Use Speak Better Spanish to build real speaking confidence: live one-to-one coaching with a trained coach, a plan, and a recording and notes after every session. Pick HelloTalk, a free language exchange with native speakers who are not teachers, for extra casual practice. Coaching costs more, at $81 to $90 an hour. See all our comparisons, or read Speak Better Spanish vs Tandem.
Speak Better Spanish vs HelloTalk at a glance
| HelloTalk | Speak Better Spanish | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free to download. Apple’s US App Store lists VIP at $12.99 a month or $79.99 a year. | $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 | A language exchange app: text, voice and video chats with native speakers, plus voice rooms, livestreams and a feed. | Live one-to-one coaching on Zoom: 60-minute coaching sessions or 30-minute Spanish-only conversation sessions. |
| Approach | Peer practice. You swap languages with native speakers, and nobody plans your progress. | 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 | Other users. HelloTalk partners are learners like you, not teachers. | A small team of three coaches: Hannah (19+ years teaching), Arturo and Jacky. Package hours work with any of them. |
| Feedback | Built-in translation and pronunciation tools, and partners can correct your messages. | A live coach listens and corrects you in the moment. You get a recording, notes and practice after every session, plus email support between sessions. |
| Safety | You can block or report accounts, and HelloTalk uses automated tools with human review. It warns about money requests and scams. | A paid session with a member of our coaching team, on Zoom. |
| Plan before you pay | No plan. You and your partner choose what to talk about. | 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 | Whoever is free to chat. Partners are learners, not coaches. | Yes. Hannah, Arturo and Jacky, so you hear more than one accent without starting over with a stranger. |
| Notes and recording after every session | Nothing is written up for you. | Yes. The recording, your notes, your vocabulary and your practice, by email after every session. |
| Support between sessions | Your partner, if they reply. | Yes. Email a question or something you wrote, and we correct it. |
| Money-back guarantee | Not listed. | Full refund if you are not fully satisfied, as long as you tell us within 28 days. |
| 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 coach. You can video chat for free with other learners, who are not teachers. | 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 | Casual chats and making friends who speak Spanish. | Adults who want to actually speak Spanish, with a plan, the same small team of coaches and help between sessions. |
HelloTalk details come from HelloTalk’s website and its App Store listing, checked October 24, 2026: HelloTalk home page; HelloTalk safety page; HelloTalk on the US App Store. Prices and policies can change, so check their site before you buy. Our prices are on the pricing page.
Is HelloTalk enough to speak Spanish?
HelloTalk can give you lots of real chats for free. The catch is that partners are not teachers. They may not notice your mistakes, and they may want to practice their English as much as you want Spanish. Many people also find it hard to keep chats going with strangers.
How to use HelloTalk and coaching together
Use coaching to build your speaking with a plan, then use HelloTalk to try what you learned with real people. If a chat leaves you stuck, bring it to your next session. Your coach can show you what to say next time.
The big difference is cost. HelloTalk is free and we are not. You pay us for a trained coach who listens, corrects you and plans with you.
Coaching vs a language exchange
HelloTalk gives you people to talk with. Coaching gives that talk a plan: a coach who hears your mistakes, corrects them kindly and decides what to work on 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: “I’m a non-native Spanish speaker who started from scratch.” (Hannah, on our YouTube channel)
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 1,896 one-to-one lessons found that the first class decides most of it: 13.4% of adults never took a second class, and 77.1% of those who reached a fifth went on to ten or more.
Why the cheaper option can cost more
HelloTalk is free, but free practice has its own cost. Half the time goes to your partner’s language, mistakes can go uncorrected until they turn into habits, and nobody plans what comes next. A few planned hours with a coach help you get more out of every free chat.
What our students say
“This is the best way to learn Spanish- to practice it with another person.”
Kitz W, Google review
“I’m starting to feel more confident in my ability to read, write, and understand Spanish in real life”
Maria DeFrancesco, Google review
Who should choose HelloTalk
- You want free chats with native speakers.
- You like meeting people from other countries.
- You are comfortable messaging strangers.
Who should choose Speak Better Spanish
- You want a trained coach, not a stranger, to correct 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 why you freeze when someone speaks Spanish to you.
Frequently asked questions
Is HelloTalk free?
Yes, HelloTalk is free to download. Apple’s US App Store lists VIP at $12.99 a month or $79.99 a year.
Are HelloTalk partners teachers?
No. HelloTalk connects you with other users who speak the language. They can correct you, but they are not trained teachers.
Is Speak Better Spanish more expensive than HelloTalk?
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 trained coach, a plan, and a recording and notes after every session.
Is HelloTalk safe?
HelloTalk lets you block or report accounts, and says it uses automated tools with human review. It warns users about money requests and requests to move to other apps.
Which is better for a nervous adult learner?
Some nervous learners like text chat because they have time to think. 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.
How is a coach different from a language exchange partner?
A partner is another learner who trades practice with you. A coach is trained to hear your mistakes, correct them kindly and plan what comes next. With us you start with a free Roadmap Session, every session has a job, and you get the recording, notes and practice afterward.
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 HelloTalk chats.
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