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HelloTalk vs Tandem: The BEST language app?

Hola! There are many language learning and language exchange apps out there nowadays, but two stand out from the pack:

HelloTalk and Tandem

I’m going to show you how to use the language learning apps Hellotalk vs Tandem to help you decide which one you should use! Of course you can always use both 😉

These language apps have truly changed my life and helped me become fluent in both Italian and Portuguese so I’ll share what I like about them, some of the features, some of the benefits because I know it can be overwhelming going on a language app for the first time and not understanding what is going on.

Also if you met me on Hellotalk or Tandem, please DM me on Instagram and let me know you read this and where you’re from. I really love to hear from you guys.

Advantages and Features of Hellotalk Language Exchange App

  1. FREE (with paid options for more features)
  2. Chat – with a lot of features like corrections, share photos & Videos, and translation
  3. Moments Wall – Great for writing and sharing with your target language in a natural way
  4. Audio Messages
  5. Phone & Video Calls

With that being said I first got on the app Hellotalk after my friend Tom told me about it. He also has a Youtube channel called Weilà Tom where he teaches Italian and English and we even filmed a video together on my channel, so you probably should go check it out after reading this and watching the video above. It has amazing language learning tips and secrets 🙂

How I learned about the app

I got on the Hellotalk app about three years ago when I started to study Italian and I found it very useful. It’s easy to start an account. You can use it for free but you can only study one language at a time and I think you have up to 15 free translations a day. I actually paid a one-time fee of $90 because I plan on studying many languages and now I can have unlimited translations which is so useful and I can study three languages at a time forever. So if you want to go and pay it year by year it’s forty dollars and I think it also could vary on countries as well.

The Hellotalk Moments Wall: How Facebook wall should be

One of my favorite things about Hellotalk is the moments wall where you can share photos or ask questions and you can reach more people and interact with them in a community type way. It’s like how Facebook should be. You can share about your country, what you are eating and connect with the world! I post in my moment section almost everyday and I always respond to people’s comments there.

Messaging in HelloTalk

The way the app works is to have a conversation with someone in a private message. Anyone can send you I think up to five messages and then you need to respond or else they can’t send you any more, so your way of responding is saying, “Hey I want to connect with you too.”

You can also send videos photos and links in the private chat but only after somebody has responded to you with five messages. The audio messages have a length of one minute which can be good or bad depending on how much you like to talk. I do like to talk a lot but you will get cut off at about a minute and it’s good to know you can do phone calls or video calls with the app.

Hellotalk has the option to mark people to the top of your conversations the people that you enjoy talking with or I do it if if I’ve even had a good conversation with somebody and I want to check back in with them later so I don’t lose them down in all my other messages.

And of course the greatest thing about the app is correcting other people’s mistakes and being corrected. You can even transcribe the voice messages someone sends you in another language which is so cool because if you’re new to learning a language and don’t quite get it you can just transcribe and see what they said to you.

I’ve corrected over 5,000 mistakes for people in their English! I’ve also translated a ton of phrases while learning. I love being corrected and I love to help people learn so it’s easy to find people on the app.

You can choose to follow them and then you’ll receive notifications when they post a new moment but there is an option to turn that off as well.

With the paid version of the app you can also see the people that look at your profile which is kind of interesting so I see you seeing me you know 😉

So something I also like about Hellotalk are the Language options that the app offers. You can put in the age range of the people you want to talk to, if you want just girls to be able to find you if you’re a woman, where you can also hide your online status or even yourself. I have done that in the past because I receive so many messages and so I’ll hide myself for a week or a month and then that means no one new will be able to find me and I can focus on the conversations I have with the people I’ve met.

You can also take mini classes on the app which I’ve never done but it’s an option. And you can also join a group chat but in my experience they aren’t that active and so I choose usually to stay with the one-on-one setting because that’s how I learn.

Okay, that is a lot of information! It was a lot for me too! But it can be overwhelming to not know what’s going on with the app or how it works so I hope this helps you out.

Tandem Language Learning and Exchange app Advantages and Features

  1. FREE (with paid options for more features)
  2. Crazy Active Chats
  3. No wall for distracted scrolling
  4. Share what topic starters you want
  5. Messenger has similar features to HelloTalk
  6. Leave references for language exchange partners

I honestly first got on Tandem because I wanted to make this video for my channel. I was like that would be so interesting! But I actually ended up loving the app. I’m still on the app until they kicked me off. I’ve met some amazing people and Tandem as well is free but there is the option to pay twenty dollars a year to get the unlimited translations, which is worth it if you’re new with learning a language.

And something that was strange that I got from Tandem was they say you will receive an invitation to join within seven days and I was like what? But I got mine in like an hour and so I filled out and did my account and went to sleep and I woke up and I had 80 new messages all from Brazilians and I was like whoa this app is crazy!

“I woke up and I had 80 new messages on Tandem App, all from Brazilians and I was like whoa this app is crazy!”

There’s so many people trying to learn English on this app and other languages so good job you guys! On Tandem you can put up to 10 languages you’re trying to learn which I don’t recommend, that’s crazy!

But you can also post six photos and write about the topics you want to talk about and unlike Hellotalk, Tandem does not have the community wall to post to, but it is so active in the personal chats!

You can also send voice messages for as long as you want, links and photos but no videos. You can also do voice and video calls on Tandem just like Hellotalk. You can use the translate button only three times a day unless you paid, then it’s unlimited.

You can also find personal tutors on the app but you do have to pay for them and the cost depends on the tutor.

A cool thing that Tandem has that Hellotalk doesn’t have is leaving references for people. After a bit of a conversation Tandem gives you the option how was it to talk to this person? So that is a great feature to weed out people just there for hitting on you!

One of the hardest things for me is that I lose people in the chat. There’s no way to save them on the top but you can follow people on there to keep track of them. Once I lost all my messages on Tandem like except for the top ten. I don’t know what happened! I don’t know where the people went but they vanished forever. It was really sad and I never got them back.

Conclusion on HelloTalk vs Tandem

I have had success with learning languages on both apps. I still use both apps on a regular basis and I have met wonderful people on both apps. I actually personally met five Italians from Hellotalk in Italy last year and one Brazilian from Tandem that actually lives here in my city.

We met and we filmed a video together in Portuguese. It was so fun.

Verdict: HelloTalk

If I had to choose Tandem or Hellotalk I think it’s tough but I think I would say Hellotalk because of the community wall option. But like I said both apps really are pretty awesome so you can’t go wrong, just dive in and enjoy!

Don’t give up! DM me if they helped you, if you tried these language apps or even a better one also let me know! I always love to hear from you. 

Ciao, Tchau! 


Note: My point of view is from being an American, as an English speaker and also as a woman. An American guy would have a different view, people from other countries, they would have different views but I will give you my point of view and share with you from my experiences.

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Camille Hanson

Camille Hanson

Hi friends! I'm Camille. I create engaging American English content for ESL people around the world. When I am not creating videos, books or blogs, you will probably find me in a cafe somewhere around the world, studying my next target language or at home cooking up food for my family of five. Stick around, read some posts and learn some English with me :) Tchau, ciao! ~Camille

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