Verithiathe honest score on any app
Updated July 2026 · real, multi-region App Store reviews
User consensusAlternativesIs it worth it?
Is it worth paying for

ELSA Speak

45
Value score / 100 Worth paying? No Skip it

ELSA Speak has strong potential for pronunciation improvement, but recent updates have introduced significant usability issues and ethical concerns regarding lifetime subscriptions, making it a questionable investment for many users.

Free + in-app purchases seen up to $157 4.8★ lifetime (110,747) since 2016

ELSA Speak is praised for its ability to improve pronunciation and speaking confidence, but recent updates have led to a confusing UI, numerous bugs, and performance issues. Many users, including lifetime subscribers, report content being paywalled and difficulty with subscription cancellations, raising serious ethical and value concerns.

Free vs paid

The free version offers limited practice, pushing users to subscribe for more extensive features R19R21. Paid tiers, including a 'lifetime license,' have been criticized for later gating content behind new payment tiers, making the initial purchase less valuable R1. The app also has a trial period that automatically converts to a paid subscription if not canceled, with users reporting difficulty canceling and being charged without reminders R8R17R22R353.

Value complaints

  • Lifetime license holders are being forced to pay extra for content that was previously included, which is considered unethical.R1R18
  • The app charges users without clear reminders after trial periods, and cancellation processes are difficult or impossible, leading to unwanted charges.R8R17R22R353
  • The app is considered expensive for its quality, especially given the limited advanced content and numerous bugs.R89R168R249
  • Some users find the app's monetization strategy, which quickly gates content behind a paywall, to be a deceptive '套路' (tào lù) or trick.R19R21

Where it delivers

  • The app is highly effective for improving pronunciation and building confidence in speaking English.R6R13R14R15
  • The app's voice recognition has improved significantly, although it still has some issues.R4
  • The role-play feature is highly valued for practicing conversations on various topics.R107
Worth paying if

It might be worth paying if you are a beginner looking to improve American English pronunciation and are willing to tolerate significant app bugs and a potentially frustrating user interface R168. Some users find the AI assistant helpful for conversation practice and confidence building R107.

Skip / stay free if

You should skip paying if you are a lifetime license holder experiencing new paywalls R1, if you prefer British English accents R263R271R273R298, or if you are looking for an app with a stable, user-friendly interface and reliable performance R1R7R18.

Evidence note: The reviews are heavily skewed towards negative experiences with recent updates and monetization practices, despite a high lifetime rating. Many positive reviews are short and lack specific details.

Frequently asked

Is ELSA Speak worth paying for?
Based on recent user reviews, ELSA Speak is generally not worth paying for due to numerous bugs, a confusing user interface after recent updates, and unethical monetization practices such as paywalling content for lifetime license holders R1R18R42R44.
Does ELSA Speak support British English?
No, ELSA Speak primarily focuses on American English, and users who prefer or speak British English find it unhelpful as it often corrects their non-rhotic pronunciations and does not offer a British accent option R263R271R273R298.
Are there issues with ELSA Speak's subscription or trial cancellation?
Yes, many users report significant issues with ELSA Speak's subscription and trial cancellation process, including being charged automatically after trials without reminders, difficulty canceling, and unresponsiveness from customer support regarding refunds R8R17R22R353.
What are the main complaints about ELSA Speak's recent updates?
Recent updates to ELSA Speak have been widely criticized for introducing a confusing and non-user-friendly interface, a slow and buggy AI tutor, inaccurate speech recognition, and performance issues like slow loading times and frequent crashes R1R4R7R12.

What reviewers actually said

Built only from these 120 real reviews (foreign ones translated). Superscripts jump to the quote here. Apple has no per-review links, so [ref] opens that app's reviews on the App Store.

  1. [R1] 2/5 · US Don’t recommend: I am a Lifetime License holder, but now half of the learning interfaces require me to pay extra to unlock them. Gating content behind a new tier after selling a "lifetime" deal is highly unethical. On top of that, the recent app updates completely butchered the UI. The interface and content layout changed drastically and became so complicated and hard to use. They ruined a perfec
  2. [R18] 1/5 · US I have a lifetime subscription 👎: The only reason why I don’t cancel my subscription is because I can’t. In fact, I made the terrible mistake of purchasing a lifetime subscription. I used to like the old app before they rolled out the “coaches”. The lesson content is sometimes too political and I don’t like to be indoctrinated, but that is not the main issue. The real problem is that the app is sl
  3. [R8] 1/5 · US Disappointing trial experience: I tried to cancel before being charged, but the app warned that canceling would immediately disable the trial features, so I continued the trial. After 7 days I was charged $99.99 without a reminder. I contacted Apple and ELSA immediately, but both refused to help. The app itself may be useful, but the subscription/trial cancellation flow needs to be more transparen
  4. [R17] 1/5 · US Scam, get away: It practically impossible to cancel a subscription. I had to cancel my credit card to get rid of it. Refund, forget about it! They keep renewing even they know you’re not using. No communication, no support, no contact!!!
  5. [R22] 1/5 · US Fraud: This company is a fraud. I tried the app, and they set it up for auto renewal with no email confirmation or any forms of communication. I get charged with no notification or receipt. I tried to contact via email/app and only received AI responses with instructions that did not work. Contacted to phone number in the US, no answer.
  6. [R353] 3/5 · GB Elsa: Hello I download your app because it had 7 day free trial. I was unaware that you was going to deduct £43.99 from my account as I had not confirmed I was going to accept it after the 7 day trial. My purchase id MQ913F5QM4. Can I please request a refund back to my account. Thank you Billy.
  7. [R89] 3/5 · US Great idea, but needs development: This app is really interesting, but it needs quite a bit of work. Almost all the lessons have bugs, and it’s hard to make progress through them. I couldn’t find an option to report this issue within the app, so I’m leaving my feedback here. It’s a bit frustrating because, for the cost, you’d expect a smoother experience.
  8. [R168] 3/5 · US Expensive for it’s quality: Overall the app might be useful, but the content for practice is very limited and most of the topics are very simple and basic. So, generally, if you’re a beginner and just started learning English it may work for you, but if you’re looking for something more advanced this app is definitely not the best option. It has some additional topics and AI tools but they change
  9. [R249] 3/5 · US Performance issues: I like the app in general but really getting tired of performance issues. Sometimes it takes too long to get the results, sometimes it unexpectedly shut down, sometimes no result is shown. This starts to happen after a few unsuccessful scores every single time. It is not even an inexpensive app but there is no fix on those issues. I don’t like writing bad reviews buy but as a
  10. [R19] 1/5 · US Horrible: I got the app and practiced for a bit but then it kept bugging me to buy a membership just to practice more in that one day horrible just horrible
  11. [R21] 1/5 · US Charging issue: If you're going to charge, say so from the beginning. Having to pay after only a few tries is just a trick, isn't it? Charge if you want, I don't care, but don't use these tactics. · translated
  12. [R6] 5/5 · US Great app: A nice app that helped me with pronunciation. · translated
  13. [R13] 5/5 · US Good app for English learners: Very helpful
  14. [R14] 5/5 · US The best: Best English.
  15. [R15] 5/5 · US Excelente: Good Education
  16. [R4] 4/5 · US Good,but not good enough: While voice recognition has improved significantly, it still fails to recognize speech in certain situations. Currently, the biggest problem with the user interface is the virtual character (the tutor) who occupies a third of the screen, which is unreasonable. This is an unnecessary (even useless) feature that only obstructs the view during learning.
  17. [R107] 5/5 · US Good app and it works: Using this app. Love Role-play feature. Can use it for anything - interviews, discussing music and movies. Works very well.
  18. [R42] 1/5 · US Latest Update Ruined the App: I am extremely disappointed with the latest update. I purchased a yearly subscription based on the previous version of the app, which was simple, clear, and actually helpful for learning. Now the entire concept has changed. The app relies heavily on AI, but it does not work properly. Speech recognition is inaccurate, even for very simple words, which makes it frustr
  19. [R44] 1/5 · US Very Disappointed After the Latest Update, Long-Time User: I have been using Elsa Speak for about 4 years, and until today, I was genuinely satisfied with the app. It helped me improve my pronunciation and build confidence in speaking English. However, after the latest update, I am extremely disappointed. I spent around two hours trying to use the new version, and it feels completely different,
  20. [R263] 3/5 · GB Cannot change the accent: The concept is great but however while there is the option to select different accent, the conversations and pronunciations seems to always be in American English which is really annoying if trying to improve British pronunciation
  21. [R271] 3/5 · GB Bring British RP accent: Like many regretting not being able to choose between US accent and UK accent
  22. [R273] 3/5 · GB Dear Elsa: ‏ been using Elsa Speak and find it very useful for improving my pronunciation. However, I have noticed that the app primarily focuses on American English. As a learner who prefers British pronunciation, I would like to suggest adding a British accent option to the app. ‏This would be extremely helpful for users who want to learn and practice British English. I hope you will consider
  23. [R298] 3/5 · GB Not for people who want to learn British English: It is all about American English but as I live in the UK, it is useless
  24. [R7] 2/5 · US Buggy app: The app is so slow, sometimes it glitches. Incorrect score calculation.
  25. [R12] 1/5 · US I like the older version: i am using this more then 2 years.I like the older version,now is piece of…….

Synthesized from 120 recent App Store reviews · updated July 2026 · View on the App Store