Best free apps to practice English speaking with strangers
The free apps where you can actually speak English with strangers: language exchange apps, voice rooms and Discord. What each is good for, and the catches.
If you want to practice speaking English with strangers for free, start with a language exchange app like HelloTalk or Tandem. You teach your language, someone teaches you English, and both have free tiers. If you want to speak out loud in a group instead of texting one person, try open voice rooms built for language practice, such as Free4Talk on the web, or English-learning servers on Discord. If you want rooms with topics and verified adults, a chat room app like mine, Hashti, is another option. My honest advice is to pick one for one-to-one practice and one for group voice, and use both for a month. The app matters less than how often you open your mouth.
Why I care about this
I built Hashti, a chat app. I am Armenian-Iranian and I live in Los Angeles. English was not the language spoken at my family's dinner table, and I watched my parents and their friends learn it the hard way: at work, at the bank, on the phone with people who were not patient.
The thing that helped them most was never a textbook. It was talking. Badly at first, then less badly. So when someone searches for a way to practice English speaking with strangers, I understand exactly what they want: a place where it is safe to make mistakes out loud.
This is a guide, not an ad. Where another app is the better choice, I will say so.
What makes speaking practice actually work
Before the list, here is what I would look for. These come from my own experience and from watching people learn, not from a study.
- You have to speak, not just type. Texting helps your writing. It does very little for the moment your mouth freezes.
- You need people who will wait for you. A room of patient strangers is worth more than a room of perfect speakers.
- Topics beat small talk. "Where are you from?" runs out in two minutes. A conversation about football, cooking or a film can last an hour.
- You need to come back. Ten minutes every day does more than two hours once a month. I wrote more about that in how to practice English speaking every day.
The main options, honestly
HelloTalk
HelloTalk is one of the best-known language exchange apps. You set the language you speak and the language you are learning, and it helps you find partners who want the opposite. You can send text and voice messages, correct each other's sentences, and call. It also has a social feed and live voice rooms.
It has a free tier and a paid upgrade, and the line between what is free and what is paid has moved over the years, so check it when you sign up. My opinion: it is a strong place to find one-to-one partners. Like any app full of strangers, some people there are not really interested in language, so be ready to move on politely.
Tandem
Tandem works on the same idea: you are matched with people who speak the language you want and want the language you speak. You can text, send voice messages and call. Many people find Tandem feels a little calmer and more focused on learning than general social apps.
It also has a free version and a paid Pro tier. If HelloTalk feels too busy for you, Tandem is worth trying.
Free4Talk and other open voice rooms
Free4Talk is a website where people open voice rooms for language practice and anyone can join. You pick a room by language and level, click in and listen until you feel ready to talk. For someone who wants to hear real conversation in English and jump in when ready, this format is very good.
The rooms are only as good as the people in them that day. Some are friendly and well run. Some are noisy. Leave the bad ones without guilt.
Discord English-learning servers
Discord has servers built just for English learners, with text channels for questions and voice channels for speaking practice. Some run scheduled events, like conversation hours or reading groups, which is great for building a habit.
Each server has its own rules and moderators, and quality varies a lot. Discord also takes a little time to learn. If you find a good server, though, it can become a real community.
Reddit has communities where people post looking for language exchange partners. It is not a place to talk live, but it is a decent way to find a partner and then move to a call on the app you both trust.
Paid tutor apps
There are apps where you pay a native speaker by the minute or by the lesson. They are not free, so they do not answer this question, but I will mention them honestly: if you have a job interview next week and need structured feedback, one paid lesson can be worth more than ten random chats.
Random video chat sites
Some people try sites that pair you with a random stranger on camera. I would not. You have no control over who appears, and most people there are not looking for language practice.
Where Hashti fits, and where it does not
Here is what Hashti actually is.
Hashti is free and for adults only, 18 and up. It is out now on the App Store for iPhone. The Android version is in a closed test, so if you use Android, HelloTalk, Tandem, Free4Talk or Discord are the better choices today.
Hashti is not a language learning app. It has public rooms with names and topics, plus private chats, calls and a walkie-talkie mode for short voice messages. A room about English practice, or simply a room about a topic you love where people speak English, gives you real conversation with real people. The walkie-talkie is useful for shy speakers: you record a few seconds, listen back, and send only when you are ready.
The reason I built it this way is safety. Every person is checked once against a government document. The photo is deleted after the check, but a fingerprint of the document stays, so the same document cannot open a second account. Unverified accounts cannot host rooms, speak in voice rooms or message strangers. Twelve verified reports closes an account permanently. For a lot of learners, especially women, that changes whether they feel safe enough to speak at all. You can read how Hashti's safety rules work.
The honest limits:
- It is a new app, so there are fewer people than on HelloTalk or Discord. You may not find an English practice room full of people at 3 a.m.
- There is no built-in teacher, no lessons and no grammar correction tools.
- Live translation covers 29 languages and is part of Hashti Plus, $4.99 a month or $39.99 a year. Everything else is free. For practice I would actually turn translation off most of the time, and use it only when you are truly stuck. You can see which languages translation covers.
- The app's interface is in English today, with a Farsi one being built. For English learners that is practice too.
- Some people will not want to verify with a government document. That is fair, and if it is you, use one of the other apps.
Hashti is also not a dating app. If someone in a language app turns "practice" into flirting you did not ask for, that is a good reason to block them, on any app.
My honest recommendation
- For a regular one-to-one partner: HelloTalk or Tandem. Try both for a week and keep the one you open more.
- For hearing and joining group conversations: Free4Talk voice rooms or a good Discord English server.
- For finding a partner by posting: Reddit language exchange communities.
- For topic rooms with verified adults, on iPhone: Hashti.
- For a big deadline, like an interview: one or two paid lessons.
- For random video chat: skip it.
How to get the most out of strangers
- Say you are learning in your first sentence. People slow down and help when they know.
- Prepare three topics before you join. Your fear shrinks when you know what you will say first.
- Ask for one correction, not ten. "Please tell me if I say something very wrong" keeps the talk flowing.
- Record yourself sometimes. Listening back is uncomfortable and very useful.
- Keep personal details private. Your phone number, workplace and address do not help your English.
- Leave rooms that feel bad. There is always another room.
The first time you speak English to a stranger, your heart will race. The tenth time, less. By the fiftieth, you will be the one helping someone else through their first sentence. That is the whole point.
Hashti is free, and it is 18+. Hashti Plus — live translation, writing help and catch-ups — is $4.99 a month or $39.99 a year, and nothing else costs anything. How rooms work is on the rooms page, and how reports and the ID check work is on the safety page.