Preply Review: Complaints and Praise About It

Preply has turned into one of the first names people mention when they search for an online tutor. The platform lists tutors for more than 50 languages, plus a handful of academic subjects, and lets you book a video lesson within a day of signing up.

That size cuts both ways. A huge tutor pool means more choice and more price points. It also means a support team handling millions of accounts, and a subscription billing system that a lot of reviewers say gets confusing fast.

This review pulls together what the platform actually offers, what real students and tutors say about it on Trustpilot, and where the rough edges tend to show up. The goal is a clear picture, not a sales pitch.

A short disclaimer: third-party review sites vary wildly in how they verify reviewers. For that reason, this article draws its user-sentiment sections only from Trustpilot, since Preply maintains an active, high-volume presence there and responds publicly to complaints.

Who Can Use Preply?

Ideal for:
Preply works well for adult learners who want live conversation practice on their own schedule rather than a fixed classroom time. 

Busy professionals learning for work, expats settling into a new country, and self-directed learners who already know roughly what they want from a tutor tend to get the most out of it. 

It also suits people who want to shop around, since browsing dozens of tutor profiles before committing is built into the experience.

Maybe a bad experience for:
Learners on a tight, fixed budget may find the paid trial lesson and subscription model frustrating, since there’s no free trial the way some competitors offer. 

People who dislike managing recurring subscriptions, or who want to book single lessons without a monthly commitment, often report friction. 

Complete beginners who need heavy hand-holding to pick a tutor may also feel overwhelmed by the sheer number of profiles.

Public Reviews About Preply

The gap between the app-store scores and the Trustpilot score is worth noting. App ratings tend to reflect whether the software itself works, while Trustpilot reviews lean more heavily on money and support experiences, which is where most of the friction in this review shows up.

User’s Opinion about Different Languages

Reviewers learning English, Spanish, and French tend to report the largest tutor pools and the easiest time finding someone available at short notice. Less commonly taught languages, such as Thai, Korean, or regional dialects, show up in reviews with a smaller selection and occasionally longer waits for a first available slot. 

Several tutors mention that demand skews heavily toward business English and exam preparation, which shapes what kind of lesson materials are easiest to find pre-made.

Good Teachers

Across dozens of Trustpilot reviews, the tutors themselves are consistently the strongest part of the Preply experience. Students frequently mention a specific teacher by name and describe lessons built around their actual goals rather than a generic textbook path. 

Tutors, for their part, often highlight steady student flow and a platform that gives them real visibility compared to freelancing alone.

Where reviews get more mixed is response speed from Preply’s own support team versus the tutors, who are usually praised for being quick and attentive even when the underlying platform frustrates users.

Complaints About Preply from Users

The praise for tutors sits alongside a steady stream of complaints about the business side of the platform. These cluster into a few repeat themes rather than one-off incidents.

Billing Complaints

Billing is, by a wide margin, the most common complaint category on Preply’s Trustpilot page. Recurring issues reported by users include:

• Being charged again after cancelling a subscription or pausing lessons, which several reviewers describe as a system delay rather than intentional
• Unused hours expiring at the end of the 28-day billing cycle instead of rolling over
• Duplicate charges caused by what reviewers describe as a checkout bug, sometimes followed by extra currency-conversion fees when the mistaken charge is refunded
• Confusion around the subscription model itself, since new learners are placed onto recurring monthly plans rather than a simple pay-per-lesson setup

Preply’s support team does reply publicly to most negative Trustpilot reviews with an apology and an invitation to use the live chat tool, and a number of reviewers confirm the issue got resolved once they escalated it that way. The pattern that frustrates people isn’t a lack of response. It’s that the charge happens first and the fix comes after.

Unnecessary Taxes

This is one area where the original source material for this review isn’t reliable enough to report as fact. The specific link provided for this section didn’t lead to a real, checkable review.

A search across Preply’s Trustpilot page turned up billing and currency-conversion complaints rather than a distinct pattern of complaints about tax being added unfairly. What is worth knowing, based on how cross-border subscription platforms generally operate: buyers outside the seller’s home country often see local VAT, GST, or sales tax added at checkout depending on where they’re billed from.

That’s typically a legal requirement on the seller, not a hidden markup, and it should appear as a separate line item on the receipt. If a charge looks off, checking the itemized invoice in your Preply account settings is the first step before assuming it’s an error.

Summary of Reviews

Put together, the pattern across Trustpilot is fairly consistent: tutors earn genuine praise, the app and website function well day to day, and the subscription billing system is where the platform loses goodwill.

Preply’s public replies suggest the company is aware of this and actively working support tickets, even if the underlying subscription structure hasn’t changed.

Can You Learn Languages Through Them?

Yes, and the format is one of Preply’s real strengths. Every lesson happens over live video with a real tutor, not a chatbot or pre-recorded course, so you get actual conversation practice and correction in the moment. Tutors can share screens, assign homework, and track a student’s progress lesson to lesson.

The catch is that outcomes depend heavily on tutor fit. A structured, experienced tutor will build a real curriculum around your goals. A newer or less organized one might rely more on open conversation with little plan behind it. 

Reading a tutor’s intro video and reviews before booking matters more on Preply than it does on platforms with a fixed, centrally designed curriculum.

In Which Things Preply Falls Short

• ❌ No free trial lesson. The first session is paid in full, unlike some competitors that offer a complimentary intro call.
• ❌ Subscription-first pricing can feel restrictive for learners who just want to try a handful of lessons without committing monthly.
• ❌ Unused hours typically don’t carry over past the 28-day cycle, so inconsistent schedules can mean paying for time you don’t use.
• ❌ Billing complaints, especially around cancellations and duplicate charges, appear often enough on Trustpilot to be a real pattern rather than a few isolated cases.
• ❌ Tutor quality varies more than on curated platforms, since anyone meeting basic requirements can apply to teach.

Reason Behind Preply Popularity

• ✅ A genuinely large tutor pool across 50+ languages, so most learners find someone available within their timezone and budget.
• ✅ Flexible scheduling that adapts to your calendar instead of a fixed class time.
• ✅ Strong, consistent praise for individual tutors across reviews, which is arguably the core product.
• ✅ A mobile app with high ratings on both major stores, so lessons and messaging work well on the go.
• ✅ Wide price range, from roughly $5 to $40 per hour depending on the tutor, which gives budget learners real options alongside premium ones.

Is Preply Worth Buying?

For someone who wants live, personalized conversation practice and is comfortable managing a subscription, Preply is generally worth it. The tutor quality, when you pick carefully, is the main thing people come back for, and the pricing range means you’re not locked into a premium-only product.

For someone who wants a simple, predictable pay-per-lesson setup with no billing complexity, it’s worth going in with clear eyes. Reading the cancellation and refund policy before your first payment, and setting a calendar reminder before your 28-day cycle renews, will avoid most of the complaints covered above.

Is It Free or Paid?

Creating an account and browsing tutor profiles is free. Booking lessons is not, and the first trial lesson is paid at the tutor’s set rate rather than offered free the way some competitors do it.

Ongoing lessons run through Preply’s monthly subscription tiers, based on how many hours per week you want to study, commonly ranging from one hour a week up to five or more. According to the vendor’s website, tutors set their own hourly rate, so total cost depends heavily on who you choose to work with.

What Preply Provides to Its Users

• Tutor marketplace — Browse and filter thousands of tutor profiles by price, availability, and specialty.
• Video classroom — A built-in virtual classroom for live lessons, with screen sharing and messaging.
• Intro videos and reviews — Watch a short video and read past student feedback before booking anyone.
• Flexible scheduling — Book lessons around your own calendar rather than a fixed class time.
• Vocabulary and practice tools — Extra exercises and AI-assisted practice to use between live lessons.
• Mobile app — Full booking, messaging, and lesson access from iOS or Android.
• Subject variety — Beyond languages, a smaller pool of tutors also covers academic and professional subjects.
• Multi-currency billing — Pay in your local currency, with conversion handled automatically at checkout.

Alternatives to Preply

italki — A pay-as-you-go marketplace covering 150+ languages, with no subscription required. It suits learners who want maximum language variety and don’t want to commit to a monthly plan.

Cambly — On-demand English conversation practice with native speakers, no advance booking needed. It’s a strong pick for casual speaking practice, but it only covers English and doesn’t offer a structured curriculum.

Lingoda — A more structured option with CEFR-aligned classes in English, German, French, Spanish, and Business English. Classes run on a fixed schedule rather than whenever you’re free, which suits learners who want built-in accountability.

Final Verdict

Preply earns its popularity honestly. The tutor pool is large and genuinely well reviewed.

The app works smoothly on both major platforms, and the flexibility to book around your own schedule is hard to beat among competitors. Learners who vet a tutor properly often get lesson quality that matches or beats a more rigid, centrally curated program.

Where it loses points is on the business side rather than the teaching side. Billing complaints, mainly around cancellations, duplicate charges, and expiring hours, show up often enough on Trustpilot to be a real pattern.

New users should read the subscription terms closely before their first payment. Go in aware of how the 28-day cycle works, and Preply becomes a much less risky choice.

Other Post: WeWard Review

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Preply legit?
Yes. It’s a real, established company operating since 2012 with a large, active user base, though like any subscription platform it draws billing complaints alongside genuine praise.

Does Preply offer a free trial?
No. The first lesson is paid at the tutor’s normal rate rather than offered as a free trial, which differs from some competitors.

Can I cancel my Preply subscription anytime?
Yes, subscriptions can be cancelled through account settings, though several reviewers recommend cancelling well before the next 28-day billing date to avoid an extra charge.

How much does Preply cost per lesson?
Rates are set by individual tutors and typically range from about $5 to $40 per hour, with $15–$25 being common for English lessons.

Is Preply better than italki?
Neither is universally better. Preply suits learners who want a subscription-based routine with a large, well-reviewed tutor pool, while italki suits learners who want pay-as-you-go flexibility and more total language options.