Language exchange apps compared

The main language exchange apps differ less in who you'll meet and more in how you'll talk. Tandem and HelloTalk are phone-first apps with text, voice and video. InterPals is a long-running free site for written conversation. Slowly delivers letters with a delay based on distance. ConversationExchange helps you meet people locally or write to them. Talkabout is a free, browser-based text exchange for adults. Pick the format you'll actually keep using.

Everything below comes from each service's own website, help pages or app store listing, checked on 17 September 2026. Features and prices change, so check the official pages before you commit.

The six options at a glance

Tandem

Tandem describes itself as a mobile app where members form one-on-one partnerships to teach each other their native languages via text, audio and video chat.

How it works. You fill out an application, and Tandem reviews every one. Its FAQ says applications can be rejected if you're under 16 or haven't used a real profile photo or name, and that there's occasionally a waitlist in certain countries to keep languages balanced. Once accepted, you're shown members who speak what you're learning and are learning what you speak. You can talk by text, voice note, audio or video call, with in-app correction and translation tools.

Free and paid. According to Tandem's own overview, free members can start 10 conversations a day and get three free translations a day. Tandem Pro, a monthly or yearly subscription, raises the conversation limit to 30 and adds unlimited translations, seeing who viewed your profile, filters for members nearby or in other cities, and removes ads. Tandem also runs Language Parties, live audio rooms that free members can join for up to 60 minutes a day.

Web. Tandem Web works on desktop after you've registered on the mobile app, but Tandem notes it doesn't support calls.

Good fit if you want to speak as well as write, and don't mind a phone-first app and an approval step.

HelloTalk

HelloTalk offers chat by text, voice or video, with built-in tools for translation, pronunciation, transliteration and corrections. It also has social features: Moments for posts and questions, Voicerooms for live group conversations, and Livestreams.

Free and paid. HelloTalk's FAQ says free accounts can contact 10 new partners a day to prevent spam, and VIP members up to 25. By default, you search for partners whose languages line up with yours; VIP members can search the whole community by language, country or region. VIP benefits listed in the FAQ also include no ads, unlimited translations and transliterations, searching for people nearby, searching by gender and seeing profile visits. There's also a VIP Plus tier with extras such as Voiceroom and Live subtitles.

Age. HelloTalk says minors under 18 can only search for other minors, and that this applies to Moments, comments, livestreams and Voicerooms too.

Web. There's a web version at web.hellotalk.net, which you log in to by scanning a QR code with the phone app.

Good fit if you like a social, busy app with lots of ways to practise, including group voice rooms.

InterPals

InterPals has been running since 1998 and describes itself as a pen pal and language exchange site. Creating a profile, searching and messaging are free, and it says they always have been.

How it works. You search by country, language or interests and send a message. There's an "Online Now" list, and apps for iOS and Android as well as the website.

Safety and age. InterPals is open to people aged 13 and over. Its Trust and Safety page says adults cannot message younger teens, reports are confidential, blocking doesn't notify the other person, and suspensions and removals can be appealed. The homepage says contact details stay private until you choose to share them.

Good fit if you want free, written, one-to-one conversation and a big international community, and don't need voice.

Slowly

Slowly is built around letters rather than chat. According to its App Store listing, each letter takes anywhere from a few hours to a few days to arrive, depending on the distance between you and the other person.

How it works. You write letters, collect stamps from around the world to send them with, and reply at your own pace. The listing says you can send and receive unlimited letters for free, with optional premium features. It lists language learners looking for exchange partners among the people it's for.

Good fit if you enjoy writing longer, thoughtful messages and like the idea of waiting for a reply. It's less suited to quick corrections or back-and-forth practice.

ConversationExchange

ConversationExchange offers three ways to practise: meeting native speakers in your area face to face, writing to a correspondence partner, and text, voice or video chat using its own ChitChat tool or other software.

How it works. You search for someone who is learning your language and speaks the one you're learning, then message them through the site. The FAQ says your email address isn't shown to other members, and recommends exchanging several messages before meeting in a public place. Spam filters let you move messages from people who aren't learning your language, or from a specific gender, into a spam folder.

Free and paid. The site is free. Optional paid memberships remove ads and messaging limits, and accounts with emails ending in .edu get the Unlimited membership at no cost.

Good fit if you want to meet people in your own city, or prefer a simple, no-frills site.

Talkabout

Talkabout is our own language exchange, so read this section with that in mind. We've kept to what the product actually does.

How it works. Talkabout runs in your web browser, with no app to install. You list the languages you speak and are learning, with levels from A1 to C2, and browse people by language, level, country and other filters, all free. Chat is live text, and you can suggest a fix on your partner's message so they see exactly what changed. Everyone chooses how much correcting they'd like.

What's different. You set a mood on your profile, such as "Here to practise" or "Up for a chat", so people know what kind of conversation you're up for. You can favourite conversations to pin them to the top; favourites stay private and are only shown when both people have favourited each other.

Safety. Talkabout is for adults only. Contact details and images stay locked until two people have talked for a while. Moderation is visible: decisions name the rule and the reason, and suspensions and bans can be appealed.

What it doesn't have. No voice or video calls, no group rooms and no social feed. It's one-to-one text conversation.

Good fit if you want a free, browser-based exchange for adults with corrections built in.

How to choose

• You want to speak out loud: Tandem or HelloTalk.
• You want to meet people locally: ConversationExchange.
• You love writing long messages: Slowly or InterPals.
• You want free filters and live text chat in the browser, adults only: Talkabout.
• You're not sure: try two at once. Where you actually end up chatting is the right answer.

Whichever you choose, the same habits matter: agree a fair split, be clear about corrections and keep an eye out for anyone more interested in your money than your language. Our guides on how to find a language exchange partner and staying safe in online language exchanges cover both.

FAQ

What is the best free language exchange app?

It depends on how you like to practise. InterPals and ConversationExchange are free to use, Slowly offers unlimited free letters, Talkabout is free, and Tandem and HelloTalk have free plans with paid subscriptions for extras such as unlimited translations.

Which language exchange apps work in a web browser?

InterPals, ConversationExchange and Talkabout work in the browser. Tandem has a web app for people who registered on mobile, which doesn't support calls, and HelloTalk's web version is opened by scanning a QR code with the phone app.

Which language exchange app has voice and video calls?

Tandem and HelloTalk both offer text, voice and video. ConversationExchange suggests using its own ChitChat tool or other software for chat. InterPals and Slowly describe messages and letters rather than calls, and Talkabout is text chat only.

Do I have to be approved to join a language exchange app?

Of these six, Tandem is the one that says it reviews every application. It can reject applications from people under 16 or without a real photo or name, and sometimes has waitlists in certain countries.

Start practising

If a free, browser-based exchange sounds right, try Talkabout. Find partners for Spanish, German or Japanese, look through every language, or sign up and pick your own languages.