italki vs Preply vs HaruMeet for Korean Lessons (2026)

italki vs Preply vs HaruMeet at a glance (October 2026)

All three are marketplaces for live one-to-one lessons with a tutor you choose. They differ in how you pay, what a trial costs and what happens to your money when plans change. HaruMeet (Haru) is the smallest of the three and is built around Korean. The table uses each platform's own help pages and listings, checked on 21 October 2026.

How each one charges: pay-as-you-go, subscription, or per lesson

italki runs on italki Credits, a virtual currency pegged to the US dollar that you spend lesson by lesson. italki says no subscription is required, and many teachers sell packages at a slightly lower per-lesson rate. An optional italki Plus subscription adds study tools but isn't needed to book.

As of October 2026, Preply sells lessons only through a subscription with one tutor, charged every 28 days (minimum 4 lessons per cycle); its help center says one-time lesson purchases aren't available. You can buy extra lessons, pause once per cycle for up to 20 days, or cancel before renewal. Lessons not scheduled by the renewal date expire, and two tutors means two subscriptions.

HaruMeet charges per lesson. Buy one lesson at a time or a pack of 5, 10 or 20 with one tutor; packs are currently 0%, 5% and 10% off. There's no subscription and no sign-up fee.

Tutors set their own prices on all three. Preply's Korean page lists averages of $25 an hour for native speakers and $22 for non-native speakers. italki's pricing guide (all languages) says most lessons run $4–25 per session, with community tutors the most affordable. HaruMeet's 19 Korean tutors charge $7.70–20.90 for 25 minutes, median $11.00, or about $26 an hour. So HaruMeet isn't the budget pick: it's close to Preply's native-speaker average, and italki has tutors who charge less.

To see HaruMeet's prices and pack discounts in one place, open the pricing page.

Fees you pay as a student

italki says it adds no booking fee, since its commission comes from the teacher's side, but the payment provider may charge a processing fee when you buy credits. It's shown on the payment page before you pay.

Preply's checkout total adds a processing fee and any local taxes to the lesson cost, all shown before you confirm. It charges in USD, EUR or GBP depending on location; PayPal is USD only.

HaruMeet's 10% student service fee is already in every profile price, so what you see is what you pay, in US dollars. On all three, your card issuer or PayPal may add a currency-conversion fee.

Trial lessons compared

italki gives new students three trial lessons, each with a different teacher, usually 30 minutes at 30–50% off, according to italki's guides. Not every teacher offers one, and a 100% satisfaction guarantee covers up to two trials.

Preply trials are paid 25- or 50-minute lessons, charged at booking, and the length can't be changed later. If a completed trial disappoints, you can request a free replacement trial with another tutor, up to twice per account; a tutor no-show is handled separately.

On HaruMeet, your first lesson with each tutor is 50% off: one single lesson per tutor, 25 or 50 minutes, not combinable with packs or coupons. It applies to every tutor you haven't paid or booked before, so you can try two or three before choosing. With the median tutor, that first 25 minutes costs $5.50.

Cancellation, rescheduling and refunds

italki's rule is 24 hours. Before that, you can cancel and get credits back in your Student Wallet, or request a new time, which needs the other side's agreement. Inside 24 hours the lesson can't be cancelled or moved, and the teacher is entitled to full payment if you miss it. italki suggests checking each teacher's cancellation note before booking, and its Payment Policy says purchased credits aren't refundable.

Preply's rule is 12 hours: cancel earlier and the lesson returns to your balance; later, it doesn't, and you can't reschedule it yourself. Separately, Preply may refund a subscription charge if you cancel without using any lessons from that cycle and ask within 28 days; approved refunds go to the original payment method.

HaruMeet's rule is also 12 hours. Cancel in time and the lesson returns to your balance to rebook with the same tutor, or as credit for another; rescheduling means cancel and rebook. A late cancellation or no-show uses the lesson. Refunds are paid as Haru Credit (the Terms allow cash only where the law requires it). If money back to your card matters, Preply is the one of the three that offers it as a standard refund route, in the cases it allows.

Lesson length, video platform and booking times

Every italki teacher offers 60-minute lessons, plus 30, 45 or 90 minutes if they choose. You send a request and the teacher accepts; depending on their settings, you can book 2, 6 or 12 hours ahead. You pick the video platform when you book.

Preply lessons are 25 or 50 minutes and can be lengthened in 30-minute steps within your plan. According to Preply's Korean page, lessons happen in its virtual classroom.

HaruMeet lessons are 25 or 50 minutes on Zoom, in the app or the browser. Calendars show your own time zone, and a booking less than 12 hours ahead goes to the tutor for approval.

Most HaruMeet tutors live in Korea (UTC+9, no daylight saving). A 7–10 pm lesson in Singapore is 8–11 pm in Seoul; in Sydney during daylight saving it's 5–8 pm in Seoul. 8 pm in New York is 9 or 10 am the next day in Seoul. In a two-week snapshot of HaruMeet Korean tutors' schedules in October 2026, 34% of open slots fell between 6 pm and midnight Seoul time and 30% between 6 am and noon. Plenty of italki and Preply Korean tutors live in Korea too, so check calendars wherever you book.

Where HaruMeet is weaker

HaruMeet's weaker points, as of October 2026:

• Far fewer tutors: 19 teaching Korean, against 517 on italki and about 4,500 on Preply.
• It's a newer platform, so most profiles have only a handful of reviews so far.
• Refunds come back as Haru Credit, with cash only where the law requires it.
• No group classes.
• It's built around Korean. For other languages, italki and Preply cover far more.
• It isn't the cheapest: the median is about $26 an hour, and italki says its lessons start from $4.
• Most tutors are native Korean speakers living in Korea, but not all. Check the profile if that matters to you.

Who should pick which

Pick italki if:

• You want hundreds of Korean tutors to choose from, with no subscription.
• Your budget is tight; italki calls its community tutors its most affordable option.
• You want 60- or 90-minute lessons.

Pick Preply if:

• You want a fixed weekly routine with one tutor and don't mind automatic billing every 28 days.
• You want the largest pool of Korean tutors.
• You want the chance of a refund to your card in the cases Preply allows.

Pick HaruMeet if:

• You want short 25-minute lessons with no subscription.
• You want all-in prices with nothing added at checkout.
• You'd like to try a few Korea-based tutors before committing to one.
• You study in Singapore or Australian evenings, or US evenings (Seoul mornings).
• You're fine with refunds as credit rather than cash.

If HaruMeet fits, compare the 19 Korean tutors' prices, reviews and calendars on the Korean tutors page (harumeet.com/en/subjects/korean), and check packs and fees on the pricing page (harumeet.com/en/pricing). If it doesn't, the table above should tell you which of the other two to try first.

Frequently asked questions