Speak
AI conversation tutor that gets you actually speaking a new language out loud — open-ended dialogues with Speak Tutor, 24/7.
TL;DR
Speak's killer move is making you actually speak. Most language apps optimize for streaks and tapping; Speak optimizes for minutes spent talking out loud. Speak Tutor — built on OpenAI tech, with the OpenAI Startup Fund as an investor since 2022 — is the closest thing to a 24/7 human tutor at $14–$20/mo or $99/yr. It's a consumer subscription valued at $1B (Dec 2024 Series C); not a school-licensed product.
Recommend it if
You're an intermediate learner who can read but freezes on speaking, you want oral-practice volume between lessons, or you teach a foreign-language class and want to recommend a tool for after-school speaking practice.
Skip it if
You teach K-8 in a school setting that needs FERPA-compliant licensing, you need text-only translation, your target language isn't on Speak's six-language list, or you want Mandarin Chinese coverage.
Quick facts
- Platforms
- iOSAndroidWeb
- Languages
- EnglishSpanishFrenchItalianKoreanJapanese
- School fit
- 9-12 Higher Ed Adult / PD
- Subjects
- World LanguagesELL
- Time to first output
- 5 min for first speaking session
- Learning curve
- Easy
- Setup
- Install the app, pick target language, allow microphone access
- Works offline
- —
Real-world use cases
How a teacher, student or parent actually puts this tool to work.
| Who | Scenario | Time | Output |
|---|---|---|---|
| Students | 20-min daily commute — open Speak Tutor and have a Spanish conversation about the day's news; the tutor adapts vocabulary to your level. | 20 min/day | Speaking minutes accumulated, transcribed conversations |
| Students | Prep for a study-abroad trip — run roleplay scenarios for ordering food, asking directions, opening a bank account. | 30 min/scenario | Practiced situational dialogue |
| Teachers | Foreign-language teacher recommends Speak as homework for after-school speaking practice between in-class lessons. | Student-driven | Practice volume teacher can't provide in class |
- Students
20-min daily commute — open Speak Tutor and have a Spanish conversation about the day's news; the tutor adapts vocabulary to your level.
- Time
- 20 min/day
- Output
- Speaking minutes accumulated, transcribed conversations
- Students
Prep for a study-abroad trip — run roleplay scenarios for ordering food, asking directions, opening a bank account.
- Time
- 30 min/scenario
- Output
- Practiced situational dialogue
- Teachers
Foreign-language teacher recommends Speak as homework for after-school speaking practice between in-class lessons.
- Time
- Student-driven
- Output
- Practice volume teacher can't provide in class
Speak’s pitch is simple: most language apps don’t make you speak. Duolingo trains tapping. Babbel trains reading. Speak trains your mouth. The flagship feature, Speak Tutor, is built on OpenAI tech (the OpenAI Startup Fund has been an investor since 2022) and holds open-ended dialogues on any topic, gives per-syllable pronunciation feedback, and adapts difficulty as you go.
The bet has paid off commercially: a $78M Series C in December 2024 at a $1B valuation (led by Accel, with the OpenAI Startup Fund, Khosla Ventures and Y Combinator participating), 15M+ downloads at 4.8 stars, and 1B+ sentences spoken in Speak in 2024 per the company’s own announcement.
The bottleneck it solves
Most learners hit a wall: they can read intermediate texts but freeze when ordering coffee in the target country. The bottleneck is production volume — you need many hours of out-loud talking to bridge from input to output. Speak provides that volume on demand, without needing to schedule a human tutor at $40-60/hour.
Where it falls short
It’s a consumer subscription, not a school-licensed product (though Speak for Business exists for distributed teams). Language coverage is just six — English, Spanish, French, Italian, Korean, Japanese — narrower than Duolingo, with no Mandarin Chinese course yet. And prices vary by region and promo, which can be confusing before you sign up.
What we like
- + Forces actual out-loud speaking with per-syllable pronunciation feedback — not the multiple-choice tapping Duolingo runs on
- + Speak Tutor handles open-ended conversations on any topic, 24/7
- + 4.8 App Store rating across 15M+ downloads; 1B+ sentences spoken in Speak in 2024 (per the company)
- + OpenAI Startup Fund investor since 2022; $78M Series C at $1B valuation (Dec 2024) funds continued model upgrades
Heads up
- − Subscription-only after a 7-day trial (~$14–$20/mo or $99/yr by region) — no permanent free tier
- − Just 6 learning languages (English, Spanish, French, Italian, Korean, Japanese) — no Mandarin Chinese yet, narrower than Duolingo
- − Premium vs Premium Plus tier difference is opaque before signup, and pricing varies by region and promo
Pricing breakdown
Pricing
Verified directly on the vendor site. We re-check every quarter.
Trial
- · 7-day free trial of all features
- · Speak Tutor access
- · Full course library
Premium
Most useful- · Full curriculum across 6 languages
- · Roleplay and Free Talk
- · Speak Tutor access and Smart Review
- · Custom lessons (limited to 3/day)
Premium Plus
- · Everything in Premium
- · Unlimited custom lessons (Made For You)
- · Unlimited Speak Tutor interactions
- · Personalized study plan
- · Targeted frequent-mistake practice
Speak for Business
- · Enterprise language learning for distributed teams
- · Highlighted by the company as a 2025 growth area
Privacy & compliance
Privacy & compliance
What we found in the vendor's terms, DPA, and trust center. Verify with your district before deploying.
- FERPA
- Unclear
- SOC 2
- Unclear
- COPPA
- Unclear
- GDPR
- Compliant
- Trains on your data
- Unclear
- Data retention
- Standard consumer-app retention; voice clips processed for tutoring may be reviewed for quality and model improvement per the privacy policy.
- Hosting regions
- US · EU · Asia · Latin America
Operated by Speakeasy Labs, Inc. Designed as a consumer app for individual learners; not positioned for K-12 school deployment with signed DPAs. Speak for Business is the enterprise track for distributed teams.
Works with
- Apple App Store
- Google Play
- Web app (app.speak.com)
Frequently asked questions
Frequently asked questions
Why pay for Speak instead of using free Duolingo?
Different problems. Duolingo gamifies vocabulary and grammar acquisition. Speak optimizes for time spent producing language out loud. Most users who plateau on Duolingo plateau because they aren't speaking — Speak is the fix for that specific bottleneck.
How is the AI tutor different from talking to ChatGPT in voice mode?
Speak is purpose-built for language teaching — it has a curriculum, scaffolds difficulty, gives pronunciation feedback per syllable, and tracks your progress. ChatGPT is a generalist that can chat in any language but doesn't pedagogize.
What's the difference between Premium and Premium Plus?
Premium gives you the full curriculum, Roleplay, Free Talk, Speak Tutor and Smart Review, with custom lessons capped at 3/day. Premium Plus adds unlimited custom lessons, unlimited Speak Tutor interactions, a personalized study plan and targeted frequent-mistake practice. Reviewers consistently flag the line between the two as opaque before signup.
How much does Speak actually cost after the trial?
Premium runs about $14–$20/mo or $99/yr depending on your region and current promo. Premium Plus is higher (varies by region). Specific numbers only show inside the app or web checkout — that's the "opaque pricing" cons line.
Which languages does it support?
Six learning languages as of writing — English, Spanish, French, Italian, Korean and Japanese. No Mandarin Chinese course yet. Native-language UI is wider, but the actual courses are the six above.
Tags
You might also like
When to pick it
Khanmigo
★Tutors & Study Companions
Khan Academy's AI tutor — Socratic, never gives away the answer, free for teachers.
You want a general-subject AI tutor, not a language-specific speaking partner.