Speaking practice prices
How much does it cost to practise speaking English? A price comparison
Quick answer
It depends on the kind of practice. A human teacher gives the most structure and feedback and costs the most per hour (Preply's average is about $23 to $26). AI speaking apps cost about $8 to $20 a month. SpeakBase is $11.99 a month for 150 minutes of conversation, about $4.80 per hour of speaking (39 NIS in Israel). Language exchange and talking to yourself are free. Most adults do best combining a teacher for direction with daily AI practice.
Most people looking for speaking practice do not need more grammar, they need more hours of speaking. The question is what each of those hours costs and what you get in it. Below are the prices published on each official site, a cost per hour of speaking only where the arithmetic is honest, and a clear note where no price is published at all.
Price table: speaking practice per month
| Option | What you get | Price | Cost per hour of speaking |
|---|---|---|---|
| A human teacher, one to one or a small group | The most structure: a plan, personal feedback, accountability and someone who sees the whole picture | In Israel, a private lesson is about 150 to 220 NIS an hour; a small group usually costs less per person | About 150 to 220 NIS (private, Israel). The most expensive option per hour, and the deepest |
| italki | A marketplace of tutors, pay per lesson, no subscription | italki says most lessons run $4 to $25; professional teachers $10 to $40 | Depends on the lesson length each tutor sets |
| Preply | A marketplace of tutors, a subscription with one tutor, at least four lessons per cycle | Average $26 an hour for native English speakers, $23 for non-native | About $23 to $26 |
| Cambly | Video calls with native English speakers, 30-minute lessons | Cambly Pro was $18.75 a lesson billed monthly, $12.12 billed annually (September 2026); prices vary by region | About $37.50 (monthly) or $24.24 (annual) |
| A language school: Berlitz, Wall Street English | A structured course, levels, human teachers, centres and online lessons | Not published on their sites; quoted after an enquiry | No figure to compute |
| Loora | An AI conversation app | Not published on its site; a free trial is offered | No figure to compute |
| Praktika | An AI conversation app with video-avatar characters | About $8 a month, according to its site | Minutes included are not published |
| Duolingo | A free gamified course; AI conversation only on a paid plan | The course is free; the plan with conversation is priced in the app and varies by country | No figure to compute |
| ChatGPT Plus | A general voice mode; not built as a tutor, corrections depend on what you ask | $20 a month | OpenAI publishes no voice minute allowance |
| Language exchange: HelloTalk, meetups | Real people; corrections depend on your partner's goodwill | Free; HelloTalk VIP is $12.99 a month or $79.99 a year | Free, but speaking time is not guaranteed |
| Talking to yourself: recording, narrating your day | Volume with no pressure, and nobody to correct you | Free | Free |
| SpeakBase | Voice conversation with an AI tutor (Kate) who corrects you as you speak, explains in your language and remembers earlier lessons | $11.99 a month or $119.99 a year (in Israel 39 NIS or 390 NIS, VAT included); 150 minutes of conversation a month; a free first conversation of about 5 minutes | About $4.80 (monthly) or $4.00 (annual); in Israel about 15.60 NIS or 13 NIS |
How we calculated: cost per hour of speaking is shown only where a price is published and the minutes are known. SpeakBase: $11.99 divided by 2.5 hours (150 minutes) = $4.80, and the annual plan $119.99 / 12 months / 2.5 hours = $4.00, assuming you use all your minutes (in Israel 39 / 2.5 = 15.60 NIS and 390 / 12 / 2.5 = 13 NIS). Cambly: the price of a 30-minute lesson times two. Preply: the average its own site shows. The Israeli private lesson figure is a market range from our June 2026 research, not any one teacher's price. italki, Preply, Loora, Praktika and ChatGPT prices were checked on their official sites on 7 November 2026, Cambly on 25 September 2026, HelloTalk on 11 October 2026.
What you get for the money: structure versus volume
You can buy two different things when you pay for speaking practice. The first is structure: someone who builds you a plan, hears where you get stuck, gives feedback based on knowing you and keeps you accountable. That is what a human teacher does best, which is why their hour is the most expensive. The second is volume: how many minutes you actually speak each week. Speaking becomes automatic only with a lot of minutes, and there an AI partner is far cheaper per hour and available at any hour, with nothing to book.
The combination that works best for most adults
- A teacher for direction: a regular lesson, even if not every week, where someone experienced builds a plan, spots the mistakes you keep making and decides the next step.
- Daily practice between lessons: ten to twenty minutes of conversation a day with an AI partner, on the topics from your lesson, so you arrive at the next one more confident.
- That way every hour with your teacher goes on progress, not on warming up and repeating the same mistakes.
- Language exchange or meetups when you want to try what you practised on real people.
How to choose by goal and budget
- A clear, urgent goal (a job interview, a presentation, an oral exam): a teacher who builds focused preparation, plus AI practice of the same questions every evening.
- A small budget: free options such as language exchange and talking to yourself, and a monthly AI subscription if you want corrections.
- Fear of speaking: start with AI, with no audience and no judgement, then move to people.
- You want levels and a certificate: a language school or structured course. The price is usually quoted after an enquiry, so ask how many hours of actual speaking are included.
- Before paying for anything, check your level: a three-minute spoken level test helps you choose.
How to read the table
Cost per hour of speaking is a useful number, but it is not the whole story. An hour with a teacher includes preparation, feedback and a plan; an hour with AI is mostly speaking and corrections. And a low monthly price is only worth something if you use it: a subscription you never open costs more per hour than any teacher.
Frequently asked questions
How much does English speaking practice cost per month?
Anywhere from nothing to a few hundred dollars. Language exchange and talking to yourself are free. AI speaking apps cost about $8 to $20 a month, and SpeakBase is $11.99 a month or $119.99 a year (39 NIS or 390 NIS in Israel) for 150 minutes of conversation a month. Tutors on Preply average about $23 to $26 an hour, so one lesson a week is roughly $100 a month.
Is a teacher or an AI app better value?
They are good value for different things. A teacher gives structure, personal feedback and accountability, and no app replaces that. An AI app gives many minutes of speaking cheaply and at any hour. For most adults the best value is both: a teacher for direction and AI for practice between lessons.
Can I practise speaking English for free?
Yes. Language exchange (in apps like HelloTalk or at meetups), recording yourself and narrating your day out loud are free. The downside: no corrections, or corrections that depend on your partner's goodwill. On SpeakBase the first conversation, about 5 minutes, is free with no card.
Isn't ChatGPT Plus enough for speaking practice?
ChatGPT Plus ($20 a month) has a voice mode that can hold a conversation, but it is not built as a tutor: it does not check your level, does not correct you consistently unless you ask, and does not track which mistakes you keep making. A dedicated speaking app does those things by itself.
Why don't language schools publish prices?
We found no price on the official sites of Berlitz or Wall Street English; the price is given after an enquiry, which is common for courses tailored to level and goal. When you get a quote, ask how many hours of actual speaking are included, so you can compare it with this table.
How many minutes of speaking a day do I need to improve?
Ten to twenty minutes of real speaking a day does more than one hour a week; consistency is what counts. SpeakBase's 150 minutes a month are enough for a short conversation on most days.
Try a free first conversation with KateAbout 5 minutes, no card needed, in your browser or on your phone