Written and checked by The Sada Team · How we check

Speechling and Sada, compared honestly

Speechling is a nonprofit speaking platform where human coaches correct your recordings, with a free plan and paid unlimited coaching. Sada lets you shadow any captioned YouTube video you choose, free with no account, and checks recognised words and timing on your device; it has no human coaches and does not grade individual sounds.

Try one line nowListen to one short line, record your take, then play it beside the original. Free, with no account.

Last checked: 30 September 2026. Prices and limits change; confirm them on the tool’s own site or in your country’s store.

Is Speechling free?

Partly, and its own pages are not clear about English. Its pricing page lists the free plan as including “Access to our entire curriculum”, “Side by side comparisons of your voice and native voice” and a mobile app for Android and iOS, and it says the free plan comes with “Up to 10 coaching sessions per month, except English, French, Chinese and German.” That sentence does not say what English learners get, so we quote it and give no number for English. Its App Store listing separately says the free version lets you share 10 recordings a month; we cannot tell from these pages whether that applies to English. Check the current wording on its pricing page before you rely on it.

The paid plan is called Speechling Unlimited, described as unlimited one-to-one coaching, with plans from $19.99 a month on its pricing page. The App Store lists premium coaching at $30 a month (US store, 30 September 2026). Its pricing page also mentions a percentage-off promotion without giving the percentage. Speechling describes itself as a 501(c)(3) educational nonprofit based in California, and its pricing page says the free plan does not ask for a credit card.

Speechling vs Sada

Compared on	Speechling	Sada
Price	Free plan; paid coaching from $19.99 a month (pricing page) or $30 a month (App Store)	Free, no paid plan
Who gives feedback	Human coaches, described as “certified pronunciation coaches”, who correct pronunciation, intonation, rhythm, grammar and word choice; replies within 24 hours	No person: an instant word and timing check on your device, then you compare by ear. A free coach gives one tip on the missed word, only when you tap: 3 a day, or 30 with a free account
What you practise	Its own curriculum and sentence collection, with recordings by professional voice talent; use of your own YouTube videos: not stated on the pages we read	Any YouTube video with usable captions, or a pasted transcript, SRT or VTT file; a library of famous talks by level
Free English coaching	Pricing page: “Up to 10 coaching sessions per month, except English, French, Chinese and German.” English allowance: not clear from that sentence	Not applicable: no human coaches
Account	Sign in with Facebook, Google or Apple, or sign up with email; whether you can practise without one: not stated	Not needed
Your voice	Not stated on the pages we read; a recording sent for coaching is heard by a coach	Recognised on your device; recordings are not uploaded
Where	Website, iPhone, iPad and Android apps	Any modern browser, phone or computer; no store app
Arabic interface	Arabic is not among the languages on its App Store listing; the site’s own interface languages: not stated	Yes

When Speechling is the better choice

If you want a person to tell you what is wrong, Speechling is the better choice, and Sada cannot replace it. A coach can judge naturalness, intonation, rhythm and word choice, which an on-device word check cannot. If you are willing to wait for the reply, and to pay for unlimited coaching once the free allowance runs out, that is what Speechling is for. It is also a nonprofit, which is worth weighing for itself.

When Sada is the better choice

If you want to practise now, on a video you chose, with no account, no waiting for a reply and no upload of your recording, Sada is built for that. It shows which words of a line were recognised or missed and how your timing compares with the speaker’s, then lets you play your take beside the original. It does not grade individual sounds, and it gives no human opinion. How to shadow a YouTube video.

Using both

For many learners the honest answer is both: use Sada for daily, instant repetitions on real speech, and send a few of your best takes to a Speechling coach for the human judgement Sada cannot give.

Try Sada on one line

Open the free recording exercise

The exercise opens on one short, slow line at 02:20.0: “You don't need to speak fast.” Listen to it, record your version, then open Compare and play your take beside the original.

Free, with no account and no paid plan. Recordings stay on your device.

Three real lines to try, on Sada or with a coach

“I worked and worked, and I got lucky, and worked, and got lucky, and worked.”
Amy Cuddy · 17:02 · Practise this line →
A line built on repeated phrases, so its rhythm carries the meaning. Say it, then send the same line to a coach if you use Speechling, and compare what you hear yourself with what a person tells you.

“There's nothing wrong with a bit of silence in a talk, is there?”
Julian Treasure · 6:34 · Practise this line →
It ends in a tag question. Word feedback tells you whether each word came across; whether “is there?” goes up or down you judge by ear, or ask a coach.

“The honest answer is, I don't know.”
Angela Lee Duckworth · 4:27 · Practise this line →
Seven short words, with the stress on “honest” and “know”. Record it and listen for whether your stress falls where the speaker’s does.

Other comparisons

Sources

Checked 30 September 2026: Speechling pricing (free plan, coaching allowance, paid plan), speechling.com (coaches, feedback, nonprofit status, sign-in options), Speechling on the App Store (in-app price, recordings a month, languages). Prices and limits change; check the tool’s own site or your own store.

Practise one line, step by step

Open an exercise from this guide. Choose a captioned video and a line whose meaning you understand.
Listen and read the caption, then say the line after the speaker in Repeat mode.
Try saying the line with the speaker in Shadow mode, following the rhythm and pauses.
Record a take, then open Compare and play your recording and the original. Review words and timing; Sada does not grade individual sounds.
Repeat the line while focusing on one difference you heard, then move to another line.

Questions people ask

Is Speechling free?

Partly. Its pricing page lists a free plan with its whole curriculum, side-by-side voice comparison and a mobile app, and “Up to 10 coaching sessions per month, except English, French, Chinese and German.” What that means for English is not clear from the sentence, so we give no number. Unlimited coaching is a paid plan from $19.99 a month.

Does Speechling use real people?

Yes. Its site describes certified pronunciation coaches who correct pronunciation, intonation, rhythm, grammar and word choice, with feedback within 24 hours. Sada has no human coaches; it checks words and timing on your device, and its free coach gives one tip on a missed word when you tap.

Does Speechling need an account?

It offers sign-in with Facebook, Google or Apple, or sign-up with email. Whether you can practise without one is not stated on the pages we read. Sada needs no account.

Can I get human feedback on Sada?

No. Sada shows which words were recognised or missed and how your timing compares with the speaker. It does not grade individual sounds and has no human review.

Does either work in Arabic?

Sada has an Arabic interface. Arabic is not among the languages on Speechling’s App Store listing, and its site’s own interface languages are not stated.

Start practising