Preply, the human-led, AI-enabled language learning platform, has crossed a significant threshold: its global tutor network has surpassed 150,000 tutors, marking a 50% jump from its previous milestone of 100,000. The announcement, made on October 1, 2026, arrives alongside new independent research that makes a compelling case for why human instruction still holds a meaningful edge over self-guided app learning.
The Research Behind the Milestone
The study was independently designed and conducted by Leanlab Education, a nonprofit research organization. It followed 113 Spanish-speaking adults learning English through two consecutive phases: 12 weeks using a popular self-guided app, followed by 12 weeks of one-to-one lessons with a Preply tutor. The results leaned heavily in one direction.
After completing both phases, 90% of participants said Preply was more motivating, nine times as many as those who favored the app or found the two equally motivating. Some 92% described the Preply experience as more personalized, with 82% calling it “much more personalized.” Nearly all participants (99%) felt they progressed faster, and 98% felt better supported. The share of learners who said they achieved their goals “very well” or “completely” more than doubled, rising from 27% after the app phase to 56% after working with a Preply tutor.
Objective assessments backed up those perceptions, recording meaningful gains in speaking, pronunciation, and reading following the Preply tutoring period. A separate, earlier Leanlab study of regular Preply learners found that one-third advanced a full CEFR language level, compared with fewer than one in five regular self-guided app users.
Where Human Tutors Pull Ahead
The research highlights something that vocabulary drills and streak counters have a hard time replicating: real-time, adaptive human interaction. A tutor can identify why a learner is struggling, correct mistakes in context, and reshape lessons around evolving goals. That flexibility matters especially for people learning English for professional purposes.
Some 94% of participants said Preply contributed more to their professional English development than the self-guided app, helping them practice job interviews, presentations, and workplace conversations while building industry-specific vocabulary.
“Self-guided apps have helped millions of people take that important first step toward learning a language,” said Anna Pyshna, Product PR Manager at Preply. “But beginning a language and becoming confident enough to use it in the real world are different challenges. A human tutor understands why someone is learning, recognizes where they are struggling and adapts each lesson accordingly.”
How Preply Works
Preply operates as an online language-learning marketplace connecting learners with tutors for live, one-to-one lessons across more than 90 languages. Learners can browse the network of 150,000-plus tutors by language, experience, specialization, availability, reviews, and price, then book a paid trial lesson to find the right fit.
Lessons are tailored to each learner’s level and goals, whether that means preparing for an exam, navigating a job interview, or simply becoming more comfortable in conversation. Learners set their own schedule and can switch tutors if the initial match isn’t working. Between sessions, AI-powered exercises, lesson summaries, vocabulary practice, and simulated scenarios reinforce what tutors teach, blending the flexibility of online learning with the accountability of an ongoing human relationship.
Founded in 2012, Preply has grown into the world’s largest online language-learning marketplace, serving learners in 180 countries and providing language training to more than 1,000 companies. More details can be found at www.preply.com.
