Our team has reviewed the English courses offered by Italki and Cambly, two popular platforms for learning the language from home. We’ll walk you through their pros, cons, and how each one works so you can choose the option that best fits your needs.
Comparison table between Italki, Cambly, and Papora.
| School | Method | Levels | Costs |
| Italki | There is no set method because each teacher is free to teach in their own way | From level A1 to C2 | Starting at $5 USD | Cambly | Focused on improving your communication skills, especially your confidence when speaking | Beginner, intermediate, and advanced | Monthly membership starting at $87.48 USD (2 days a week) or annual membership starting at $65.61 USD/month (2 days a week) |
| Papora | Focused on teaching all areas of the language in a dynamic way with unlimited live classes | 5 levels up to C1 | Starting at $13 USD/month |
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Side-by-side analysis of both courses
Before enrolling in an English course, it’s important to keep in mind a few key factors that will shape your learning success:
- Quality of your teaching staff
- Teaching experience
- Teaching Style and Results
- Flexibility of schedules
- Cost
Italki:
Italki works like a catalog where you can find tutors for English and other languages such as French, Italian, Chinese, and Japanese around the world.
Teachers offer group or personalized classes, and you choose the level and method you prefer to start your training.
The Method Behind Your Fluency
- There isn’t a standardized methodology, as each teacher follows their own approach—meaning every class will vary.
- The activities carried out, the price, the schedules, and the duration of each lesson vary depending on the tutor's style.
- The platform also has a tab called “Community,” which you can access to read articles, do exercises, view discussions, listen to podcasts, and view content generated by Italki teachers and students.
Pricing and Plans
Italki has a pricing system and plans that are very different from other English schools because tutors set the cost of their classes based on factors such as their experience or the language they teach.
The price can range from $5 to $60 per hour.
*However, it is important to note that this may vary depending on the country you are in or the tutor.
Advantages and disadvantages
✅ One of Italki’s main strengths is its user-friendly platform, which gives students the freedom to choose their teacher, set a budget, and select the methodology that best fits their learning style. Plus, its community space encourages interaction and knowledge sharing.
❌ Users have commented negatively on the quality of their classes, as there is no set structure and not all tutors are committed to providing effective education or understand why it is so important to learn English.
❌ Other disadvantages include the insecure payment methods and constant problems with refunds.
Cambly:
Cambly is a website and mobile app that allows you to connect with English teachers from around the world in just a few minutes and start your lessons almost immediately on the topic of your choice.
Whether you only know how to say hello in English or you are a little more advanced and can hold a conversation in a restaurant in English, Cambly offers teachers to help you perfect the language.
Methodology for teaching English
- You must choose your English level and then select the teachers that Cambly has available for you.
- You access the classes via video call according to the time you have contracted in the plan.
- Each course has 10 lessons that you can take with the same teacher or with a different one.
- The platform ensures that all tutors are native speakers and promises that you will improve your speaking skills and pronunciation quickly and easily.
Prices and plans
Cambly's prices vary depending on the plan you choose. In other words, the more minutes you sign up for, the higher the final cost will be.
The idea is to think about how many days a week you will devote to studying English, keeping in mind that each class could last 30, 60, or 120 minutes.
Once you have this clear, evaluate whether it is better for you to purchase the monthly membership with prices starting at $87.48 USD two days a week or the annual membership starting at $65.61 USD/month two days a week.
Advantages and disadvantages
✅ Cambly is available every day at any time, so you will always find a native teacher to give you lessons and teach you grammar or vocabulary.
❌ Their service is very expensive compared to other courses and classes such as Papora, where you can get better content at a more competitive price.
❌ Apart from this, the platform and app are not very efficient, as they have continuous difficulties when loading.
Learn everything you need to know about English in one place
With Papora, you get it all — unlimited live classes, expert-designed lessons up to C1, and a self-guided program you can access whenever you want.
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What do users think of Italki, Cambly, and Papora?
The opinions of users who have enrolled in these schools will be very important when choosing a competent academy to learn English.
Many Italki students highlight positive aspects of the platform but also point out that there’s still room for improvement, especially in terms of structure and teaching methodology.
“It's a good school, but it could be better. It's an option that allows you to meet people from different parts of the world and decide which teachers or instructors can give you the support you need. Each one has a very unique personality, and it's important to have a first session to determine whether the learning experience will be satisfactory.”
On this platform, they do not always follow up on user complaints and issues with teachers, which is a rather questionable drawback.
“I had a very unpleasant experience with a tutor and left a complaint through the support service. There has been no follow-up. Factors to consider include whether a tutor is suitable, reliable, should have a grading scale, and most importantly, the learning environment.”
On the other hand, Cambly helps its students express their emotions in English with confidence and is considered a convenient course for improving pronunciation.
“I started taking classes on Cambly in November. Since then, I've met several teachers. I'm improving my confidence in speaking with native speakers from all over the world. I think Cambly is a very good way to learn English.”
However, many users have complained about the quality of the company's customer service.
“Incredibly poor customer service that borders on fraud... On their website, they say they offer a full money-back guarantee, but after weeks of waiting for a response, they didn't even refund 30% of what they owed me. There are much better alternatives out there, so if you're reading this, don't go with Cambly, trust me.”
This is not the case with Papora, which stands out by providing not only high-quality education but also personalized attention for every student, ensuring their learning needs and expectations are fully met.
“All of Papora's levels are very good. You learn a lot, and it's recommended for advancing your knowledge of English. Great work. When there are more levels, I'll definitely come back.”
The platform's ratings speak for themselves and make its courses and classes an excellent choice for those who want to study English with guaranteed results.
“Papora is one of the best resources I've seen online for learning English.”
Our Conclusion
Both Italki and Cambly are apps for speaking English with several years of experience, but their methodology, costs, and objectives are different, so it depends on your needs to choose one or the other.
- With Italki, you have a wide range of teachers around the world, each with their own teaching method.
- With Cambly, your oral language skills will improve significantly.
We've saved the best for last: Papora
It is very likely that neither Italki nor Cambly have met your expectations. In this case, don't worry, below you will learn about Papora, a platform with comprehensive courses that will focus on your English learning in a holistic way.
The best thing is that it offers much more than the other options:
✅ Unlimited live classes with native-level teachers
✅ Self-guided course with over 500 lessons from A1 to C1
✅ Certificate for each level for your resume
✅ In each class or lesson of the course, you will work on all areas of the language from day one.
Learn with native teachers and get certified for each level up to C1
At Papora, you have access to all the classes you need for the month, starting from day one.
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Frequently asked questions about Italki and Cambly
The best English course for taking live classes with teachers is one that provides quality teaching beyond simple grammar rules, such as the one you can find at Papora, where you will learn the language with native teachers in real-life situations so that you can incorporate it into your everyday life.
There are many methods for studying English. Some choose to learn English with movies, others prefer to learn English while sleeping or listening to music. The truth is that acquiring this language with a self-guided teaching method from teachers like those at Papora will help you advance more quickly.
