Speak is one of the best ways to get a beginner talking, and many people love their first few months with it. Then the doubts arrive. It costs about 18 dollars a month, the plan with personal lessons costs more than twice that, it teaches only seven languages, and past the beginner units the roleplays start to sound alike. Some learners also notice that it accepts sentences a real listener would stop them on.
TL;DRFor a cheaper tutor you can see, pick Praktika. For Speak-style voice lessons in more languages, pick Pingo AI. For a course built around your own goal or passion, pick Slova. For long, open conversation after the basics, pick ISSEN. For grammar checked by real people, pick Busuu.
We kept a Speak subscription running for comparison and used each alternative on its paid plan during 2026, on iPhone and Android. Every app got the same test: a first lesson, seven days of practice in a row, and one conversation where we tried to say something Speak had never taught us. We wrote down when the app caught a mistake, when it let one slide, and what we could still say a week later.
Nothing here is "the new Speak". Some apps do the same job for less money, some do the jobs Speak skips, and a few work best next to it. Read the entries as profiles, not places on a podium, and look for the one that describes the problem you actually have.
Comparison table
✓Yes◐Partly✕No
| App | Best for | How it differs from Speak | Past beginner level | Languages |
|---|
| Praktika | A cheaper tutor you can see | Avatar tutors, about half the price | ◐English is deepest | 12 |
|---|
| Pingo AI | Speak-style lessons in more languages | Themed voice lessons, bigger language list | ◐ | 25+ |
|---|
| Slova | Learning around your goal or passion | Path built from your reason, one word list | ✓A0 to C2 | 10 and growing |
|---|
| ISSEN | Open talk after the basics | No fixed lessons, memory across calls | ✓ | 50+ |
|---|
| Falou | Guided speaking on a budget | Cheaper, more languages, lighter course | ◐ | 20+ |
|---|
| Busuu | Grammar with human feedback | Grammar taught in order, native speakers check you | ✓ | About 14 |
|---|
| Langua | Sharp correction for intermediates | Full correction report after each chat | ✓ | 20+ |
|---|
| Talkpal | A language Speak does not teach | Free daily minutes, huge language list | ◐ | 100+ |
|---|
| Airlearn | Keeping costs low | Short lessons, far cheaper, less speaking | ◐ | 12+ |
|---|
How we chose
- Life after beginner level. Whether the app still has something new to teach you in month four.
- Honest correction. Whether it flags the mistake a patient human would flag, instead of accepting anything close enough.
- Language choice. Whether it covers languages that Speak does not.
- Cost per useful minute. What you pay for the time you actually spend speaking and learning.
- Words that stay. Whether the words you used this week come back next week.
The best Speak alternatives
1
Praktika
Best for a cheaper tutor you can see
Praktika swaps Speak's lesson screens for animated avatar tutors who talk back to you in voice. You pick a tutor, choose a topic or follow the daily lesson, and set how strict the corrections should be. It costs roughly half of Speak each month, and English is its strongest course.
On day three we asked a tutor to play a flatmate and argued about who forgot to buy milk. We said you didn't bought it, the tutor kept the argument going, then showed the fix, you didn't buy it, with a one-line reason. Having a face to look at made a silly argument feel oddly real. On a noisy train, though, we missed a simple audio-only way to practise.
GoodPlenty of speaking for the price, and the correction level can be set for shy or confident learners.
Watch outThe daily path is fixed, and the words from your calls are not collected for review.
- About 7 to 10 dollars a month
- 12 languages
- iPhone, Android
2
Pingo AI
Best for Speak-style voice lessons in more languages
Pingo AI gives you themed voice lessons and roleplays with a tutor that keeps track of your progress, so the format will feel familiar if you liked Speak. It covers more than 25 languages, which makes it an option when yours is missing from Speak's seven. It is gentle with beginners and lets you save words as you go.
We tried Portuguese, which Speak does not teach, and on day two ran a roleplay in a Lisbon bakery. We asked for um pastel de nata, por favor, then swapped in a wrong word on purpose, and the app accepted it anyway. That forgiving ear made the first days pleasant, but it also meant we stopped fully trusting the green ticks. The topic library was big enough that we never repeated a scene all week.
GoodA large topic library, saved vocabulary and an easy start for beginners.
Watch outSpeech recognition is forgiving, and the free tier is little more than one lesson.
- About 15 to 18 dollars a month
- 25+ languages
- iPhone, Android
3
Slova
Best for learning around your own goal or passion
Slova starts by asking why you are learning. Answer in one sentence, whether it is a career move like a job interview in Seoul, a life goal like meeting your partner's family in Italy, or something you love like football or K-dramas, and it builds a path of lessons around that answer. Under the path sits a full A0 to C2 curriculum made by language learners and computer scientists, so you do not run into the wall that fixed speaking courses hit after the beginner units. Every lesson can be done as a visual lesson at your own pace or out loud with our AI tutors, who listen and correct you as you speak.
Where Speak teaches everyone the same café and airport scenes, Slova puts you inside your own situation from the first lesson. If you are learning for a family, you practise at that family's table; if you are learning for football, your first words come from match nights and team talk, not from a textbook hotel desk. You can also make your own practice with AI: 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 why results come quickly. The words you learn today are the ones you need tomorrow, so you use them straight away and they stick. Every word from lessons, conversations, 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 keep opening in week six than a course written for everyone, which is often the point where people drift away from Speak.
Our test goal was Italian for a first Sunday lunch with a partner's family in Bologna. The path opened with greetings at the door, talking about food and handling the questions every family asks, and on day two the tutor stopped us on io ho venuto in treno and explained why it should be sono venuto in treno. We then asked for a short A2 podcast about a family lunch, and phrases like fare il bis and è buonissimo landed in the Lexicon next to the words from the lesson. By day seven we could keep up five minutes of table talk without looking anything up.
GoodBuilt around your real reason, with a curriculum that keeps going after the beginner units and every word kept in one list.
Watch outNewer than Speak, with 10 languages today rather than dozens.
- 10 languages and growing
- A0 to C2 curriculum
- AI tutors in every lesson
4
ISSEN
Best for open conversation after the basics
ISSEN is a realtime voice tutor built for open conversation, with no push-to-talk button and a memory of what you said in earlier calls. It turns words from your talks into flashcards on a spaced review schedule. It suits people who finished Speak's structured units and now want to talk about anything at all.
On day five we chose a tutor with a Buenos Aires accent and spent twenty minutes on football and weekend plans. The tutor answered in the local way, ¿y vos qué pensás?, a first taste of voseo that Speak's Spanish course had never shown us. The next evening it asked how the match we had mentioned went. A true beginner would find the pace hard work.
GoodMemory across calls and built-in flashcards give it the closest feel to a real tutor among voice apps.
Watch outToo fast for beginners, and the top plans cost more than Speak.
- About 15 to 39 dollars a month
- 50+ languages
- iPhone, Android, web
5
Falou
Best for guided speaking on a smaller budget
Falou gives short, guided lessons where you repeat and answer out loud from the first day, with feedback on your pronunciation. It covers more than 20 languages, so it reaches further than Speak does. It works best for early confidence rather than as your only app.
On day one of German we were saying Ich hätte gern einen Kaffee within five minutes, and the app marked the words it did not quite catch. Each lesson fit into a coffee break, which made the streak easy to keep. By day six we noticed that the dialogues told us what to say but rarely why, so our grammar questions went unanswered.
GoodSpeaking from the first minute at a lower price than Speak, in many more languages.
Watch outThin on grammar, and some users report that speech recognition misses words.
- From about 10 dollars a month
- 20+ languages
- iPhone, Android
6
Busuu
Best for grammar checked by real people
Busuu is a structured course with lessons tied to CEFR levels, grammar taught in order and a community of native speakers who correct your written and spoken answers. Premium Plus adds AI Conversations with instant feedback in the mobile app. It fills the biggest gap Speak leaves: the reason behind the sentences.
On day four of French we recorded a short answer about our weekend. By the next morning two native speakers had left notes, and one pointed out that j'ai allé au marché should be je suis allé au marché, with a short line on which verbs take être. Waiting a day for comments is slower than a live tutor, but the notes were more careful than any instant fix. Check your plan before you pay, because the AI conversations sit only in the top tier.
GoodClear grammar, CEFR levels and real people checking your work.
Watch outLess speaking time than Speak, and AI conversation only in the highest plan.
- Free, or about 10 to 14 dollars a month
- About 14 languages
- iPhone, Android, web
7
Langua
Best for sharp correction at intermediate level
Langua, from LanguaTalk, is an AI conversation partner with voices cloned from native speakers and a full correction report after each chat. You can turn mistakes and new words into flashcards and read back an interactive transcript. It is made for learners who can already talk and want tougher feedback than Speak gives.
On day six we talked in Spanish about starting a new job, and the report after the call listed every slip. It corrected yo sé a mi jefe to conozco a mi jefe and explained the difference between the two verbs for "to know". Seeing the mistake written down made it stick better than a quick fix in the middle of a call. The daily call time on the cheaper plan ran out sooner than we expected.
GoodNatural voices, detailed correction reports and a direct link to flashcards.
Watch outThe top plan costs more than Speak, and beginners get little structure.
- About 20 to 30 dollars a month
- 20+ languages
- Web, iPhone, Android
8
Talkpal
Best for a language Speak does not teach
Talkpal is an AI chat and voice tutor with many modes, from free chat to roleplays and debates, across a very long list of languages. The free plan gives about 10 minutes of practice a day. If you want to practise Greek, Dutch or Swahili, it usually has something for you where Speak has nothing.
On day two we tried Greek at a taverna, and the tutor helped us turn a blunt θέλω νερό into the politer θα ήθελα ένα νερό. The voice sounded more robotic than Speak's, and some less common languages only offered free chat. Still, ten free minutes a day was enough to judge it before paying anything.
GoodThe widest language list here and a real daily free allowance.
Watch outNo clear syllabus or levels, and voice quality changes from language to language.
- Free 10 minutes a day, or about 10 to 20 dollars a month
- 100+ languages
- iPhone, Android, web
9
Airlearn
Best for keeping costs low
Airlearn is a course app with short lessons, clear units and a very low monthly price. It focuses on practical, everyday communication rather than grammar tables. AI speaking calls exist, but they sit in a higher plan.
On day three of Spanish the lesson had us build ¿dónde está la parada del autobús? from word tiles and then say it aloud. The whole session took eight minutes, and at about 5 dollars a month the app costs less than a third of Speak. We liked it most as a cheap base course, with a free AI chat elsewhere for extra speaking.
GoodA real course for a small part of Speak's price.
Watch outMuch less speaking, and the AI calls need a higher plan.
- About 5 dollars a month
- 12+ languages
- iPhone, Android
Best app by goal
| Your goal | Our pick | Also good |
|---|
| Pay less than Speak | Praktika | Airlearn |
|---|
| Speak-style lessons in another language | Pingo AI | Falou |
|---|
| Learn for a job, a move or a passion | Slova | Praktika |
|---|
| Keep improving after beginner level | ISSEN | Langua |
|---|
| Finally understand the grammar | Busuu | Slova |
|---|
| Catch every mistake | Langua | Busuu |
|---|
| A language Speak does not offer | Talkpal | Pingo AI |
|---|
| Keep the words you learn | Slova | ISSEN |
|---|
What a year really costs
Speak's monthly price is the one most people see, but most of its subscribers pay yearly. On the US App Store, Premium is about 84 dollars a year and Premium Plus, the plan with personal lessons, is about 165 dollars a year. Prices change a lot by country, so check your own store before you compare.
Against that, Praktika's yearly plans start around 40 dollars, Busuu Premium is about 70 dollars a year, and Airlearn costs about 60 dollars over twelve months at its monthly rate. ISSEN and Langua sit at the other end, where the yearly plans cost more than Speak's basic plan but give you far more open conversation.
The number that matters is not the price. It is the price divided by the weeks you actually use the app. A cheap plan you drop in March costs more per lesson than a pricier one you still open in October.
When to stay with Speak
Leaving is not always the right move. If you are a nervous beginner, Speak's step-by-step lessons are still among the best ways to start talking without feeling judged, and very few apps make you say as many sentences in your first month.
Stay if you are still in the early units, if your language is one of its seven, and if you like being told exactly what to do each day. Think about switching when the roleplays feel predictable, when you notice the app accepting sentences you know are wrong, or when you want to talk about your own life rather than a set scene. Many learners keep Speak for a few months and then add a second app, which is often cheaper than it sounds.
Which one should you pick
If price is the only problem, go to Praktika for a tutor you can see or Airlearn for the cheapest course. If your language is missing from Speak, Pingo AI and Falou are the nearest match in style, and Talkpal covers almost anything else.
If Speak got you talking but you now want the grammar behind it, Busuu is the natural next step. If you are past the basics and want real conversation, ISSEN gives you open talk with memory, and Langua gives you the most detailed corrections.
If the real issue is that Speak's lessons are about everyone's life rather than yours, try Slova. It builds the course, the speaking practice and the word review around your own reason for learning, whether that is a job, a move, a family or a passion.
Conclusion
Speak does one thing very well: it gets beginners talking. The alternatives worth your money are the ones that fix what happens next. Praktika and Airlearn cost less, Pingo AI and Talkpal reach more languages, ISSEN and Langua take you further, and Busuu explains the rules. If you want a course that follows your own goals and interests from the first lesson, give Slova a try.
Still weighing Speak against one app? Read Duolingo vs Speak, ELSA Speak vs Speak and Loora vs Speak. For the wider picture, see the best AI language learning apps.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a cheaper app like Speak?
Praktika is the closest cheaper option, at about 7 to 10 dollars a month for voice conversations with avatar tutors. Airlearn is cheaper still at about 5 dollars a month, but you speak much less.
Is there a free alternative to Speak?
Talkpal gives about 10 minutes of AI conversation a day for free, and Busuu has a free plan for its course. Neither replaces Speak's daily speaking lessons, but together they cover a lot for no money.
Which Speak alternative is best for intermediate learners?
ISSEN and Langua. ISSEN gives open voice calls that remember your past talks, and Langua gives a detailed correction report after each chat. Both are hard going for true beginners.
What should I use if Speak's lessons feel too generic?
Look for an app that starts from your own reason for learning. Slova builds a full path around your goal or interest, from a job interview to a move abroad to a hobby, and lets you take every lesson out loud with its AI tutors.
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