Best English Learning App (2026)
- Checked 2026-09
- 5 tools compared
What we compared them on
A full course (reading, writing, grammar, vocabulary) or a focused skill (speaking/pronunciation)?
Is speaking a small exercise type, or the whole product?
What's genuinely usable before paying?
Mobile-only, or also usable on a laptop?
The 5 that actually fit
Duolingo
The broadest general course — reading, writing, vocabulary and grammar alongside speaking exercises — free and ad-supported, on nearly every platform.
- Price
- Free (ad-supported); Super ~$12.99–13.99/mo; Max ~$29.99/mo
- Free tier
- Yes — the full core course, ad-supported
- Platforms
- iOS, Android, Web
ELSA Speak
The deepest speaking-and-pronunciation curriculum, with 8,000+ lessons and per-phoneme scoring, narrower than Duolingo but far deeper on speech.
- Price
- Free; Pro from ~$13.33/mo billed annually
- Free tier
- Yes — limited daily lessons
- Platforms
- iOS, Android, Web (placement assessment)
Praktika
A broad set of AI-avatar conversation lessons across everyday, academic and workplace topics.
- Price
- Free (3 AI avatars); paid plans from ~$8/mo
- Free tier
- Yes — 3 AI avatars free; paid plans typically start with a trial (card requirement reported inconsistently by users)
- Platforms
- iOS, Android, Web
sayit
The narrowest scope here by design: pronunciation only, scored per phoneme, plus IELTS/TOEFL practice — not a general course.
- Price
- Free; Pro $9/mo, Max $13.50/mo (see pricing)
- Free tier
- 1 guest take, then a free account with 30 min/mo
- Platforms
- Web (Chrome, Edge, Safari, Firefox), Chrome/Edge extension, iOS (waitlist)
TalkPal
Broad conversational practice across 130+ languages at a low price, lighter on structured skill-building than a full course.
- Price
- Premium from ~$4.99–14.99/mo depending on term length
- Free tier
- Yes — 10 minutes/day, plus a pronunciation assessment tool
- Platforms
- iOS, Android, Web
Compare at a glance
| Duolingo | ELSA Speak | Praktika | sayit | TalkPal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free (ad-supported); Super ~$12.99–13.99/mo; Max ~$29.99/mo | Free; Pro from ~$13.33/mo billed annually | Free (3 AI avatars); paid plans from ~$8/mo | Free; Pro $9/mo, Max $13.50/mo (see pricing) | Premium from ~$4.99–14.99/mo depending on term length |
| Free tier | Yes — the full core course, ad-supported | Yes — limited daily lessons | Yes — 3 AI avatars free; paid plans typically start with a trial (card requirement reported inconsistently by users) | 1 guest take, then a free account with 30 min/mo | Yes — 10 minutes/day, plus a pronunciation assessment tool |
| Platforms | iOS, Android, Web | iOS, Android, Web (placement assessment) | iOS, Android, Web | Web (Chrome, Edge, Safari, Firefox), Chrome/Edge extension, iOS (waitlist) | iOS, Android, Web |
| Feedback depth | Pass/fail pronunciation checks on read-aloud sentences; Max's AI Video Call adds short spoken exchanges with no pronunciation scoring | Per-phoneme percentage scores across 8,000+ fixed lessons | AI-avatar conversation practice across 1,000+ lessons, including IELTS/TOEFL prep | Per-phoneme heatmap, target IPA vs. your sound, articulation tips | Transcript-based conversation feedback with a pronunciation assessment tool; not a phoneme heatmap |
| Exam fit | Not exam-focused — general course-based language learning | IELTS/TOEFL-oriented lesson content + CEFR level prediction | IELTS/TOEFL-themed lesson content (not a scored mock exam) | IELTS + TOEFL speaking practice with a band estimate from 2 of 4 criteria | Not exam-focused |
| Privacy | Standard cloud app (no public on-premise option found) | Standard cloud processing (no public on-premise option found) | Standard cloud app (no public on-premise option found) | Processed for feedback only; not sold or shared; raw audio not kept long-term | Standard cloud app (no public on-premise option found) |
Match the tool to your actual goal
You're starting from zero and want one app that covers everything
Duolingo
It's the broadest general course, free, and most people already have it.
You already speak English reasonably but people struggle to understand your accent
sayit or ELSA Speak
Both go deep specifically on the sounds that cause real misunderstanding.
You want daily conversation practice across many topics
Praktika or TalkPal
Both run broad AI-conversation lesson libraries.
Straight answers
Should I use a general app or a focused pronunciation app?
If your English is generally weak across grammar, vocabulary and speaking, start broad (Duolingo, Praktika). If your grammar and vocabulary are fine but people ask you to repeat words, a focused tool like sayit or ELSA Speak targets the actual problem faster.
Can I use a general app and a pronunciation app together?
Yes — this is common. Many learners run a broad course for vocabulary/grammar and a phoneme-level tool like sayit specifically for speaking clarity.
Where these facts came from
- CheckThat.ai — Duolingo Super/Max pricing (third-party) — checked 2026-09
- Duoplanet — Duolingo Max Video Call, no pronunciation scoring (third-party) — checked 2026-09
- elsaspeak.com — pricing & platforms — checked 2026-09
- SoftwareFinder — ELSA Speak pricing (third-party; saasworthy.com 403'd this session) — checked 2026-09
- praktika.ai — homepage (pricing, platforms) — checked 2026-09
- Praktika Help Center — free plan (3 avatars) — checked 2026-09
- talkpal.ai — pricing — checked 2026-09
Facts about sayit come from its own pricing, features and product pages, not a third party, so they carry no separate source link above. Every competitor fact was checked 2026-09; prices and features change, so treat this as a snapshot, not a guarantee.
See exactly which sound to fix
Record one sentence — free, no card — and get the per-phoneme verdict most of the tools above can't show you.