Best apps

The best business English app for professionals in 2026

Updated: October 2, 2026

We make Typeflu, so weigh this accordingly. We checked every price on 2 October 2026, and we say plainly when another option is the better choice.

Business English is not one skill. You need to speak in meetings, understand fast calls with colleagues from other countries, and write emails that are clear and correct. No single app does all three well. Live teachers are still the fastest way to get comfortable speaking at work, while self-study apps are cheaper and better for steady listening and writing practice. Below we rank seven options by how well they serve a working adult, and we tell you who each one is really for.

The picks

1. 1 Lingoda

   Best for

   Professionals who need to speak in meetings and want a fixed timetable

   Price

   Business English about $79 for 4 classes or $199 for 12 a month; 7-day trial; varies by currency

   How you practise

   Live small-group classes with certified teachers

   Lingoda runs live online classes in small groups, organised by CEFR level, and it has a dedicated Business English track. You book classes in your calendar, a qualified teacher runs them, and you have to speak. That is exactly what most professionals avoid and most need. The structure also keeps you accountable: once a class is booked, you show up. The downsides are real. It costs more than any app here, the timetable can feel rigid when work gets busy, and classes are taught only in English, so true beginners will struggle. If you are around B1 and your goal is to stop freezing in meetings, Lingoda is the better choice than any self-study app, Typeflu included.
   Visit site: Lingoda ↗

2. 2 Preply

   Best for

   A regular one-to-one tutor who focuses on your job

   Price

   Tutors set their own rates, about $3 to $100+ an hour; English averages about $15 to $19; billed as a weekly subscription

   How you practise

   1:1 video lessons with a tutor you choose

   Preply is a tutor marketplace with many business English tutors, plus corporate plans. You pick a tutor, book a regular weekly slot, and work on exactly what your job needs: a presentation next Tuesday, a salary negotiation, an interview. A good tutor who knows your field is worth more than any app. Two warnings: billing is a weekly-lesson subscription, and some users complain about cancellations and refunds, so read the terms before you start. Quality also varies a lot from tutor to tutor, so try two or three before you commit.
   Visit site: Preply ↗

3. 3 italki

   Best for

   Flexible one-off lessons, including tutors who speak your language

   Price

   Community tutors about $4 to $15 an hour, professional teachers about $15 to $60; pay per lesson, no subscription

   How you practise

   1:1 video lessons, booked one at a time

   italki is the other big tutor marketplace, and its main advantage for busy professionals is that you pay per lesson with no subscription. Book a session before a big meeting, skip a week when work explodes, then come back. You can also filter for tutors who speak Arabic or Spanish, which helps at lower levels. As with Preply, quality depends on the tutor, and it gets expensive if you take several lessons a week. Choose italki over Preply if your schedule is unpredictable.
   Visit site: italki ↗

4. 4 Typeflu Made by us

   Best for

   Arabic-speaking professionals who need to understand calls and write accurate emails

   Price

   Free (first lesson of every unit); Pro €7.50 a month or €49 a year in Europe, local prices elsewhere, half price in many countries

   How you practise

   Listen to a real sentence, type it, fix mistakes letter by letter

   Typeflu is a dictation app: you hear a natural sentence, type what you hear word by word, and fix your mistakes letter by letter. For work, that trains two things meetings and emails depend on: catching fast speech, and spelling and grammar that hold up in writing. The English for Arabic speakers track includes English at work (A2: introductions, meetings, calls, email), a B1 course on job interviews and email, and a B2 course on arguments, linking words and formal register. Explanations come in Arabic, and mistakes are tagged by typical Arabic-speaker patterns such as missing a/the or is/are. The feature professionals like most: import your own text, such as a work email or an article from your industry, and get a private lesson with audio in about 30 seconds. Honest limits: there is no speaking practice or pronunciation scoring, no live teacher and no certificate. For Spanish speakers we only have an A1 basics course so far, so this pick is mainly for Arabic speakers.
   Try Typeflu free

5. 5 Busuu

   Best for

   A complete self-study course to C1, with an Arabic interface and certificates

   Price

   Free tier; Premium roughly $70 to $140 a year depending on plan and country

   How you practise

   Structured lessons, grammar, community corrections

   Busuu is a full general English course from A1 to C1, with grammar explanations, review and an Arabic interface. Its unique feature is community feedback: native speakers correct your written and spoken answers, which is useful practice for emails. Premium users can also get CEFR-aligned certificates with McGraw Hill, which Typeflu does not offer. Busuu is not a business English course as such, feedback can take hours or days, and some users report billing trouble. Pick Busuu over Typeflu if you want one structured course that takes you from basics to advanced and a certificate at the end. See our Typeflu vs Busuu comparison.
   Visit site: Busuu ↗

6. 6 ELSA Speak

   Best for

   Fixing your accent and specific sounds before presentations

   Price

   Free tier; Pro price varies a lot by country and store, check their site

   How you practise

   AI pronunciation scoring and role-play conversations

   ELSA scores your pronunciation sound by sound and adds AI role-plays. If colleagues often ask you to repeat yourself, ELSA targets exactly that, for example the p/b or v/f confusion that many Arabic speakers have. It is pronunciation only, though: it builds little listening, vocabulary or writing, and its pricing is hard to pin down. It works well next to a listening app like Typeflu, which has no speaking practice. Spanish speakers who want speaking confidence can also look at Speak (speak.com), an AI speaking tutor that launched in Latin America.
   Visit site: ELSA Speak ↗

7. 7 BBC Learning English

   Best for

   Free, natural listening practice at B1 and above

   Price

   Free

   How you practise

   Audio and video series with transcripts and quizzes

   BBC Learning English is free and includes English at Work, a drama series about office life, plus 6 Minute English and The English We Speak. Each episode has a transcript and vocabulary list, so it suits a coffee break or commute. It is not a structured path, there is no feedback, and beginners will find it hard. The British Council's free LearnEnglish site, which has a business English section and a free level test, is a good companion. Watch out for unofficial apps that copy the BBC names.
   Visit site: BBC Learning English ↗

At a glance

How we chose

We looked at what a working adult actually needs from business English and scored each option against it:

• Speaking in real situations: meetings, presentations, negotiations. Live teachers score highest here.
• Understanding fast, natural speech: calls, video meetings, accents.
• Writing accurately: emails and messages without grammar or spelling slips.
• Fit for a busy schedule: can you do it in 10 minutes, or skip a week without losing money?
• Cost and honesty of pricing: we used prices from official pages where possible and from 2026 price trackers otherwise. Prices vary by country, so treat them as a guide.
• Support in your own language: explanations in Arabic or Spanish matter below B2.

Which one should you pick?

• Pick Lingoda if your job depends on speaking in meetings and you can commit to a timetable.
• Pick Preply or italki if you want a tutor to prepare you for a specific interview, presentation or negotiation.
• Pick Typeflu if you are an Arabic speaker, you understand less than you want on calls, and your emails need to be more accurate. It is also a cheap daily routine to pair with a tutor.
• Pick Busuu if you want one structured course to C1 and a certificate.
• Pick BBC Learning English if your budget is zero and you are already around B1.

Who should skip Typeflu

Skip Typeflu if your main goal is speaking or pronunciation: we have no speaking practice and no pronunciation scoring. Skip it if your employer needs a certificate, or if you are a Spanish speaker looking for business content, since our English course for Spanish speakers is A1 only. Many professionals do best with a combination: one live lesson a week for speaking, plus 10 minutes a day of listening and typing for accuracy.

We checked every price and feature on this page on October 2, 2026. Prices change and can differ by country, so confirm on each app's own site before you pay.

Practise it

English at Work

English at work

Introductions, meetings, calls and email

A2 · 2 units · 8 lessons

Work Emails

Write Work Emails

From greeting to sign-off

B1 · 1 units · 4 lessons

Job Interview

Job Interview: Talk About Your Experience

Answer tough questions with confidence

B1 · 1 units · 2 lessons