italki Review

Friday, June 20th

2025 Chinese Lesson Reviews

italki

• Offers trial lessons starting at $7
• Connects you to over 1,000 real Chinese tutors for one-on-one video calls
• Provides both Professional Teachers and Community Tutors
• Allows for filtering tutors based on region, including mainland China and Taiwan
• Offers an option to find tutors who speak your native language
• Enables you to keep track of your preferred tutors with a favoriting system
• Offers a Language Challenge for quick language skill boost
• Provides Group Classes for 2-6 students online, focusing on special topics
• Offers a lesson time filter to accommodate your schedule
• Has a strong 4.6-star rating on Trustpilot

The language learning at italki is a bit different from the other services in our review, many of which are gamified apps that you navigate solo. italki, on the other hand, connects you to real Chinese tutors who can meet your learning needs at any level via one-on-one video calls.

2 types of tutors

Many italki tutors also provide study plans for you to follow on your own between sessions. On italki, you'll find two types of tutors: Professional Teachers and Community Tutors. Professional Teachers have teaching certificates and offer organized lessons. Community Tutors are not certified, but the quality of their lessons often matches that of Professional Teachers. Community Tutors speak the language natively or at advanced levels and offer casual tutoring and chat practice.

Over 1,000 Chinese tutors available

When you browse italki, you'll find plenty of filters to help you find the perfect tutor - which is great, because they had over 1,000 tutors listed at the time of our visit. You can specify the type of lesson you want, from general skills such as conversation practice, grammar, to more specialized areas like business Chinese and even prep for the HSK test.

You can filter for tutors from Taiwan

If English isn't your first language, no worries. italki lets you find tutors who speak your native language too. There's also the option to select tutors based on their region, including mainland China and Taiwan. If you're learning Chinese with the goal to work or study in Taiwan, opting for a tutor from Taiwan can expose you to the unique aspects of Taiwanese Mandarin from the get-go, including its pronunciation nuances and cultural contexts. This kind of immersive learning experience is something you just can't find in the typical gamified language learning apps.

Keep track of your favorites with hearts

While we wish italki had filters for ratings or how many lessons a tutor has completed, this information can still be found on each tutor's profile page. To keep track of your preferred tutors, simply click the heart on their profile to add them to your favorites. Each tutor's profile is packed with useful information, like rating scores, lesson and teaching style descriptions, credentials, and student feedback. In fact, many tutors even go the extra mile by introducing themselves through short videos.

Trial lessons starting at $7

italki is definitely a cost-effective option if you're looking to improve your Chinese, especially if you want to get better at speaking. The platform lets you try out lessons with different tutors at low prices to see if their teaching style works for you before committing to full-price lessons. These trial lessons usually cost between $7 and $15, which is a bargain - that's only a little more than you would pay to take your tutor out to coffee. The full price cost of lessons depends on which tutor you choose and what you want to learn. For example, a short 30-minute lesson for kids will have a different price than a long session focused on preparing for the HSK exam. italki shows the trial lesson price first when you're browsing - unfortunately, you'll need to take an extra step and click into the tutor's page to find out their regular prices for more lessons or packages.

Community Tutors are just as good as Professional Teachers

On italki, you can find Professional Teachers like Amelie, who has been teaching for over 10 years and offers a range of lesson packages, including a "Tailored Chinese Class" for all levels from A1 to C1, priced at $10.00+ with a 3% discount for packages. Amelie is known for her structured approach, covering everything from basic phonetics to practical conversation skills, and she boasts a perfect attendance record with 466 lessons given to 53 students. Then there's Kai Aoel, a Community Tutor with six years of experience, teaching students from around the globe. Despite not having a teaching certificate, Kai maintains a 5.0 rating across 2,325 lessons with 268 students - proving that you don't need to be certified to be an effective Chinese tutor. She offers "fun and relaxed” lessons that are customized to your goals, including a "Chinese for Specific Purposes" package starting at $19.50 for a 30 minute lesson.

Periodical Language Challenge offered

Join italki's Language Challenge to boost your language skills quickly. By signing up, you pick how many hours you want to study and start taking lessons. Depending on how many hours you achieve - from 12 to 24 - you can get different rewards like digital badges, certificates, and coupons for discounts on lessons. You can aim higher with your goals anytime, but you can't lower them. Don't worry if you don't meet your exact target; you'll get rewards for the closest goal you did achieve. Remember, trial lessons count towards your goal, but group classes don't.

Group Classes available

With italki Group Classes, you can learn with 2-6 students online, focusing on special topics like a Fried Dumpling cooking class or Learning Chinese Characters Through Pictures. These classes are a great way to practice speaking and listening with others from around the world. If you're looking for something more regular, Group Courses offer a series of classes on a single topic or general language skills, meeting weekly. This gives you consistent practice, a well-planned course, and the chance to make friends with your teacher and classmates. Just make sure the course fits your schedule, you're ready with Zoom, and you check out the class materials before starting.

Fit lessons into your schedule easily

If you're juggling multiple commitments, italki's lesson time filter can help you narrow down the list to tutors whose Chinese lessons fit into your schedule. Filter tutor availability by general days of the week, specific times of day, or by specific dates using a calendar date picker. For spur-of-the-moment study sessions, you also have the option to see tutors for Instant Lessons or lessons Within the next 72 Hours. If you've picked a tutor and you're ready to schedule a lesson, you can select a lesson duration ranging from 30 to 90 minutes.

Convenient calendar tool

Using italki's calendar tool, you can then choose your preferred date and time. The tool highlights available times in green, booked times with gray stripes, and unavailable times are grayed out. If none of the available slots work for you, you can always reach out to the teacher and request a time outside their current schedule. Just bear in mind that if your chosen teacher is based in China, you might need to adjust your schedule to accommodate time differences, possibly waking up early or staying up late for lessons.

You'll need an appropriate place to study

italki is a more personal way to learn languages, but it's not for everyone. If you feel shy or nervous in one-on-one instructional settings, italki's Chinese tutoring might be a bit much for you. Also, you need a good internet connection and an appropriate place to learn, so it's not great if you're thinking about studying at noisy cafes or where talking is discouraged, like the library or on public transport. But, if you like making new friends and are eager to learn, italki could be perfect. It's really good for keeping you accountable and helping you build relationships with native speakers.

italki tutors are committed to their work

Learners have shared glowing feedback about their experiences with italki tutors. One student said about Amelie, "She is so encouraging and enthusiastic, and it shines through in her engaging and fun-filled classes". Kai's teaching approach received praise too: "I think it's important to genuinely enjoy what you learn in order to progress and to also have a safe space to experiment and try out new vocabulary or grammar structures. Teacher Kai gives me this opportunity through what she has aptly named our ‘restful learning' sessions." The bottom line: italki tutors are committed to both their students and to the platform - many of these student reviews date back several years, so you don't need to worry about finding a tutor you love and then being left in the lurch. italki also has a strong 4.6-star rating on Trustpilot, with users saying great things about how easy it is to use the platform and find a good teacher, and how helpful italki's support team is.

We recommend them

italki gets our stamp of approval as an excellent way to improve your Chinese skills, especially if you're aiming to sound like a native speaker. If you're ready for one-on-one lessons tailored to your needs and enjoy connecting with your tutor, italki might just be the language learning platform you've been searching for. With a diverse selection of tutors, a supportive community, and positive feedback from fellow learners, we're confident that italki will help you progress in your language learning journey.