Compare
LangX vs Tandem, HelloTalk, Duolingo and 13 other language apps
The open source language exchange app, next to every app people compare it with — including where they are the better choice. Real people, unlimited corrections, free packs to learn from, and no ads.
Free plan, no ads. iPhone, Android and the browser.
George English · learning SpanishToday
Hey Sofia! What did you do on Saturday?
On Saturday I went at the beach with my cousins.
George corrected you I went at to the beach.
Nice! I went to the market.
Message George
- Unlimited
- corrections and replies, on every plan
- 5
- new conversations a day, free
- 183
- languages in the app
- 18
- free Echo packs to learn from, in 6 languages
- 0
- ads, on any plan
Which app are you comparing?
Pick one. The same six rows for every app, and the full write-up one tap further.
Tandem
HelloTalk
Duolingo
Speaky
Conversation Exchange
Lingbe
Busuu
italki
Slowly
InterPals
Cambly
Preply
Babbel
Memrise
Speak
Praktika- Bilingua
LangX Two-way exchange with corrections and translation in the chat, plus free Echo packs to learn from Tandem Large language exchange community with chat, calls and group PartiesKind Language exchange + Echo packs Language exchange
Talk with real people Yes Yes
Free plan Yes Unlimited replies and corrections; 5 new conversations a day Yes Free version with daily limits; paid Pro tier
Ads None Free plan only
Open source Yes (BSD-3) No
Best for Practice that teaches, without ads Live calls and a very large partner pool
Both put you in touch with real people. Tandem shows ads on its free plan; LangX shows none on any plan. LangX is open source; Tandem is not.
Who ticks which box
All 18 apps on this page, one row per thing that decides a comparison. A lit icon has it.
- Talk with real people, free A person to chat with, without paying a tutor8 of 18B
- A free plan you can keep Not a trial and not one lesson11 of 18B
- Free lessons or packs to study alone Something to learn from before anyone replies4 of 18B
- No ads on any plan Not even on the free one7 of 18B
- Open source The code is public and yours to run1 of 18B
From the side-by-side table below, checked against each app's own site and store listing in September 2026.
the difference is a person.
Courses drill you and AI tutors answer you. LangX matches you with someone who speaks the language you are learning and is learning yours, so every chat teaches both of you — and any message can be corrected, without limit. Before anyone replies, Echo gives you free packs of phrases to review.
- Matching in both directions
- Unlimited corrections, on every plan
- Free Echo packs to learn from
- No ads. Open source.
Learning Spanish 
Yuki English · learning Spanish “I want to read García Márquez without a dictionary.” Say hello to Yuki
Katya English · learning Spanish “Happy to help with English. Slowly, please!” 
Anna English · learning Spanish “Looking for someone to talk films with.”
Speaks English Online now
Yuki English · learning Spanish Katya English · learning Spanish Anna English · learning SpanishWhat kind of app is it?
“Language app” covers five different things. Most people end up using one from two of these groups — a course or a tutor for structure, and people to talk with. LangX is in two of them: the exchange is the product, and Echo's free packs are the part you can study alone.
Language exchange
You talk with people learning your language
Pen pals
Longer, slower letters and messages
Paid tutors
Lessons with a teacher, booked and paid
Courses
Structured lessons; little or no talking to people
AI tutors
You talk with an AI, not a person
Language apps, side by side
Every app on this page in the same six columns. Each cell is a mark and a word; the row for LangX is tinted.
| App | Kind | Talk with real people | Free plan | Ads | Open source | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LangX Two-way exchange with corrections and translation in the chat, plus free Echo packs to learn from | Language exchange + Echo packs | Yes | Yes | None | Yes (BSD-3) | Practice that teaches, without ads |
| Tandem Large language exchange community with chat, calls and group Parties | Language exchange | Yes | Yes | Free plan only | No | Live calls and a very large partner pool |
| HelloTalk Social language exchange app with Moments, Voicerooms and livestreams | Language exchange | Yes | Yes | Free plan only | No | Social learners who want feeds and group voice |
| Duolingo Gamified course app with bite-size lessons in 40+ languages | Courses | No | Yes | Free plan only | No | Beginners building a daily habit |
| Speaky Exchange app to message partners, plus AI practice partners | Language exchange | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Free, low-friction chatting in many languages |
| Conversation Exchange Long-running website for in-person, pen pal and chat partners | Language exchange | Yes | Yes | Free plan only | No | Face-to-face exchange partners in your city |
| Lingbe Press a button for an instant voice call with a native speaker | Language exchange | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Live speaking practice on demand |
| Busuu Structured course app with native-speaker corrections on exercises | Courses | Corrections only | Yes | Free plan only | No | Beginners who want a structured course |
| italki Marketplace for paid one-to-one lessons, plus a free community | Paid tutors | Paid tutors | Trial or limited | None | No | Lessons with professional teachers |
| Slowly Anonymous pen-pal app; letters arrive with a distance-based delay | Pen pals | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Long, thoughtful letters |
| InterPals Long-running pen-pal and cultural exchange community | Pen pals | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Pen pals and long correspondence |
| Cambly Paid live English video lessons with tutors | Paid tutors | Paid tutors | No | None | No | On-demand live English speaking practice |
| Preply Tutor marketplace for one-to-one lessons in 90+ languages | Paid tutors | Paid tutors | No | None | No | Regular weekly lessons with a tutor |
| Babbel Structured course app with AI speaking practice (Babbel Speak) | Courses | No | Trial or limited | None | No | Clear grammar and structured lessons |
| Memrise Vocabulary app with native-speaker videos and AI chat | Courses | No | Yes | Free plan only | No | Vocabulary and listening |
| Speak AI speaking tutor with a structured course | AI tutors | No | No | None | No | Guided, pressure-free speaking drills |
| Praktika AI avatar tutors for conversation practice | AI tutors | No | Trial or limited | None | No | A lifelike AI tutor for shy beginners |
| Bilingua Gone from the app stores since 2023 Exchange app that matched partners by interests | Language exchange | No | No | — | No | Former users looking for a new app |
LangX vs each app
- Open Source Alternative to Tandem: LangX vs Tandem (2026)
- Open Source Alternative to HelloTalk: LangX vs HelloTalk (2026)
- Open Source Alternative to Duolingo? LangX vs Duolingo (2026)
- Open Source Alternative to Memrise: LangX vs Memrise (2026)
- Open Source Alternative to Preply: LangX vs Preply (2026)
- Open Source Alternative to Babbel: LangX vs Babbel (2026)
- Open Source Alternative to Cambly: LangX vs Cambly (2026)
- Open Source Alternative to InterPals: LangX vs InterPals (2026)
- Open Source Alternative to Praktika: LangX vs Praktika (2026)
- Open Source Alternative to Slowly: LangX vs Slowly (2026)
- Open Source Alternative to Speak: LangX vs Speak (2026)
- Open Source Alternative to italki: LangX vs italki (2026)
- Open Source Alternative to Busuu: LangX vs Busuu (2026)
- Open Source Alternative to Lingbe: LangX vs Lingbe (2026)
- Open Source Alternative to Bilingua: LangX vs Bilingua (2026)
- Open Source Alternative to Conversation Exchange (2026)
- Open Source Alternative to Speaky: LangX vs Speaky (2026)
Roundups and guides
- The 9 Best Language Exchange Apps in 2026 (Honest Comparison)
- The Social Alternative to Duolingo: Practice with Real People
- Tandem vs HelloTalk (2026): Which Language Exchange App Is Better?
- Duolingo Alternatives That Actually Get You Speaking (2026)
- The Best Social Language Learning Apps in 2026
- AI Conversation Partner vs Language Exchange: Which Helps You Speak?
- Best Language Exchange Apps for 2027: What to Pick and What's Changing
- The Best Language Exchange Apps of 2025: A Look Back
- The Best Free Language Exchange Apps (2026): What You Really Get Free
- Best Apps to Practice Japanese with Native Speakers (2026)
- Best Apps to Practice Spanish with Native Speakers (2026)
- Best Apps to Practice English with Native Speakers (2026)
- Best Apps to Practice Portuguese with Native Speakers (2026)
- Best Apps to Practice Chinese with Native Speakers (2026)
- Best Apps to Practice German with Native Speakers (2026)
- Best Apps to Practice French with Native Speakers (2026)
- Best Language Exchange Apps for Beginners (2026)
- Best Apps to Practice Korean with Native Speakers (2026)
- Best Apps to Practice Turkish with Native Speakers (2026)
- Best Apps to Practice Arabic with Native Speakers (2026)
- Best Apps to Practice Russian with Native Speakers (2026)
- Best Apps to Practice Italian with Native Speakers (2026)
- Can You Become Fluent with Duolingo? An Honest Answer
- The Best Free Language Learning Apps (What's Actually Free)
- The Best Language Learning Apps in 2026, by What You Need
What people say
Rated 5.0 on the App Store and 4.4 on Google Play. Every quote below is a public Google Play review, as written.
Great app!! If you are wanting to have real conversations with someone that speaks the language you are trying to learn, this app is what you need!
The admin team are awesome. This app has so much potential and they are working on it everyday to improve the experience.
As an English teacher, I came across it by chance with the idea that my students could get extra practice. I'm already looking forward to it. I definitely recommend it!
I must say this app look gorgeous. It's simple and straightforward but on the other hand has it's style and I personally have enjoyed signing up and completing my profile.
Simple yet user-friendly design encourages to chat with language learners like myself. Highly recommend this app!!!
The application is open source and the team behind it is really cool. Try it and meet cool people.
It's the best app.. way better than tandem and other learning platforms
Really good language learning app. Free, without ads and open source.
It's my first Language Exchange App, so far it's quite good! No advertisement and I'm starting to talk to some people, Spanish learning Chinese! It's also Open Source
Great free App to connect with others wanting to brush up on language skills!!
Great concept & great admin! Love that it allows you to connect with people
It is a perfect app. Zero cost and lots of practice. It is also easy to use and supporting web, ios, android.
Before you decide
Yes, and not as a trial. Replying to anyone and correcting anyone are unlimited for everyone. The free plan gives you 5 new conversations and 20 translations a day, with no ads. Pro lifts those limits; prices are set per region and shown in the app.
It depends on what you want. Tandem and HelloTalk have far larger communities, group rooms, and calls in their phone apps; LangX's calls are on iPhone and the web for now. LangX matches in both directions, keeps corrections unlimited on every plan, shows no ads and is open source. For the biggest pool of partners they are the better choice; for a focused exchange whose code you can read, LangX is. The full write-ups: LangX vs Tandem and LangX vs HelloTalk.
Not as a course. Duolingo teaches along a lesson path; LangX is the conversation with a real person that a course leaves out. It does give you something to study alone: Echo, free packs of phrases in six languages that you review on a schedule, with the sentences from your own chats beside them. Plenty of people use one of each. See the social alternative to Duolingo.
Both. Echo is spaced repetition, free on every plan: eighteen packs of phrases in six languages at three levels, every one read aloud, so a new account has something to learn from before anyone replies. One tap turns any message, correction or feed post into a card of your own. There is no lesson path or grammar course; a partner's correction is the lesson.
An AI tutor answers you. A partner on LangX is learning your language too, so the conversation is worth something to both of you, and a correction comes from someone who speaks the language every day. LangX Copilot, an AI helper in the chat, is a beta on Free and Pro: it helps you write and understand messages in a chat with a person, and it does not talk with you.
LangX is made by New Chapter Technology LLC and published under the BSD-3 licence: the app and its API are on GitHub for anyone to read, check or run. There are no ads and nothing is sold. You must be 16 or older to use it.