Preply Reviews

Preply alternatives: four platforms, priced honestly

Preply alternatives are the other platforms selling the same hour of language teaching, and they come in two shapes. italki and AmazingTalker are marketplaces like Preply, where tutors set their own rate and you buy lessons singly. Cambly and Lingoda sell you a plan instead, one as flat-rate English conversation and one as a school with a CEFR syllabus.

[verified 2026-09-17]

See Preply's current tutor rates

Comparison table

Every figure below was read off the company's own published page on 2026-09-17, with two exceptions noted under the table. Scroll the table sideways on a phone.

Preply compared with italki, Cambly, Lingoda and AmazingTalker, 2026-09-17. Highlighted cells mark a clear advantage on that row; most rows have none, because these platforms sell different things.

Compared onPreplyitalkiCamblyLingodaAmazingTalker
How you paySubscription every 28 daysPay per lesson with prepaid credits, no subscriptionFlat subscription, priced by lessons per week and billing termClass packs on a plan that renews every four weeksPay per lesson, tutors set their own rate
Headline price$3 to $40+ an hour$4 to $40 a lesson$12.12 to $18.75 a 30-minute lesson on the Pro plan€5.99 to €12.99 a group class, €12.99 to €30.99 one to one$10 to $30 an hour for most English tutors, its own figure
Lesson length25 and 50 minutes30, 45, 60 or 90 minutes30 minutes60 minutesPer-lesson booking, trial lessons commonly 25 minutes
What it teachesDozens of languages, one to one150+ languages, italki's own figureEnglish conversation practice onlyGerman, English, French, Spanish, Italian and Business EnglishLanguages plus non-language subjects such as maths and music
Getting startedThe only genuinely free way inPaid trial, refundable in creditsDiscounted trial lessons, usually 30 minutes at 30-50% offNo standing free trial published on the subscribe pageLingoda has the edge here: 7-day free trial covering up to 3 group classes or 1 private class, then billing starts on day 8Short paid trial lessons, discounted first lesson for new students
Fees on top18% once per new tutorNone at checkoutNone, the subscription is the priceNone, credits roll overNone published for learners
Trustpilot scoreA high score on by far the biggest samplePreply has the edge here: 4.4 from 25,330 reviews4.4 from 14,945 reviews2 from 264 reviews4.3 from 5,871 reviews4.6 from 1,093 reviews

Two caveats we are not going to bury. Cambly's per-lesson figures appear on its subscribe page for the Pro tier only, quoted against ten lessons a week, so read $12.12 as the floor of a large annual purchase. And italki's language count is italki's own claim, which we have not independently counted.

Lingoda prices are in euros because that is the currency its pricing page shows by default. Everything else is in US dollars.

What is the best alternative to Preply?

There is no single best one, because the four alternatives are not competing for the same job. For the closest substitute, italki does what Preply does at almost identical rates, $4 to $40 a lesson against Preply's $3 to $40 an hour, and sells lessons singly out of credit instead of billing you every 28 days. For structure, Lingoda is the real departure: a fixed CEFR syllabus, certified teachers, a certificate at each level, and group classes from €5.99 for a full hour. For English conversation and nothing else, Cambly charges one flat subscription for any tutor in its network. For the widest set of subjects, AmazingTalker adds maths and music to the languages and publishes its rates by the tutor's country. Pick the shape first, then compare prices inside that shape, because comparing a group class to a private hour tells you nothing useful.

When Preply wins

Preply wins on choice and on evidence. It carries dozens of languages against Lingoda's six and Cambly's one, its range starts lower than anyone else's at $3 an hour, and its Trustpilot sample runs to more than 25,000 reviews while AmazingTalker has 1,093 and Cambly has 264. A large sample at 4.4 is a much stronger signal than a small one at 4.6.

It also wins when the thing you need is to actually turn up. The 28-day charge lands whether the week went well or not, and for plenty of people that is the only reason the lessons continue. Credits that never expire are a gentler product and a worse motivator.

Read the Trustpilot reviews this figure comes from. The score is Trustpilot's own aggregate of its users.

When an alternative wins

Each of these has one situation it answers better than Preply does. Find yours, then read the full head-to-head.

  1. italki

    You want to buy lessons one at a time and keep the credit until you are ready. italki prices sit almost on top of Preply's, so this is a choice about billing. Nothing is charged in the week you cannot study, and the credits do not expire.

    Read Preply vs italki in full

  2. Cambly

    Your goal is more English conversation and picking a tutor is what has stopped you. One flat price covers anyone in the network. Note its Trustpilot profile though: 2.0 from 264 reviews, which Trustpilot itself marks as possibly unrepresentative.

    Read Preply vs Cambly in full

  3. Lingoda

    You want a syllabus and a certificate rather than a blank hour. Group classes start at €5.99 for a full 60 minutes and follow a CEFR path from A1. Six languages only, so check yours is on the list before you get attached.

    Read Preply vs Lingoda in full

  4. AmazingTalker

    You are still auditioning tutors, or you want maths and music from the same account. Rates are published by the tutor's country, which tells you what the price reflects, and there is no per-tutor fee for trying someone new.

    Read Preply vs AmazingTalker in full

Still weighing it up?

Compare tutors on Preply

Where these figures come from

Checked on 2026-09-17. Prices on these platforms move, and a figure that was right in September can be wrong by spring, so treat the date as part of the number. Anything we could not verify is marked on the page rather than filled in.