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Novakid is a good fit if your child is 4 to 15 and needs regular spoken English practice with a live teacher rather than an app. Standard lessons work out at roughly $9 to $12 for 25 minutes. The trial lesson is free and takes no payment card, so you can judge the fit before you commit to a plan.
How we made this estimate
We compiled this from seven sources read between 16 September and 24 October 2026, and we did not use the service ourselves. Those sources are Novakid's own pricing, programme and curriculum pages; the 2,602 customer ratings on its Trustpilot profile; TEFL.org's company and teacher-requirement data; two named independent reviews; a cross-platform scoring comparison; and 33 current offer listings we track for this brand.
Every price, policy and figure below is attributed. Where sources contradict each other, we say so rather than picking the flattering number.
What is Novakid?
Novakid is an online English school for children, built around live one-to-one lessons rather than a self-study app. The company's own positioning is blunt about that distinction: “a real person, not an app.”
It is run by Novakid Inc., a Delaware corporation registered at 548 Market St, San Francisco. According to TEFL.org, the business started in 2017 and now reaches students in roughly 50 countries with about 2,000 teachers on its books.
Lessons are taught entirely in English, with no translation into the child's first language. Novakid's curriculum documentation describes its programme as aligned to CEFR levels A1 to B1, the same framework school exam boards use, and splits children into age bands running from 4–5 up to 14 and over.
How a Novakid lesson runs
Each individual lesson lasts 25 minutes, a length chosen to match how long young children hold attention. The session happens in a browser-based virtual classroom where the child and teacher see each other live.
The format is activity-led rather than worksheet-led. Novakid's own description covers interactive games, songs, mini-dialogues, drag-and-drop tasks and 360-degree virtual tours, with progress assessed as the child works rather than through formal testing.
Three things sit around the lesson itself and matter more than they first look. Lessons are recorded, so a child can rewatch a class and a parent can see what actually happened. Homework and practice tasks are built into the same platform, and a progress tracker shows movement over time.
Parents writing on Trustpilot repeatedly mention the lessons feeling like games and children looking forward to them. If your child has already refused one online tutor, the play-led format is the specific thing to test in the free trial.
Alongside the one-to-one lessons, Novakid sells group speaking practice as a separate monthly add-on. Independent reviews put that at roughly $34 to $36 a month, and Novakid currently gives a first month of it free to parents buying individual lessons for the first time.
What you actually pay per lesson
Novakid's own pricing page leads with “flexible prices from 95 $ / per month”. That headline figure is less useful than the per-lesson rate, because what you pay per lesson depends on three things: how long a plan you commit to, how many lessons a week you book, and whether you pick a Standard or Premium teacher.
Discounts are built into plan length automatically, so the price falls as the commitment lengthens. Novakid publishes the end points of that ladder, and the discount percentages at each rung are mapped by the offer aggregator Extrabux:
| Plan length | Standard, per 25-min lesson | Premium, per 25-min lesson | Built-in discount |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 month | about $12 (published) | about $20 (published) | none |
| 3 months | about $11 | about $20 | 16% Standard / 5% Premium |
| 6 months | about $9 (published) | about $19 | 25% Standard / 10% Premium |
| 12 months | about $9 (published) | about $17 (published) | 25% Standard / 13% Premium |
The figures marked “published” come from Novakid's own pricing page. The intermediate rows are the ladder percentages applied to those anchors, so treat them as close estimates rather than quoted prices.
Read down the Standard column and the pattern is clear. Moving from a one-month plan to a six-month plan takes about a quarter off the per-lesson price, and the twelve-month plan adds nothing beyond that. The six-month plan is where the built-in discount tops out for Standard lessons, which makes it the better-value short commitment.
Regional storefronts price in local currency rather than converting the dollar rate. Picodi's verified Turkish listing, for example, puts Novakid lessons from 50 TL with certified teachers and from 95 TL with native speakers, so the dollar figures above are a guide rather than the number you will see in Turkey, Poland or the Gulf.
Two structural discounts are worth knowing before you build a plan. Novakid's own homepage panel offers 10% off when two children study, on subscriptions of two or more sessions a week per child, and its pricing FAQ confirms a family discount for two or more children on selected plans. In Poland, the local storefront adds a further 5% for a second child.
Standard or Premium teachers?
This is the single choice that moves the price most, and Novakid states the difference plainly: Standard teachers are non-native English speakers, Premium teachers are native speakers. Premium costs roughly double.
The entry requirements are the same for both. TEFL.org's breakdown of teaching for Novakid lists a bachelor's degree or higher, a TEFL certificate of at least 120 hours, at least a year of experience working with children and a commitment of 20 hours a week. Non-native applicants are expected to hold C1 English or above.
That matters for how you read the two tiers. The gap is accent and first language, not qualification level, so Standard is the sensible default for a beginner building confidence and vocabulary. Premium earns its price mainly for older children working on pronunciation or preparing for a speaking exam.
What the sources agree on
The named sources line up closely on teaching quality and on how children respond to the format. They part company on price detail, which is unsurprising given how much the storefront and plan length change it.
| Source | What it reports | Read |
|---|---|---|
| Novakid pricing & programme pages | From $95 a month; 25-minute lessons; free trial with no card; 14-day money-back guarantee | Sep–Oct 2026 |
| Trustpilot (novakidschool.com) | 4.2 out of 5 from 2,602 ratings; 82% five-star, 4% at one or two stars | Oct 2026 |
| TEFL.org | Founded 2017; around 500,000 students, 2,000 teachers, 50 countries | Oct 2026 |
| BullishLang | Rates it the best option for children; €9.92 per lesson on a 12-month Standard plan; notes over 2,500 certified teachers | Apr 2025 |
| BestLanguageLearningApps comparison | Scores Novakid 8.1, above Cambly Kids at 7.7 and Preply Kids at 7.1 | 2026 |
| BestLanguageLearningApps pricing teardown | Lists $9.60 to $12.69 per Standard lesson; the writer does not recommend the service | Jan 2024 |
The Trustpilot spread is the most useful single number here, because it comes from 2,602 parents rather than one writer. Reviewers there consistently credit kind, engaging teachers, flexible scheduling and visible progress over months rather than weeks.
Where the sources disagree
Three contradictions are worth flagging, because each one could change what you expect.
The age range. Novakid's current site covers 4 to 15 and sells a programme for children aged 14 and over. Several third-party write-ups, including TEFL.org and BullishLang, still describe it as a 4–12 service, which looks like older copy rather than a conflict. If you are buying for a teenager, check that the programme for their age band is offered on your storefront.
The refund window. Novakid's own pricing page states a 14-day money-back guarantee twice, in the plan panel and in the FAQ, with refunds after that period calculated on lessons used. Some coupon boards and BullishLang's 2025 review list a 45-day window instead. The merchant's own page is the figure to plan around, and worth reading at checkout.
The overall verdict. The oldest source in our set, a January 2024 pricing teardown, did not recommend the service. Everything dated 2025 or later that we read, including the 2,602-rating Trustpilot average, is markedly more positive. We have weighted the recent, large-sample evidence more heavily and said so rather than averaging the two.
What works and what to check
What works well
- Parents on Trustpilot repeatedly report children asking for the next lesson, which is the hard part of any children's course.
- Teachers are described by customers as kind, patient and engaging; the stated hiring bar is a degree plus a 120-hour TEFL certificate.
- Lesson recordings and in-platform homework let a parent see what was taught without sitting in on the class.
- The curriculum maps to CEFR A1–B1, so progress lines up with what schools and exam boards measure.
- Plan-length discounts are applied automatically, so the long-plan saving needs no hunting for.
- The trial lesson takes no payment card, and includes an assessment of the child's level.
What to know before you buy
- Negative Trustpilot reviews cluster on microphone, audio and connection problems. Run the trial lesson on the exact device and connection you plan to use.
- Some customers report that support answers technical faults with repeated troubleshooting steps. Keep lesson dates if you ever need to argue a refund.
- Several parents mention limited slots with a preferred teacher at peak hours. Check availability in your own evening window before committing to a long plan.
- The published money-back window is 14 days, shorter than some listings claim. Confirm it on your storefront at checkout.
- Lessons are 25 minutes and taught English-only, so younger beginners usually need a parent nearby for the first few sessions.
- Prices are set per storefront, so compare the local-currency rate against the dollar figures above.
Who Novakid suits best
It fits most cleanly where a child already learns English at school but barely speaks it. Two 25-minute slots a week with a live teacher addresses that gap directly, and the game-led format is built for children who will not sit still for a textbook.
It also suits families with more than one child, because the sibling discount and the automatic plan-length discount stack to make the per-lesson price meaningfully lower.
Another option may fit better in two cases. If keeping the same teacher every week matters to your child, platforms where you choose and keep a tutor handle that better, which independent comparisons note as a Novakid limitation. And if you want short, ad-hoc conversation practice rather than a structured course, a subscription of fixed weekly lessons is the wrong shape.
Alternatives worth comparing
- Cambly Kids — scored 7.7 against Novakid's 8.1 in a cross-platform comparison. Prefer it if native-speaker conversation practice is the priority and structure matters less.
- Preply Kids — scored 7.1 in the same comparison. Prefer it if choosing your own tutor and keeping them is the deciding factor, accepting that its material is less purpose-built for young children.
- Novakid's own group speaking practice — at roughly $34 to $36 a month it is the cheapest way to add speaking time, and worth comparing against a second weekly one-to-one lesson.
Questions parents ask most
Is the Novakid trial lesson really free?
Yes. Novakid's pricing page states “Start for FREE. No credit card required,” and its FAQ confirms the trial takes no payment card. The session runs 25 minutes, the child meets a teacher, and you receive an assessment of their English level afterwards. Novakid asks that you reschedule or cancel at least eight hours before the start time.
How much does Novakid cost per lesson?
Published Standard rates run from about $12 per 25-minute lesson on a one-month plan down to about $9 on six- and twelve-month plans. Premium lessons with native-speaker teachers run from about $20 to $21 down to roughly $17. Regional storefronts price in local currency, so check the figure for your country.
What is the difference between Novakid Standard and Premium?
Novakid states that Standard teachers are non-native English speakers and Premium teachers are native speakers. The qualification requirements are the same for both, so the difference is accent and first language rather than training. Premium costs roughly twice as much per lesson.
Can you get a refund from Novakid?
Novakid's pricing page states a 14-day money-back guarantee, and its FAQ adds that after that period refunds are calculated on the number of lessons used. Some third-party listings quote a longer window, so read the terms shown at your own checkout.
What ages is Novakid for?
Novakid's site covers children from 4 to 15, in age-banded programmes for 4–5, 6–7, 8–9, 10–11, 12–13 and 14 and over. Some older third-party write-ups still describe it as a 4–12 service.
Does Novakid give a discount for two children?
Yes. Novakid's homepage panel offers 10% off when two children study, valid on subscriptions with two or more sessions a week per child, and its pricing FAQ confirms a family discount for two or more children on selected plans. The Polish storefront adds a further 5% for a second child.
Bottom line
On the compiled evidence, Novakid is a solid choice for a 4-to-15-year-old who needs to speak English rather than revise it, and the 4.2 out of 5 across 2,602 parent ratings is a reasonably confident signal at that sample size. Our confidence is moderate-to-high on teaching and engagement, and lower on platform reliability, where the complaints concentrate.
The practical route is the one Novakid already offers: take the free trial on your real device, check evening availability, then buy a six-month Standard plan where the built-in discount effectively tops out. Novakid currently gives a free first month of group speaking practice to parents buying individual lessons for the first time, and a verified coupon board lists a discount on selected plans running into December, which the coupon widget will show if one is live for your country.
