ELSA Speak

ELSA Speak is an AI English-speaking coach from ELSA Corp that listens to you speak and scores your pronunciation down to individual sounds. As of September 2026 it also offers AI role-play conversations, a Speech Analyzer for free speech, exam practice and new career coaches. It is one of the most focused pronunciation tools available, but it teaches only English and has no Arabic interface.

Last updated: September 2026

What is ELSA Speak?

ELSA Corp was founded in 2016 by CEO Vu Van and co-founder Dr. Xavier Anguera, a speech recognition specialist. Business Wire describes the company as San Francisco-based, and TechCrunch reported offices in San Francisco, Lisbon and Ho Chi Minh City. ELSA’s about page says Akshaya Aradhya joined as CTO in 2025.

In September 2023 ELSA raised a $23 million Series C led by UOB Venture Management, bringing total funding to about $60 million, according to TechCrunch. Returning investors in that round included Gradient Ventures (Google’s AI fund), Monk’s Hill Ventures, Globant Ventures and Vietnam Investments Group, according to Business Wire. At the time, TechCrunch reported the Middle East and Turkey among ELSA’s expansion targets.

The product started as a pronunciation trainer and has since added generative AI. The app is sold in tiers: Pro for core pronunciation, Premium for the AI tools, and Professional, introduced on 17 September 2026, for workplace coaching. Separate products serve companies (ELSA Business), schools (ELSA Schools) and developers (ELSA API).

Key features of ELSA Speak

Pronunciation scoring and the Pronunciation Coach

ELSA’s core feature is short speaking exercises: you say a word or sentence and the app marks which sounds you got right or wrong and shows how to fix them. ELSA’s help center lists the Pronunciation Coach and topic lessons as the heart of the Pro plan. The app store listings mention 8,000+ lessons covering pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary.

ELSA AI role-play and conversation practice

ELSA AI lets you pick a scenario, or describe your own, and hold a spoken conversation with an AI partner. When the conversation ends, ELSA says the AI “turns into an English tutor” and gives detailed feedback. The 2023 launch announcement listed feedback on pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, intonation and rhythm.

• Recommended scenarios or custom situations you write yourself
• Post-conversation feedback on how you spoke, not just what you said
• A bilingual AI tutor aimed at beginners (ELSA does not document Arabic for it)

Speech Analyzer

Speech Analyzer grades free, unscripted speech rather than set sentences. According to ELSA, it measures five things:

• Pronunciation: mispronounced sounds
• Intonation: stress on the right keywords
• Fluency: hesitations and filler words such as “umm”
• Grammar: the structures you use
• Vocabulary: your range against CEFR levels

ELSA previewed an in-app Speech Analyzer in May 2026. A browser version is available at speechanalyzer.elsaspeak.com.

IELTS, TOEFL, TOEIC and other exam prep

The App Store listing mentions targeted practice for IELTS, TOEFL, TOEIC, EIKEN and CEFR. ELSA’s Lifetime Premium offer page also lists certificate courses for Oxford, Pearson PTE and the U.S. Citizenship test. The focus is the speaking section.

Accent choice

According to the app store listings, you can train toward American, British or Australian English. This matters if you are preparing for a UK-based exam or working with a team in a particular country.

ELSA Professional career coaches

ELSA Professional adds AI coaches for specific workplace situations: Interview, Meeting, Public Speaking, Presentation and Sales. The App Store release notes for version 9.2.0 add Leadership, Conflict Management and Negotiation coaches. Each coach runs realistic practice with instant feedback. The plan includes a 7-day free trial, and ELSA says no credit card is needed.

Personalized path and daily tasks

The app builds a learning path from your level, goals and accent, and a daily Today’s Task feature, announced in July 2026, shows what to practice each day. Because lessons are generated from your own results, ELSA warns against sharing accounts.

Benefits of using ELSA Speak

• Precise pronunciation feedback: it points to the exact sound you got wrong and shows how to fix it.
• Low-pressure practice: you can repeat a hard sentence or role-play as often as you like before a real interview or meeting.
• One app for several goals: accent training, exam speaking practice and workplace role-play in the same place.
• Short sessions: bite-sized lessons fit into a commute or a coffee break.
• Team options: companies and schools get dashboards and progress reports.

ELSA Speak use cases by role

• Job seekers: the Interview Coach and role-plays help you rehearse answers and hear where your speech breaks down.
• Professionals in international teams: the Meeting, Presentation and Sales coaches for people who use English at work every day.
• Exam candidates: IELTS, TOEFL and TOEIC speaking practice, with Speech Analyzer feedback on fluency and vocabulary.
• Students and schools: ELSA Schools gives teachers an admin dashboard, student progress reports and SSO/SAML sign-in.
• HR and L&D teams: ELSA Business runs team-wide English training with an admin dashboard and progress reporting and, on Enterprise, SSO/SAML and LMS integration.
• Developers: the ELSA API brings ELSA’s speech assessment into other products.

How much does ELSA Speak cost?

ELSA does not publish a public price list for individuals. Its plan page offers a 7-day free trial, and prices depend on your country, the App Store or Google Play, and current promotions. The table shows prices we could confirm as of September 2026, in USD. Check the price in your own store before you subscribe.

The US App Store also lists a $19.99 monthly option, other one-year options from $71.00 to $129.99 and three-month options at $39.99 and $52.00, without naming the plan. That spread shows how much prices vary by plan and promotion. ELSA’s Vietnamese site confirms that Pro and Premium are sold monthly, quarterly, yearly and lifetime, priced in local currency. ELSA’s help center notes that you cannot upgrade a plan bought on the web directly yet.

ELSA Speak pros and cons

Pros

• Detailed feedback on individual sounds, stress and intonation
• AI role-play with feedback after each conversation, including custom scenarios
• Speech Analyzer scores free speech against CEFR vocabulary levels
• Choice of American, British or Australian accent
• Clear per-seat price for small teams ($342 per user per year)
• 7-day free trials for Premium and Professional

Cons

• English only, with no Arabic interface or explanations
• Opaque individual pricing that changes by country, store and promotion
• The most useful AI features sit behind Premium or Professional
• Built for mobile: 3 devices per account, one session at a time
• Records your voice. The App Store privacy label lists audio data among the data collected
• Automated scores are useful practice, not official exam predictions

How to use ELSA Speak

1. Install ELSA Speak from the App Store or Google Play and create an account.
2. Set your goal (work, exams or everyday talk) and target accent so the app can build your learning path.
3. Follow the daily plan in Today’s Task and repeat flagged words until your score improves.
4. Start the 7-day Premium trial to try ELSA AI role-plays. Pick a scenario or describe one, such as a salary negotiation or an IELTS Part 2 topic.
5. Record a one- to two-minute answer in Speech Analyzer and review your fluency, grammar and vocabulary scores.
6. Before a big event, rehearse with the matching Professional coach (Interview, Meeting or Presentation).
7. If you decide not to keep a paid plan, cancel the trial in the store you subscribed through (Apple, Google or elsaspeak.com) before it renews.

ELSA Speak alternatives

• Speak: pick it for tutor-style English conversation practice. It also teaches Spanish, French, Korean, Japanese, Italian and Mandarin to English speakers, and is backed by the OpenAI Startup Fund.
• Praktika: pick it for AI avatar tutors with gentle corrections and guidance in your native language.
• Loora: pick it for open-ended English conversation across business, interview and everyday topics, with feedback on pronunciation and grammar, on mobile or the web.
• Duolingo Max: pick it for a broad gamified course with Video Call practice with the AI character Lily.
• ChatGPT: pick it for free-form spoken practice in ChatGPT Voice on mobile, web and desktop, if you don’t need sound-by-sound scoring.

Frequently asked questions

Is ELSA Speak free?

Yes, there is a free tier, but it is limited. ELSA's Vietnamese plan comparison (last updated June 2025) describes it as including 3 ELSA AI trials and 30 minutes of Speech Analyzer. Unlimited AI role-play, Speech Analyzer and courses require ELSA Premium, which ELSA offers with a 7-day free trial.

How much does ELSA Speak cost?

ELSA does not publish one global price list for individuals, and prices vary by country and store. As of September 2026, the US App Store lists 1 Year ELSA Premium at $99.99 and 3 months at $47.99, plus a $19.99 monthly option. For companies, the Team plan costs $342 per user per year for 2 to 49 users.

What is the difference between ELSA Pro and ELSA Premium?

According to ELSA's help center (updated August 2026), Pro covers core pronunciation training: the Pronunciation Coach and topic lessons. Premium adds the generative AI tools: Language Coach, AI Roleplays, Conversation Coach, Speech Analyzer and courses. ELSA Professional sits above both and adds career coaches for interviews, meetings, presentations, public speaking and sales.

Does ELSA Speak support Arabic?

No, not as of September 2026. ELSA teaches English only. Its help center (updated July 2026) lists the app's display languages as Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), English, French, German, Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese (Brazil), Spanish, Thai, Turkish and Vietnamese. Arabic is not a display language or a mother-tongue option for translations, so Arabic speakers use the app in English or another listed language.

Can ELSA Speak help with IELTS or TOEFL?

Yes, for the speaking part. The app store listings mention targeted practice for IELTS, TOEFL, TOEIC, EIKEN and CEFR, and a Lifetime Premium offer page also lists Pearson PTE and Oxford courses. Speech Analyzer scores pronunciation, intonation, fluency, grammar and vocabulary, with vocabulary measured against CEFR. It is practice software, not an official test or a guaranteed score predictor.

Does ELSA Speak work on a computer?

The main ELSA Speak app runs on iPhone, iPad and Android, and the App Store also lists Apple Vision. ELSA's help center says one account works on up to 3 mobile devices, one at a time. Speech Analyzer has a browser version at speechanalyzer.elsaspeak.com, but the full lesson library and AI coaches are built for mobile.

Is ELSA Speak worth it?

It is worth it if your main problem is being understood when you speak English, because pronunciation feedback down to individual sounds is where ELSA is strongest. If you mainly need grammar, reading or writing, or want to learn another language, a general tutor such as ChatGPT or a course app such as Duolingo will cover more ground for the money.

Verdict

ELSA Speak is one of the strongest choices in September 2026 for sounding clearer in English. Its sound-by-sound scoring, AI role-play and Speech Analyzer are built specifically for pronunciation, unlike general-purpose chatbots. Premium is the plan most learners need. Try it free for 7 days and compare prices in your own store first. Arabic speakers should note that the app has no Arabic interface.

Sources

• About ELSA: company, team and funding history
• ELSA Speak homepage: products for individuals, business and schools
• ELSA plans for individuals (7-day free trial)
• ELSA pricing for organizations: Team, Enterprise and Schools
• Choosing the right ELSA plan: Pro vs. Premium vs. Professional (ELSA Help Center)
• Can I learn languages other than English with ELSA? (ELSA Help Center)
• ELSA Speak Help Center (cancelling Apple, Google and web subscriptions)
• Change display languages and translation (ELSA Help Center)
• Using ELSA on multiple devices (ELSA Help Center)
• ELSA Professional: AI coaches for work
• ELSA news and events
• ELSA Speech Analyzer
• ELSA AI: your personal English AI tutor
• Lifetime ELSA Premium offer (ELSA)
• ELSA Premium vs ELSA Pro vs ELSA Free (ELSA Vietnam, in Vietnamese)
• ELSA Speak on the US App Store
• ELSA Speak on Google Play
• Leading language app ELSA raises $23M C round, launches ELSA AI Tutor (Business Wire)
• ELSA Series C (TechCrunch)
• Language learning app ELSA raises $23mln in Series C round (VnEconomy)
• Speak: AI language learning app
• Praktika: AI language tutors
• Loora: AI English tutor
• Introducing Video Call with Lily (Duolingo blog)
• ChatGPT Voice FAQ (OpenAI Help Center)