Conversation Exchange Alternatives: 6 Free Language Partner Sites

Conversation Exchange is one of the oldest language exchange sites. It has been running since 2005, and it helps you find a partner in three ways: face-to-face meetings with native speakers in your area, written correspondence as pen pals, or chat by text, voice or video. You search by the language you want and, if you like, by location. If you'd like something different, whether a phone app, events, or a partner who is online right now, here are six free alternatives, compared honestly.

Olu is an independent app, not affiliated with Conversation Exchange, Polyglot Club, MyLanguageExchange, Tandem, HelloTalk, Slowly or any app named here. Product names are used only for comparison. Features and plans of third-party sites change often; check each one yourself.

What Conversation Exchange does well

Any alternative should be measured against this:

• Free. You can use it without paying. It shows ads, and a paid membership removes them and the messaging limits.
• Meet in person. Few sites help you find a partner in your own city as directly.
• Three ways to practise. Face to face, letters, or online chat, so it suits different people.
• Language learning only. It asks members to use it strictly for language learning, which keeps the purpose clear.
• Free for students. It says members with a .edu email address can get its paid membership free.

Why people look for an alternative

• Waiting. You write to people and wait, and many messages get no answer.
• An older site. It's simple and built for a computer more than a phone.
• Chat happens elsewhere. For calls you often move to other software, which adds a step.
• Not everyone lives in a big city. Face-to-face partners depend on who is near you.

None of this means Conversation Exchange is bad. It means it's worth knowing what else exists.

1. Polyglot Club

Polyglot Club is a free language exchange community with more than a million members. You find partners for conversation and language exchange, and you can join events, online or in person, in cities around the world.

Best for: language exchange evenings and meeting groups of learners, not just one partner. Watch out for: events depend on your city. More in Polyglot Club alternatives.

2. MyLanguageExchange

A long-running website where you search for native speakers learning your language, by age, location and languages. You then write as pen pals or use its text and voice chat. It has a free profile and free lesson plans, and a Gold membership too, so check what's included before you pay.

Best for: the closest like-for-like swap, if you like to search and choose carefully. Watch out for: an older design and slow replies. See MyLanguageExchange alternatives.

3. Tandem

Tandem describes itself as an app where people teach each other. You chat by text, voice notes, audio or video calls, with correction and translation tools, and filter partners by language, location and interests. It says it reviews every application before you can start, which keeps the community more focused but means a short wait at sign-up.

Best for: calls on your phone, all inside one app. Watch out for: the review wait. See Tandem alternatives.

4. HelloTalk

HelloTalk is the biggest language exchange app. It says it has more than 70 million learners and over 260 languages. You chat by text, voice or video, with translation, transliteration, pronunciation help and corrections built into every chat.

Best for: reading and writing, especially in a new script. Watch out for: a busy feed and many unanswered first messages. More in HelloTalk alternatives.

5. Slowly

Slowly is a pen pal app where letters take hours or days to arrive, depending on the real distance between you. You can filter by language, and many members use it to practise. The free tier is generous.

Best for: if you liked Conversation Exchange's correspondence option and want long, thoughtful letters. Watch out for: you'll wait a day for each answer. See apps like Slowly.

6. Olu

Olu is a free, ad-free, text-only chat app. On its Language learners planet, you set the language you're learning and tap to take off. People who speak that language and are learning yours are matched with you first, then anyone else on the planet. You don't search profiles or wait for replies: the person you meet is online now.

Every message is translated both ways, and the original is always visible. The language you're practising shows big and the translation small, so you read the real sentence first. You can write in your own language at the start and switch line by line. If a chat goes well, add each other as friends.

Honest limits: Olu is text only, with no voice, video or correction tool, and it isn't for meeting in person. Its community is small, much smaller than Conversation Exchange, so at quiet hours you may not find a speaker of your language at once; when that happens you're told. AI chat partners exist only outside the planet, on a regular flight, and they're always labelled AI. It's for friendship and practice, not dating. Read more in language practice with native speakers.

Best for: beginners who want a real conversation today, in text, without writing the first line in a language they barely know.

Comparison table

	How you meet people	Online or in person	Text, voice, video	Cost model
Conversation Exchange	You search by language and location	Both	Letters, or chat with its tool or your own software	Free with ads; paid membership removes ads and limits
Polyglot Club	You browse members and join events	Both	Messages online; talk at events	Free to join; check the site for extras
MyLanguageExchange	You search members	Online	Pen pal email, text and voice chat	Free profile, plus a Gold membership
Tandem	You browse and message, after review	Online	Text, voice notes, audio and video calls	Free sign-up; Tandem Pro adds extras
HelloTalk	You browse and message	Online	Text, voice and video	Free to chat; HelloTalk VIP adds extras
Slowly	Match by interests and language	Online	Delayed letters	Generous free tier, paid extras
Olu (Language learners planet)	One tap, matched with an online member, exchange partners first	Online	Text only, translated both ways	Free, no ads

Which one to pick

• You want exchange events and groups: Polyglot Club.
• You want the same search-and-write model: MyLanguageExchange.
• You want calls on your phone: Tandem.
• You want writing tools and corrections: HelloTalk.
• You love writing letters and don't mind waiting: Slowly.
• You want a real person to text with right now, fully translated: Olu.

Whatever you pick, agree a 50/50 split of languages, ask for one correction per chat, and save three new phrases after each session. Our guide on how to find a language exchange partner online has more on keeping a partner, and language exchange websites compares the main sites. On any site, keep your address and full name to yourself with someone new, and never send money to a chat partner. More in our random chat safety tips.