Best Online English Courses in Japan (2026): 7 Platforms Compared

You studied English for six years in junior high and high school. You can write emails with a dictionary at hand. You can read documents in English, too. Yet the moment someone asks “Any questions?” during an online meeting with an overseas office, the words won't come out. Many adults looking for recommended online English lessons in Japan aren't starting from scratch. Their stumbling block is one specific skill: speaking.

The numbers reflect this experience. In the 2025 EF English Proficiency Index (EF EPI), Japan ranked 96th out of 123 countries and regions, with a score of 446, below the global average of 488. The 2025 edition introduced AI assessment of speaking and writing. By skill, reading scored 454 and listening 437, compared with 394 for writing and 393 for speaking. Speaking was the weakest of the four skills. The situation is similar in school English education. According to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology's FY2024 Survey on the Implementation of English Education, 52.4% of third-year junior high school students had reached the equivalent of CEFR A1 or above, while 51.6% of third-year high school students had reached A2 or above. Both figures remain below the national target of at least 60%.

Online English lessons are already a well-established service in Japan. Daily 25-minute lessons for a few thousand yen a month have become the norm, and if anything, there are almost too many options. For this article, we compared seven services available to learners in Japan using the same criteria: two major Japanese providers offering affordable daily lessons, a service with unlimited lessons and no booking required, a business-focused provider, an app for speaking with native English teachers, a marketplace where you choose your own tutor, and Flalingo, which focuses on speaking through one-on-one lessons with the same teacher. All prices are shown in yen (¥).

Our Evaluation Criteria

We applied the same seven questions to all seven services. Our assessments were based on the pricing pages, terms of service, and help articles published on each provider's official website. The seventh criterion, highlighted in orange, was added specifically for Japan. It looks at whether people with little experience speaking English can stick with the lessons. We believe beginners are more likely to quit online English lessons because they feel “I don't know what to talk about” or “I'm embarrassed to make mistakes” than because of the price.

Comparison Table: 7 Recommended Online English Lesson Services in Japan

The rightmost column shows indicative prices published on each provider’s official website. Prices vary significantly depending on the plan and subscription length, so see the “Pricing” section for each service for details. The “Beginner-friendly features” column summarizes the seventh criterion, added specifically for learners in Japan.

Prices last checked: November 2026. Promotions change frequently, so check each provider’s official website and contact its support team before signing up.

Why Japanese Learners Can Read English but Struggle to Speak It

In the EF EPI’s skill-specific scores, Japan scored 393 in speaking—more than 60 points below its reading score of 454. EF’s analysis team explains that speaking and writing skills tend to develop more slowly than reading and listening skills in Japan, and that AI-based assessment made this gap clearer. The 2025 edition also drew attention to the fact that young adults aged 18–25 had the lowest scores of any age group. It is a somewhat surprising result: the generation whose English classes are freshest in their memory struggles the most.

There is no single cause. Still, the difficulties that frequently come up in online English lessons have some clear patterns in common.

• Extra vowels in katakana-style pronunciation: adding vowels after consonants, turning milk into “miruku” and desk into “desuku”
• L, R, and th: distinguishing light from right, and think from sink
• Omitting the subject: carrying over Japanese sentence patterns and leaving out the subject, as in “Went to Osaka yesterday.”
• Articles and plurals: “I have dog.” and “two book”
• Overreliance on stock phrases: stopping at “I'm fine, thank you.” instead of keeping the conversation going
• Long silences: delaying a response while trying to construct a perfect sentence mentally before speaking

In all these cases, the other person can often work out what you mean, so these mistakes rarely get corrected in everyday conversation. That is why they can linger for years. When reviewing each service, we checked whether someone would consistently point out these mistakes and whether a record of the corrections would be available. For detailed guidance on each English proficiency level, see What Are English Levels A1–C2? and for the vocabulary you need to become conversational, see How Many Words Do You Need to Know to Speak English Fluently?.

#1 Flalingo: Focus on Speaking with the Same Tutor, from Everyday Conversation to Business English and TOEIC

Flalingo is an online English course where you choose live one-to-one lessons of 25 or 50 minutes, anywhere from once to seven times a week. Lessons are taught entirely in English. Tutors are hired after an interview, a demo lesson and an assessment of their teaching skills, and only 1 in 73 applicants gets through. They are grouped by specialism, such as everyday English, business English and exam preparation.

The main reason we ranked it first is that you can keep learning with the same tutor. Its Smart Matching system suggests 22–30 compatible tutors based on 18 factors, including your goals, level, availability, preferred accent, and preferred tutor personality. According to Flalingo, there is a greater than 90% chance that you can stay with the same tutor throughout your plan. For people who are afraid of making mistakes, that makes a real difference. When you meet a new tutor every time, introductions and nerves alone can take up half a 25-minute lesson. After a few weeks of conversation, your tutor will already know about your “miruku” pronunciation or your habit of leaving out subjects, making it much less awkward when you repeat a mistake. If you feel a tutor is not a good fit, you can switch tutors for free as often as you like.

You can start at any level from A1 to C2, and there are tutors for every one of them. The course materials, Smart Personalized Books, include eight Everyday English books from Beginner to Advanced Plus and six English at Work books from Starter to Advanced. Every unit contains role-plays and speaking tasks designed for one-to-one lessons, and as you move up, what you're asked to say grows gradually longer and more complex. Don't want grammar explanations, just want to talk? Then you can choose conversation-based lessons without the books.  To prepare for your first lesson, see our article on introducing yourself in English.

If you use English at work, there is a Business English course. It offers industry-specific curricula for more than seven sectors, including engineering, finance and sales, taught by tutors who know the business world first-hand. You can rehearse speaking up in meetings, presenting and handling Q&A, writing emails, negotiating and taking client calls through role-plays with your tutor. English at Work, part of the Smart Personalized Books series, is also designed for working adults learning to handle meetings, emails and presentations. According to Flalingo, 68% of learners take their lessons between 7 pm and 10 pm. We've gathered the phrases you'll hear most often at work in business English phrases.

If you need a TOEIC score, the TOEIC preparation course lets you practise listening and reading with tutors who specialise in exam preparation. The materials include TOEIC Skills Studio (four skills, 16 units). Flalingo's published figures put learners' average score at 850 or above, with 90% reaching their target score after an average of 10 weeks' preparation.   For a comparison with other TOEIC courses, see our recommended online TOEIC preparation courses.

Between lessons, you can keep practising with Flai, the AI speaking coach. You talk out loud with AI characters across everyday scenes like ordering a coffee or making small talk, work scenes such as meetings, presentations and interviews, and travel scenes from the airport to conversations at your destination. At the end you receive a report covering grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation and fluency. Because you're talking to an AI, nobody sees how many times you slip up. For anyone who dislikes speaking in front of others, it's an ideal place for a practice run before a lesson with a tutor. There's also workplace speaking practice, where you can rehearse work situations, such as introducing yourself at an interview or politely disagreeing in a meeting, five minutes at a time.

That's not all. On Flalingo Daily News, you can read news stories written for each CEFR level, with audio, and then review them through vocabulary questions and discussion prompts. There's a business category too, so a story you read over breakfast can become the topic of that evening's lesson. The scenario-based English for adults guides cover situations such as phoning to change a booking, talking to hotel reception or getting through an engineer's code review.

Learn how FLAI works in What Is FLAI?, and see how an actual lesson unfolds in Flalingo Review: What Are the Lessons Really Like?.

Key Features

• 25- or 50-minute one-on-one live lessons, 1–7 times a week
• Smart Matching uses 18 criteria to recommend 22–30 compatible tutors
• Tutors and learning materials for every level, from A1 to C2
• Smart Personalized Books: eight everyday English books, six workplace English books, and exam preparation materials for TOEIC, IELTS, TOEFL, and more
• Role-plays and speaking tasks in every unit
• Conversation-focused lessons without an emphasis on grammar are also available
• FLAI reports after every lesson covering accuracy, fluency, and vocabulary
• Personalized review exercises based on your mistakes (Flomework)
• Industry-specific business English curricula for more than seven sectors
• Preparation for TOEIC, IELTS, TOEFL, Cambridge English exams, and more
• Practice everyday, workplace, and travel conversations with the AI speaking coach Flai
• A dedicated learning advisor and 24-hour live support
• A digital certificate of completion after 30 hours of lessons

Pricing

Prices depend on lesson length, lessons per week and plan length, and the longer the plan, the bigger the discount.

• 25-minute lessons: from ¥4,060 a month (12-month plan, once a week) to ¥67,933 a month (1-month plan, seven times a week)
• 50-minute lessons: from ¥8,087 a month to ¥135,867 a month
• Per 25-minute lesson: ¥1,015 on a 12-month plan, ¥2,529 on a 1-month plan (once a week)
• Per 50-minute lesson: ¥2,022 on a 12-month plan, ¥4,955 on a 1-month plan (once a week)
• Discounts: 30% on 3-month plans, 40% on 6-month plans, 60% on 12-month plans
• Trial lesson: 25 minutes for ¥317, refunded if it isn't right for you
• Pausing your plan: once for up to 2 weeks on 3-month plans, twice for 1 month on 6-month plans, three times for 2 months on 12-month plans

Compared with the big domestic providers, where 25 minutes a day costs a few thousand yen a month, the price per lesson is higher. What that difference pays for is a regular tutor, a report and review exercises after every lesson, and a dedicated learning adviser. You can check the latest prices on the pricing plans page. If you are unsure which plan to choose, the Guide to Choosing a Flalingo Plan breaks down the options by learning goal.

Prices last checked: November 2026.

Recommended For

• Anyone from those who are almost completely new to speaking English to learners at B2 or above who want to speak more naturally
• People who are afraid of making mistakes and feel more comfortable with the same tutor every week
• People who need English for work, including meetings, presentations, business negotiations, and interviews
• People aiming to improve their TOEIC scores
• People who want lessons in the evening after work or in the morning before work
• Budget: from ¥4,060 a month on a 12-month plan (25 minutes once a week)

Reviews

Flalingo has a rating of 4.9 out of 5 from 710 Google reviews (as of November 2026). Here are two of them.

#2 DMM Eikaiwa: Affordable Daily 25-Minute Lessons, Available 24/7

DMM Eikaiwa is one of the better-known online English lesson services in Japan. The Standard Plan offers 25-minute one-on-one lessons around the clock with tutors from 116 countries. Switching to the Plus Native Plan gives you access to tutors from 126 countries, including native English speakers from countries such as the US and the UK, as well as Japanese tutors. With Japanese tutors, you can build your foundations and discuss your learning in Japanese. The tutor acceptance rate is reported to be 5%.

More than 10,000 learning materials are available at no extra charge. For those who use English at work, there is a Business English add-on for $19 per month. It lets you search for tutors by industry or occupation, such as manufacturing or IT engineering, and adds dedicated business materials and AI role-play for unlimited practice with AI after your lessons.

One thing to keep in mind is that having so many options means you need to keep deciding for yourself whom to speak with. There is no system for assigning a regular tutor, so if you book a different tutor each time, every lesson starts with introductions. You can keep taking lessons with the same tutor by finding a favorite and continuing to book them, but finding the right match is entirely up to you. We could not find any mention on the official website of a standardized progress report summarizing lesson content.

Key Features

• 25-minute one-on-one lessons, available 24/7
• Standard Plan (tutors from 116 countries) and Plus Native Plan (126 countries, including native English-speaking and Japanese tutors)
• Access to more than 10,000 learning materials at no extra charge
• Business English add-on: tutor searches by industry and occupation, dedicated business materials, and AI role-play
• Plans ranging from eight lessons per month to five lessons per day
• Seven-day free trial with unlimited lessons

Pricing

• Standard Plan: 8 lessons a month ¥4,880, 1 lesson a day ¥6,980, 2 a day ¥11,980, 4 a day ¥19,980, 5 a day ¥23,980
• 8-month plan (1 lesson a day): ¥49,160 in total (¥198 per lesson)
• Plus Native Plan: 8 lessons a month ¥12,980, 1 a day ¥22,880, 2 a day ¥44,980, 4 a day ¥72,980
• Business English option: ¥3,000 a month
• Free trial: seven days of unlimited lessons

When we checked in November 2026, there was a first-month offer price for first-time paid members, among others (excluding the 5-lessons-a-day and 8-month plans). For example, 1 lesson a day cost ¥1,745 for the first month and 8 lessons a month cost ¥1,220, with regular prices applying from the second month. To qualify, your plan must auto-renew once on the same plan, and if you pause before the second payment, you'll be charged the difference from the regular price. The offer may change or end without notice.

Pricing last checked: November 2026. For current prices and promotions, see the pricing plans on the official website.

Recommended for

• People who want to build a daily speaking habit, a little at a time
• People who want lessons at irregular hours, such as early mornings or late nights
• People who do not mind choosing their own tutors and materials
• Budget: From ¥4,880 per month (eight lessons per month)

Reviews

DMM Eikaiwa has a rating of 3.05 out of 5 on Minhyo, based on 78 reviews (as of November 2026). Here are two of them.

#3 RareJob: step-by-step progress with CEFR-aligned materials

RareJob is an online English conversation service offering daily 25-minute one-on-one lessons from 6 a.m. to 1 a.m. Tutors are primarily Filipino, and the service reports a hiring acceptance rate of 1%. Its cumulative membership has reached 1.2 million (as of May 2025).

Its strengths are its extensive materials and clear guidance on what to study next. There are 5,000 original CEFR-based learning materials that you can work through in sequence at your level. The Business English Conversation Course is taught by “certified business tutors” selected from its teaching staff and uses four dedicated sets of materials. These include “Practical Business,” which covers everything from self-introductions to advanced negotiations in 500 lessons organized by level. This course also includes two speaking tests per month and one monthly learning consultation with a Japanese tutor.

RareJob English Conversation Coaching (¥35,200 a month) adds a professional coach and AI to your studies, with an AI report for every lesson and a personalised study plan. On the standard courses, though, you choose your tutor yourself each time. Reviews also mention that popular tutors are hard to book and that quality varies from one tutor to the next.

Key Features

• 25-minute one-on-one lessons (from 6 a.m. to 1 a.m., with bookable slots every 30 minutes)
• 5,000 original CEFR-based learning materials
• Everyday English Conversation and Business English Conversation courses
• Certified business tutors and four dedicated sets of materials (“Practical Business” includes 500 lessons organized by level)
• Speaking tests (twice a month on the business course)
• Native Pass allows you to book one lesson per day with a native-speaking tutor
• Coaching plan (with AI reports and a personalized study plan)
• Seven-day free trial, with no enrollment fee

Pricing

• Daily Conversation course: 25 minutes a day ¥7,980, 50 minutes a day ¥12,980, 100 minutes a day ¥21,480, 8 lessons a month ¥4,980
• Business English course: 25 minutes a day ¥12,980
• With Native Pass: Daily Conversation (25 minutes a day) from ¥15,980, Business English (25 minutes a day) ¥20,980
• English lessons plus coaching (Business English course): ¥35,200 a month
• No joining fee, seven-day free trial (no monthly charge if you cancel during the trial)

From 2 to 24 November 2026, entering a campaign code on the sign-up page gives 50% off the first month of the Daily Conversation course and 70% off the first month of the Business English course. Here, "first month" means the first month of paid use after the seven-day free trial ends.

Prices last checked: November 2026. Check the official pricing page for the latest terms.

Recommended for

• People who want to progress step by step using structured materials
• People who can set aside 25 minutes every day, in the morning or evening on weekdays
• People who want to start learning business English at an affordable price
• Budget: From ¥4,980 per month (8 lessons per month)

Reviews

RareJob English has a rating of 3.22 out of 5 on Minhyo, based on 130 reviews (as of November 2026). Here are two of them.

#4 Native Camp: As Many Lessons as You Like, No Booking Required

Native Camp stands out above all for offering unlimited lessons for a monthly fee. On the Premium Plan (¥7,480 a month), its instant "Lesson Now" feature lets you start talking straight away with any available tutor, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, without booking. Tutors come from more than 140 countries, and a lesson can be as short as five minutes.

There are over 32,000 learning materials and content items. Native Camp is also an officially accredited Callan Method school. Its official website describes the method as “said to help you learn English four times faster than usual.” Through repetitive practice in answering teachers' questions quickly, the method aims to get you speaking before you translate from Japanese in your head. You can also use its five-minute AI speaking test and practice English conversation with AI for free.

The unlimited model does come with conditions. Booking a specific tutor costs coins, and if you want native-speaker tutors, you'll need to add the Native Option at ¥9,800 a month. Reviews suggest it works well for getting comfortable with English through textbook-based practice, but less well for working out with a tutor how to say what you actually want to say.

Main features

• Unlimited “Lessons Now,” available 24/7, year-round
• Teachers from over 140 countries
• Over 32,000 learning materials and content items
• Officially accredited Callan Method school
• Free AI speaking test and AI English conversation practice
• Booked lessons (coin-based system)
• Native Speaker Option ($62 per month) and a Family Plan for family members
• 7-day free trial

Pricing 

• Premium Plan: ¥7,480 a month (unlimited Lesson Now)
• Annual discount option: ¥1,000 off the monthly fee
• Family Plan: ¥1,980 a month (for family members of Premium Plan members)
• Native Option: ¥9,800 a month (¥16,280 a month in total with the Premium Plan on the annual discount)
• Booked lessons: the number of coins needed varies by tutor
• Seven-day free trial (no charge if you cancel before the trial ends)

Payment options include credit cards and PayPal, as well as Apple Pay and Google Pay in the app.

Pricing last checked: November 2026. Please check the pricing page on the official website for the latest rates.

Recommended for

• People who want to get comfortable with English by speaking several times a day
• People with unpredictable schedules who prefer not to book ahead
• People who do not mind repeating set patterns for practice
• Budget: ¥7,480 per month (unlimited lessons)

Reviews

Native Camp has a rating of 2.89 out of 5 from 48 reviews on Minhyo (as of November 2026). The two reviews below were posted in 2017, so pricing and systems may have changed since then.

#5 Bizmates: Learn workplace English with trainers who have business experience

Bizmates is an online English conversation service specializing in business English. All trainers (instructors) have business experience and are selected based on their business background, teaching skills, personal qualities, and communication skills. Lessons are one-on-one, last 25 minutes, and are available from 5 a.m. to 1 a.m. The service has had more than 140,000 paying members in total (as of January 2026).

Bizmates develops its own materials, designed to let learners start with junior-high-school-level English. It also offers videos for preparation and review, along with a lesson-recording feature, so you can revisit expressions used in meetings and negotiations at your own pace. Plans with coaching include four one-on-one consultations per month with a Japanese consultant and daily feedback. AI analyzes your lessons and quantifies your challenges and progress.

Prices sit at the higher end of this comparison: ¥14,850 a month for one lesson a day, and from ¥34,650 a month with coaching. One reviewer mentioned that their employer covered half the cost of their studies. If you mainly want to practise everyday or travel English that has nothing to do with work, another service will probably suit you better.

Main features

• 25-minute one-on-one lessons (available from 5 a.m. to 1 a.m.)
• Trainers all have business experience
• Original materials starting at junior high school English level
• Videos for lesson preparation and review, plus lesson recording
• Plans with coaching (one-on-one sessions with a Japanese consultant and AI-powered lesson analysis)
• Plans offering one lesson daily, two lessons daily, or a flexible package of 15 lessons per month
• One free trial lesson (25 minutes, with no automatic switch to a paid plan afterward)

Pricing 

• 1 lesson a day: ¥14,850 a month (¥7,425 with 50% off the first month)
• 2 lessons a day: ¥21,450 a month
• 15 lessons a month to use as you like: ¥14,850 a month
• Coaching plans: from ¥34,650 to ¥61,050 a month
• Discounts: 5% off from month 7 after six consecutive months, 5% off from month 13 after 12 months in total, 10% off with both
• 50% off the first month requires signing up within three days of registering for a free account
• No enrolment or materials fee, renews automatically each month, no cancellation fee

Pricing last checked: November 2026. Check the pricing page on the official website for current rates.

Recommended for

• Employees who use English in meetings, business negotiations, and presentations
• People preparing for an overseas assignment or a move to a foreign-owned company
• People who can use company training budgets or subsidies
• Budget: from ¥14,850 per month

Reviews

Bizmates has a rating of 2.83 out of 5 from 30 reviews on Minhyo (as of November 2026). Here are two of them.

#6 Cambly: Talk with Native-Speaking Tutors Without Booking

Cambly is a US-based service that lets you talk with tutors who are native English speakers. Open the app or your browser, and you can start talking with a native-speaking tutor without a reservation, 24/7, year-round. You can also book lessons if you prefer a set time.

There are three plans. Groups offers small-group lessons with one tutor and one or two other learners, and is available to those aged 21 and over. You can choose one or two lessons per week. Private+ focuses on one-on-one lessons and includes unlimited pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary activities, with recordings and transcripts saved for every lesson. With Pro, a dedicated Pro tutor designs lessons around your goals and provides personalized feedback and self-study advice. Courses cover conversation, business English, vocabulary, grammar, and test preparation.

One benefit for learners in Japan is getting used to native speakers' speed and pronunciation. On the other hand, you need to map out your own learning path to suit your level, and you'll often need to ask tutors to correct your mistakes. Also note that unused weekly lesson time cannot be carried over to the following week. For a detailed comparison of Flalingo and Cambly, see Flalingo vs Cambly.

Key Features

• All tutors are native English speakers
• Lessons available without booking 24/7, year-round, with scheduled lessons also available
• Three plans: Groups, Private+, and Pro
• Private+ and above include recordings and transcripts of every lesson, plus automated post-lesson feedback
• Courses in conversation, business English, vocabulary, grammar, and test preparation
• Full refund on your first plan within 7 days of starting

Pricing

• Groups: from ¥3,793 a month (once or twice a week)
• Private+: from ¥8,851 a month
• Pro: from ¥12,645 a month
• When we checked in November 2026, a Black Friday sale was running, with Groups from ¥1,897 a month, Private+ from ¥4,426 a month and Pro from ¥6,322 a month
• Full refund on your first plan within seven days of starting

Prices vary depending on the subscription length and weekly lesson time.

Prices last checked: November 2026. Before signing up, check the latest prices on the official website and with customer support.

Recommended for

• Intermediate and advanced learners who want to get used to native pronunciation and speaking speed
• People who want to start talking whenever they feel like it
• People who can create their own study plans
• Budget: From ¥3,793 per month (Groups)

Reviews

Cambly has a Trustpilot rating of 2.0 out of 5 based on 264 reviews (as of November 2026). Here are two of them.

#7 Preply: A Marketplace Where You Choose Your Tutor and Price

Preply is a marketplace where tutors from around the world sign up and set their own prices and schedules. Its Japanese-language website lists more than 40,000 English tutors, which you can filter by country of origin, price, availability, specialty, and more.

The process is simple. Take a trial lesson with a tutor who interests you, then start a subscription with that tutor if they are a good fit. You are automatically billed every 28 days for a set number of lessons, with a minimum of four. Subscriptions are tied to individual tutors, making it easy to keep learning with the same person, but you need a separate subscription for each tutor if you want to study with several. If your first tutor is not a good fit, you can try up to two other tutors for free. For English lessons, a feature called Lesson Insights provides lesson summaries and records mistakes and vocabulary when both the tutor and student enable it.

The wide variation in tutor quality and pricing is both a strength and a weakness. Whether there is a CEFR-aligned curriculum, and how lessons are structured, depends on the tutor. Lessons you have not booked by the deadline cannot be carried over to the next 28-day cycle. For a detailed comparison with Flalingo, see Flalingo vs Preply:.

Key Features

• More than 40,000 English tutors on the Japanese-language website
• Tutors set their own prices and schedules
• Trial lessons available; if the tutor is not a good fit, try up to two other tutors for free
• Subscriptions renew every 28 days (minimum of four lessons)
• Lesson Insights (when enabled by both tutor and student)
• Filter tutors by country of origin, price, availability, and specialty

Pricing

• Each tutor sets their own price, from about ¥474 to about ¥15,806 per lesson (50 minutes)
• Native-speaker tutors average about ¥3,951 per lesson
• 28-day subscriptions, with a minimum of four lessons
• If a tutor isn't a fit, you can try up to two others free of charge

Prices last checked: November 2026. Check each tutor's latest price on their profile on the official website and with customer support.

Recommended for

• People who want to take their time finding a tutor who matches their goals
• People who want to learn English for specialized fields such as IT, medicine, or law
• People who want precise control over their budget
• Budget: From approximately ¥474 per lesson (depending on the tutor)

Reviews

Preply has a Trustpilot rating of 4.4 out of 5 from approximately 26,000 reviews (as of November 2026). Here are two of them.

Which Combination Is Right for You?

Rather than asking “Which service is best?”, you’re less likely to make the wrong choice if you ask “Which combination of features will address my challenges?” Here are some common scenarios.

• You’re afraid of making mistakes and struggle to speak: One-on-one lessons with the same tutor, plus a record of your corrections. Flalingo is built around these two features.
• You want to build a daily habit first: DMM Eikaiwa or RareJob Eikaiwa, which let you take 25-minute lessons every day at an affordable price.
• Booking is a hassle, and you just want more speaking practice: NativeCamp offers unlimited lessons with no booking required.
• You need English for work: Tutors who know your industry, plus role-play practice for meetings and presentations. Flalingo’s business course and Bizmates are options to consider.
• You need a TOEIC score: Flalingo’s TOEIC preparation course offers tutors and materials for exam preparation.
• You want to get used to native English: Cambly or DMM Eikaiwa’s Plus Native plan.
• You want to take your time choosing your own tutor: Preply.

If you’ve been studying only with apps and your progress has stalled, you may also find Flalingo vs Duolingo: Can an App Replace a Real English Teacher? helpful.

Whichever service you choose, take the same test before you start and again after three months, then compare the results. If your level and accent assessment results haven’t changed, the service may not be right for you at this stage. Our service is no exception.

In our evaluation, we placed the greatest weight on being able to continue with the same tutor and having a record of mistakes from each lesson, especially for learners who feel very anxious about speaking. Combined with the ability to study everything from everyday conversation to business English and TOEIC preparation through one service, these factors put Flalingo in first place.

If you’re also looking for online English lessons for your child, take a look at Best Online English Courses for Kids in Japan (2026): 7 Platforms Compared