Duolingo is brilliant at one thing: getting you to open it every day. What it does less well is get words out of your mouth. Most exercises are taps and matching, the speaking tasks are short and easy to skip, and Video Call, its real AI conversation, only covers a handful of courses and sits in a paid plan. Add energy limits on the free plan and the 2025 backlash over its "AI-first" push, and it is easy to see why so many long-streak learners start looking elsewhere.
TL;DRTo speak in every lesson from day one, pick Speak. For grammar checked by real people, pick Busuu. To practise hands-free on a commute, pick Pimsleur. For speaking practice built around your own goal or interest, pick Slova. For a chatty AI tutor at a low price, pick Praktika.
We took learners with long Duolingo streaks and gave each alternative a fair run on its paid plan during 2026, on iPhone and Android. The test was simple: after seven days, could we say out loud, without tiles on screen, five sentences we could not say before? We counted how many minutes of each session we spent actually speaking, not tapping.
Read this as a set of profiles, not a ranking. Some apps below replace Duolingo completely, and some work best as the speaking half next to a streak you want to keep. Find the one that sounds like the gap you feel.
Comparison table
✓Yes◐Partly✕No
| App | Best for | How it differs from Duolingo | Talking from lesson one | Languages |
|---|
| Speak | Speaking in every lesson | Every step is said out loud | ✓ | 7 |
|---|
| Busuu | Grammar checked by people | Native speakers correct your recordings | ◐ | About 14 |
|---|
| Pimsleur | Hands-free speaking | Audio lessons you answer aloud | ✓ | 50+ |
|---|
| Slova | Speaking around your goal or interest | Personal path, lessons can be done aloud | ✓ | 10 and growing |
|---|
| Praktika | A cheap AI tutor with a face | Open voice calls with avatar tutors | ✓ | 12 |
|---|
| Babbel | A serious course with speaking | Adult dialogues, AI speaking in beta | ◐ | 14 |
|---|
| Falou | Short guided speaking | Repeat and answer from minute one | ✓ | 20+ |
|---|
| Teuida | Korean and Japanese speaking | Filmed scenes you answer | ✓ | 3 |
|---|
| Talkpal | Free daily AI talk | AI chat in many modes | ✓ | 100+ |
|---|
| Tandem | Real people for free | Language exchange partners | ◐ | 300+ |
|---|
How we chose
- Minutes spent talking. How much of a normal session is your own voice, not taps and tiles.
- Speaking without a crutch. Whether you practise saying sentences with no word bank on screen.
- Feedback you can use. Whether the app, or a person, tells you what was wrong in plain words.
- A reason to come back. Duolingo's habit loop is hard to beat, so we checked what pulls you back instead.
- Room to grow. Whether there is still something to learn after the first three months.
The best Duolingo alternatives for speaking
1
Speak
Best for speaking in every lesson
Speak builds its whole course around your voice: you hear a phrase, say it, use it in guided practice and then in a short roleplay. There is a tutor to ask when you are stuck and a review mode for what you learned. It teaches English, Spanish, French, Japanese, Korean, Italian and Mandarin.
On day one of Spanish, a learner with a 400-day Duolingo streak had to say quisiera una mesa para dos six times before the app moved on. She said it was the most Spanish she had spoken aloud in a year. By day five she was answering the roleplay waiter before reading the prompt. The one complaint: every step wants your voice, so quiet places like an office are out.
GoodThe strongest daily speaking habit here, with a clear course behind it.
Watch outOne of the pricier plans, and higher levels feel repetitive.
- About 18 dollars a month
- 7 languages
- iPhone, Android
2
Busuu
Best for grammar checked by real people
Busuu is a course tied to CEFR levels, where grammar is explained in order and native speakers in the community correct your spoken and written answers. Premium Plus adds AI Conversations with instant feedback in the mobile app. It suits Duolingo learners who can recognise sentences but do not know why they work.
On day three we recorded a German answer about our morning routine and said ich stehe um sieben Uhr auf und dann ich trinke Kaffee. By the evening a speaker in Munich had fixed it to dann trinke ich Kaffee and explained the verb-second rule in two lines. Nobody in eight months of tiles had told us that. The waiting is slower than an AI, but the fix felt earned.
GoodClear grammar, CEFR levels and human corrections on your speaking.
Watch outLess speaking time per session than a voice tutor, and AI conversation only in the top plan.
- Free, or about 10 to 14 dollars a month
- About 14 languages
- iPhone, Android, web
3
Pimsleur
Best for hands-free speaking
Pimsleur is an audio course of 30-minute lessons: a voice asks you how to say something, you answer out loud, and phrases come back at spaced intervals. Voice Coach scores your pronunciation, and an AI Conversation Coach is in beta for some courses. It is the opposite of Duolingo's tapping, and it fits a commute or a walk.
On day four of Italian, driving to work, we heard the prompt and said vorrei prenotare un tavolo before the answer played, without thinking about it. That automatic reply is exactly what tapping never built. The pace is slow, though, and after a week we had spoken a lot but read almost nothing. It is best as your ears-and-mouth app next to something with text.
GoodReal spoken recall, fully hands-free, in more than 50 languages.
Watch outSlow, light on reading and writing, and expensive per language.
- About 20 to 21 dollars a month
- 50+ languages
- iPhone, Android, web
4
Slova
Best for speaking around your own goal or interest
Slova does not start with a skill tree. It starts with one sentence about why you are learning, whether that is a career goal like a job transfer or an exam, a life goal like moving to Lisbon or visiting family, or something you love, like football, cooking or K-dramas, and it builds a path of lessons around it. Behind the path is a full A0 to C2 curriculum made by language learners and computer scientists. Every lesson can be done visually at your own pace or out loud with our AI tutors, who listen and correct you, so speaking is part of the lesson itself rather than an extra at the end.
It feels immersive in a way tiles do not. Instead of weeks of the boy eats bread, you learn inside the thing you care about from the first lesson: a work transfer starts with your new team and your own job, a love of football starts with match talk. You can make your own practice with AI as well: describe a place and get a picture scene with every object labelled in your language, or ask for a short podcast or story on your topic at your level. It is the only app on this list where you make your own practice material with AI.
That is also why it moves fast. The words you learn today are the ones you need tomorrow, so you say them straight away and they stick. Every word from lessons, tutor talks, pictures and texts goes into one list, the Lexicon, and comes back for review. And because the course is about your own life, it is easier to open in week six than a course written for everyone, even without a streak counter pushing you.
We tested it with a job transfer to Lyon. The path began with introducing yourself to a new team, explaining your role and handling small talk at lunch, and on day two the tutor had us describe our job out loud and caught je travaille ici depuis trois ans where we had said pour trois ans. We asked for a short A2 podcast about a first week in a Lyon office, and la cantine, un collègue and une réunion went into the Lexicon with the lesson words. By day seven we could introduce ourselves and our work for a full minute with no notes.
GoodSpeaking built into every lesson, around your real reason for learning, with every word kept in one list.
Watch outNewer than Duolingo, with 10 languages today rather than 40.
- 10 languages and growing
- A0 to C2 curriculum
- AI tutors in every lesson
5
Praktika
Best for a cheap AI tutor with a face
Praktika gives you animated avatar tutors who talk with you in voice, correct you and let you choose how strict the feedback is. There is a daily lesson plus free conversation on any topic. English is its strongest course, and the price is among the lowest for a voice tutor.
On day two a learner who had finished Duolingo's English tree asked a tutor for help planning a birthday party. She said we will make a party at saturday, and the tutor answered normally, then showed we will have a party on Saturday. She told us it was the first time an app had let her say something she actually wanted to say. The words from the call, though, were not saved anywhere for review.
GoodLots of speaking time for a low price, with a friendly face that helps shy learners.
Watch outThe path is fixed, and new words from your calls are not collected.
- About 7 to 10 dollars a month
- 12 languages
- iPhone, Android
6
Babbel
Best for a serious course with speaking added
Babbel is a subscription course written for adults, with practical dialogues, clear grammar notes and review. Babbel Speak, an AI speaking trainer with hints and slower replies, is in beta for French, German, Italian and Mexican Spanish. It is the natural step for Duolingo users who want something more grown-up.
On day three of French the lesson walked us through booking a table and then asked us to say the full line, je voudrais réserver une table pour ce soir. In Babbel Speak, the AI host asked a follow-up question we had not prepared for, and the hint button saved us. The grammar notes felt like a patient teacher. Outside the beta languages, speaking practice is thinner.
GoodA well-written adult course with honest grammar and some AI speaking.
Watch outNo real free plan, and AI speaking covers only four courses so far.
- About 18 dollars a month, less on longer plans
- 14 languages
- iPhone, Android, web
7
Falou
Best for short guided speaking
Falou gives short lessons where you repeat and answer aloud from the first minute, with feedback on pronunciation. It covers more than 20 languages. It is a good bridge for Duolingo users who freeze when they have to speak.
On day one of Japanese we were saying すみません、駅はどこですか within five minutes, and the app marked the part it did not catch. The sessions were short enough to do after a Duolingo lesson without feeling like extra work. By the end of the week we wanted more explanation of why sentences were built that way.
GoodSpeaking from the first minute, in short sessions and many languages.
Watch outThin on grammar, and some users report speech recognition problems.
- From about 10 dollars a month
- 20+ languages
- iPhone, Android
8
Teuida
Best for speaking Korean and Japanese
Teuida puts you inside filmed, first-person scenes where a character talks to you and you answer out loud. It scores your pronunciation and teaches the everyday lines you would actually need. It covers Korean, Japanese and Spanish, and it is a favourite with K-culture and J-culture fans.
On day three a character at a Seoul café asked us what we wanted, and we answered 아이스 아메리카노 주세요 to the camera. It felt closer to a real moment than any exercise in Duolingo's Korean course. The lines are scripted, so you cannot go off topic. For a first month of speaking, that structure helped more than it hurt.
GoodThe most immersive speaking practice here for Korean and Japanese.
Watch outOnly three languages, scripted lines and limited grammar.
- About 15 to 18 dollars a month
- Korean, Japanese, Spanish
- iPhone, Android
9
Talkpal
Best for free daily AI conversation
Talkpal is an AI tutor with voice and text chat in many modes, from free talk to roleplays and debates. The free plan gives about 10 minutes of conversation a day. It covers far more languages than Duolingo's AI features do.
On day four of Portuguese we chatted about weekend plans and said eu vou ir na praia, and the tutor offered the more natural eu vou à praia. Ten free minutes felt like the right length after a Duolingo lesson. The voice was flat, and there was no real course around the chats, but as a free speaking add-on it did its job.
GoodReal daily AI conversation for free, in a huge range of languages.
Watch outNo clear path or levels, and voice quality changes by language.
- Free 10 minutes a day, or about 10 to 20 dollars a month
- 100+ languages
- iPhone, Android, web
10
Tandem
Best for real people at no cost
Tandem matches you with native speakers who want to learn your language, for text chat, voice messages and calls. AI tools help you write and correct messages. The basic app is free, with a Pro plan for extras.
On day two we found a partner in Madrid and swapped voice notes about our cities. When we said es muy calor aquí, she replied hace mucho calor, laughed, and sent back an English question for us to fix. It was real, warm and unpredictable. A few partners also went quiet after a day, which is normal on exchange apps.
GoodFree practice with real people in a very wide range of languages.
Watch outNo course, and partners can be unreliable.
- Free, or about 19 dollars a month for Pro
- 300+ languages
- iPhone, Android
Best app by goal
| Your goal | Our pick | Also good |
|---|
| Speak in every lesson | Speak | Falou |
|---|
| Learn for a job, a move or a passion | Slova | Babbel |
|---|
| Practise while commuting | Pimsleur | Speak |
|---|
| Understand the grammar behind it | Busuu | Babbel |
|---|
| Talk freely with an AI tutor | Praktika | Talkpal |
|---|
| Speak Korean or Japanese | Teuida | Speak |
|---|
| Keep every word you learn | Slova | Busuu |
|---|
| Talk to real people for free | Tandem | Talkpal |
|---|
Why tapping does not turn into talking
Recognising a sentence and producing it are two different skills. When you pick words from tiles, your brain only has to spot the right answer. When you speak, it has to find each word, put it in order and get your mouth to say it, all in real time. That is why many learners can finish a Duolingo unit and still go blank in a shop.
The fix is not more minutes in the same kind of exercise. It is speaking with nothing on screen to lean on, getting told what was wrong, and saying it again. Every app above does some version of that. The ones that work best also make you use new words the next day, which is when they start to stay.
Keep your streak or switch
You do not have to choose. If the streak is what keeps you coming back, keep Duolingo for five minutes a day and add a speaking app for ten. Many learners find this is the most sustainable mix: Duolingo for the habit, a voice tutor or audio course for the talking.
Switch fully when the streak has become the goal instead of the language, or when paying for both feels silly. A good sign that you are ready: you open Duolingo, finish a lesson and realise you did not say a word out loud.
Which one should you pick
If you want to speak in every lesson and do not mind paying for it, Speak is the clearest choice. If you commute, Pimsleur turns travel time into speaking time. If you want grammar explained and checked, Busuu or Babbel will feel like a step up.
If you want cheap, open AI conversation, Praktika is the friendliest and Talkpal has a free daily allowance. If you learn Korean or Japanese, try Teuida. If you want real people, Tandem is free.
If you are learning for something specific, like a job, a move or a passion you want to share in another language, start with Slova. It is the app here that builds the lessons, the spoken practice and the word review around that one reason.
Conclusion
Duolingo gets you to show up. These apps get you to speak. Speak and Pimsleur give the most talking time, Busuu and Babbel explain the grammar, Praktika and Talkpal give cheap AI conversation, and Teuida and Tandem bring real scenes and real people. If you want speaking practice tied to a full course around your own goals and interests, give Slova a try.
Still weighing Duolingo against one app? Read Airlearn vs Duolingo, Duolingo vs Praktika and Duolingo vs Speak. For the wider picture, see the best AI language learning apps.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best Duolingo alternative for speaking?
Speak gives the most speaking per lesson, and Pimsleur is best if you want to practise hands-free. If you want speaking built around your own reason for learning, Slova lets you take every lesson out loud with its AI tutors.
Can I keep Duolingo and use a speaking app too?
Yes, and many people do. Keep a short Duolingo lesson for the habit and add ten minutes a day in a voice tutor or audio course. The speaking app will do more for your conversation than extra Duolingo time.
Is there a free Duolingo alternative that makes you speak?
Talkpal gives about 10 minutes of AI conversation a day for free, and Tandem lets you talk with native speakers at no cost. Busuu also has a free plan, though its AI conversations are paid.
Does Duolingo have any real speaking practice?
It has short speaking exercises in lessons and Video Call, an AI conversation with the character Lily, in a paid plan for some courses such as Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Japanese and Korean. For most learners it is still a small part of the time spent in the app.
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