Best AI apps to learn English speaking in India: prices compared

AI NewsIshaan VardhanNov 15, 202613 min read

The best AI app for learning to speak English in India depends on what you need: ELSA Speak for pronunciation and accent, SpeakX if you want to learn through Hindi or another Indian language, Stimuler for IELTS speaking, and Praktika or Speak for open conversation with an AI tutor. If you want to spend nothing, Gemini Live, ChatGPT’s free voice chats and Google Translate’s new pronunciation practice cover a lot of ground.

We compared nine options available in India on what they teach, what they cost and what they do with your voice. Paid prices are the in-app purchase prices each developer lists on the Apple App Store for India, checked on 13 November 2026; Android prices and launch offers can differ, so check the final price in the app before you pay.

Key takeaways

• SpeakX is the cheapest dedicated speaking app we found, with monthly plans listed at ₹99 and ₹299, and it teaches through Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam.
• ELSA Speak is the strongest pick for pronunciation; its App Store India listing shows a ₹499 monthly plan and a ₹3,449 one-year Premium plan.
• Gemini Live has been free for everyone on Android and iOS since 20 May 2025, but only for users aged 18 and over.
• Google Translate added AI pronunciation practice for English, Spanish and Hindi on Android in the US and India in April 2026, at no cost.
• Several apps send your voice to outside AI providers or use recordings to improve their own speech systems, so read the privacy settings before you start.

AI English speaking apps compared

AI English speaking apps in India range from free general assistants to paid coaches costing several thousand rupees a year. The table lists each option’s main use, free tier and listed price.

AI apps for English speaking practice in India. Prices are in-app purchases listed on the Apple App Store (India) and Google One, checked 13 November 2026; features from each developer’s own pages.

Scroll the table sideways →

Two notes on the table. App Store listings show every price point a developer has registered, including discounts and old plans, which is why several apps show ranges; the plan the app offers you may be only one of them. And Duolingo’s listing in India shows only Super Duolingo prices, not Duolingo Max, so we could not verify a Max price for India.

Best for pronunciation and accent: ELSA Speak

ELSA Speak is built around pronunciation: you speak out loud and get instant, personalised feedback on your pronunciation. According to ELSA’s website, it builds a learning path around your level, goals, preferred accent and industry, offers AI role-play across real-life scenarios, and has a “bilingual AI tutor” that lets beginners start conversations in their native language.

The App Store India listing describes practice for job interviews, presentations and meetings, more than 8,000 lessons, and exam preparation for IELTS, TOEFL and TOEIC with ELSA Premium. Listed prices include ₹499 a month, ₹1,189 for three months of Premium and ₹3,449 for a year of Premium; the most expensive item is ₹12,900 for a year, without a plan name that explains the difference.

Pick ELSA if people often ask you to repeat yourself or if you want a neutral accent for calls with overseas clients. It is less useful if your main problem is finding words quickly in conversation.

Best for Hindi-medium learners: SpeakX

SpeakX teaches English through the language you already think in and moves the conversation into English step by step. Its App Store listing names seven supported languages: Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi and Bengali. Learners talk to an AI practice partner called Sia, get a progress report on fluency, vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation, and can practise for job interviews, office conversations, higher studies and travel. Cricketer MS Dhoni appears in the app as a motivator, according to the listing.

SpeakX is the cheapest dedicated app here: the listing shows SpeakX Premium Monthly at ₹99 and ₹299. The company claims on its website that four in five active learners speak mostly English within two months; that is its own figure, not an independent study. The app is published by Ivypods Technology Private Limited.

Best for IELTS speaking: Stimuler

Stimuler focuses on speaking tests: you record a 60-second answer and get feedback on pronunciation, fluency and vocabulary, plus an estimated IELTS band score. Its App Store listing also describes video mock tests with an AI interviewer and more than 100 speaking topics. The band score is the app’s own estimate, not an official IELTS result.

Prices on the listing run from ₹149 a week and ₹199 to ₹399 a month to ₹499 to ₹1,999 a year, including an item labelled “Annual 699 india” at ₹699. For a learner preparing for an exam in two or three months, that makes Stimuler one of the cheaper exam-focused options.

Best for conversation practice: Praktika and Speak

Praktika and Speak both put conversation first, with lessons and an AI tutor you talk to out loud. They suit learners who already know basic grammar and need speaking time more than drills.

Praktika offers AI tutors with distinct personalities and accents, including American and British, more than 1,000 lessons for travel, careers, job interviews and IELTS and TOEFL prep, and pronunciation and fluency feedback. It also lets you upload your resume to rehearse interview answers. Its website says the tutor explains things in your native language. Listed prices run from ₹1,499 for three months to ₹9,900 for a lifetime plan, with yearly plans from ₹1,999 to ₹5,199.

Speak uses a learn, practise and apply loop built by language teachers, ending in a back-and-forth with the Speak Tutor. English is one of its languages, but its site does not list Hindi or any other Indian language among its interface languages, so it assumes you can follow instructions in English. It is also the priciest app here, with monthly plans listed at ₹1,899 to ₹2,299 and Premium Plus at up to ₹22,900 a year on the App Store.

Best free options: Gemini Live, ChatGPT voice and Google Translate

General AI assistants with voice modes are the cheapest way to get long speaking practice, because they will hold a conversation on any topic for free. They do not track your progress or grade your pronunciation the way a dedicated app does, so you have to ask for feedback.

Gemini Live. Google made Gemini Live with camera and screen sharing free for everyone on Android and iOS on 20 May 2025, for users aged 18 and over, according to Google. Paid Google AI plans are listed at ₹399 a month for Google AI Plus on the App Store and ₹1,950 a month for Google AI Pro on Google One, but you do not need either for speaking practice.

ChatGPT voice. OpenAI’s pricing page lists “limited voice chats” on the Free plan and more voice chats on Go. The App Store India listing shows ChatGPT Go at ₹399 and Plus at ₹1,999 a month.

Google Translate. In April 2026 Google added pronunciation practice to the Translate app on Android in the US and India, for English, Spanish and Hindi; it scores your pronunciation of a phrase and gives instant feedback, according to Google’s Translate blog. Google also lets people in India talk to Search by voice with Search Live, which started in English and Hindi and now covers languages including Marathi, Tamil and Bengali, Google India said in March 2026.

A simple prompt for Gemini Live or ChatGPT voice works well: “You are an interviewer for a fresher marketing role in Bengaluru. Ask me one question at a time. After each answer, tell me one grammar mistake and one better phrase, then ask the next question.”

Which app to use for what

The right app depends on your goal more than on the technology, since all of them use speech recognition and a language model. These picks follow from the features and prices above.

• Job interview prep: Praktika (rehearse answers from your own resume) or ELSA (interview and meeting scenarios); for free practice, use the ChatGPT or Gemini prompt above. Pair it with our guide to AI resume tools and the openings on our jobs board.
• Accent and pronunciation: ELSA Speak, with Google Translate’s free pronunciation practice for quick checks.
• Daily conversation: Praktika or Speak if you will pay; Gemini Live if you want it free.
• Hindi-medium or regional-language learners: SpeakX, which teaches through seven Indian languages, or Duolingo’s English course for Hindi speakers to build vocabulary first.
• IELTS speaking: Stimuler for timed answers and band estimates, with ELSA or Praktika as alternatives.
• Kids: Duolingo ABC is free and rated 4+, but it teaches reading in English for preschool to second grade, not speaking. Gemini Live is for users aged 18 and over, and ChatGPT and Speak are rated 13+ on the App Store, so younger children need an adult account and supervision.

For more free tools beyond English practice, see our list of the best free AI tools.

Duolingo: good for habit, limited for speaking

Duolingo is the easiest way to build a daily habit, and its English course for Hindi speakers is free, as Duolingo has said. Its main AI speaking feature, Video Call with an animated character called Lily, is available only to Duolingo Max subscribers, according to Duolingo, with calls lasting about one minute early in a course and up to three minutes later. Duolingo lists English among the courses with Video Call but does not say which base languages, such as Hindi, get it.

Duolingo describes Max as a tier above Super Duolingo and says it is available in 188 countries, according to its Max announcement. The App Store India listing shows only Super Duolingo items, from ₹199 to ₹1,749, so check in the app whether Max and Video Call are offered for your course before paying.

Privacy: what happens to your voice recordings

Speaking apps need your voice, and most store or share it in some form, so check each app’s settings before you start. Here is what the companies say.

• Gemini: Gemini Live audio and video are not used to improve Google’s services by default. If Keep Activity is off, Live chats are kept for 72 hours; if you turn on the audio setting, some recordings may be reviewed by humans and kept for up to three years, according to Google’s Gemini privacy hub.
• ChatGPT: audio clips from Advanced Voice conversations are kept with the chat for 30 days, and the audio itself is not used for training unless you choose to share it; transcripts can be used for training if “Improve the model for everyone” is on, according to OpenAI’s help centre.
• Stimuler: its privacy policy says your voice audio during AI calls is streamed to Hume AI and transcripts are sent to OpenAI to generate replies and feedback, and that it keeps audio recordings “for a limited period of time” before deleting them.
• Speak: its privacy policy says it uses audio to evaluate your pronunciation and also to improve its speech recognition and voice transcription technology, and lists OpenAI and Microsoft among the providers that receive audio.
• ELSA and Stimuler: both list audio data among the data linked to your identity in their App Store privacy labels, which Apple notes are not verified.

Use a nickname rather than your real details in role plays, avoid saying phone numbers or account details out loud, and delete old voice history if the app allows it.

Honest limits of AI speaking apps

AI tutors are patient and always available, but they are not examiners. Band scores and fluency percentages are each app’s own estimates; only an official test gives a real score. Speech recognition can also struggle with strong regional accents or background noise, and AI tutors sometimes accept phrases a human listener would find odd. Google first tested an English speaking-practice feature in Search in India in October 2023, TechCrunch reported; we could not confirm it is still live, so it is not in our table. The best results usually come from 15 to 20 minutes of daily speaking plus some practice with real people.

FAQ

Which is the best free app to practise English speaking in India?

Gemini Live is the strongest free option for open conversation, since Google made it free on Android and iOS in May 2025 for users aged 18 and over. ChatGPT’s Free plan also includes limited voice chats. For pronunciation drills, Google Translate’s free pronunciation practice works on Android in India.

Which AI app helps Hindi speakers learn English?

SpeakX teaches English through Hindi and six other Indian languages, with monthly plans listed at ₹99 and ₹299 on the App Store in India. Duolingo also has a free English course for Hindi speakers, which is better for vocabulary and grammar than for long conversations.

Is ELSA Speak worth paying for?

ELSA Speak is worth it if your main problem is pronunciation or accent, since it gives instant pronunciation feedback and has interview and exam practice. Its App Store India listing shows ₹499 a month or ₹3,449 for a year of Premium. If you mainly need conversation time, a free voice assistant may be enough.

Can I use ChatGPT to practise English for job interviews?

Yes. Start a voice chat and ask ChatGPT to act as an interviewer for your target role, ask one question at a time and point out one mistake after each answer. The Free plan has limited voice chats; ChatGPT Go is listed at ₹399 a month on the App Store in India.

Are English speaking apps safe for kids?

Check age limits first. Gemini Live is for users aged 18 and over, and ChatGPT and Speak are rated 13+ on the App Store. Duolingo ABC is rated 4+ and free, but it teaches reading rather than speaking. Supervise children using any app that records their voice.

Sources

1. Apple App Store (India), “ELSA Speak – English Learning”, Elsa Corp, checked 13 November 2026. Link
2. ELSA, “The world’s best way to improve your English speaking”, checked 13 November 2026. Link
3. Apple App Store (India), “SpeakX: English Speaking App”, Ivypods Technology, checked 13 November 2026. Link
4. SpeakX, homepage, checked 13 November 2026. Link
5. Apple App Store (India), “Stimuler- English Speaking App”, Stimuler, checked 13 November 2026. Link
6. Stimuler, “Privacy Policy”, checked 13 November 2026. Link
7. Apple App Store (India), “Praktika – AI Language Tutor”, Praktika.ai, checked 13 November 2026. Link
8. Praktika, homepage, checked 13 November 2026. Link
9. Apple App Store (India), “Speak: Language Learning”, Speakeasy Labs, checked 13 November 2026. Link
10. Speak, homepage, checked 13 November 2026. Link
11. Speak, “Privacy Policy”, checked 13 November 2026. Link
12. Apple App Store (India), “Duolingo: Language & Chess”, checked 13 November 2026. Link
13. Duolingo, “Video Call”, 24 September 2024. Link
14. Duolingo, “Introducing Duolingo Max”, 14 March 2023. Link
15. Duolingo, “Language learning for the next billion: Duolingo in India”, 24 September 2020. Link
16. Apple App Store (India), “Learn to Read – Duolingo ABC”, checked 13 November 2026. Link
17. Apple App Store (India), “ChatGPT”, OpenAI, checked 13 November 2026. Link
18. OpenAI, “ChatGPT Pricing”, checked 13 November 2026. Link
19. OpenAI Help Center, “ChatGPT Voice”, checked 13 November 2026. Link
20. Apple App Store (India), “Google Gemini”, checked 13 November 2026. Link
21. Google, “Gemini gets more personal, proactive and powerful”, 20 May 2025. Link
22. Google, “Gemini Apps Privacy Hub”, checked 13 November 2026. Link
23. Google One, “Plans and pricing”, checked 13 November 2026. Link
24. Google, “Celebrating 20 years of Google Translate: fun facts, tips and new features to try”, 28 April 2026. Link
25. Google India, “Search Live comes to more Indian languages”, 27 March 2026. Link
26. TechCrunch, “Google takes aim at Duolingo with new English tutoring tool”, 19 October 2023. Link

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Sources (26)

1. Apple App Store (India) / Elsa Corp 13 Nov 2026ELSA IAP prices ₹499 monthly, ₹1,189 3-month Premium, ₹3,449 1-year Premium, up to ₹12,900; interviews, 8,000+ lessons, IELTS/TOEFL/TOEIC; audio data in privacy label
2. ELSA 13 Nov 2026Personalised path by accent/industry, AI role-play, bilingual AI tutor
3. Apple App Store (India) / Ivypods Technology 13 Nov 2026SpeakX Premium Monthly ₹99 and ₹299; 7 Indian languages; AI partner Sia; MS Dhoni; interview/office practice
4. SpeakX 13 Nov 2026Company claim: 4 in 5 active learners speak mostly English within two months
5. Apple App Store (India) / Stimuler 13 Nov 2026Stimuler prices ₹149 weekly, ₹199-₹399 monthly, ₹499-₹1,999 yearly, ₹699 'Annual 699 india'; 60-second feedback, IELTS band estimate, AI mock tests, 100+ topics; audio data label
6. Stimuler 13 Nov 2026Voice streamed to Hume AI, transcripts to OpenAI; audio retained for a limited period
7. Apple App Store (India) / Praktika.ai 13 Nov 2026Praktika prices ₹1,499-₹3,499 (3 months), ₹1,999-₹5,199 (year), ₹9,900 lifetime; tutors with accents, 1,000+ lessons, resume upload for interview rehearsal
8. Praktika 13 Nov 2026Tutor explains in your native language
9. Apple App Store (India) / Speakeasy Labs 13 Nov 2026Speak prices ₹1,899-₹2,299 monthly, ₹4,999-₹9,900 yearly, Premium Plus up to ₹22,900; 13+
10. Speak 13 Nov 2026Learn/practise/apply method; English among languages; interface languages listed
11. Speak 13 Nov 2026Audio used to evaluate pronunciation and improve speech recognition; OpenAI, Microsoft receive audio
12. Apple App Store (India) / Duolingo 13 Nov 2026Super Duolingo IAP ₹199-₹1,749; no Max item listed
13. Duolingo 24 Sep 2024Video Call with Lily for Max subscribers; English among courses; 1-3 minute calls
14. Duolingo 14 Mar 2023Max a tier above Super; 188 countries
15. Duolingo 24 Sep 2020English course for Hindi speakers; learning content free
16. Apple App Store (India) / Duolingo 13 Nov 2026Duolingo ABC free, 4+, reading for preschool to second grade
17. Apple App Store (India) / OpenAI 13 Nov 2026ChatGPT Go ₹399, Plus ₹1,999; rated 13+
18. OpenAI 13 Nov 2026Free plan: limited voice chats; Go: more voice chats
19. OpenAI 13 Nov 2026Voice audio kept with chat for 30 days; audio not used for training unless shared; transcripts may be used if Improve the model is on
20. Apple App Store (India) / Google 13 Nov 2026Google AI Plus ₹399
21. Google 20 May 2025Gemini Live with camera/screen sharing free for everyone on Android and iOS; 18+
22. Google 13 Nov 2026Live audio not used to improve services by default; 72 hours if Keep Activity off; human review if audio setting on, kept up to 3 years
23. Google One 13 Nov 2026Google AI Pro ₹1,950/mo
24. Google 28 Apr 2026Translate pronunciation practice, Android, US and India, English/Spanish/Hindi
25. Google India 27 Mar 2026Search Live started in English and Hindi, now more Indian languages
26. TechCrunch 19 Oct 2023Google Search speaking practice launched in India and five other countries (Oct 2023)