LiveXP Shut Down: italki Is the Best Replacement (2026)
LiveXP was a popular subscription-based tutoring platform for years. In March 2025, it shut down after nearly a decade, leaving its students looking for a new home.
This guide explains what happened to LiveXP, what it cost, and how italki compares as the best replacement for live one-on-one English lessons. Our comparison is based on LiveXP's published historical pricing and italki's official pricing and features. For the full story on the platform, read our LiveXP retrospective review and our italki review.
Important: LiveXP closed in March 2025
LiveXP is no longer accepting students or bookings. Any article that still presents it as an active service is outdated. This page is a retrospective and replacement guide: we compare what LiveXP offered with the platforms you can actually join today.
On This Page
Our Verdict
italki is the best replacement
Best for
Former LiveXP students on a budget
Runner-up
Cambly for fixed monthly plans
italki gives you a much larger tutor pool, lower prices, no subscription, and no platform fee on top of the tutor rate. It is the closest overall match to what LiveXP offered, minus the monthly commitment.
Start with italki from $5/hourWe may earn a commission when you sign up through our links, at no extra cost to you. Our reviews are based on real research and are never influenced by compensation. Learn more.
Side-by-Side Comparison Table
The short version first. Full details follow below.
| Feature | LiveXP (closed 2025) | italki (active) |
|---|---|---|
| Status | Shut down in March 2025 | Active, accepting new students |
| Pricing model | Monthly subscription | Pay per lesson |
| Typical price | About $11 to $15 per 50-min lesson | $5 to $40 per hour |
| Lesson length | Fixed 50 minutes | 30, 45, 60, or 90 minutes |
| Tutor pool | Smaller, native or near-native | More than 30,000 tutors |
| Trial policy | Discounted trial lesson | Discounted 30-min trials, $1 to $10 |
| Multi-language | One plan, many languages | Separate bookings per language |
| Platform fee | Included in subscription | None added to tutor rate |
What Happened to LiveXP
LiveXP was a subscription-based language tutoring platform founded in 2015. Students paid one monthly fee for a fixed number of 50-minute lessons with native-speaking tutors, and they could switch between languages without changing plans. The company announced its closure in March 2025 and ceased operations shortly after.
LiveXP never published a detailed reason for shutting down. The likely picture is market pressure: platforms like italki and Preply offer far larger tutor pools at lower per-lesson prices, and the subscription model made LiveXP less attractive to budget-conscious learners. Whatever the exact cause, the result is the same for students: LiveXP is gone, and the practical question today is which active platform to move to.
Pricing Compared
LiveXP charged a monthly subscription. italki charges per lesson. Here is how the numbers lined up.
LiveXP historical pricing
At the time of closure, LiveXP offered four subscription plans. The more lessons you bought, the cheaper each lesson became.
| Plan | Lessons per month | Monthly price | Per lesson |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | 4 | $59 | About $14.75 |
| Standard | 8 | $99 | About $12.38 |
| Premium | 12 | $139 | About $11.58 |
| Intensive | 20 | $219 | About $10.95 |
Historical rates before closure in March 2025, from our archival LiveXP review. No longer available to buy.
italki pricing
italki has the widest price range of any tutoring marketplace. Community tutors charge about $5 to $15 per hour, and professional teachers about $10 to $40 per hour. There is no subscription and no platform fee added on top of the tutor rate, so the price you see is close to the price you pay.
Bottom line on price: italki wins for most budgets. Even LiveXP's cheapest per-lesson rate ($10.95 on the Intensive plan) sits above what many italki community tutors charge per hour, and italki has no monthly commitment.
Try italki instead of LiveXP
More than 30,000 tutors, pay only for the lessons you book, and discounted trial lessons from about $1.
Find an italki TutorTutor Quality Compared
Teacher quality is the heart of any tutoring platform. Here is how the two compare.
LiveXP (historical)
LiveXP vetted every tutor before they could teach. Tutors had to submit their qualifications, teaching experience, and a video introduction, and the platform required native or near-native speakers for each language. Profiles showed experience, teaching style, student reviews, and availability. The tutor pool was smaller than the big marketplaces, which meant less choice but a consistent quality bar.
italki
italki splits teachers into two clear tiers. Community tutors focus on relaxed conversation practice, and professional teachers hold certifications and usually teach structured lessons. With more than 30,000 tutors across 150+ languages, you can compare credentials, watch intro videos, and read verified reviews before booking. Quality varies more across such a large pool, which is exactly why trial lessons matter.
Booking and Lesson Flexibility
LiveXP booked 50-minute lessons and let you schedule up to 30 days ahead, with free rescheduling up to 24 hours before the lesson. A built-in dashboard tracked vocabulary and lesson materials.
italki is more flexible. You choose 30, 45, 60, or 90-minute lessons, book around any teacher's calendar, and pay only for what you use. You buy lesson credits in advance, and unused credits stay on your account. Cancellation rules are set by each teacher, usually 12 to 24 hours, so check the profile before booking.
Who Wins: Budget Learners
italki, clearly. Community tutors from $5 per hour beat LiveXP's $10.95 to $14.75 per lesson, and there is no subscription forcing you to pay for lessons you may not use. If you want to study a little each month for the lowest possible cost, italki is the strongest choice.
Who Wins: Subscription Fans
If you liked the predictability of LiveXP's monthly plan, Cambly is the closest fit. Cambly offers fixed monthly and annual plans focused on unlimited English conversation practice, with 30-minute and 60-minute lesson options. You trade LiveXP's multi-language support for a single language with unlimited speaking time. See our Cambly review for details.
Who Wins: Multi-Language Learners
LiveXP had the edge here by design: one subscription covered English, Spanish, French, German, and 10+ other languages in the same month. italki covers 150+ languages from one account, but you book and pay per language rather than per plan. You get far more choice, though you manage separate bookings. For a serious multi-language learner, italki still wins on flexibility and cost.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is LiveXP still operating?
No. LiveXP shut down in March 2025 after nearly a decade. It no longer accepts new students or bookings, and existing accounts are no longer active.
What happened to LiveXP?
LiveXP was founded in 2015 and ran as a subscription-based tutoring platform for nearly a decade. In March 2025 it announced its closure, stopped accepting new students and bookings, and shut down. Anyone searching for LiveXP today needs a replacement service.
What did LiveXP cost before it closed?
Plans ran from about $59 per month for 4 lessons (about $14.75 each) up to $219 per month for 20 lessons (about $10.95 each). Each lesson lasted 50 minutes.
What is the best alternative to LiveXP?
italki is the best replacement for most learners: more than 30,000 tutors, pay-per-lesson pricing from about $5 per hour, no subscription, and no platform fee. Preply and Cambly are also solid options.
Is italki cheaper than LiveXP was?
Usually yes. LiveXP worked out to about $11 to $15 per 50-minute lesson. italki community tutors charge about $5 to $15 per hour with no subscription and no platform fee.
Does italki offer trial lessons?
Yes. Most italki teachers offer discounted 30-minute trial lessons, usually $1 to $10, so you can test a teacher's style before committing.
Which is better for learning multiple languages, LiveXP or italki?
LiveXP covered many languages on one subscription. italki covers 150+ languages from one account with separate bookings per language, giving you more choice at a lower cost.
Ready to move on from LiveXP?
Browse 30,000+ tutors on italki, book a discounted trial lesson, and pay only for the lessons you take.
Try italki TodayWe may earn a commission when you sign up through our links, at no extra cost to you. Our reviews are based on real research and are never influenced by compensation. Learn more.