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Updated July 2026 · real, multi-region App Store reviews
User consensusAlternativesIs it worth it?
Better options than

Speak alternatives

Speak users often look for alternatives due to high costs, subscription issues, and limited language options. Alternatives like Duolingo and Babbel offer different learning approaches and pricing models that may better suit various user needs.

Why users look for alternatives to Speak

The alternatives

Duolingo
4.7★ · 5,329,606 ratings · Free

Duolingo offers a gamified approach to language learning, making it fun and easy to learn multiple languages with characters and smooth animations . It provides a free tier, though recent changes have made it harder to continue lessons without paying R51.

Better for: Duolingo is better for users who enjoy a gamified, free-to-start experience for learning multiple languages and don't mind the possibility of encountering repetitive content or needing to pay for more extensive use . It suits those who prefer repetition for memorization .

Head-to-head: Speak vs Duolingo
Babbel
4.7★ · 746,305 ratings · Free

Babbel provides a well-designed tool for building foundational language learning blocks, focusing on steady progress R66. It offers educational content, though some users find lessons basic or grammar explanations confusing R67.

Better for: Babbel is better for users seeking a structured approach to build foundational language skills consistently R66. It may appeal to those who value educational content and are willing to pay for a subscription, but might not be ideal for advanced learners or those who prefer extensive free content R67.

Head-to-head: Speak vs Babbel
Speak & Learn English
4.6★ · 327,771 ratings · Free

This app offers interactive voice-based learning, which some users appreciate R80. However, like many apps, it starts free but quickly requires payment, with some users reporting automatic renewals and difficulty canceling subscriptions R79.

Better for: Speak & Learn English is better for users who specifically want interactive voice practice and are prepared to pay for a subscription R80. It's less suitable for those seeking a completely free experience or who are wary of subscription management issues R79.

Head-to-head: Speak vs Speak & Learn English
Rosetta Stone Classic (2024)
4.8★ · 237,627 ratings · Free

Rosetta Stone uses a visual learning approach to immerse users in a language, with many appreciating the lifetime membership option for multiple languages R94. However, some find the lessons boring, the speech recognition unreliable, and a lack of direct translations confusing R93R96.

Better for: Rosetta Stone is better for visual learners who want an immersive experience and are willing to invest in a lifetime subscription for access to many languages without monthly fees R94. It's less suitable for those who need direct translations, find lessons repetitive, or rely heavily on accurate speech recognition R93R96.

Head-to-head: Speak vs Rosetta Stone Classic (2024)
Memrise Easy Language Learning
4.8★ · 215,795 ratings · Free

Memrise is praised for its effectiveness in showing actual speech and being convenient, with some users finding it superior to Duolingo . It offers a wide range of languages, including less common ones like Chawcktow R108. However, users report issues with app stability, repetitive lessons, and poor customer service regarding lifetime memberships R109.

Better for: Memrise is better for learners who prioritize seeing actual speech and find other apps like Duolingo less effective . It suits those interested in a wider variety of languages, including less common ones R108. However, users should be aware of potential app bugs and customer service issues R109.

Head-to-head: Speak vs Memrise Easy Language Learning
Stick with Speak if

You should stick with Speak if you value its immersive approach to speaking and accent learning, find its repetition helpful, and are learning Spanish, Chinese, Portuguese, German, or Japanese, provided you are willing to pay the subscription cost and don't encounter technical issues with speech recognition R25.

Evidence note: No alternatives had too few reviews to judge.

Frequently asked

Is Speak free to use?
No, Speak is not truly free; while it may offer one free lesson or a short trial, users quickly encounter paywalls for further content and are prompted to purchase a subscription, with some reporting unexpected charges R6R13R16R22.
What languages does Speak offer?
Speak offers languages such as Spanish, Chinese, Portuguese, German, and Japanese, but users have expressed disappointment over the lack of other languages like Russian, Haitian Creole, and Arabic, especially for native language support R4R8R12R25.
Are there issues with Speak's speech recognition?
Yes, several users have reported significant issues with Speak's speech recognition and text-to-speech features, particularly for Asian languages, finding it difficult for the app to detect their speech or experiencing a decline in quality after AI changes R18R26R28R32.

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. [R6] Speak 3/5 · US Expensive: I had one lesson that was free and then prompted to upgrade or free trial. I was surprised at the cost. The premium plus is more expensive but offered targeted mistake help… like, that’s the point of learning ? It’s not much cheaper to pay a year in advance .
  2. [R13] Speak 2/5 · US Money: Everything costs money. Down download this if you arnt willing to spend money in order to learn to talk to family.
  3. [R16] Speak 2/5 · US Charged me a crazy amount of money!!: I realized you had to pay to do lessons, and the subscription info said it was 6.99/month. But no, after one week of a free trial, they charged me $83.99. Luckily the support team was very kind and quick with getting me a full refund, but please don’t get this app unless you are really wanting to spend lots to learn a language. Please, for future updates, make
  4. [R19] Speak 1/5 · US Subscription: The subscription doesn’t show in the App Store during the trial period and there is no way to cancel it. It doesn’t show the payment under receipts either. The company directly charges your card , and requesting a refund is difficult at best.
  5. [R4] Speak 1/5 · US No Russian: I saw the ad showing that this app was better than Duolingo, but I was disappointed to find that Russian was not available.
  6. [R8] Speak 4/5 · US Number of languages: I would love to learn Haitian Creole through the app
  7. [R12] Speak 3/5 · GB Add more languages: Please add more native languages. Because my native language is sinhala and I want to learn English and Spanish. Nothing is tailored to sinhala
  8. [R25] Speak 5/5 · US Speak: This is the best app to use to learn Spanish, Chinese, or Portuguese or German or any other language
  9. [R18] Speak 3/5 · GB it’s ok: I can tell it’s a nice app but I keep trying to speak but it doesn’t go through????
  10. [R26] Speak 2/5 · US Bad text to speech: It’s really hard to use for long periods because the text to speech / speech recognition is so bad, particularly for Asian languages. I find myself sitting there repeating myself incessantly because the speech isn’t detecting.
  11. [R28] Speak 1/5 · US Voice doesn’t work: Tried everything
  12. [R32] Speak 1/5 · US It didn't correct me or address my irrelevant comments. It's much worse than the initial version: terrible. · translated
  13. [R3] Speak 3/5 · US No way to start at appropriate level: The instruction method is good, but it should test better so you can start at your appropriate level. It started me at “Hello, my name is. . .” which is way, way too basic for my level. I’ve reached out twice to customer service to see if there is a way to adjust, but I’ve received no response. I’m frustrated at this point and I regret spending money on the s
  14. [R15] Speak 3/5 · GB Pronouns oriented?: You would love this app if you love gender neutral pronouns, such as: "Tell me something about your best friend. What IS THEIR name?" I miss English lessons back then. They taught English as English, not as DEI English.
  15. [R30] Speak 2/5 · US No structure: It’s very random. No tools or techniques other than speaking it to make sure memorization induces. There is no intro or peak into lessons.
  16. [R46] Speak 2/5 · GB Started off good but to repetitive: I have been using speak for Japanese for some time now. The beginner lessons were very good but as I moved to intermediate level the subjects and groups of conversation seemed pointless and I have not progressed far. The app and the bot seem to assume you know kanji off pat but many beginners don’t so words and phrases that continue to use lots of kanji become p
  17. [R1] Speak 1/5 · US SCAM: After I registered my number I got so many scam calls!!!!!!!
  18. [R51] Duolingo 1/5 · US Pay to play: Screw this app. They just recently changed it to where instead of lives you have xp therefore making it even harder to continue lessons for free. I can only complete two lessons in one sitting and if you run out of xp in the middle of a lesson it doesn’t give you an option to watch an add and instead only gives you the option to start a free trial or pay money. Scums
  19. [R52] Duolingo 5/5 · US Duo: It is AMAZING
  20. [R53] Duolingo 3/5 · US I mean I like it: Gd
  21. [R54] Duolingo 2/5 · US Ai: Incredibly bummed out to find out how much ai Duolingo uses. Time to find a new way to learn Spanish.
  22. [R65] Babbel 1/5 · US I’m Brooke: I had to pay 108$ just to do lesson two
  23. [R66] Babbel 5/5 · US Solid steady learning: Babbel is a well designed and useful tool. Learning a language is really hard and this is the best way I’ve found to begin to build foundational learning blocks. Don’t expect to be fluent anytime soon, But if consistent you will see real progress
  24. [R67] Babbel 3/5 · US Little basic: I wish the lessons were a little more challenging. The questions are kinda easy. maybe my spanish is more advanced than i thot. Are there more advanced lessons?
  25. [R68] Babbel 2/5 · US So far I hate it: Week 2 and im still on how to say hello and goodbye, why is this so difficult? There are 3 Spanish words for the word “are” and I can’t figure it out at all. I end up quitting in under 10 minutes every day but I go back again and haven’t picked up a thing. This app makes me feel like I’m incapable of learning a new language.
  26. [R79] Speak & Learn English 1/5 · US Lost money: Se renueva automáticamente sin mandarte aviso y te descuenta de tu cuenta bancaria y ya no aparece la opción de cancelar subscripción. Ya había cancelado mi suscripción y tengo las fotos donde cancelé y me siguió descontando dinero 😡
  27. [R80] Speak & Learn English 5/5 · US Trying to learn Spanish again.: I liked the interaction with a voice rather than just reading it.
  28. [R81] Speak & Learn English 3/5 · US Tengo que pagar: Muy buena
  29. [R82] Speak & Learn English 1/5 · US Bueltas bueltas: No puedo descargarla
  30. [R93] Rosetta Stone Classic (2024) 1/5 · US ?: Ok I’m gonna be really honest. Rosetta Stone is not a good app to learn stuff. For example I was learning Korean and it just started throwing random sentences for me to say. And it was genuinely so confusing. If you need a good app to learn Korean, Japanese, or Spanish try “TEUIDA”. It’s a really good app and it helped me a lot.
  31. [R94] Rosetta Stone Classic (2024) 5/5 · US Visual is best: I was not sure how i felt about this app, but visual learning helps a lot, i would still recommend you a good grammar book or watch tutorials online for proper grammar, if you have questions, but if you really want to amerce yourself in the language and not use cheap duolingo, for $200 dollars you can learn almost any language for life, they have monthy options if you can’t afford
  32. [R95] Rosetta Stone Classic (2024) 3/5 · US Progress bug: The home page never updates my progress for each unit. I have to select a unit then exit out for it to show my actual progress. This happens every time I open the app.
  33. [R96] Rosetta Stone Classic (2024) 1/5 · US Lazy not useful: How about you add a translation to what it is that you are saying, so we actually know what is being taught.
  34. [R107] Memrise Easy Language Learning 2/5 · US No autorenew reminder: They don’t send a reminder that they’ll charge you for a whole year for the annual renewing subscription, and it’s a pain to ask for a refund. Pretty shady.
  35. [R108] Memrise Easy Language Learning 5/5 · US They have Chawcktow!!!: ❤️
  36. [R109] Memrise Easy Language Learning 3/5 · US Stuck: I think it’s got a bug because I keep going over the same ol’ lessons. It might be because I had to upgrade phones.
  37. [R110] Memrise Easy Language Learning 1/5 · US App review shows no words: Been over a month and no reviews. Your zendesk app won’t take my email address for bug reports. Stuck!
  38. [R22] Speak 1/5 · US Locked behind payment: Was so excited to finally find an app that I can actually learn a language without paying just to get to the second lesson and it asks for money

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