Pimsleur is better if you want to learn Latin American Spanish alone, through 30-minute audio lessons where you answer out loud, with courses listed from $150. Speak Better Spanish is better if you want real conversations with a person, through live one-to-one coaching at $81 to $90 an hour, which costs more over time. See all our comparisons, or read Speak Better Spanish vs Rocket Spanish.
Speak Better Spanish vs Pimsleur at a glance
| Pimsleur | Speak Better Spanish | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | The home page says “Starting at only $150.” Pimsleur also sells subscriptions (Audio-Only, Premium and All Access) with a 7-day free trial. Subscription prices not listed. | $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 | 30-minute audio lessons in an app, with a hands-free driving mode and offline learning. | 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 on your own. | 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. |
| Speaking practice | You answer out loud during lessons. Voice Coach gives pronunciation feedback, and Speak Easy lets you role-play. | The whole session is you speaking with a person about your life, your goals and a topic you choose. |
| Spanish variety | Latin American Spanish, with speakers from Colombia and Argentina in levels I to III and from Mexico in level IV. | Real-life Mexican Spanish. |
| Who teaches | Recorded lessons built on the Pimsleur Method, which uses spaced repetition. | A small team of three coaches: Hannah (19+ years teaching), Arturo and Jacky. Package hours work with any of them. |
| Guarantee | 30-Day No-Risk Guarantee: return your course within 30 days for a full refund. | 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. Lessons are 30 minutes of audio, not a live conversation. | 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 while you drive, walk or cook. | Adults who know some Spanish but freeze in real conversations. |
Pimsleur details come from Pimsleur’s own website, checked October 24, 2026: Pimsleur home page; Pimsleur Spanish (Latin American); Pimsleur FAQ. Prices and policies can change, so check their site before you buy. Our prices are on the pricing page.
Is Pimsleur enough to speak Spanish?
Pimsleur gets you saying Spanish out loud from the first lesson. The answers are still set by the recording. In a real conversation, people ask things you didn’t plan for, and that is where many learners freeze. Coaching gives you that open conversation at your level, with a coach who helps you find the words. Our post Are language apps enough to become fluent in Spanish? explains why that step matters.
How to use Pimsleur and coaching together
Keep Pimsleur for your commute. It is a good way to drill sounds and phrases. Then use coaching to put those phrases into real conversation, ask questions, and get corrected on the mistakes a recording can’t hear. Your session notes and recording show you what to practice before the next one.
Coaching vs self-study
Pimsleur 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: “I know how discouraging it is to learn something and lose it the next day.” (Hannah, on our blog: why you forget Spanish words)
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 113 coded one-to-one classes found that adults get stuck more on regional Mexican usage, speaking confidence, pronunciation and listening speed than on any classic grammar pair.
Why the cheaper option can cost more
Pimsleur 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
“These one on one sessions are great! I can ask questions as they arise, get clarification”
david wilson, Google review
Who should choose Pimsleur
- You want to learn hands-free, in the car or on a walk.
- You like a fixed course that tells you what to say next.
- You want to start speaking out loud before you talk to a person.
Who should choose Speak Better Spanish
- You can repeat phrases but get stuck when someone asks you a real question.
- You want a person who listens and corrects you.
- You want real-life Mexican Spanish.
- You want a recording, notes and practice after every session.
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
How much does Pimsleur cost?
Pimsleur’s home page says courses start at $150, and it also sells Audio-Only, Premium and All Access subscriptions with a 7-day free trial. Subscription prices not listed. Speak Better Spanish costs $90 for a 60-minute coaching session or $50 for 30 minutes.
What kind of Spanish does Pimsleur teach?
Pimsleur teaches Latin American Spanish, with speakers from Colombia and Argentina in levels I to III and from Mexico in level IV. Speak Better Spanish coaches real-life Mexican Spanish.
Does Pimsleur get you speaking?
Yes, in a guided way. You answer out loud during each 30-minute lesson, and Voice Coach checks your pronunciation. A live coach adds open conversation, where you answer questions you did not expect.
What is the refund policy?
Pimsleur has a 30-day guarantee: return your course within 30 days for a full refund. Speak Better Spanish gives a full refund if you are not fully satisfied, as long as you tell us within 28 days.
Can I use Pimsleur and Speak Better Spanish together?
Yes. Many learners use audio lessons on the go and coaching for real conversation. The two do different jobs.
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 Pimsleur.
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