The Spanish Dude, Jordan Ellington, is better if you want low cost: low-cost courses and $35 a month group conversation clubs. Speak Better Spanish is better if you want one-to-one attention, where the whole session is your speaking time, plus a plan and a recording and notes after every session, at $81 to $90 an hour. See all our comparisons, or read Speak Better Spanish vs Preply.
Speak Better Spanish vs The Spanish Dude at a glance
| The Spanish Dude | Speak Better Spanish | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Fluency Clubs: $35 a month or $350 a year. Courses like Conjugation Boot Camp: Present Tense are $47 once. | $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 | Self-paced video courses, plus weekly live small-group clubs. | Live one-to-one coaching on Zoom: 60-minute coaching sessions or 30-minute Spanish-only conversation sessions. |
| Approach | Self-paced courses, plus weekly live group clubs. | 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 | Courses by Jordan Ellington. The Conversation Club is led by native speakers, Enis from Colombia and Perla from Mexico. | A small team of three coaches: Hannah (19+ years teaching), Arturo and Jacky. Package hours work with any of them. |
| Speaking practice | A weekly Conversation Club in a small group, and a weekly Comprehension Club for listening. | The whole session is you speaking one-to-one with a coach about your life, your goals and a topic you choose. |
| Guarantee | 90-day refund on premium courses. The clubs refund you after 90 days of steady attendance if you do not feel more comfortable. | 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 one-to-one coach. There are weekly live small-group clubs. | Yes. Hannah, Arturo and Jacky, so you hear more than one accent without starting over with a stranger. |
| Notes and recording after every session | Not listed. | 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 | Not one to one. A weekly Conversation Club runs in a small group with native speakers. | 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 | Learners on a budget who like group practice and grammar courses. | Adults who want to actually speak Spanish, with a plan, the same small team of coaches and help between sessions. |
The Spanish Dude details come from its own website, checked October 24, 2026: The Spanish Dude Fluency Clubs; Conjugation Boot Camp: Present Tense; The Spanish Dude refunds page. Prices and policies can change, so check their site before you buy. Our prices are on the pricing page.
Group club or one-to-one coaching?
The clubs are good value and get you speaking with native speakers. In a group, though, you share the time and the corrections. In our sessions the whole hour is yours. Your coach corrects only you, and you get a recording, notes and practice made from your own conversation.
How to use The Spanish Dude and coaching together
Use Jordan’s courses for grammar, like verb tenses. Use your sessions to put that grammar into real conversation about your life. Your notes show what to review next.
Coaching vs self-study
The Spanish Dude 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’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
The Spanish Dude 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
“These one on one sessions are great! I can ask questions as they arise, get clarification”
david wilson, Google review
“She adapts my learning plan according to my progress.”
David Creel, Google review
Who should choose The Spanish Dude
- You want group conversation for a low monthly price.
- You want clear grammar courses.
- You like a long refund window.
Who should choose Speak Better Spanish
- You want the whole session to be your speaking time, with a coach who corrects only 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 Spanish tutor vs Spanish coach.
Frequently asked questions
How much do The Spanish Dude’s clubs cost?
The Fluency Clubs are $35 a month or $350 a year.
Who leads The Spanish Dude’s Conversation Club?
Native speakers: Enis from Colombia on Tuesdays and Perla from Mexico on Thursdays.
Is Speak Better Spanish more expensive than The Spanish Dude?
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 one-to-one time, a plan, and a recording and notes after every session.
Can I use both?
Yes. Use the courses for grammar and coaching to speak.
Which is better for a nervous adult learner?
Some people find a group less scary, and some find it harder to speak up. 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 The Spanish Dude.
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