Best free resources for DELE prep in 2026 — compiled list

For DELE - Diploma de Español como Lengua Extranjera specifically, I found the PracticeTestGeeks explanations were detailed enough that I didn't need to buy a separate study guide. The combination of doing the practice questions + reading every explanation (for both right and wrong answers) covered most of the content I needed.

Great list. I'd add: LinkedIn Learning has some language proficiency-related courses that overlap with cert content, and if you have a library card many libraries give free access to it. Also check if your local library has access to O'Reilly or similar — tons of technical content there.

The official candidate guide is something a lot of people skip but it literally tells you the topic weighting and domain breakdown. It's the roadmap for your study plan. Never skip it.

Quick update for anyone tracking their progress here. Took a full practice test on PracticeTestGeeks last weekend and pulled a 78%, which honestly shocked me because two months ago I was barely scraping 60. The reading section is where I jumped the most. The explanations after each question are what did it for me, since I wasn't just memorizing answers but actually figuring out why I got stuff wrong.

Still nervous about the listening part though. Those audio clips go fast and I lose the thread if my mind wanders even a little. I'm sitting the real DELE B2 in November, so I've got a few months to tighten things up. Planning to do one timed practice test a week from here on out and drill the listening separately. If you're just starting out, don't stress about your early scores. Mine were rough and they climbed.

The dele practice test on PracticeTestGeeks was honestly what saved my reading comprehension section. I'd been scoring okay on vocabulary but kept tanking on the longer texts — the ones where you have to infer the author's tone or pick out implicit meaning. What helped was doing their practice questions back-to-back and actually reading the explanations when I got something wrong. Not skimming them. Reading them. That's where I figured out I was misreading rhetorical questions as statements.

The listening section still kicked my teeth in a little, but even there, drilling the practice questions helped me get used to the pacing of native speakers mid-sentence. DELE listening doesn't give you a lot of recovery time if you miss something, so just getting reps in mattered more than I expected. Grammar-wise I didn't need much extra help, but the written expression prompts I found scattered around were useful for getting a feel for register — formal vs. semiformal is a real trap on the B2 and C1 writing tasks.

Quick update from my end — I've been at this for about six weeks now and just scored a 68% on a timed practice run, which isn't amazing but it's way better than my first attempt. I've been leaning hard on the free dele a1 and a2 reading comprehension questions on PTG to build my reading speed, honestly didn't expect it to help as much as it did with timed sections.

Planning to sit the November session if registration opens in time. The reading comprehension gap was killing my score early on so I'd say start there if you're struggling like I was. Good luck everyone!

Just passed my DELE B2 last month so I can actually speak to this now. Honestly the thing that moved the needle for me wasn't more reading or grammar drills — it was doing timed practice tests under real conditions. Like, sitting at my desk, phone away, timer running. I'd been studying casually for months and wasn't improving, but three weeks of that and my scores jumped noticeably.

The other thing I didn't expect to matter so much was reviewing the questions I got right, not just the ones I missed. Sometimes I was getting answers correct for the wrong reasons and that'll catch up with you eventually. Anyway, good luck to everyone still grinding — it's totally doable if you're consistent.