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Review basis

Research-based review: the AppDuo Editorial Team compiled it from official pages, documentation, app stores, press and user feedback, without hands-on testing. Every claim links to a source with the date it was checked.

10 reference sources

Information updated Nov 11, 2026

How we review
Cambly logo

Cambly Review

English speaking practice by video with native-speaker tutors, in small groups or 1-on-1

Editorial Team6.6/10Write the first review

By Official AppDuo editorial team · Updated

  • Web
  • iOS
  • Android
Paid · ₫700,000/mo
Visit Cambly
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Decide at a glance

Our verdict

Cambly suits learners who want speaking practice with native-speaker tutors at any hour, and its app-store scores are high (4.5-4.7/5). The trade-offs: cancelling early forfeits discounts and may leave no refund, and the privacy policy lets lesson recordings be used for AI training unless you opt out.

Best for: Learners with some basics who need speaking and listening practice with native speakers at hours that suit them

Skip it if: People unsure they will study steadily: on cancellation, used days are priced at the full monthly rate, so early exits may get no refund

Pros

  • Lessons "anytime, anywhere, 24/7" with native speakers, per the homepage
  • Three clear tiers: Small Groups, Private+ (1-on-1, recordings, transcripts) and Pro (exclusive tutors, structured lessons)
  • Full refund within the first 7 days of a first plan, even after taking lessons

Cons

  • Early cancellation forfeits long-term discounts; if full-price use exceeds what you paid, nothing is refunded
  • The privacy policy allows lesson recordings to be used for AI training and data to be shared with partners for their own AI work; avoiding this requires opting out
All pros and cons · Who is it for?

More pros

  • High store scores: 4.7/5 from about 153K Google Play reviews and 10M+ downloads

More cons

  • Trustpilot 2.0/5 from 267 reviews, with complaints about refunds, no-show tutors and support
  • Homepage prices are "starting from" figures with a 50% promotion and no stated plan length, which makes comparison hard

Best for

  • Those who want a choice between cheaper small groups and 1-on-1 lessons with recordings and transcripts

Skip it if

  • Learners who need another language, since Cambly teaches English only

Experience & key features

What is Cambly?

Cambly is a video English-learning platform from Cambly Inc., based in San Francisco. According to its own press release, it launched in 2014 as a marketplace that matches learners with native-speaker tutors: students pay a subscription and tutors are paid for time spent speaking. The company says it is used in more than 150 countries. The iOS app has been on the App Store since 9 October 2012.

Plans and features

The homepage presents three personal plans. Small Groups are lessons with a tutor and 1-2 students, for adults 21+. Private+ adds one-on-one lessons, recordings and transcripts after every lesson, automated feedback and all courses. Pro adds exclusive Pro tutors, structured lessons, targeted feedback and self-study recommendations. Cambly also runs separate kids and business offerings, whose prices AppDuo did not review.

Pricing and cancellation

Viewed from Vietnam, the homepage shows prices in dong: Small Groups from ₫700,000/month, Private+ from ₫1,600,000 and Pro from ₫2,200,000, currently at half price. It does not state the plan length, and no official USD price list was found. The help center says you can cancel any time, but long-term discounts are forfeited and used days are charged at the full monthly price; if that exceeds what you paid, nothing is refunded. The first 7 days of a first plan are fully refundable. For a break, Cambly offers a 1-4 week pause or turning renewal off.

More analysis

Who it's for

Cambly suits learners with basic English who want lots of speaking and prefer choosing their own hours. For a regular scheduled teacher, italki is an alternative; for AI pronunciation practice there are ELSA Speak and Speak. Before buying a long plan, read the cancellation terms, since Trustpilot (2.0/5) carries many refund complaints, and opt out if you don't want lesson recordings used for AI training.

Screenshots

First App Store product image of the Cambly iPhone app
First App Store product image of the Cambly iPhone app
Second App Store product image of the Cambly app
Second App Store product image of the Cambly app
Third App Store product image of the Cambly app
Third App Store product image of the Cambly app

Plans & pricing

Prices last verified Nov 11, 2026

Small Groups

Personal

₫700,000/mo

The homepage says "starting from" ₫700,000/month, currently discounted to ₫350,000/month, without stating the plan length. Group lessons with a tutor and 1-2 students, for adults 21+; 100% native English-speaking tutors; unlimited pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary activities.

Private+

Personal

₫1,600,000/mo

The homepage says "starting from" ₫1,600,000/month, currently discounted to ₫800,000/month. Includes everything in Small Groups plus one-on-one lessons, recordings and transcripts after every lesson, automated feedback and all Cambly Courses.

Pro

Personal

₫2,200,000/mo

The homepage says "starting from" ₫2,200,000/month, currently discounted to ₫1,100,000/month. Includes everything in Private+ plus exclusive Cambly Pro tutors, structured goal-oriented lessons, targeted tutor feedback and self-study recommendations.

Free plan limits
The homepage offers to "explore all Cambly has to offer without a subscription" but does not say what is free.
Free trial
No free trial
Cancellation & refunds

Per the help center, contacting support within the first 7 days of your first plan earns a full refund, even if you took lessons. After that you can cancel any time and pay only for the days used: the long-term discount is forfeited, used days are priced at the full monthly rate, and if that exceeds what you paid there is no refund.

Privacy

The privacy policy effective 6 November 2026 says Cambly collects voice, video and text interactions with tutors, students and chatbots, plus the recordings and transcripts made from them. Cambly may use this data to train and validate AI; "Partners and Collaborators" may use data they receive for their own purposes, including developing their own AI, and the policy says such sharing may constitute a "sale". Users can opt out of AI training on their personal information or recordings involving them, opt out of advertising and partner sharing, and request deletion. No specific retention period for recordings is given; data is processed in the US; the website uses PostHog session replay, which can capture clicks, scrolls and keystrokes. The developer-declared Data safety section on Google Play, by contrast, says "No data shared with third parties".

Official pricing page

Cambly alternatives

Duolingo logo7.8/10

Duolingo

Bite-sized daily language lessons with streaks and leaderboards

Freemium
italki logo7.3/10

italki

1-on-1 language tutor marketplace, pay per lesson, no subscription required

Freemium
All alternatives

Controversies & incidents

Issues documented by the press, regulators, courts or the vendor itself. Every item is sourced; unproven claims are labelled as allegations. Last researched: Nov 11, 2026

  • Medium impactAllegedBilling ·

    Refund and cancellation complaints on Trustpilot

    Some Trustpilot reviewers say they were not refunded when cancelling. Cambly's help center confirms that, on cancellation, used days are priced at the full monthly rate.

    Read the full account

    Cambly's Trustpilot page shows 2.0/5 from 267 reviews, including one reviewer who wrote that the company never refunds students. These are individual opinions: Trustpilot does not fact-check reviews and notes that Cambly has not invited customers to review recently, so the reviews may not be representative. Cambly's official help center confirms the billing mechanism: early cancellation forfeits long-term discounts, used days are priced at the full monthly rate, and nothing is refunded if that exceeds the amount paid; the first 7 days of a first plan are fully refundable. AppDuo found no regulator or court finding on the matter.

    Vendor response

    Cambly publishes its refund policy in the help center and suggests turning renewal off or pausing a plan for 1-4 weeks as alternatives to cancelling.

    Sources:Trustpilot reviews of CamblyCambly help center: Refund policyCambly help center: Cancel your plan

Frequently asked questions

Is Cambly free?

All three plans on the homepage are paid. The homepage invites you to explore without a subscription but does not say what is free; the app is a free download on the App Store and Google Play.

Does Cambly offer refunds?

Yes within the first 7 days of a first plan, even if you took lessons. After that you pay for days used at the full monthly price, so cancelling early may return nothing.

How do I cancel Cambly?

Per the help center, log in, click Submit a Request at the bottom of the help center, choose Managing Account and fill in the form; the team promises a reply within 1 business day. To just avoid the next charge, turn renewal off and use the remaining time, or pause the plan for 1-4 weeks.

Does Cambly use lesson recordings to train AI?

It may. The privacy policy (effective 6 November 2026) allows recordings and transcripts to be used to train and validate AI, and partners may use shared data to develop their own AI. You can opt out of AI training on your personal information or recordings involving you.

Does Cambly have a Vietnamese interface?

No. The homepage is offered in 11 languages: English, Arabic, Spanish, French, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Turkish and Chinese.

Review evidence & sources10

Scores

Ease of use
7.8
Why this score

Web, iOS and Android apps; an interface in 11 languages (English, Arabic, Spanish, French, Japanese, Chinese, …) and, per the description, lessons at any time. Marked down because pricing shows only "starting from" figures with no plan length, and cancelling requires a support request.

Features
7.4
Why this score

Group and 1-on-1 lessons, recordings, transcripts, automated feedback, courses and practice activities. Focused on English only.

Value for money
6.4
Why this score

List prices range from ₫700,000 to ₫2,200,000/month with a 50% promotion. The full-price cancellation formula can leave early leavers without a refund.

Performance
7.0
Why this score

Google Play 4.7/5 and App Store 4.5/5 suggest most reviewers are satisfied, though some on Trustpilot and the App Store report tutor no-shows or dropped connections mid-lesson. No independent teaching-quality data was found.

Support
5.8
Why this score

A detailed help center and a promised reply within 1 business day; cancelling requires a support request. Trustpilot, at 2.0/5, carries many refund and support complaints and notes that Cambly has not replied to negative reviews.

Privacy & security
5.0
Why this score

The policy allows voice, video and transcript recordings to be used for AI training, lets partners use shared data for their own AI work (which it says may be a "sale"), gives no retention period for recordings and uses session replay on the website. Opt-outs and deletion exist but are up to the user, and the Google Play declaration ("No data shared with third parties") is narrower than the policy text.

What users say

Sources

Specs & compatibility
Developer
Cambly Inc.
Headquarters
United States
Launched
2014
Category
Education

Capabilities

  • Mobile app
  • Real-time collaboration

Platforms

  • Web
  • iOS
  • Android

Interface languages

  • English
  • Spanish
  • French
  • Japanese
  • Korean
  • Portuguese
  • Chinese

Support

  • Help center
  • Email

Change history

  1. Update.Version 8.55.0 of the iOS app is released.
  2. Feature.Cambly launches Cambly Groups, live group lessons at a lower cost than 1-on-1; the release states it has raised $60 million from Benchmark, Bessemer Venture Partners and others.
  3. Launch.The Cambly iOS app first appears on the App Store.
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