Online Chinese courses compared: what you pay, and how much you speak (video)
We checked 11 online Chinese courses and classes on 16 Oct 2026, from Coursera and Yoyo to GoEast: prices, HSK levels, and what an hour of speaking costs.
Chapters
- 0:00Start
- 0:22The short answer
- 0:46Best for each goal
- 2:09What a year costs
- 2:50Your speaking time
- 4:09Video and university courses
- 5:08Live classes
- 5:37Which HSK it teaches
- 6:09Where SayMei fits
- 6:38What to do next
Transcript
Start
Most online Chinese courses sell you videos to watch. Six of the 11 options we compared include no live conversation at all. And the classes that do let you speak? In a full group, your share may be five minutes an hour. From SayMei Guides, by Mei Lin: online Chinese courses compared. What you pay, and how much you speak.
The short answer
The short answer: for structure on a budget, pick a self-paced course. Yoyo Chinese for conversation, or Chinese Zero to Hero to work level by level through the HSK. Each costs under $300, and neither makes you speak. So add speaking practice. A group class is the dearest way to buy it. A tutor, a partner or a tutor app costs far less per minute.
Best for each goal
So which course fits your goal? Here are our picks, at prices checked 16 October 2026. Conversation from zero? Yoyo Chinese: $19.99 a month, $143.88 a year, or $299 once. One course per HSK level, paid once? Chinese Zero to Hero: $40 to $87 a level, or $180 for HSK 1 to 4. Lots of listening? ChinesePod, at $29 a month. The lowest monthly price? ChineseClass101, from $4 a month on a 24-month plan. A certificate from a university? Peking University's course on Coursera, $59 a month with Coursera Plus. Live classes on a fixed timetable? GoEast's group course, $1,248 for 16 weeks. And speaking practice most days? SayMei, at $5.99 a month. If you can only buy one thing, buy the course you'll open every day. Put all eleven side by side, and two patterns jump out. Six are video or audio courses, with no live speaking at all. Five let you speak, with a teacher, classmates or a tutor app. Self-paced is cheap but silent. Live costs more every month.
What a year costs
So what does a first year cost? Most self-paced courses come to $100 to $400. ChineseClass101 Premium, $120. Chinese Zero to Hero, $180 for HSK 1 to 4. ChinesePod, $348. Then the live classes. One LTL Flexi class a week, $728. italki group classes, $1,196. And three GoEast courses, $3,435. A self-paced course buys you a plan, but nobody who answers when you speak.
Your speaking time
With a video course, you can repeat after the screen, but nobody answers you or hears your tones. Peking University's Coursera course says it focuses on speaking skills. Yet the conversation practice it describes is a bonus game. We think that's the biggest gap in self-paced learning. And where you can speak, how much of the hour is yours? In a large study of online tutoring, students did 44% of the talking one-to-one. In a model class for eight beginners of Chinese, all the students together spoke for 41%. Split that among five, and your share is about 8%. Your turn might be one sentence: 我周末去爬山了, I went hiking at the weekend. So here's what an hour of your own speaking costs. A median italki tutor, about $45. An LTL Flexi group class, $51 to $171. italki's group classes, $78 to $439. GoEast, $164 to $329. SayMei Premium, with all 200 minutes used, about $4. That assumes you talk as much as with a tutor. Even at a quarter of the lesson, it's about $7. And no tutor app has published a test of how well it hears tones, SayMei's included.
Video and university courses
Video courses differ less in price than in teaching style. So pick the teacher you'd still watch on a tired Tuesday evening. Yoyo Chinese teaches in English through short videos, and over 75 lessons are free. Chinese Zero to Hero sells one course per HSK level, yours to keep. ChinesePod has over 4,000 dialogue lessons in six levels. And Mandarin Blueprint? Its Fluency Lab adds a weekly half-hour with a tutor, but costs $2,000 to join. What about the universities? Peking University's Chinese for Beginners, on Coursera, has about 1.5 million learners enrolled, and takes about 20 hours. On edX, MandarinX's beginners' program pairs two courses over about three months and prepares you for HSK 1, for $268. Both sell a certificate, but a course certificate only shows you finished a course. For a language qualification, take the HSK.
Live classes
Live classes cost the most. In return, you get a teacher who corrects you, classmates, and a reason to show up. GoEast, in Shanghai, runs 16-week courses on Zoom: two 75-minute classes a week, usually with one classmate. LTL's Flexi Classes run round the clock, for up to five students. italki sells single group classes for two to six. If you need speaking minutes more than structure, a one-to-one tutor gives you more for less.
Which HSK it teaches
Studying for the HSK? Then ask which syllabus a course follows. The exam switches to its new syllabus from the 13 December 2026 sitting, with more words at every level up to HSK 6. Our guide to HSK books found older books cover only about 60% of the new word lists. Most course pages don't say. Chinese Zero to Hero builds on books written for the old exam, and MandarinX doesn't name its syllabus. So check your words against the new lists before you book.
Where SayMei fits
So where does SayMei fit? You have spoken Mandarin lessons with Mei Lin, SayMei's teacher, for HSK 1 to 6. Premium is $5.99 a month for 200 minutes. There's nothing to book, and the lessons follow the November 2025 syllabus. Where it loses: no trained human ear, no video lectures, no certificate or classmates, and capped minutes, in the browser only. It fits best next to a course.
What to do next
So, what next? Start on a free tier. Buy one course, not three. Add speaking from week one. Check the syllabus before the HSK. And pay monthly first, until the habit sticks. You can practise speaking with Mei Lin, SayMei's teacher, in a short spoken lesson at your level. The full guide, with every source and check date, is on the page at saymei dot app.