Novakid vs SpeakyKid: which is better for your child?

Novakid and SpeakyKid side by side

Facts from each company's website and terms, checked on 25 October 2026. Quotation marks show the company's own wording.

What you would pay, at the same lesson length

Both lessons last 25 minutes, so the price per lesson compares directly. The catch: Novakid publishes only "from" prices, and the real figure depends on plan length, frequency and teacher type. SpeakyKid's pages also show "from" prices, but its price is the same with every teacher, and the SpeakyKid figures below come from its public price data. All prices as shown on 25 October 2026.

* Our arithmetic: Novakid's lowest published US price per lesson × 4.33 or 8.67 lessons a month. Novakid's global page lists plans from $95 a month, so the actual entry price is likely higher than these minimums. Prices in other currencies differ: for example Novakid lists from €9 / €17 in the Netherlands, and SpeakyKid from €29.82 a month.

Teachers: who teaches your child

Novakid describes "3,900+ certified" teachers and a selective hiring process. It sells two teacher tiers: Standard teachers are non-native speakers with high English proficiency, and Premium teachers are native speakers, at roughly twice the price. In Novakid's public catalogue, most teachers on the first page were from the Philippines and labelled "near-native". Novakid chooses the trial teacher for you.

SpeakyKid's teachers come from See Guru and are approved for children. The catalogue is public and small (48 teachers), with first names, ratings, lessons given, the age bands each teacher works with, and certificates. Parents choose the trial teacher and can change teacher at any time.

What this means: if teacher choice matters to you, SpeakyKid gives you more of it. If you want a native speaker, Novakid lets you pay for that explicitly.

Curriculum and the lesson itself

Novakid follows a structured CEFR curriculum from Pre-A1 to B1 across six levels (from Pre-K at ages 4 to 5 up to level 5 for 14+), with lessons fully in English, movement-based activities for young children, a certificate at each level and, Novakid says, readiness for the Pre-A1 Starters exam (listening and speaking) by the end of level 2.

SpeakyKid tracks eight CEFR-based levels from Pre-A1 to B2+ and 4,339 words on an island map; the teacher marks topics as mastered. It does not prepare for exams or give certificates. Its strength is practice between lessons: short word games and a 3D island where the child finds words that Speaky says.

Commitment: how easy is it to stop?

This is the biggest practical difference. Novakid sells 3, 6 and 12-month plans that renew automatically. You can withdraw within 14 days of your first purchase, but after that the terms allow no early exit except where the law requires it, and unused lessons expire at the end of the term. SpeakyKid has a month-to-month plan that stops at the end of the paid month, alongside discounted 6 and 12-month courses; note that once you are in a course, its remaining monthly payments continue even if you turn off renewal.

Moving a lesson is easier with SpeakyKid (until 4 hours before) than with Novakid (8 hours before; group lessons cannot be cancelled).

Which one for your child?

Also worth a look

• Cambly Kids: 30-minute lessons with tutors it says are all native English speakers, kidSAFE certified; the trial costs $2 and unused weekly minutes expire. See Cambly Kids vs Novakid.
• Lingokids: a play app for ages 2 to 8, no teacher, from free. Good for first words, not for speaking.
• Tutor marketplaces such as Preply: many tutors list children as a speciality, but Preply's terms bar anyone under 13 from using it, and teens aged 13 to 17 may use it only with a parent's supervision.

How we compared

We read both companies' homepages, price pages, teacher pages, FAQs, terms and privacy policies on 25 October 2026, and rendered price widgets that load with JavaScript. We did not sign up for either service or take lessons, so this is a research-based comparison, not a hands-on test. Novakid's prices vary by country; we quote US prices unless stated. Novakid's "Membership" terms link returned an error on the day we checked, so we used its General Terms (updated 20 October 2026). Trustpilot data is a snapshot from the same day.

More on choosing: English for kids: a parent's guide · SpeakyKid profile · Novakid review · Lingokids vs Novakid