The Best Online Japanese Classes

Italki is a well-known language service that specializes in helping clients learn new languages. On its website, the company lists more than 10,000 teachers across almost all languages.

If you want to learn or improve your Japanese, italki has over 1,000 Japanese teachers who can give you one-on-one customized lessons. Italki has its own video conferencing software called italki Classroom, but some teachers use Skype or Google Hangouts.

Before you pick your teachers, you’ll be able to browse their profiles to find one that aligns with your needs and preferences. Each profile has a short text and video introduction to help you learn more about each teacher. You can also see a calendar of their availability and reviews left by previous students.

There are two types of teachers: professional teachers who are certified in teaching foreign languages, and community tutors, who are either native speakers or advanced speakers who can help with speaking practice. Fees for these community tutors are lower.

Some instructors charge around $4 per hour, while others cost up to $80 per hour. Rates are based on experience and background. You can pay per lesson, so you don’t have to commit to buying a package or select a certain number of sessions. Most teachers offer a low-cost trial lesson.

Preply is an online language service that has instructors based in more than 185 countries around the world. Clients looking to learn Japanese will find more than 1,000 available tutors.

Lessons are held in the Preply classroom, an easy-to-use platform that makes it simple to take your lessons and complete your homework all in one place. All of Preply's teachers are either native speakers or certified instructors. You can search the company's database based on price, location, and availability. You can also read about each tutor’s background and experience, and some have reviews from previous students.

The price range for Preply Japanese classes is between $10 and $40 per hour. Start by booking a trial lesson and, if all goes well, you can buy packages of multiple hours of lessons. Buying a package of lessons allows your teacher to create a customized learning plan that will help you reach your goals. Trial lessons are available with a satisfaction guarantee.

With more than 2,000 teachers, Verbling has someone who can help you learn almost any language. One of Verbling’s stand-out features is its integrated platform where you can find your teacher, schedule your lessons, and meet for classes. The platform works equally well on desktop computers, laptops, tablets, and mobile devices.

Additionally, Verbling has language tools such as vocabulary review and a TextPad where you can connect and collaborate with instructors. Verbling offers language courses that are already curated and established. However, you can also request a personalized program.

You can search for an instructor based on availability, price, location, or special skills. You can also read their profiles, watch a video introduction, or read about how others have rated them.

The price per lesson varies depending on the tutor, but generally, prices range from around $14 to $75 per hour. Most offer a free or discounted trial lesson, as well as reduced rates if you purchase a package of five or 10 lessons.

Based in Japan, Wasabi is an online language school that offers one-on-one lessons via Skype. It is a well-established institution that aims to give users the language skills they’ll need to travel or live in Japan, or use the Japanese language at work. While Wasabi welcomes beginners, all lessons are conducted in Japanese, so it may be best for those who already have some experience. 

Wasabi's lessons follow a specific roadmap to take clients from where they are to an advanced proficiency level. All instructors are certified teachers or have undergone training as volunteer tutors. Wasabi also offers free self-study materials such as grammar worksheets, pronunciation practice, and podcasts.

If you want to try Wasabi, you can request a free trial. Then, there are three plans available:

• Two 50-minute lessons a month for roughly $39
• Four 50-minute lessons per month for approximately $57
• Eight 50-minute lessons per month for roughly $105

The Japanese Online Institute is a language school that offers both group and private lessons with online teachers. The service uses Zoom for lessons, which works on computers, tablets, and smartphones.

Prospective students can browse the Japanese Online Institute website to see photos of instructors and read their individual bios. The company offers lessons focused on a range of language skills such as conversation, grammar, listening, vocabulary, and business Japanese. In addition to individual lessons, there are more than 60 group classes a week to choose from.  

When you opt for private sessions, you will have access to a tailor-made lesson plan.

Clients can purchase one of several different class packages. Private lesson packages range in cost from around $26 to around $1,040. If you want to try before committing, you can buy three trial lessons for around $9.

AmazingTalker is a great resource for finding instructors in a variety of languages. You can find one-on-one teachers for all ages including children, teens, college students, and adults. Lessons are held via Zoom, which allows easy access on a computer or mobile device.

AmazingTalker advertises strict requirements for the instructors it hires and requires all of them to have teaching experience or certification. Each Japanese instructor listed on the site has a profile describing their background and experience, as well as ratings and reviews from other students. If you don’t want to browse through all the instructors, you can input your specifications and be matched with an instructor who fits your needs.

The specs you’ll need to list include your age, the reason you want to learn Japanese, your day and time preferences, price range, and whether you want to communicate with the instructor in your native language. Some tutors are located in the U.S., and others are native Japanese speakers located in different parts of the world.

Class prices vary depending on the instructors’ experience and location, but they average roughly $10 to $30 per hour. Students can book a 25- or 50-minute session and pay per lesson, so there is no need to buy a package or membership or commit to a certain number of lessons. However, there are no free trial lessons.

Wyzant is an online language platform that matches students with instructors in a range of subjects, including Japanese. Clients can find tutors for subjects like math and science, languages, or even sewing or guitar. Regardless of what you want to learn, Wyzant can help you find an online in-person instructor.

Wyzant has its own Online Learning Tool that serves as a digital classroom. It also has an interactive whiteboard that can be used during sessions to help students and instructors collaborate. Many of Wyzant’s online Japanese teachers specialize in supporting university students who are taking a Japanese class and need extra help. Browse bios to learn more about each teacher and choose the one you feel best meets your needs.

Japanese instructors on Wyzant have a wide price range, from about $20 to $200 per session. If you are not satisfied with your instructor for any reason, Wyzant will refund your first class. Since you purchase classes individually, you don’t need to worry about adding a subscription to your monthly costs. 

Verbalplanet can help you find a teacher who will give you customized, private lessons and instructors cover all the major languages around the world. The company provides tutoring sessions via Skype, and all instructors are native speakers of the language they teach. 

On the Verbalplanet website, you can view each instructor’s profile, which contains a description of their background, qualifications, experience, and teaching approach, as well as reviews from other students. 

Verbalplanet’s unique offering is its built-in feedback system. After each lesson, your instructor will provide feedback on the different core language skills (speaking, listening, reading, and writing) based on the Common European Framework of References for Languages. This feedback is very helpful for progress tracking and provides guidance on where you should focus your study.

A single 40-minute class fee ranges from $10 to $60 with some instructors offering a free trial lesson. There are no memberships, subscriptions, or bundles available.