Use Speak Better Spanish if you want to speak with a real person: live one-to-one coaching with a plan, a coach who corrects you, and a recording and notes after every session. Pick Coffee Break Spanish, a free podcast with paid courses, to build listening and grammar on your commute. Coaching costs more, at $81 to $90 an hour. See all our comparisons, or read Speak Better Spanish vs Español con Juan.
Speak Better Spanish vs Coffee Break Spanish at a glance
| Coffee Break Spanish | Speak Better Spanish | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | The podcast is free for all 5 levels. Paid courses are $269 a level for levels 1 to 4 and $399 for level 5, paid once. Coffee Break TV is $24.99 a month or $249.99 a year for Spanish. | $90 for a 60-minute coaching session or $50 for 30 minutes. Packages of 12, 24 or 48 hours bring it down to $85.50, $83.25 or $81 an hour. |
| Format | Audio lessons, with paid extras like video, notes and quizzes. Coffee Break TV lessons run 5, 10 or 15 minutes. | Live one-to-one coaching on Zoom: 60-minute coaching sessions or 30-minute Spanish-only conversation sessions. |
| Approach | A set audio course you follow at your own pace. | Coaching. A free Roadmap Session sets your plan before you pay, every session has a job, and the same three coaches get to know you. |
| Who teaches | A team of native-speaker teachers. In Level 1, Mark teaches and Kara plays the learner. | A small team of three coaches: Hannah (19+ years teaching), Arturo and Jacky. Package hours work with any of them. |
| Spanish taught | Levels 1 and 2 teach Spain’s Spanish and point out Latin American differences. Level 3 covers Latin American Spanish. | Real-life Mexican Spanish, built around your goals. |
| Speaking practice | You listen and follow along. VIP Coaching adds private sessions; no price was shown. | The whole session is you speaking with a coach about your life, your goals and a topic you choose. |
| Guarantee | Not listed. | Full refund if you are not fully satisfied, as long as you tell us within 28 days. |
| Plan before you pay | No personal plan from a person. You choose what to study. | Yes. A free Roadmap Session maps your goals, your level and what holds you back, and your written plan comes by email the same day. No payment info needed. |
| Same coaches who know you | No coach. You learn on your own. | Yes. Hannah, Arturo and Jacky, so you hear more than one accent without starting over with a stranger. |
| Notes and recording after every session | No sessions with a person, so nothing to record. | Yes. The recording, your notes, your vocabulary and your practice, by email after every session. |
| Support between sessions | No coach to ask. | Yes. Email a question or something you wrote, and we correct it. |
| Immersion trips | Not listed. | Yes. Small-group trips in Mexico hosted by Hannah, where you use Spanish in real situations every day. |
| Included with packages | Not listed. | The recording, your notes and your practice after every session, email support between sessions, certificates as your sessions add up, and a free workbook. 24-hour and 48-hour packages also get a free 30-minute session in your birthday month. The 48-hour package also gets 10% off immersion trips, group workshops and add-ons. |
| 30-minute conversation sessions | No standard conversation sessions. VIP Coaching adds private sessions, with no length or price shown. | Yes. 30 minutes in Spanish with Hannah, Arturo or Jacky, and you get the recording and your notes after. Sessions use the same package hours as coaching. We have held more than 1,000 since 2017. |
| Best for | Learning on a walk or a commute, at your own pace. | Adults who want to actually speak Spanish, with a plan, the same small team of coaches and help between sessions. |
Coffee Break Spanish details come from Coffee Break Languages’ own websites, checked October 24, 2026: Coffee Break Spanish page; Coffee Break Spanish Level 1; Coffee Break Spanish Level 3; Coffee Break Spanish Level 5; Coffee Break TV plans. Prices and policies can change, so check their site before you buy. Our prices are on the pricing page.
Is Coffee Break Spanish enough to speak Spanish?
It is one of the best free podcasts for understanding Spanish step by step. Following a recording is not the same as a real conversation, though. A podcast can’t ask you something new and wait for your answer, and that is the moment most learners freeze.
How to use Coffee Break Spanish and coaching together
Listen to an episode during the week. Then bring what you learned to your session and use it out loud, about your own life. Your coach corrects you, and your notes and recording tell you what to listen for next.
The big difference is cost. The podcast is free, and one paid level costs about three hours of coaching. You pay us for a person who listens, corrects you and plans with you, so coaching makes sense once speaking is the goal.
Coaching vs self-study
Coffee Break Spanish is mostly self-study, so you set the plan and the pace. Coaching adds what self-study can’t: a person who listens to you, corrects you and plans what comes next.
What working with Speak Better Spanish looks like
- You book a free Roadmap Session on Zoom. There is no payment info and no commitment. We look at your goals, your level and what is holding you back.
- Your written plan comes by email the same day. It shows where you are, where you are going and the best next step. Some people take the plan and keep going on their own, and that is fine.
- If you go ahead, you pick a coach and a time: a 60-minute coaching session built around a topic you choose, or a 30-minute Spanish-only conversation session.
- Every session starts with something you are celebrating, and you speak from the first session. Your coach corrects you in the moment and tells you why.
- After every session you get the recording, your notes, the vocabulary from your own conversation and your practice for the week, by email.
- Between sessions you can email a question or something you wrote, and we correct it.
- You keep working with the same three coaches, and every session is recorded and written up, so nobody starts from zero and nothing you learn gets lost.
- If it is not right for you, tell us within 28 days for a full refund.
Hannah founded Speak Better Spanish, and she is not a native speaker. She learned Spanish herself, first in school and then by living in Spain and Mexico, so she has been where you are. In her words: “Spanish became part of my real life long before it became my business.” (Hannah, About Hannah)
Our 30-minute conversation sessions
Most intermediate adults understand more Spanish than they can say. Our 30-minute conversation sessions are for that gap. You talk with Hannah, Arturo or Jacky in Spanish about your own life: your week, a trip, your work, your family. Your coach keeps you talking, helps when you get stuck and corrects the mistakes that matter, without turning it into a grammar class. You get the recording and your notes afterward. Sessions use the same package hours as 60-minute coaching, so many students take a coaching hour one week and a conversation session the next. We have held more than 1,000 of these sessions since 2017. A session is $50 on its own, and less with a package. See how conversation sessions work.
What you only get at Speak Better Spanish
- Three ways to practice with the same coaches: 60-minute coaching, 30-minute Spanish-only conversation sessions (free-flowing or themed, with one small thing to practice and nothing to hand in), and small group conversation classes on Zoom with at most 8 students. Each series has one topic, Mexican culture is part of every class, and every class is recorded.
- Coaches based in Mexico who teach the Spanish people there speak every day. The whole team is bilingual: Hannah, Arturo and Jacky all speak English and Spanish, so beginners can ask questions in English.
- Immersion trips in Mexico hosted by Hannah, like the La Paz trip, where you use your Spanish in real situations every day.
- A free library for the days between sessions, made by the same team: our blog, YouTube channel, podcast and free Spanish Starter Pack.
- Research from our own lessons. Our study of 437 YouTube comments and 95,086 search queries found that learners search for single words, but when they stop to comment, they ask which word a real Mexican would use.
Why the cheaper option can cost more
Coffee Break Spanish costs far less than a coach, and it does its job well. The hidden cost is time. It is easy to spend months on lessons and videos and still freeze when someone talks to you, because nothing in self-study makes you answer a real person. A few planned hours with a coach can save you a lot of those months.
What our students say
“I have been trying to learn Spanish for years and I have never had as much success as when I am with her”
Thomas Rice, Google review
“All three of my teachers, Hannah, Arturo, and Jacky are excellent and bringing their own style to our lessons…”
Leisa Canter, Google review
Who should choose Coffee Break Spanish
- You want a free, step-by-step audio course.
- You learn best on walks, drives or the commute.
- You want Spain’s Spanish, or both Spain and Latin America.
Who should choose Speak Better Spanish
- You can follow the podcast but still can’t answer when someone talks to you.
- You want to speak with a real person who corrects you kindly.
- You want a plan before you pay, from a free Roadmap Session.
- You want a recording, notes and practice after every session, and someone to email between sessions.
See how our coaching works, read what students say (19+ years teaching, founded in 2014, 3,300+ live sessions coached, 5.0 on Google), or read our guide to passive listening in Spanish.
Frequently asked questions
Is Coffee Break Spanish free?
The podcast is free for all 5 levels. The full courses with extra materials are paid, at $269 a level for levels 1 to 4 and $399 for level 5. Coffee Break TV for Spanish is $24.99 a month or $249.99 a year.
Does Coffee Break Spanish teach Mexican Spanish?
Levels 1 and 2 teach the Spanish of Spain and point out Latin American differences. Level 3 covers Latin American Spanish from countries such as Mexico, Colombia and Argentina.
Is Speak Better Spanish more expensive than Coffee Break Spanish?
Yes. Speak Better Spanish costs $90 for a 60-minute coaching session or $50 for 30 minutes, and packages bring it down to $81 to $85.50 an hour. You pay for a live coach, a plan, and a recording and notes after every session.
Can I use both?
Yes. Many learners listen to a podcast during the week and use coaching to practice speaking. Each one covers a different part of learning.
Which is better for a nervous adult learner?
A podcast is low pressure because nobody hears you. Our coaching is built for adults who feel nervous speaking: mistakes are expected, nobody puts you on the spot, and the free Roadmap Session sets a plan before you spend anything.
Start with a free Roadmap Session
If your goal is to speak Spanish, this is the place to start. Book a free Roadmap Session. In one Zoom call we look at your goals, your level and what is holding you back, and your written plan comes by email the same day. It is free, with no commitment and no payment info. You leave with a plan, and it can include keeping the podcast.
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