HelloTalk
Language exchange: chat and call with native speakers, with a paid tier that lifts the daily limits.
Prices checked 17 Oct 2026 · How we check
Is HelloTalk worth it?
Yes, if you want to chat and call with native speakers for free and use what you have learned.
What it costs. Free to use for good. To pay for more, a year costs $79.99 ($6.67 a month); month to month is $12.99.
What's free. Free account with ads and daily limits (for example ten translations a day).
Skip it if you want lessons: it connects you with people to chat with, it does not teach a course.
What learners rate it. 4.6 out of 5 from 43,969 ratings in Apple's US App Store and 3.4 from 239,001 on Google Play, checked 11 Oct 2026.
What unhappy reviewers mention. Of the 327 one- and two-star reviews among the 500 most recent in Apple's US App Store, 53 mention the price, billing or the subscription; 24 bugs, crashes or the app not loading; and 22 customer support. Read 15 Oct 2026; a review can mention several.
$79.99 a year $6.67 a month, billed yearly · VIP Membership
In our comparison: strongest on the number of languages and speaking practice, weakest on teaching depth.
- Annual plan
- $79.99 a year ($6.67/mo)
- Monthly plan
- $12.99
- Lifetime plan
- —
- Free tier
- Free to keep using
Free account with ads and daily limits (for example ten translations a day); occasional randomly offered 3-day VIP trials - Languages
- 260
- Speech recognition
- —
- Live tutoring
- No
- Offline mode
- Yes
- Placement test
- —
- CEFR levels
- —
- Refund or trial
- Occasional randomly offered 3-day free VIP trial; refunds handled by Apple or Google for in-app purchases
- Platforms
- iOS, Android, Web
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Links to the app makers' own sites earn us nothing. Commissions never affect which apps we recommend. Affiliate disclosure and how the data is collected.
How a HelloTalk lesson works
- What you do
- No lessons: text, voice and video chats with native speakers, with tools to correct each other.
- What comes back
- A person: your partner can correct your messages, if they choose to.
- Not included
- A course or lessons.
How a lesson works in a language exchange
Plans and prices
Every consumer plan on HelloTalk's own pricing page or app-store listing, in US dollars unless marked. Per month is the plan price divided by its term. Each price is what the seller was charging on the day we checked it. When a plan was on sale, its regular price is shown under the sale price; a crossed-out figure that is only a comparison, such as a year at the monthly rate, is in the plan's note.
| Plan | Billing | Price | Per month | Covers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free accountFreeAds and daily limits, such as ten translations a day. | Other | $0 | $0/mo | all languages |
| VIP Membership YearlyVIPSold in the app; this is the US App Store price. | Annual | $79.99 | $6.67/mo | all languages |
| VIP Membership MonthlyVIPSold in the app; this is the US App Store price. | Monthly | $12.99 | $12.99/mo | all languages |
| Lifetime VIPLifetimeA Lifetime VIP tier exists; HelloTalk arranges it through customer service. | Lifetime | — | one-time | all languages |
| VIP PlusA higher VIP Plus tier is sold in the app's VIP Store. | Other | — | — | all languages |
What will HelloTalk cost you?
Total billed over 12 months
$75.89 less on annual billingOne yearly payment of $79.99.
What each plan covers. Monthly: all languages. Yearly: all languages.
Before subscribing, compare trial, cancellation and refund terms, including how purchases through an app store differ.
How to cancel HelloTalk, and how refunds work
What HelloTalk says about itself
| Feature | What HelloTalk says |
|---|---|
| CEFR levels | — |
| What it is | Language exchange app: you chat by text, voice and video with native speakers who are learning your language, with in-chat translation and correction tools. |
| Languages offered | 260: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, German, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Thai, Turkish |
| Free tier | Free account with ads and daily limits (for example ten translations a day); occasional randomly offered 3-day VIP trials |
| Platforms | iOS, Android, Web |
| Offline mode | Yes |
| Speech recognition | — |
| Live tutoring | No |
| Placement test | — |
| Refund or trial | Occasional randomly offered 3-day free VIP trial; refunds handled by Apple or Google for in-app purchases |
| Company | HelloTalk, Inc., founded 2012 |
How HelloTalk compares
HelloTalk is strongest on the number of languages and speaking practice, weakest on teaching depth. Each criterion is scored out of 5 from what each app says about itself and from independent reviews, to compare apps that do the same job; it is not a review of the app. How we score.
| Feature | Score (of 5) | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Teaching depth | 1 | Chat and call with native speakers, with a paid tier that lifts the daily limits |
| Speaking practice | 4.5 | Real native speakers to talk and write to |
| Language coverage | 5 | 260 languages |
| Free tier | 4.5 | Free for good, with ads and limits |
| Price per month | 4 | $79.99 a year $6.67 a month, billed yearly · VIP Membership |
| Trial and refund | 2.5 | Refunds follow Apple's or Google's rules |
| Offline use | 2.5 | Works offline |
| Staying power and bugs | 3 | Mixed reports on staying power |
Languages you can learn on HelloTalk
HelloTalk states 260 languages; the 14 below are the ones it enumerates on its pages.
Arabic, Chinese, English, French, German, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Thai, Turkish
Compare HelloTalk
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References
- HelloTalk: home page (checked 6 Sept 2026)
- Apple App Store: HelloTalk listing (checked 6 Sept 2026)
- HelloTalk FAQ: Lifetime VIP (checked 6 Sept 2026)
- HelloTalk FAQ: VIP Plus (checked 6 Sept 2026)
- HelloTalk: language exchange (checked 6 Sept 2026)
- HelloTalk FAQ: free and VIP (checked 6 Sept 2026)
- HelloTalk: download
- HelloTalk: about
- HelloTalk: ambassadors (checked 6 Sept 2026)
- Language Tsar, the reviewer used the app (14 Jan 2021)
- Tofugu, the reviewer used the app (10 Feb 2022)