Tooter teamFacts checked 3 min readThe short answer
- To talk from the first minute: Tooter, with 5 to 30 minute conversations with a Mandarin tutor you pick.
- For a video course: Speak. For hands-free audio: Pimsleur's 150 Mandarin lessons. For a free course: Duolingo.
- Babbel doesn't teach Chinese. Every app here teaches Mandarin; Pimsleur also has a Cantonese course.
At a glance
| App | Chinese course | AI conversation | Free to start | Monthly plan |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tooter | Guided lessons | 5 to 30 min | Free chapters | See current plans |
| Duolingo | Free course | Video Call (Max) | All lessons | In the app |
| Pimsleur | 150 audio lessons | First lesson | $19.95/mo | |
| Speak | Video course | Speak Tutor | 7-day trial | $17.99/mo |
| Praktika | Avatar-led lessons | Avatar tutors | Free plan | $9.99/mo |
| Langua | Call Mode | 3 min a day | $19.99/mo | |
| Jumpspeak | Mandarin course | 7 min a day | Sample lessons | $79/year |
Other apps' prices are their lowest US monthly prices, or yearly where there's no monthly plan; Tooter's are its current website prices. Checked October 31, 2026.
Why these apps
How hard is Chinese to speak?
The US Foreign Service Institute puts Mandarin Chinese in its hardest group for English speakers, at about 88 weeks of full-time study. Mandarin uses tones that change a word's meaning, and characters instead of an alphabet. Most learners start speaking with pinyin, the standard romanization, which is why hearing and repeating tones out loud matters from the first lesson.
Which app suits you?
Tooter
- 5 to 30 minute conversations in Chinese
- Tutors speak Mandarin Chinese
- Corrections as you speak
Speak
- Lessons with instructor videos
- Speak Tutor AI conversations
- 7-day trial
Pimsleur
- 150 Mandarin audio lessons
- A Cantonese course too
- Free first lesson
Duolingo
- Every lesson free, with ads
- Falstaff video calls with Max, on iPhone
- Short daily lessons
Praktika
- AI avatar tutors
- Per-word pronunciation scores
- Free plan
How Tooter teaches Chinese
Every Tooter Chinese tutor speaks Mandarin Chinese. You pick one by coaching style, such as conversation-first, travel-focused or natural correction, choose a session of 5, 10, 15, 20 or 30 minutes, and talk the whole time. Your tutor corrects pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary and fluency as you go and can explain in your native language when you're stuck, and guided lesson chapters build the phrases you'll use. Build a Chinese speaking plan to start.
