Talkabout vs InterPals

InterPals and Talkabout are both free places to write to people in other countries. InterPals is a pen pal site that has been running since 1998 and is open to anyone aged 13 and over. Talkabout is a newer, browser-based language exchange for adults, built around live text chat with corrections. If you want a big, long-established community, InterPals is the safer bet. If you want practice with corrections in an adults-only space, try Talkabout.

This page compares what each service says about itself. We run Talkabout, so read it with that in mind. We have kept to statements anyone can check on the official pages linked below, which we looked at on 19 October 2026. Features change, so check them before you decide.

At a glance

What InterPals does well

Reach. InterPals has run for more than two decades and describes itself as a pen pal and language exchange site. You search by country, language or interests, and there is an "Online Now" list.

Plenty of ways in. It has apps for iOS and Android as well as the website, so you can write from wherever suits you.

Safety tools. Its Trust and Safety page says every profile and conversation has a report option, reports are confidential, blocking is instant and silent, and suspended or removed accounts can appeal.

Where Talkabout is different

Adults only. Everyone on Talkabout is 18 or older, and the age check happens at sign-up. That keeps the conversation among adults, which some people prefer for language practice.

Corrections in the chat. Suggest a fix on a message and your partner sees exactly what changed. Everyone chooses how much correcting they want.

Learning-first profiles. You list the languages you speak and are learning, with levels from A1 to C2, and filter by language, level and country. A mood on your profile, such as "Here to practise", says what kind of conversation you're up for.

Contact details stay locked at first. Images and contact details unlock after two people have both written to each other for a while, so a stranger can't push you to another app in the first message.

Visible moderation. A decision names the rule and the reason, and suspensions and bans can be appealed.

What Talkabout doesn't have

No apps in the stores yet, so it runs in your browser. No voice or video, no forums and no social feed. And it is new: the community is much smaller than InterPals', so how many people you find depends on your language pair. Look at the Spanish and English pages to see what's there.

How to choose

• You want a large, long-running community and don't mind a mixed-age site: InterPals.
• You want adults only, corrections in the chat and locked contact details: Talkabout.
• You're not sure: use both for a week. Where you actually keep chatting is the right answer.

Whichever you pick, the basics hold: never send money to someone you met online, and report anyone who asks. Our guide to staying safe in online language exchanges goes through the red flags, and the six-app comparison puts both next to Tandem, HelloTalk and others.

FAQ

Is Talkabout an InterPals alternative?

For written language exchange, yes. Both are free to use and built around messaging people in other countries. They differ in who can join, in what happens inside a chat and in how long each has been running.

Is InterPals free?

InterPals says that creating a profile, searching and messaging are free. Talkabout is free too.

Which one is for adults only?

Talkabout is for adults only. InterPals is open to people aged 13 and over, and says adults cannot message younger teens.

Does Talkabout have corrections inside the chat?

Yes. You can suggest a fix on your partner's message and they see exactly what changed. InterPals doesn't describe an in-chat correction tool.

Try it

If that sounds like what you're after, sign up to Talkabout and pick your languages, or look through every language first.