beside a percentage | A discount on paid lessons | What the monthly fee is after the discount |
Our free first lesson, and what comes after it
Our first lesson is free on every subject we teach, with nothing to pay and nothing to sign up to. The tutor uses it to find where you or your child really are, and you use it to see whether the tutor suits you. Our tutors are qualified, and many trained at Al-Azhar. Lessons are one to one, or in a small group if you ask, and you can ask for a female tutor.
If you carry on, a monthly plan costs $34 to $84. That is $9.50 an hour, falling to $7.00 as you book more hours, and a second child gets 10 per cent off. If the fee is what stands in your way, tell us: discounts are available, and you have to ask for them. The full ladder is on our pricing page.
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Free Quran learning: apps, self-study and where to start
Can I learn the Quran online for free?
Yes. Free websites and apps such as Quran.com and Quran Central let you hear and follow every verse, and free printables teach the letters. For a teacher who hears you read, try the remote circles run from Madinah, Free Quran School’s live classes, or New Muslim Academy if you are a revert. Sponsored places, your local mosque and a free first lesson at an online academy are the other routes.
Where can I learn the Quran for free?
Online, at the Madinah circles (qm.edu.sa), Maqraa al-Haramain, Free Quran School and New Muslim Academy, all described in the tables above. Offline, at a local mosque, where weekly classes are often free or cost little.
What is the best free app for learning the Quran?
For reading and listening, Quran.com: the whole text with word-by-word meanings and many reciters, free and run by a nonprofit. For memorising, Tarteel’s free tier follows your recitation, though its mistake detection is paid. No app yet replaces a teacher for the letters a beginner mixes up.
How do I learn the Quran by myself?
Learn the letters first with a chart and flashcards, then the short vowel marks, then joining letters into words. Only then start the short surahs, listening to each line before you read it. Record yourself and have someone qualified listen once a week, because you cannot hear your own mistakes. Our beginner’s guide sets out the steps.
How do I join Masjid an-Nabawi’s online Quran classes?
Create an account at qm.edu.sa, the site of the mosque’s Quran circles, and choose a remote recitation-correction circle, for men or for women. The registration site works in English, Arabic, Urdu and Spanish. Maqraa al-Haramain, run for both Holy Mosques, has its own app and website.
How much does an online Quran class cost?
With us, a monthly plan costs $34 to $84, or $9.50 an hour falling to $7.00 as you book more, and the first lesson is free. When you compare academies, compare the price per hour and whether the lessons are one to one.
Is there an online Quran academy in America?
Several online academies teach American families, and ours is one of them, alongside families in the UK, Canada and Australia. Most of our tutors are in Egypt, so before the first lesson we agree a time that works where you live.