Preply vs Lingoda
Overview
Preply is a language learning platform that connects you to language tutors based on your needs and schedule. It’s highly user oriented: you choose your language (from 35 on offer), your teacher, how many lessons you take and whether to learn 1-1 or in groups. You pay for lessons in blocks of hours and can connect with other learners via the community.
Lingoda connects you with approved native speaking teachers to help you get fluent fast. Live online lessons are available 24/7. Class sizes are between 3-5 students so the learning experience is very immersive and with plenty of individual real-time feedback. Though there is a strong focus on speaking and listening, grammar, reading and writing are covered.
Pros
- Live tutoring from native speakers with real time feedback
- 1-1 tuition enables lessons to be tailored to individual needs
- Learn what, when and where you want at your own pace and with no subscription on desktop or device
- Immersive due to live teaching
- Comprehensive - 35+ languages with varied content and lessons plans for all levels
- Free Preply blog and Q&A community
- 1-1 or group lessons available
- Placement test based on Common European Framework (CEFR) levels and structured curriculum
- Live teaching from qualified native speaking teachers to help you get fluent fast
- Covers speaking, listening, reading and writing with a proven track record for developing fluency
- Lessons contain puzzles and games and downloadable materials to help cement learning
- 24/7 lessons you can fit around your busy life
- More immersive than conventional apps due to small class size and live teaching
- Different levels are available and the option for 1-1 tuition enable you to personalize lessons 100% to your needs
- Lessons cover useful and relevant topics and content is regularly updated
- Certification for each Common European Framework (CEFR) level you complete
- Cashback opportunities with Sprint or Super Sprint
Cons
- No free trial - though trial lessons are heavily discounted and you can get a refund if you are dissatisfied with a lesson
- Classroom software can be glitchy
- Complex pricing system with auto renewal
- Potential lack of consistency due to rotation of instructors
- Someone struggling can put the whole class behind
- Only four languages available
Best for
Best for: Anyone wanting to receive live, individual one to one tuition. Whether this is to learn a brand new language or improve on existing skills. Also, those not wanting to commit to an annual subscription who want to learn on-the-go and by their own schedule.
Best for: Anyone who prefers live, face to face learning and is from beginner to more advanced ability in the target language. And if you’re not sure of your level, you can take Lingoda’s placement test. Lingoda is also suitable for those who have busy lives as you can fit classes around your own schedule.
Price
From $15 per hour
From $10 per lesson
Number of users
11 million
120,000
Overall
Overall: Preply develops your vocabulary and fluency by connecting you with tutors 1-1. By doing this, you can speed up your learning and get on track with a personalized program. With over 32,000 high-quality teachers, Preply stands out by allowing you to select from a huge pool and filter lessons by availability. Do remember to cancel auto renew if you decide you don’t want any more lessons
To providerOverall: A great and authentic way to learn a new language (or pick one up where you left off) that gets you speaking and reading in no time at all. I found Lingoda to be very effective and started learning, speaking and understanding from the very first lesson.
To providerSupported languages
English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese, Italian, Korean, Arabic, Chinese, Portuguese, Russian, Polish, Turkish, Dutch, Ukrainian, Hindi, Hebrew, Greek, Czech, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, Hungarian, Urdu, Thai, Serbian, Latin, Punjabi, Persian (Farsi), Romanian, Tagalog, Danish, Bengali, Sign and Indonesian.
German, Spanish, French, English and English for business
About
Preply was launched in 2015 as an online marketplace where learners pay fees to teachers for live online individual or group lessons.
It now has 32k+ teachers of over 200 nationalities who offer personal tuition in 35+ languages. You select the language you want to learn, the level you want to learn at and the teacher that best suits your needs. Discounted trial lessons help you land on the best tutor and once you have made your choice, you pay for monthly blocks of hours (minimum 4) rather than committing to an annual subscription fee.
Placement tests will identify your current proficiency. Levels are based on the Common European Framework and tutors will aim to progress you through these levels.
Lingoda was founded in 2013 by Felix and Fabian Wunderlich. Initially it offered 1-1 German tuition over Skype. It now teaches 4 languages, has 120k+ learners, 1.9k certified native speaking teachers and teaches over 562k classes every year.
All Lingoda courses are based on levels set by the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR). This provides an approved standard for identifying language proficiency. Each level contains several lessons which target writing, reading, listening and speaking. The levels cover A1.1 (beginner) to C1 (advanced). Lingoda has a team of in-house experts on linguistics who have put together all of the course material with the aim to get you speaking fluently faster.
Also, the 24/7 availability of a real life tutor is a game changer when it comes to language learning. 97% of users say they found Lingoda better than other language learning providers.
How it works
One of Preply’s selling points is that it’s designed around you. You’re in full control of what and when you learn and can trial different tutors to find your fit.
You simply go to Preply.com, click on ‘Get Started’, choose the language you are hoping to learn and click continue.
You’ll be asked a series of questions about your goals, current level, tutor type (eg native speaker or from a particular country where the language is spoken), when you want your first lesson, the type of lesson you’re looking for and your budget.
Following this you open a free account using your email address, Google or Facebook, and then choose from the filtered tutors who best match your requirements.
You’ll see their star rating, numbers of existing students and lessons and their proficiency in your own native language (which is essential to ensure good communication between you). Plus, you can sort the results by popularity, top picks and pricing
You can then take up to 3 discounted trial lessons, usually around 50m long. You use this time to discuss your level and focus areas and sample a tutor’s teaching style.
Once you find someone you’d like to have lessons with, you commit to a monthly subscription of a number of hours per week (between 1 and 5). You can distribute these hours in whatever way you and your tutor agree upon (eg 1 a week, or two every other week, etc).
To get started with Lingoda, you just click ‘Start Free Trial’ and answer a few questions about why you want to learn your target language, what you hope to achieve and how much time you can commit to.
You then choose the plan that most suits you, go ahead and book some lessons and start learning! You take each class with up to four other learners over Zoom. Your tutor will not only be a native speaker of your chosen language, but also a qualified teacher. The idea is that live classes taught by native speakers are more immersive and will make you more fluent and accurate.
Tutors often introduce a topic, or ask you direct questions, in the target language. While this may seem hard to begin with, it gets you thinking in that language and you’ll be surprised how quickly this becomes easy!
This will improve your fluency and accuracy because your brain is actively engaging with the language rather than passively taking it in.
What a lesson is like
On Preply, lessons vary according to your current level, your tutor and how far along you are with them.
The Preply classroom is similar to Zoom/Skype but is a built-in feature of Preply’s desktop and app versions. So, you don’t need to download any software.
Within the Preply classroom, you’ll find a note and chat section, interactive whiteboard*, and homework tab. These help to structure your learning and encourage engagement. Tutors can send attachments and lesson plans, which appear in their own area. This means your learning is easily accessible wherever you are.
*Interactive whiteboard not available on the mobile app.
After 2 hours on Preply, I improved my basic German skills by:
- Getting personalized expert teaching from a native speaker
- Conversing with my tutor in the target language
- Reading new words aloud from a shared screen and sharpening my pronunciation
- Highlighting correct answers on the interactive whiteboard
- Engaging in external resources and homework tasks set by my tutor
- Running through grammar tests
Level A1.1 lessons (aimed at beginners) all begin with a link to Zoom where everyone introduces themselves.
You don’t need to show your face if you’re not comfortable doing that. You just need your microphone on to speak.Class sizes are small (3-5) so your turn to actively take part will come round quickly.
The tutor will take you through that lesson’s worksheet (which you can download prior to the lesson). But lessons are mostly interactive with opportunities to:
- Speak and read phrases aloud with feedback to help pronunciation
- Translate phrases
- Engage in conversation with the help of help of flashcards, scripted dialogue, etc
- Learn from questions asked by the group
- Pick up new vocabulary with picture clues and real life examples
- Complete puzzles and play games to reinforce understanding
And always get instant feedback
Lessons last for one hour. This might seem like a long time, but in my experience they fly by and the interactive nature of the course keeps you engaged.
Who is it good for?
Preply’s learning style would engage anyone who’s:
- Wants to learn a new language as an absolute beginner
- Eager to improve their language skills (especially grammar and pronunciation)
- Believes they’d benefit more from 1-1 learning
- Busy and unable to commit to fixed time slots
Interested in learning a language for educational reasons or as a hobby
Compared to similar platforms like italki, Preply seems more suitable for beginners. Tutors don’t initially insist on speaking entirely in the target language. And you can ensure that your tutor is proficient in your own language to aid good communication.
With classes for kids as well as businesses, Preply really has something for everyone and doesn’t expect a foundational level of knowledge.
The tutor-contact feature means you and your teacher can discuss your skill level and lesson aims outside of lesson time. This way, Preply ensures you’re fully equipped for your lesson even before it begins.
The Lingoda learning style would suit anyone who’s:
- Looking to learn a new language from scratch
- Has some grasp of a language and wants to improve
- Learns best either 1 to 1 or in a class setting
Wants to improve their conversational skills
While Lingoda would be ideal for anyone who’s always wanted to start learning a new language it will also suit those who are proficient but want to improve.
Right away Lingoda will have you speaking, reading aloud and improving your conversational capabilities in your chosen language.
Features
- Personalized 1-1 live tuition
- Direct contact with native speakers
- Immersion
- Flexible learning with no annual subscription
- Desktop- or device-based to best suit your needs
- Free Preply blog and Q&A community
- Personalized live learning
- Direct contact with native speakers
- Immersion
- Fun, interactive lessons that touch all learning styles
- Flexible learning
- 1-1 tuition
- Super intense programs to get fluent fast
Is it worth it?
In short, it depends on your learning style.
If you’ve used other app-based programs like Babbel or DuoLingo and found them not to be very helpful, Preply is an outstanding resource for getting individual, live, personalized learning.
Also, if you have a busy timetable and can’t commit to fixed days, you can search tutors by availability and speed up the booking process.
I hit on two excellent tutors and found that after a couple of hours I greatly improved my vocabulary and pronunciation. Plus my understanding of German grammar (which I remember from my school days as terrifying) improved massively. If only it had been taught the Preply way when I was at school!
Getting instant feedback reassured me that I was on the right track, unlike on pre-set apps. Although some see it as complementary to other learning, I think 1-1 tutoring is an invaluable method. And Preply matches you with tutors who are advanced or proficient in your own native language so you can easily express your questions, needs and learning style preferences.
With trial lessons available at reduced prices and a range of tutors to try out, there’s little to lose and a lot to gain with Preply. So, if you’re looking for a learning plan that suits your skills and lifestyle, I think Preply is definitely worth considering.
Just make sure you understand its pricing structure, use up all your hours and cancel your subscription when you decide to stop!
Why not browse the tutors and book a trial lesson?
In a word: Yes.
If you’ve been wanting to learn (or improve your knowledge of) one of the four languages available on Lingoda, then it is absolutely worth considering.
Live teaching from certified tutors who are native speakers can really help you get results. Lingoda’s emphasis on in person learning -- something that sets them apart from other providers -- will have your conversational, listening and grammar skills up to a better standard in no time!
And if you have a busy lifestyle or no consistency in your schedule, the fact you can book lessons to suit your needs is so handy.
On top of this, you can book one to one classes or go for the Lingoda Sprint or Super Sprint program if you want to try and get fluent in 2 months. If you follow the Sprint guidelines carefully, Lingoda provides the opportunity to get some or even all of your money back.
I personally benefited hugely from Lingoda. It really helped me to bring my French back up to a passable standard. I haven’t felt this confident in speaking/reading French since school!
In terms of its price, I think Lingoda is worth it. If your goal is to reach a conversational level, you’ll only need a few months with Lingoda to achieve that.
Lingoda offers a free 7 day trial and I would strongly suggest you see what it’s like for yourself as you have nothing to lose!