Comparison

FluentU vs Talkback City

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

FluentU

Learn languages through engaging, real-world videos like movie trailers and music clips. Interactive subtitles and vocabulary tools make comprehension and speaking natural. Connect with culture while mastering a new language.

Highlights
  • Interactive video lessons
  • Real-world content
  • Tap-to-translate subtitles
  • Vocabulary review tools
  • Bilingual dictionary
  • Cultural immersion
Features
Read full description

Start your 2-week free trial of FluentU now! Cancel anytime. Tired of boring language learning textbooks? FluentU brings languages to life with real-world interactive videos! Learn to read and speak Spanish, French, English, Mandarin Chinese, German, Japanese, Russian, Korean and Italian with FluentU. FluentU turns music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks into an amazing language learning experience. Experience an immersive education that teaches you to speak and comprehend new languages in a natural way. Now you can learn a new language while connecting with the culture. No matter what your skill level or interest, FluentU has you covered. FLUENTU FEATURES: LEARN A NEW LANGUAGE - Immerse yourself in a foreign language to understand how it’s used - Connect with the language through real-world videos - Quiz yourself on the vocabulary - Learn to speak the language instead of scripted phrases - Stay motivated to learn each day WATCH, LISTEN & LEARN - Put the textbooks away and learn from experience - Watch videos with subtitles and translations to learn the language - Tap on any word or phrase to learn its meaning - Add words to your vocabulary list for review - Listen to audio dialogues to gain an understanding of the language BILINGUAL DICTIONARY - Look up any word and see how it’s used in a sentence - Search content by title or grammar and vocabulary points AVAILABLE LANGUAGES: - Chinese (Mandarin) - English - French - German - Italian - Japanese - Korean - Russian - Spanish WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING "Great app. To my knowledge the best on the market. You created something unique and new!" - Felix Wedel "It is more helpful than any other tool I've used. I had been using podcasts before and trying to make flashcards, and that worked pretty well. But it ended up that I was spending more time making the flashcards than studying. FluentU really solves this." - David Brown "FluentU has quickly become one of my favorite language-learning tools. Great job on an aesthetically pleasing app and an incredibly functional one." - Justin Price "This concept in FluentU is amazing. It's such a great way to help you understand a spoken language and the way you break it down is amazing." - Demi Pradolin "This app is so fun and useful - the best Chinese language learning app I've ever used." - Richard Jun PLUS SUBSCRIPTION FluentU is available as a monthly ($29.99 for Plus) or yearly subscription ($239.99 for Plus). If you enjoy FluentU, do nothing and your membership will automatically continue for as long as you choose to remain a member. You can easily cancel anytime, online. Just sign up to get started! If you subscribe via iTunes: Payment will be charged to iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase. Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period. Account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period and identify the cost of the renewal. Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user's Account Settings after purchase. Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription to that publication, where applicable. Privacy policy: http://www.fluentu.com/privacy/ Terms of Use: http://www.fluentu.com/terms/

About

Talkback City

Practice real-life conversations with an AI tutor to improve speaking confidence and fluency in various languages. Get personalized feedback and grammar exercises to master practical communication skills.

Highlights
  • AI-guided pronunciation practice
  • Real-time speaking feedback
  • Grammar and vocabulary sessions
  • Personalized lessons for real-life scenarios
  • Role-play conversations with AI tutor
  • On-demand help and explanations
Features
Read full description

Explore Talkback City, a 3D world where you meet characters, take on challenges and talk your way through an ongoing story. To play the game, you'll need to use the language you're learning — asking questions, solving problems, ordering food, finding information and getting things done. Every conversation has a purpose. Every task moves you forward. ## A LANGUAGE-LEARNING RPG Explore the city, uncover the story and complete missions using your target language. Meet unusual characters. Discover new places. Find the things you need. Work out what to do next. ## LEARN BY DOING Language is a tool we use to do things. Talkback City gives you a reason to use your new language. You might need to order something from a café because the owner has an item you need. Ask someone for directions to find your next destination. Get information from a character to solve a problem. Instead of memorising phrases and hoping you'll remember them later, you use the language in meaningful situations as you explore. ## BUILT FOR REAL LANGUAGE LEARNING Talkback City is entertaining, but there's serious language learning behind the game. What you learn doesn't stay inside a lesson. You need to use it. Lessons introduce useful vocabulary and language through realistic tasks and conversations. Then, as you explore the city, you'll put that language into practice to solve problems, complete missions and move the story forward. The goal is to help you become better at the thing that really matters: actually communicating. ## LEARN FROM EVERY CONVERSATION Make mistakes. Get feedback. Try again. Talkback gives you real-time corrections and personalised feedback while you practise. You'll get help with: • Speaking and communication • Grammar and vocabulary • Pronunciation • Common mistakes • Useful words and expressions Then put what you've learned straight back into practice as you continue through the city. ## EXPLORE, TALK AND PROGRESS With Talkback City you can: • Explore an interactive 3D world • Follow an ongoing story • Complete missions and language challenges • Meet characters with their own personalities • Have AI-powered conversations • Practise realistic everyday situations • Get real-time corrections as you speak • Improve your pronunciation • Build vocabulary with interactive activities • Complete structured language lessons And expect some strange characters, unexpected situations and jokes along the way. ## MORE WAYS TO PRACTISE There's more to Talkback than the City. Create your own role-play scenarios based on situations that matter to you, practise conversations with an AI language tutor, or use the Language Lab to work on grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation. Whether you're learning for travel, work, study or simply because you want to speak another language, Talkback helps you practise actually using it. ## LEARN 26 LANGUAGES • English, including British and American English • Spanish • French • German • Italian • Portuguese • Dutch • Swedish • Danish • Norwegian • Welsh • Polish • Ukrainian • Russian • Greek • Turkish • Hebrew • Arabic • Hindi • Urdu • Swahili • Chinese • Japanese • Korean • Vietnamese • Thai ## WHAT USERS ARE SAYING “Really enjoying the app. It feels like a really natural way to learn and speak another language, mimicking real-life conversations.” — Jonnylaw86, App Store review Explore Talkback City and start using your new language today. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

FluentU4 screens
Talkback City4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Talkback City at 5.0 against FluentU's 4.3. Talkback City also leads on monetization model (free with in-app purchases vs subscription) and review sentiment (83% vs 56%). FluentU's advantage is ratings volume (2.8K vs 7). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. FluentU sells 12 in-app purchases, starting at $14.99 per month and Talkback City sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Talkback City holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: FluentU has 2.8K ratings behind it against 7, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 56% of FluentU's written reviews are positive against 83% of Talkback City's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

FluentU ships an update fortnightly, Talkback City every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
FluentU versus Talkback City: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFluentUTalkback City
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.3 (2.8K ratings)5.0 (7 ratings) — better
Positive reviews56.3% of reviews83.3% of reviews — better
Number of ratings2.8K — better7
Update frequencyFortnightlyEvery 10 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationSubscriptionFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.415.0.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size546 MB80 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperEnux Education LimitedLazyfish Digital Ltd

Customer experience

FluentU

All ratings2,790 ratings
Positive83.7%
Neutral4.1%
Negative12.2%
Written reviews1,067 reviews
Positive56.3%
Neutral9.0%
Negative34.7%

Talkback City

All ratings7 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive83.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative16.7%

Bugs and requests

FluentU

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • App crashes frequently
  • Subscription issues and unexpected charges
  • Syncing and login problems
  • Inconsistent performance across devices

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add more language options
  • Improve user interface and navigation
  • Provide better guidance and progression for learners
  • Enhance audio and speech recognition capabilities

Talkback City

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

12 purchases

FluentU

Subscriptions12
  • FluentU Plus14 Days trial$14.991 Month
  • FluentU Plus14 Days trial$17.991 Month
  • FluentU Plus14 Days trial$20.991 Month
Show 9 more
  • FluentU Plus14 Days trial$23.991 Month
  • FluentU Plus14 Days trial2 variants$29.991 Month
  • FluentU Super Monthly14 Days trial$39.991 Month
  • FluentU Plus14 Days trial$71.991 Year
  • FluentU Plus14 Days trial$95.991 Year
  • FluentU Plus14 Days trial$119.991 Year
  • FluentU Plus14 Days trial$139.991 Year
  • FluentU Super Annual14 Days trial$199.991 Year
  • FluentU Plus14 Days trial2 variants$239.991 Year
4 purchases

Talkback City

Subscriptions4
  • Personal Subscription$2.991 Month
  • Personal Subscription7 Days trial$4.991 Month
  • Personal Subscription7 Days trial$9.993 Months
Show 1 more
  • Personal Subscription7 Days trial$39.901 Year

Questions

Is FluentU free?
FluentU is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Talkback City free?
Talkback City is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, FluentU or Talkback City?
Talkback City is rated higher. FluentU averages 4.3 out of 5 from 2.8K ratings, while Talkback City averages 5.0 from 7 ratings.
Do FluentU or Talkback City have ads?
Neither FluentU nor Talkback City shows ads.
Which is updated more often, FluentU or Talkback City?
FluentU ships an update fortnightly, and Talkback City every 10 days. Most recently, FluentU was updated on October 26, 2026 and Talkback City on October 24, 2026.

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