It can be difficult to decide on which online Arabic tutor you should use, as there are dozens of different providers from which to choose. Before you commit any of your time or money to one of these services, be sure to read this guide first. We’ve tested the most popular online Arabic tutoring platforms to see which options offer the most value, and we’ll help you figure out which provider makes the most sense for your specific needs as well.
How to Pick an Online Arabic Tutoring Service
The best tutoring service for one person may not be the best for another. Indeed, the right choice for you will depend on why you want to learn Arabic in the first place.
Learning a new language for travel
Are you learning Arabic because of your travel plans? If so, you should be aware that there are five main variations of modern Arabic: Maghrebi, Egyptic, Mesopotamian, Levantine and Peninsular. Make sure you choose a tutor who speaks the dialect that’s most popular in the area where you’re traveling. Using a freelancer marketplace that offers hundreds of instructors, such as Italki or Preply, will ensure that you have enough options to find a good match.
Learning Arabic for work
Some providers will expect you to complete assignments and quizzes in addition to your live tutoring sessions. You may want to avoid these providers if you’re learning Arabic for work, as it’s likely already hard for you to find time in your schedule for just the lessons alone. This is why we don’t recommend using Arab Academy if you have a full-time job.
Help with studying Arabic for school
If you are learning Arabic for school, there’s a good chance that you’re still getting familiar with the basics of the language. In that case, you should choose a provider that offers Arabic classes for beginners. We’ve found that AmazingTalker offers some of the most effective classes for newcomers.
How We Picked the Best Online Arabic Tutoring Services
To determine which Arabic tutoring providers deserved to be included in this guide, we first listed all the most popular services available. We then narrowed our list by removing any options that didn’t have excellent online reputations. Finally, we refined the list to our top selections by only choosing providers that offered a significant advantage over many of their competitors, such as particularly low prices or unique course offerings.
The 7 Best Online Arabic Tutors
Although we narrowed the options in our guide to a select group of providers, you’ll still find that there are a variety of choices listed below. No matter your budget or reasons for wanting to learn the language, at least one of these Arabic tutors should be a perfect fit for your needs.
Al Kunuz
This Egypt-based tutoring service offers many different options for learning Arabic, including private lessons, group lessons, courses designed for children and courses designed for studying the Quran.
Our favorite thing about Al Kunuz is that they have an especially rigorous method for selecting their tutors — to be approved to join the platform, aspiring tutors must pass a series of tests and then undergo months of additional training.
| Price | Five sessions per month: €30 per month
25 sessions per semester: €27.50 per month 50 sessions per year: €25 per month |
| Free trial | No trial available |
| Device | Desktop |
| Format | Zoom, downloadable books |
| Certificate of completion | Yes |
| Knowledge level | Beginner to advanced |
Arab Academy
Founded back in 1999, Arab Academy was one of the first services in the world to provide Arabic classes online. They offer three course tracks: Modern Standard Arabic, Colloquial Arabic and Islamic Arabic (Quran Recitation and Tajweed).
It’s worth noting that this provider has a solid reputation among its former and current students. “I studied at the Arab Academy for three weeks (Egyptian Colloquial),” wrote a reviewer on Facebook. “The programme is excellent and I thoroughly recommend it. I made more progress in Arabic in three weeks than I had in the previous three years of independent study.”
One potential drawback to this service is that you will be required to complete additional coursework on top of your tutoring sessions. If you already have a packed schedule, you should consider options that offer less intensive programs such as Verbling or AmazingTalker instead.
| Price | Monthly (four one-on-one classes per month): $99 per month
Quarterly (five one-on-one classes per month): $79 per month Semi-annually (eight one-on-one classes per month): $69 per month |
| Free trial | One free trial lesson |
| Device | Desktop |
| Format | Skype |
| Certificate of completion | Yes |
| Knowledge level | Beginner to advanced |
Learn more about Arab Academy.
Italki
In order to help you find a good fit for your needs, Italki allows you to filter your search by factors such as price, availability and whether the instructor is a native speaker.
This stands out as a great option for anyone who is looking for the most affordable solution available, as there are Arabic tutors on Italki who charge rates as low as $4 per hour. Also, this is another provider with a good reputation — Itaki has an average rating of 4.7 out of 5 on Trustpilot.
| Price | Average rate of $10 per 60-minute lesson |
| Free trial | 30-minute free trial |
| Device | Desktop, mobile device |
| Format | Skype, Facetime, Zoom, WeChat |
| Certificate of completion | No |
| Knowledge level | Beginner to advanced |
Preply
Like Italki, this provider also has a large marketplace of freelancers that allows you to choose from many different Arabic tutors.
If you’re overwhelmed by all of these options, Preply has a matching feature that can help you out. After you answer a series of six multiple-choice questions, this platform will immediately filter their selection to the instructors that best match your personal budget ( rates go as low as $2 per hour), availability and reasons for wanting to learn Arabic.
| Price | $2 – $40 per hour |
| Free trial | Trial lesson available |
| Device | Desktop, mobile device |
| Format | Custom app |
| Certificate of completion | Yes |
| Knowledge level | Beginner to advanced |
Verbling
We were impressed by Verbling’s user-friendly interface, which makes it easy to select a tutor and schedule your lessons.
All of the instructors on this platform are vetted to ensure that they have prior language teaching experience. Along with Italki, this is one of your most affordable options for Arabic tutoring. There are instructors on Verbling who offer rates as low as $5 per hour.
Customer support is another strength for this service. “I inadvertently, through my own mistake, bought many more lessons than intended,” wrote one student on Trustpilot. “When I explained it to the folks at Verbling and asked for a refund (which I thought would go against their normal policy of only giving credit for future lessons), they very quickly agreed and arranged for the refund. After two years of taking lessons through Verbling I am VERY satisfied.”
| Price | Average rate of $25 per hour |
| Free trial | 30-minute free trial |
| Device | Desktop, mobile device |
| Format | Custom app |
| Certificate of completion | Yes |
| Knowledge level | Beginner to advanced |
AmazingTalker
The variety of course options offered by this provider really stood out to us. Each tutor on AmazingTalker offers their own set of specialized classes — for example, there are currently 103 instructors who teach Arabic for beginners, 62 instructors who teach Arabic for business, etc.
You should certainly be able to find a good match for your needs and preferences here. Your tutor will also work with you to set clear learning objectives and monitor your progress as you learn the language.
| Price | $10 to $30 per hour |
| Free trial | Free trial class |
| Device | Desktop, mobile device |
| Format | Zoom |
| Certificate of completion | Yes |
| Knowledge level | Beginner to advanced |
Learn more about AmazingTalker.
Busuu
Busuu uses a mix of on-demand exercises and live instruction to teach its users new languages. As with Arab Academy, due to the extra assignments, we don’t believe this is a good option for anyone who already has a busy schedule.
The self-paced portion of this Arabic course involves writing challenges and listening exercises that are designed to reflect real-world scenarios. You’ll then be able to practice what you’ve learned with a qualified Arabic tutor, who will provide you with real-time feedback in order to help you improve your speaking skills. “I love Busuu because it has the vocab, quizzes, listening, writing, writing prompts, etc. and the opportunity for native speakers to correct your work,” wrote one user on the r/LearnArabic subreddit.
| Price | Basic: Free
Premium: $12.95 per month Premium Plus: $13.95 per month |
| Free trial | Free version available |
| Device | Desktop, mobile device |
| Format | Video chat, on-demand exercises |
| Certificate of completion | Yes |
| Knowledge level | Beginner to advanced |
Other Arabic Tutoring Services to Consider
All of the providers listed above are focused exclusively on language tutoring, but there are some additional online educational services available that you may want to consider checking out. For example, Microsoft’s TakeLessons platform offers some of the most highly qualified Arabic tutors that you’ll find anywhere, though it should be noted that their average rate of $54 per hour is pretty expensive compared to most of your other options.
What to Expect When Using An Online Arabic Tutoring Service
Most online tutoring services are primarily based on video chat sessions, which involve meeting with your instructor in real-time so that they can provide you with instant feedback for correcting any mistakes you may be making with your grammar or pronunciation.
There are several variations of this general format, though. Some services involve completing additional assignments outside of your scheduled meetings. Also, there are services available that offer group lessons in addition to one-on-one lessons. Another important distinction is that, while most providers rely on third-party teleconferencing software such as Skype or Zoom, some tutoring services have developed their own custom software that makes it especially easy to schedule lessons, meet with your instructor and keep track of your progress.
What you need to learn Arabic using an online tutor
Online Arabic lessons don’t require much equipment — all you need is a reliable computer and a high-speed internet connection. But to really succeed in one of these courses, you’ll also need to make an adequate time commitment. If you want to learn a new language, we recommend that you fit at least one hour-long class per week into your schedule (ideally, you’ll be able to take two or three classes per week).
Free vs. Paid Online Arabic Tutors: What’s the Difference?
While there are free resources available online for learning Arabic, these options are usually based on materials such as pre-recorded videos or written study guides. This is a somewhat effective way to learn vocabulary and basic concepts, but it’s never going to get you to an advanced level of understanding the language. To actually become fluent, you’ll need to pay for live sessions with an experienced tutor.