SpeakBase vs Burlington English
SpeakBase vs Burlington English: a classroom course or an AI tutor for your spoken English?
Quick answer
Burlington English Israel is a branch-based spoken-English school with 11 branches, groups of up to 9 students, native English-speaking teachers and a blended model of two lessons a week plus at least three hours a week on its online system; on 4 October 2026 its site published no price, saying only that the cost depends on the learning method and the length of the course. SpeakBase is a subscription to an AI speaking tutor, 39 NIS a month for up to 20 minutes a day, which at the full 150-minute monthly allowance is about 15.60 NIS an hour of speaking, with the price printed on the page. Choose Burlington for a scheduled class with a human teacher and classmates; choose SpeakBase for one-to-one speaking volume at any hour at a price you can read before you decide.
Burlington English and SpeakBase answer the same wish, to speak English without freezing, in two different ways. Burlington is a school: you are placed at a level by a test, you sit in a small class at one of eleven branches (or study online), and a native English-speaking teacher runs the lesson while an online system fills the hours in between. SpeakBase is a tool: an AI tutor called Kate who is there at three in the morning, needs no booking, corrects every sentence as you say it and explains the correction in Hebrew. The useful comparison is therefore not which has more features but how much of the speaking is yours, how each one is bought, and what you can find out about the price before you hand over your phone number. Every Burlington fact on this page was read on burlingtonenglish.co.il on 4 October 2026.
Side-by-side comparison
| Feature | SpeakBase | Burlington English |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A subscription to an AI speaking tutor you talk to in live voice | A spoken-English school network with a blended model: small classes plus an online learning system |
| Where the lesson happens | In your browser or phone, anywhere, with nothing to install | At one of 11 branches (Haifa, Kiryat Bialik, Hadera, Kfar Saba, Holon, Petah Tikva, Rishon LeZion, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Ashkelon, Be'er Sheva), or online |
| Published price | 39 NIS a month or 390 NIS a year, printed on the page | None. On 4 October 2026 the FAQ and the courses page said only that the cost depends on the learning method and the length of the course |
| Price per hour of speaking | About 15.60 NIS if you use the full 150 minutes a month; using less raises it | Cannot be calculated from public information, which also gives no lesson length |
| Group size | One student, one tutor, every session | Small groups of up to 9 students, per the site's FAQ |
| Weekly commitment | Whatever you choose, from 5 minutes to 20 minutes a day, no booking | Two lessons a week plus at least three hours a week of work on the online system, per the site's FAQ |
| Who teaches you | Kate, an AI tutor, consistent every session and never unavailable | Teachers who are native English speakers with experience teaching English as a second language, per the site |
| Corrections | Every mistake corrected as you speak, explained in Hebrew, then turned into review cards | From the teacher in class, plus an exclusive speech-recognition system on the online platform that the homepage says corrects the student |
| How you buy it | Card, on the site, in about a minute; cancel any time | Contact the branch or leave details, take a level test, then get a quote for your method and course length |
| Trying it | The first lesson is free: five minutes with Kate, no card, no form | A level test is offered; no free trial lesson is mentioned on the pages read |
| Who it is for | Anyone from beginner up, including teenagers and adults | Adults: the face-to-face course page states ages 18 and over, with beginner, intermediate and advanced levels |
How many students share one teacher's attention (September 2026)
Where Burlington English is genuinely stronger
A school does things a subscription cannot. A teacher in a room notices when the whole class has stopped following and changes course, and classmates give you real people to speak to, which an AI tutor, however patient, is not. A fixed twice-a-week lesson you have paid for and travelled to is one you attend, and attendance is most of the battle. You get a placement test, defined levels, native-speaker teachers, and a branch within reach in eleven Israeli cities, with the online system running in the gaps between lessons. The online part is not an afterthought either: the site says its platform includes a speech-recognition system that corrects the student, and it asks for at least three hours a week on it, which is a serious commitment designed to build the habit. If what you want is a class, a timetable and people to turn up for, Burlington is that and we would not pretend otherwise.
The bottom line
Choose Burlington if you want a structured course with a native-speaker teacher, a classroom and classmates, and you are willing to contact a branch and take a quote to find out what it costs. Choose SpeakBase if what you lack is not structure but mileage: the many short one-to-one conversations between lessons, at any hour, corrected as you go and explained in Hebrew, for a price printed before you decide. They are not really rivals. If you are enrolled at Burlington, daily speaking with Kate between your two weekly lessons is exactly the practice a class of nine cannot give each person, and a month of it costs 39 NIS.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a Burlington English course cost in Israel?
Burlington English Israel does not publish a price. On 4 October 2026 the FAQ said that the cost of a course varies with the learning method and the length of the course, and the courses page said the same; neither gave a figure or a lesson length. You find out the price by contacting a branch and taking a level test, so the quote depends on the format (face to face, online or blended) and the course length. We are not going to invent a number for it.
How much does SpeakBase cost?
39 NIS a month or 390 NIS a year in Israel, for up to 20 minutes a day and 150 minutes a month of live conversation with Kate. At the full allowance that is about 15.60 NIS per hour of speaking; if you use less, the hourly figure is higher. The first lesson is free, takes five minutes, and needs no card and no form.
How many students are in a Burlington English class?
The site's FAQ, read on 4 October 2026, says small groups of up to 9 students, with students placed at the same level after a level test. The weekly pattern it describes is two lessons a week plus at least three hours a week of work on the online system. SpeakBase has no classmates: every session is one student and one tutor.
Where are the Burlington English branches?
Eleven, listed on burlingtonenglish.co.il/branches on 4 October 2026: Haifa, Kiryat Bialik, Hadera, Kfar Saba, Holon, Petah Tikva, Rishon LeZion, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Ashkelon and Be'er Sheva. The site also says courses can be taken online only or in a blended format. SpeakBase has no branches; the lesson is wherever your phone is.
Can I use both Burlington English and SpeakBase?
That is probably the best use of both. A Burlington course gives you a teacher, classmates and a reason to show up twice a week; what a class of up to nine cannot give each person is a long stretch of one-to-one speaking at any hour. Kate can, and she corrects you live and turns your mistakes into review cards, so you arrive at the next lesson having used what you were taught in the last one.
Try a real conversation with KateFirst lesson free · works in your browser · corrections in your language