Lin Says vs Duolingo, Speak and ChatGPT for speaking English
Lin Says is a free site for practising spoken English with short animated scenes, word-by-word feedback and an AI role-play partner, with no sign-up. Here is how it compares with the apps people usually try for speaking practice.
| Lin Says | Duolingo | Speak | ChatGPT voice | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free, no account | Free tier; AI video calls are in paid plans (Super/Max) | Subscription; US App Store: Premium $17.99/month | General assistant, free and paid plans |
| What you practise | Real-life scenes (café, airport, work), each a ~40 s animation, then your own role-play | Courses in many languages; speaking is one part | Speaking-first lessons and AI conversations | Whatever you ask for; no lessons |
| Feedback | Word by word on each line you say, with a tip per missed word | Within lessons and after calls | Speaking feedback in lessons | Only if you ask it to correct you |
| Memory | Lin remembers your goal, level and the words you miss, and you can read and edit it | Video Call remembers past calls | Personalised lessons in paid plans | General chat memory |
| Sign-up | Not needed | Account | Account; free trial needs a payment method | Account |
Competitor details as of November 2026, from Duolingo's shareholder letters (sec.gov) and Speak's App Store page and help centre. Prices change; check their sites.
Which one to use
- Pick Lin Says if you want to say real-life English out loud today, for free, one situation at a time, and see which words didn't come through.
- Pick Duolingo if you want a long daily habit across reading, listening and grammar, in many languages.
- Pick Speak if you want a paid, structured speaking course on your phone.
- Pick ChatGPT if you just want open conversation and can steer it yourself.
Quick answers
Is Lin Says a free alternative to Speak?
For spoken practice in real-life situations, yes: shadowing with word-by-word feedback and AI role-play are free and need no account. Speak is a paid app with a structured course.
Is Lin Says a Duolingo alternative?
For speaking, yes. Lin Says only does spoken English in everyday scenes; it has no grammar course, streaks or other languages.
Why not just talk to ChatGPT?
You can. Lin adds what an open chat doesn't give you: a scene to start from, the lines to shadow, a word-by-word check of what you said, and a memory of the words you miss.
What does Lin Says not do?
It doesn't test or certify a level, gives no exam scores, and its pronunciation feedback is word-level, not phoneme-level.