After Dreaming Spanish: native YouTube, with a safety net
Dreaming Spanish (now Dreaming) teaches through graded videos made for learners, and on purpose without dictionary lookups or flashcards. Once you move on to native YouTube, where people talk fast and use slang, CaptionLearn gives you the meaning of any word or phrase in its sentence and keeps it with the moment it was said. The two work well one after the other.
CaptionLearn and Dreaming Spanish side by side
| CaptionLearn | Dreaming Spanish | |
|---|---|---|
| Price (monthly) | Free (30 lookups); Standard €4.90/month, Intensive €9.90/month | Free tier; Premium €8.99/month, Premium Double (Spanish + French) €12.99/month source |
| Price (yearly) | No yearly plan | None source |
| Videos | Native YouTube channels, by level and accent, or any video with captions | Graded videos made for learners; Premium adds 7,200+ exclusive videos, 3 new a day source |
| Lookups and saved words | Tap any word or phrase; saved with sentence and timestamp | None by design: the FAQ advises against lookups and flashcards source |
| Progress | Watch history and your saved words | Hours tracking along a 7-level roadmap source |
| Languages | 12 | Spanish and French source |
Where Dreaming Spanish is better
- Content made for learners, from the very first hour.
- It tracks your hours and gives a clear path through the levels.
- A real path for beginners, which native YouTube can't offer.
Pick Dreaming Spanish if
- you are starting out
- you want graded videos and an hours roadmap
- you'd rather not look anything up
Pick CaptionLearn if
- you are moving on to native Spanish YouTube
- you want to check a word or a phrase without leaving the video
- you want to keep what you looked up, with the sentence
What CaptionLearn does well
1 / 7
The meaning in this sentence
Each word is translated with the sentence around it, so you get what the speaker means, not a list of dictionary entries.
What it doesn't do
- YouTube only: no Netflix, no series or films.
- Auto-generated captions vary in quality, and a video without captions in your language can't be used.
- No flashcard review or speaking practice inside the app; saved words export to Anki, Quizlet and others instead.
- The free plan has a monthly lookup limit.
- No browser extension or phone app yet: it runs in the browser, on phones too.
Questions
Should I stop Dreaming Spanish to use CaptionLearn?
No need. Many learners keep graded input for listening time and use native videos with lookups when they want to stretch. CaptionLearn's beginner shelf even lists Dreaming Spanish's own YouTube channel.
Do lookups go against comprehensible input?
That's a choice. CaptionLearn never shows the subtitles' translation unless you tap a word, so you can watch without lookups and only check what blocks you.
Are you affiliated with Dreaming Spanish?
No. CaptionLearn is not affiliated with Dreaming Spanish. Their names are trademarks of their owners.
Try it on a video you want to watch
30 free lookups a month, no card needed.
Start for free