How to practise English speaking with AI for free
You no longer need a tutor or a language partner to get daily speaking practice. Here is what you can do for free with AI in 2026, what each option is good at, and a simple routine that works.
The short answer
There are three free routes, and they suit different people:
- General AI assistants with voice – ChatGPT and Gemini. Very flexible, but you have to set up every conversation yourself.
- Speaking apps with a free tier – apps built for language practice that give you a few free minutes a day. Less flexible, but the lesson structure is ready.
- Free trials of paid apps – fine for a week, but not a long-term free option.
Whatever you choose, the thing that matters most is speaking out loud for a few minutes every day. Ten minutes once a week does much less than three minutes daily.
Option 1: ChatGPT voice
ChatGPT's voice mode lets you have a spoken conversation in the app on iPhone, Android or the web. On the free plan voice access is limited, and OpenAI doesn't publish a fixed number of minutes – the limits change, so check the app for what you currently get.
Good for: any topic, role-plays you invent, explanations in your own language.
Watch out for: it talks a lot and rarely corrects you unless you ask. A good prompt fixes most of that – we collected ready-made prompts in our guide How to practise English speaking with ChatGPT.
Option 2: Gemini Live
Gemini Live is Google's voice conversation mode. It is listed in Google's free Gemini plan and works in the Gemini mobile app on Android, iPhone and iPad (not in the web version). Google doesn't publish a number of free minutes either.
Good for: relaxed conversation, quick questions, people who already use Google apps.
Watch out for: like ChatGPT, it is an assistant first, so you need to ask for corrections and keep it from giving long answers.
Option 3: speaking apps with a free tier
Several language apps let you speak for free every day, with limits. A few examples as of October 2026:
- Ling AI – about 5 minutes of voice practice every day for free, in 3–4 minute lessons. iPhone and iPad.
- Talkpal – a free Basic plan with a 10-minute daily limit. Web, iPhone and Android.
- ELSA Speak – a free plan focused on pronunciation feedback, with a paid upgrade.
- Duolingo – the free app includes short speaking exercises; the AI video call with Lily is part of the paid Duolingo Max.
Many other apps (Praktika, Speak, Loora) offer a free trial rather than a free daily allowance. Our comparison Praktika and Speak alternatives goes through them in detail.
Assistant or speaking app: how to choose
| AI assistant (ChatGPT, Gemini) | Speaking app (free tier) | |
|---|---|---|
| Setup | You write the prompt and design the lesson | Open the app and start |
| Topics | Anything | Scenes and lessons chosen for your level |
| Corrections | Only if you ask, quality depends on the prompt | Built in |
| Progress | No plan unless you make one | A sequence of lessons |
| Free limit | Limited, not published as a number | A few minutes a day, stated in the app |
Plenty of learners use both: an app for the daily lesson, and an assistant when they want to talk about something specific.
A free 10-minute daily routine
- Warm up (2 min). Say out loud what you did yesterday, in 5–6 simple sentences.
- One conversation (4–5 min). A lesson in a speaking app, or a role-play in ChatGPT or Gemini: a café, a hotel, a work call.
- Fix one mistake (2 min). Take the most important correction and say the right version three times.
- Write it down (1 min). Keep a short list of phrases you learned; reuse them tomorrow.
That's it. The routine works with any of the free tools above; what matters is doing it daily.
Why we built Ling this way
Ling AI is our app, so take this section as a description rather than a review. It is made for the routine above: you tell it why you need English, and it builds a plan of 20 conversation lessons at your level. Each lesson is a 3–4 minute voice scene with an AI speaking partner. When you are stuck, the Hint button gives you a phrase for the moment; at the end you get one main mistake and say the better version right away. The roughly 5 free minutes a day cover one lesson. Ling runs on iPhone and iPad with iOS 17 or later; there is no Android version yet.
Facts about other products come from their official sites, help pages and US App Store listings as of 31 October 2026. Limits and prices change and can differ by country.