Apps for speaking English in 2026: nine options and how to choose yours
Duolingo, Praktika, Speak, ELSA, Loora, Lymi, Skyeng, ChatGPT and TalkPal compared honestly: what each does for speaking, what it costs, who it suits.
Almost every English app promises you will speak. In practice some teach you to recognise words, some train pronunciation, and some let you chat but lead nowhere. If your goal is to speak, it pays to know what you actually get for your money.
We make Lymi, so Lymi is on this list too. The comparison is honest: every app gets a strength and a weakness, ours included.
How to choose: four questions
Before looking at any list, answer four questions.
- How much do you speak out loud in a session? Not tapping, not building sentences from tiles — speaking. It is the only thing that trains speech.
- Is there a programme? Free conversation with no order soon runs into you repeating the same twenty phrases.
- Are you corrected? A mistake nobody notices is one you will make a hundred more times.
- Can you pay for it? Some subscriptions cannot be paid for from every country, Russia among them.
The comparison in one table
Prices are as of October 2026, from official pages and app stores. They vary by country and are often discounted, so check the price before you pay.
| App | How you speak | Programme | Price per month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duolingo | exercises; AI conversation only on the Max plan | yes | free, or from $9.99 (US) |
| Praktika | voice conversation with an AI avatar | yes | from $9.99 (US), often 3 months or a year only |
| Speak | repeating phrases, then conversation with AI | yes | $17.99 (US) |
| ELSA Speak | pronunciation analysis, dialogues | partly | $19.99 (US) |
| Loora | AI conversation on everyday and work topics | partly | no official price on the site |
| Lymi | every lesson is a spoken conversation with an AI tutor | yes, in Murphy's order | $28.99 (2,700 ₽ in Russia) |
| Skyeng | a live teacher | yes | from 1,890 ₽ a lesson |
| ChatGPT voice mode | free conversation | no | free or $20 |
| TalkPal | text and voice chat with AI | partly | depends on the country |
Duolingo
The best-known app with the biggest free tier. Very good at building a daily habit.
Strength: free, fun, available in many interface languages.
Weakness: most of the time goes on exercises rather than speech. Voice conversation with the character Lily is only on the expensive Max plan.
Praktika
Voice conversation with animated AI avatars. Many topics, and the conversation sounds natural.
Strength: a lively conversation format, avatars with character.
Weakness: reviewers find the programme rigid and the mistake review easy to skip. Monthly billing is often not offered — only 3 months or a year.
Speak
A short explanation, then a lot of repeating phrases, then conversation with AI and pronunciation feedback.
Strength: a lot of speaking and a clear structure.
Weakness: one of the most expensive monthly subscriptions.
ELSA Speak
The best pick if your main problem is accent and individual sounds. It shows you which sound you get wrong.
Strength: the most detailed pronunciation feedback.
Weakness: free conversation gets less room than sounds.
Loora
Voice conversations with AI on everyday and work topics, with grammar and pronunciation feedback.
Strength: built only for spoken English.
Weakness: prices are not listed on the site, so the cost is hard to know in advance.
Lymi
Every lesson is a spoken conversation with an AI tutor. A short explanation of one construction, then you do the talking, with hints and corrections on the spot. Grammar goes in order, the way Murphy's books do: from the simplest sentence up to the harder tenses. There is also free conversation on a topic you choose, and five tutors with different accents.
Strength: speaking from the first lesson and a programme at the same time. A mistake is corrected right away, with a word on why.
Weakness: lessons are explained in Russian today — other explanation languages are on the way. The app is on iPhone and in the browser, not yet on Android. Only the first conversation with the tutor, which finds your level, is free; after that you need a subscription.
Skyeng
Live one-to-one teachers, aimed at Russian speakers. A real person who sees you and adapts.
Strength: a live human.
Weakness: one lesson costs about as much as a month of an AI app, and you can only speak at the booked time.
ChatGPT voice mode
The most flexible partner: you can talk about anything.
Strength: free or cheap, any topic.
Weakness: no programme and no memory of what you have covered. Not officially available in some countries, Russia among them.
TalkPal
Conversation with AI by text and voice, with a pronunciation score. About ten minutes a day are free.
Strength: a free daily allowance.
Weakness: prices depend on the country and are not shown up front.
What to pick
- You want free and a habit — Duolingo.
- Accent is the main thing — ELSA Speak.
- You need a real person — Skyeng.
- You just want to chat about anything — ChatGPT.
- You want to speak from the first lesson and follow a programme, with corrections as you go — Lymi.
The best app is the one you will actually speak out loud in every day. Try two or three and keep the one you want to come back to.