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The 9 best Tandem alternatives for English practice in 2026.

Free apps, tutoring platforms, AI tools, and paid conversation services, compared honestly. Updated April 2026.

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You searched for Tandem alternatives, which means Tandem isn't working for you. Probably the ghosting. Probably the fakes. Probably the feeling that you're spending more time scrolling than speaking.

This page compares the nine best options for English practice in 2026, across four categories, so you can pick the right one for what you actually need.

A note on who wrote this: Cambiyo wrote this page, and Cambiyo is one of the apps listed below (number 9, we're new). We've tried to be honest. Where another app is a better fit for you than Cambiyo, we say so. We'd rather you find the right tool than the wrong one with our name on it.

Free language exchange apps

These apps are free to use. The trade-off is that other users are also free, which means availability and quality are unpredictable. Best for casual learners with time and patience.

#1

HelloTalk

Best for: Learners who want a social community as much as conversation practice.

HelloTalk is the closest direct alternative to Tandem and arguably the most popular language exchange app overall. Its strength is the community: the Moments wall, the audio rooms, the corrections feature. If you enjoyed Tandem's social side but want a bigger user base, HelloTalk is where to go.

The catch: HelloTalk has the same fundamental problems as Tandem. Most activity is text-based, not voice. Users can be unreliable. Some of the platform is used for flirting more than language exchange. If those were your reasons for leaving Tandem, HelloTalk won't fix them.

Cost: Free. HelloTalk VIP is around $8/month for extra features.

#2

Speaky

Best for: Finding language partners with shared interests.

Speaky is a smaller, less-known language exchange app that focuses on matching users by interests rather than just languages. The user base is much smaller than Tandem or HelloTalk, which is both a strength (less spam, easier to stand out) and a weakness (fewer English speakers online when you want to practise).

The catch: Same fundamental issue as Tandem and HelloTalk. Depends entirely on whether other users want to talk when you do. Smaller user base makes this harder.

Cost: Free.

Tutoring platforms

These are paid services where you book lessons with teachers. Best for learners who want structure, progress tracking, and a regular teacher relationship.

#3

Preply

Best for: Learners who want one regular teacher and structured progress.

Preply is one of the largest tutoring platforms in the world. Teachers set their own prices, lessons start around $4–5/hour for community tutors and go up to $30+ for experienced teachers. You book lessons in advance and pay per lesson, with packages available.

The catch: Lessons need to be booked ahead, often days in advance. The booking model is not great for learners with unpredictable schedules. Trial lessons are not always free, and switching teachers means starting over.

Cost: $4–30+/hour depending on teacher.

#4

italki

Best for: Learners who want a wide choice of teachers and pay-per-lesson flexibility.

italki is similar to Preply but uses credits that don't expire. You buy credits, you spend them on lessons, and unused credits stay in your account. Teachers come in two types: certified Professional Teachers and Community Tutors. The choice of teachers is huge, with thousands of English options.

The catch: Information overload is real. With hundreds of teachers to choose from, the time spent picking can become a real barrier to practising. Booking is still required, often days ahead.

Cost: $4–40+/hour. Trial lessons usually available.

#5

Cambly

Best for: Learners who want subscription-based access to native English tutors.

Cambly works differently from Preply and italki: it's subscription-based. You pay a monthly fee and get a set number of minutes per week, used with any tutor available at the time. Tutors are native English speakers from the US, UK, Canada, and Australia. The "instant" feature means you can usually start a lesson within a minute or two without booking.

The catch: The subscription model means unused minutes expire, which is a poor fit for irregular schedules. The effective hourly rate works out higher than Preply or italki for most plans. Annual commitments lock you in.

Cost: Subscriptions from around $52/month for basic plans, more for higher minute tiers.

AI conversation tools

These let you practise speaking English with AI. Best for daily warm-up and confidence-building. Not a substitute for real human conversation, but useful alongside it.

#6

Speak

Best for: Learners who want a structured AI tutor for daily speaking practice.

Speak is a purpose-built AI English app with realistic AI tutor personalities, pronunciation feedback, and structured lesson plans. The voice interface is impressive. For daily practice without the social pressure of speaking to a real human, Speak is one of the most polished options on the market.

The catch: It's still AI. AI tutors are patient in ways that real conversation partners are not. The fluency you build with Speak doesn't fully transfer to real-world English use, because the real-time pressure of human conversation is something AI can't simulate.

Cost: Around $99/year (varies with promotions).

#7

ChatGPT (Voice Mode)

Best for: Learners who already use ChatGPT and want a flexible practice tool.

ChatGPT's voice mode lets you have unstructured conversations in English at no extra cost beyond your ChatGPT subscription. It's not designed specifically for language learning, which is both a weakness (no pronunciation feedback, no lesson plans) and a strength (genuinely open-ended conversation in any direction).

The catch: Same fundamental limit as Speak. AI doesn't get bored, doesn't interrupt, doesn't have an accent, and doesn't apply the real-time pressure that builds actual fluency. Useful for vocabulary, thinking in English, and confidence, but not enough on its own.

Cost: Free tier available; ChatGPT Plus is $20/month for fuller access.

Paid human conversation

These are services that pay native speakers to have real conversations with learners. Best for learners who tried free apps and tutoring services and want something between the two.

#8

italki Community Tutors (used as conversation partners)

Best for: Learners who want pay-per-lesson conversations without committing to structured tutoring.

A note here, because this overlaps with Preply/italki above: italki Community Tutors can be used as conversation partners rather than full tutors. Many will do informal conversation practice rather than structured lessons if you ask. You can book 30-minute sessions and have casual chats. It's a workaround for the gap that exists in the market between free apps and full lessons.

The catch: Still booking-based. Still framed as lessons in the platform's UI. The booking time and lesson framing make it less spontaneous than what most learners want from "conversation practice."

Cost: Community tutors from around $5–15/hour.

#9

Cambiyo

Best for: Learners who want real conversation practice with native English speakers, on demand, without lesson structure or booking.

Cambiyo (this site) is a new app launching 1 July 2026. It's an on-demand conversation app: you see who's online right now, you pick a speaker, you start talking. Speakers set their own prices from $5/hour, and you pay only for the time you spend talking. No subscription, no booking, no minimum lesson length.

Speakers are not certified tutors. They are real native English speakers (students, freelancers, retirees, anyone fluent in English who wants to earn from a conversation). Every speaker is video-verified before going live, and rated after every session.

The catch: Cambiyo is pre-launch. You can join the free waitlist now, but the app itself doesn't open until 1 July 2026. There are also no certified teachers. If you want lesson structure or formal qualifications, Preply, italki, or Cambly are better fits.

Cost: From $5/hour at launch. Free waitlist now.

Quick comparison

AppTypeCostBest for
HelloTalkFree exchangeFree / $8mo VIPSocial community
SpeakyFree exchangeFreeInterest-based partners
PreplyTutoring$4–30+/hrRegular teacher, structure
italkiTutoring$4–40+/hrChoice of teachers
CamblySubscription tutoring~$52+/moNative English tutors
SpeakAI~$99/yrDaily AI practice
ChatGPTAIFree / $20moFlexible AI conversations
italki (Community)Conversation$5–15/hrBooked conversations
CambiyoConversationFrom $5/hrOn-demand human practice

Which one should you pick?

If you want free practice and you have time to filter through unreliable users

HelloTalk is the best of the free apps. You'll have the same problems Tandem had, but the user base is bigger.

If you want a regular tutor and structured lessons

Preply or italki. Preply has slightly better progress tracking, italki has slightly more teacher variety. Both are good.

If you specifically want a native English tutor on a subscription

Cambly, but only if you'll actually use the minutes. Subscriptions are bad value if your schedule is irregular.

If you want daily AI practice for confidence and basic fluency

Speak is more polished for language learning specifically; ChatGPT is more flexible. Use both, don't replace human practice with either.

If you want real conversation practice with real native speakers, on demand, without lessons

Cambiyo (us). It launches 1 July 2026. The free waitlist costs nothing if you want to wait and see.

Cambiyo launches 1 July 2026.

The free waitlist costs nothing.

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