# Best Apps to Prepare for the Einbürgerungstest (2026) > How to prepare for the German citizenship test in 2026: the official catalog, free question apps, integration courses, and what each one is good for. Canonical: https://onewholearns.com/blog/best-apps-for-einbuergerungstest Published: 2026-08-12 --- Passing the Einbürgerungstest is not the hard part of becoming German. [The test is not difficult](/blog/is-the-einbuergerungstest-hard) — 33 multiple-choice questions, 17 correct to pass, and every question comes from a catalog you can practice ahead of time. The real question is which tool to practice with, because they mostly do the same thing and a few do it badly. So this is not a ranked list of "the 10 best apps." It is an honest map of your options and what each one is actually good for. ## First, know what you're preparing for The Einbürgerungstest is **33 questions in 60 minutes**, all multiple choice. Thirty are general federal questions; three are specific to your Bundesland (your federal state). You need **17 correct to pass**, the fee is **€25**, and you take it at a BAMF-licensed center. Every question is drawn from a published catalog of **460 questions**: 300 general ones that are identical across the country, plus 160 state questions (10 for each of the 16 states). You are only tested on the 300 general questions plus **your own state's 10** — so in practice you study **310**, not all 460. That one fact shapes everything below. Because the catalog is public and fixed, no app has secret or better questions. They all pull from the same pool. What separates a good prep tool from a bad one is whether it has the *current* catalog, whether it shows *your* state's questions, and whether it explains the answers in a language you actually read. ## Your real options ### The official BAMF catalog The source of truth. BAMF (the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees) publishes the full question catalog and runs an official practice test online. It is free and always current. The downside is presentation: it is German-only, plain, and gives you the questions without much explanation. If your German is already comfortable, it is all you strictly need. ### Free question apps and websites A crowd of free tools run the same catalog with a nicer interface — progress tracking, a phone-friendly layout, sometimes explanations. Quality varies a lot. The good ones are current and honest; the weak ones are stuffed with ads or quietly out of date. The catalog itself is free, so a free tool that has the *current* questions is usually all you need. ### Paid, dedicated Einbürgerungstest apps Native iOS and Android apps that charge a few euros, usually for offline mode, a cleaner design, or a "test simulation." They work fine. Just remember what you are paying for: interface and convenience, not better questions. If a paid app claims "exclusive" or "official" questions, be skeptical — the catalog is public and the same for everyone. ### The "Leben in Deutschland" integration course If you take a state integration course, the "Leben in Deutschland" test at the end uses the **same catalog** and, when you pass it, [counts for citizenship](/blog/einbuergerungstest-vs-leben-in-deutschland) — so you may not need to sit the Einbürgerungstest separately at all. Worth knowing before you pay for a second test. ### One Who Learns — our free tool Full disclosure: this is our site, so treat this as one honest entry, not a sales pitch. We built a [free Einbürgerungstest practice tool](/einbuergerungstest) that runs the **entire official BAMF catalog** — all 460 questions, in German exactly as they appear on the real exam, with plain-English explanations (and support in seven languages) on every question. There is a full mock test, and you can pick your Bundesland to drill your own state's ten questions. No signup is needed to practice; a free account only saves your progress and mistakes between visits. **What it's genuinely good for:** you read the German while understanding *why* an answer is right, not just memorizing letters, and it is free with no ads. **Its honest limits:** it is a practice tool, not a government service — it does not register you for the real exam (your local center does that), and while it uses the official catalog, only BAMF's own site is the canonical source. If you want the plainest possible official experience, use BAMF directly. ## How to choose in one minute - **Comfortable in German, want zero fuss?** Use the official BAMF practice test. - **Want explanations in your own language, for free?** Use a current free tool (ours or another) that runs the full catalog. - **Want offline drilling and don't mind paying a few euros?** A paid app is fine — just don't expect better questions. - **Taking an integration course?** Its final test may already cover you; check before booking the Einbürgerungstest. Whatever you pick, the winning move is the same: run your state's set a few times until it feels like review. Then put your real energy where it belongs — the B1 German you also need. That language requirement is the genuinely hard part of the process, and it is what our [B1 German course](/courses/b1-german) is built for. If you are still mapping the whole path, start with the [2026 citizenship requirements](/blog/german-citizenship-requirements). ## FAQ ### What is the best app to prepare for the Einbürgerungstest? There is no single best app, because they all draw from the same official catalog. What matters is whether the app has the current questions, shows your own Bundesland's ten state questions, and explains answers in a language you understand. Pick one that does those three things and practice it until the real test feels like review. A free tool that runs the full catalog is enough for most people. ### Is there a free app for the Einbürgerungstest? Yes. Because the 460-question catalog is published by BAMF, several tools run it for free, including our own. Free tools cover the entire question pool, so a paid app rarely buys you better questions — only a different interface. Try a free one first and only pay if you genuinely prefer its design or offline mode. ### Can I pass the Einbürgerungstest with just an app? For most people, yes. The test only ever asks questions from the published catalog, so practising the full pool a few times is enough to pass — you need 17 correct out of 33. An app does not replace the German you need for citizenship, though. The B1 language certificate is the harder, separate requirement, and no citizenship-test app prepares you for that. ### Do Einbürgerungstest apps use the official questions? The good ones do. Every real exam question comes from the official BAMF 'Leben in Deutschland' catalog of 460 questions, which is public. A trustworthy app uses that exact catalog and keeps it current. Be careful with old or unofficial question sets — a handful of catalog questions were updated, and outdated apps can teach you a wrong answer.