HelloTalk review

HelloTalk fills the gap that course apps leave: talking to real people. You list your native language and the one you are learning, and the app matches you with native speakers who want to learn yours, so both sides get free practice. Chats can be text, voice or video, and built-in translation, transliteration and correction tools let a partner fix your sentence inline, which turns casual chat into feedback. Voicerooms gather learners and native speakers around a topic for group speaking, and the Moments feed works like a social timeline for language questions. HelloTalk says it has 70M+ learners across 260+ languages, so finding a partner is rarely the problem. Finding a good one can take a few tries, and there is no lesson plan, which makes it a poor first app for a total beginner. VIP Membership, at $12.99 a month on the US App Store, adds extras, but the core exchange works without it.

Who it is for

Learners past the basics who want free conversation practice and corrections from native speakers.

Price

Free to chat with partners; VIP Membership is $12.99 a month or $79.99 a year on the US App Store.

VIP Membership Monthly $12.99 VIP Membership $79.99
Quoted from the vendor pricing page on November 10, 2026.

Key features

• Partner matching by native language and level, with filters for age, location and gender
• Text, voice and video chat with built-in translation, transliteration and corrections
• Voicerooms for group speaking practice on set topics
• Livestreams with hosts and a Moments feed for questions to native speakers
• 260+ languages and 70M+ learners, according to HelloTalk

Strengths and weaknesses

• Strength: Real conversation with native speakers at no cost
• Strength: Correction tools make each chat a lesson
• Strength: Large community, so partners exist even for less common languages
• Weakness: No structured course, so beginners need another app first
• Weakness: Quality of practice depends on the partner you find
• Weakness: Some extras sit behind VIP or paid coins

Key facts

• Free plan: Yes, chat with partners for free
• Languages: 260+ per HelloTalk
• Community: 70M+ language learners per HelloTalk
• VIP: $12.99 a month or $79.99 a year on the US App Store
• Formats: Text, voice, video, Voicerooms, Livestreams

Where it ranks

HelloTalk is No. 4 in our Best Free Language Learning Apps verdict.