Best Online English Classes for Adults Moving Abroad (2026)

Disclosure: we publish this list and we rank ourselves first

This comparison is written and published by Englify Academy, an online English and French school based in Morocco. We rank ourselves number one. You should read that with the scepticism it deserves, so here is exactly how we tried to keep it honest.

Every entry — including ours — is described using the same fields: who it is best for, format, published pricing, pros and cons. Every competitor fact was checked against the provider's own website on the date shown at the bottom of this page. Where a provider does not publish a price publicly, we say that instead of guessing, and we do not quote a single star rating or review count for anyone, ourselves included, because we could not verify those live at the time of writing.

We rank Englify first for this specific audience — adults leaving Morocco — for reasons you can test for free: published prices in dirhams, a capped six-student group or one-to-one classes, a CEFR path from A0 to C1 that tells you where you stand before you book a visa appointment, and support in Arabic, Darija and French when you need to sort out a schedule or a payment. If a criterion below matters more to you — an institutional certificate, or paying one lesson at a time — another entry on this list is the better answer, and we say so in that entry.

Ranking criteria for adults moving abroad

The order below reflects how well each option serves an adult who needs functional spoken English before a real deadline: a departure date, a job start, a visa interview or an exam booking. The criteria are applied identically to every entry.

• Live teacher or not — moving abroad means interviews, landlords and colleagues, not multiple-choice questions
• CEFR curriculum — immigration and employers reference CEFR levels, so your course should measure against them
• Price transparency — is the price published, in a currency you can read, without an account?
• Cost over 3–6 months — what a realistic pre-departure preparation actually costs in dirhams
• Speaking time — group size, and how much of each session you spend talking
• Support in your languages — Arabic, Darija or French when something goes wrong
• Fit with adult schedules — evening and work-compatible timetables, not school hours

Quick overview

• Best overall for adults in Morocco preparing to move abroad: Englify Academy
• Best for choosing your own freelance tutor by the hour: Preply, or italki
• Best for on-demand conversation practice once you are already B1+: Cambly
• Best for a large corporate-scale online school: EF English Live
• Best for institutional authority and IELTS preparation: British Council Morocco
• Best self-study apps for vocabulary between classes (a different category, no teacher): Duolingo, Babbel

Comparison table

Each line is one provider, in the format model — curriculum — published price. "Not published publicly" means we hit a login wall or a missing page when we checked, not that the provider is expensive or cheap.

• Englify Academy — live small group (max 6) or 1-on-1 on Google Meet, 60 min, 3x/week — CEFR A0–C1 curriculum — private 100 MAD/hour; groups 650 MAD / 3 months, 1,000 MAD / 6 months; free placement test and trial
• Preply — marketplace of freelance tutors, pay per lesson, 1-on-1 — no single curriculum — each tutor sets their own hourly rate, so there is no one published course price
• italki — marketplace of freelance tutors, pay per lesson, 1-on-1 — no single curriculum — set per tutor; trial-lesson prices listed on italki's English teachers page ranged from roughly USD 5 to USD 48 when we checked
• Cambly — on-demand conversation with native speakers, 1-on-1 — no structured curriculum — subscription pricing was behind a login when we checked, so we do not quote it
• EF English Live — large online school, group classes plus private lessons — structured levels — the pricing page we checked returned a 404, so we do not quote a price
• British Council Morocco — courses for adults plus a separate 24/7 online offer — structured, exam-focused, institutional — course fees are not published on the Morocco English courses page; you have to enquire
• Duolingo — self-study app, no teacher — gamified path — free tier with a paid Super subscription; the price is shown only after starting a free-trial flow, so we do not quote it
• Babbel — self-study app, no teacher — self-paced courses — babbel.com/prices showed USD 8.95/month on the 12-month individual plan when we checked

1. Englify Academy — best overall for adults in Morocco preparing to move abroad

Englify is an online English and French academy based in Morocco, with classes live on Google Meet in small groups capped at six students or one-to-one, 60-minute sessions three times a week, and a CEFR-aligned curriculum from A0 to C1. Teachers are TEFL/TESOL-certified, and support runs on WhatsApp in Arabic, Darija and French — which matters when you are organising lessons around work, paperwork and a departure date.

For relocation specifically, the CEFR path is the practical advantage: the free placement test tells you your level today, and the programme tells you what reaching the next level involves, so you can plan backwards from a departure date or an exam booking instead of guessing. Pricing is published: private one-to-one classes at 100 MAD per hour, and group classes at 650 MAD for three months or 1,000 MAD for six months. The placement test and first trial class are free.

• Best for: an adult in Morocco who needs functional spoken English before a work, study or immigration move
• Format: live small group (max 6) or 1-on-1 on Google Meet, 60 minutes, 3x/week
• Pricing: private 100 MAD/hour; groups 650 MAD / 3 months, 1,000 MAD / 6 months; free placement test and trial class
• Pros: published prices in dirhams; capped group size; CEFR path A0–C1 so you can plan against a deadline; TEFL/TESOL-certified teachers; WhatsApp support in Arabic, Darija and French; evening-friendly online schedule
• Cons: we are the publisher of this comparison, so treat our position with scepticism; no internationally recognised institutional certificate like the British Council's; fixed 3x/week rhythm suits committed preparation more than occasional practice; no self-study app to use between sessions

2. Preply — best for picking your own freelance tutor by the hour

Preply is a marketplace, not a school: thousands of independent English tutors list themselves, each setting their own hourly rate, and you book and pay per lesson. Preply's own English tutors page states that every teacher sets an hourly rate that depends on their experience and qualifications, which is why no single course price exists to quote.

For someone moving abroad, the strength is flexibility — you can look for a tutor who specialises in interview English or workplace vocabulary. The trade-off is that the syllabus, pacing and consistency all depend on the individual tutor you pick, and there is no institution behind the lesson if that tutor stops teaching mid-preparation.

• Best for: learners who want to choose a specific person, change tutors freely, and pay lesson by lesson
• Format: 1-on-1 video lessons, scheduled with the individual tutor
• Pricing: set per tutor; no single published course price — check the tutor's own rate before booking
• Pros: enormous choice of tutors; tutor reviews visible on the platform; no long commitment; easy to switch teachers if your goal changes
• Cons: no shared CEFR curriculum or level structure; quality varies tutor by tutor; per-hour pricing usually costs more than a group course over three to six months; no support in Darija from the platform itself

3. italki — best marketplace alternative to Preply

italki works on the same model as Preply: freelance teachers and tutors list themselves, set their own prices and teach one-to-one. On italki's English teachers page, trial-lesson prices ranged from roughly USD 5 to USD 48 when we checked, which gives you a sense of the spread rather than a course price.

If you like the marketplace model, it is worth comparing italki and Preply side by side for the specific teacher you want, since the same tutor profile can be priced differently on each platform.

• Best for: learners comfortable managing their own learning who want a wide tutor choice
• Format: 1-on-1 lessons booked directly with individual teachers
• Pricing: set per teacher; trial lessons listed from about USD 5 to USD 48 on the day we checked
• Pros: large teacher pool including community tutors at lower rates; cheap trial lessons to test a teacher; flexible scheduling around a busy pre-departure period
• Cons: same structural gap as Preply — no institutional curriculum or level tracking; you carry the planning; prices in USD, so your cost moves with the exchange rate

4. Cambly — best for on-demand conversation practice once you are already B1+

Cambly connects you to a native English speaker for conversation, on demand, without booking far ahead. If your grammar and vocabulary are already in place and your only weak point is speaking confidence before, say, a visa interview or first weeks at a new job, it is genuinely useful.

It is not a course. There is no level path, no homework and no assessment, and when we checked, the subscription pricing sat behind a login wall, so we do not quote a figure here — sign up far enough to see the price before committing.

• Best for: learners at B1 and above who need conversation volume before departure, not teaching
• Format: 1-on-1 video conversation with native speakers, on demand
• Pricing: not publicly verifiable — the pricing page required a login when we checked
• Pros: instant practice with native speakers; no scheduling friction; good for fluency and confidence
• Cons: no curriculum, no level progression, no assessment; not suitable if you are still building grammar; price not visible before creating an account

5. EF English Live — best for a large corporate-scale online school

EF English Live is the online arm of a very large international education company, offering group classes and private lessons on a structured level system. For learners who want the reassurance of a big, long-established brand and a platform with its own materials, it is a serious option.

We could not verify its current pricing: the pricing page we checked returned a 404 at the time of writing, so we deliberately quote no figure. Ask for a quote directly and compare it in dirhams against a three- or six-month commitment elsewhere.

• Best for: learners who want a large international platform with its own level system and materials
• Format: online group classes plus private lessons, on EF's own platform
• Pricing: not verified — the pricing page returned a 404 when we checked
• Pros: established international brand; structured levels; own learning platform and materials; certificates of completion
• Cons: pricing not transparent at the point we checked; typically larger groups than a six-student cap; no Morocco-specific support in Darija; less personal than a small local school

6. British Council Morocco — best for institutional authority and IELTS preparation

The British Council in Morocco runs English courses for adults and links to a separate 24/7 online group and private class offer. If your immigration route requires IELTS — for example a Canadian or UK application — this is the strongest institutional name on the list, and it is also an IELTS test organiser.

Course fees are not published on its Morocco English courses page — you enquire — so we cannot compare its cost here. For most adults the decision is a straightforward trade-off: institutional weight and exam authority on one side, published price and small-group speaking time on the other.

• Best for: learners who need institutional recognition, or focused IELTS preparation tied to an immigration file
• Format: in-person courses in Morocco plus a separate online offer with group and private classes
• Pricing: not published on the Morocco English courses page; enquiry required
• Pros: strongest institutional authority for English in Morocco; exam expertise; recognised name on a CV
• Cons: price not published, so hard to compare; less flexible scheduling; classes often larger than a capped small group; in-person options depend on your city

Self-study apps: a supplement, not a preparation plan

Duolingo and Babbel are good at what they do — daily vocabulary and grammar drilling — but they belong in a separate category from everything above, so we deliberately do not rank them against live-teacher courses. An app gives you practice with no teacher, no speaking partner and no one accountable for your progress. A course gives you a teacher, a level path and speaking time.

The honest recommendation for someone six months from a move: a live course to build and correct your speaking, plus an app for ten minutes a day between sessions. Do not expect an app alone to carry you through a job interview or a landlord phone call in English.

On pricing: babbel.com/prices showed USD 8.95 per month on the 12-month individual plan when we checked. Duolingo has a free tier and a paid Super subscription, but its price is only revealed once you start a free-trial flow, so we do not quote it.

• Best for: daily vocabulary and grammar drilling between classes
• Format: self-study on a phone, no teacher
• Pricing: Babbel from USD 8.95/month on the 12-month individual plan (checked live); Duolingo free tier plus a paid Super subscription, price not shown before a trial signup
• Pros: cheap, always available, genuinely good for retention and habit
• Cons: no live speaking, no correction of your actual mistakes, no CEFR certification, no accountability; not a substitute for a course when you are moving to an English-speaking environment

Red flags to watch for before you pay anyone

• No published price and no free trial — you are being asked to commit before you can judge anything
• A guaranteed exam score or a guaranteed level in a fixed number of weeks — no honest school can promise this
• A course that never tells you your CEFR level — you cannot plan a move around a level nobody measured
• Groups with no stated cap — your speaking time per session shrinks with every extra student
• Prices quoted only in a foreign currency with no way to ask questions in Arabic or French
• A teacher or platform with no structured curriculum — pleasant conversation is not preparation

How to choose: a decision framework for adults moving abroad

Rather than trusting any ranking, including this one, answer three questions. They point to different entries on this list.

• Live teacher or self-study app? If you need to function in English at work, at a visa interview or in daily life, you need a teacher. Apps are a supplement, never the main route.
• Group or 1-on-1? A small group is cheaper and gives you peers to speak with; 1-on-1 is faster if your departure date is close or your level is very uneven. A capped group of six is the middle ground.
• General fluency or exam-specific? If your immigration route requires IELTS or TOEFL, general fluency alone is not enough — add exam-specific preparation, whether with us, the British Council, or a dedicated tutor. If no exam is required, invest everything in spoken fluency.

Which one fits your case?

• You are 3–6 months from a work move and need workplace spoken English: a structured live course — Englify is our entry, tested free via the trial class
• Your immigration file requires IELTS with a specific score: exam preparation first — British Council for institutional delivery, or dedicated IELTS preparation alongside general classes
• You are already B1+ and just need to stop freezing in conversation: Cambly-style on-demand practice, or conversation-heavy private classes
• You want to manage your own schedule and pick a specific tutor by specialty: Preply or italki
• You are waiting for paperwork and have 6+ months: start with an app for vocabulary now, and join a live course as soon as your dates firm up
• You are moving with children who will also need English: see our page on English classes for adults moving abroad, which covers family preparation

Sources and dates checked

Every competitor claim above was checked against the provider's own website on 2026-09-16. Englify's own figures are our published prices as of the same date.

• Preply — preply.com/en/online/english-tutors (hourly rates set per tutor) — checked 2026-09-16
• italki — italki.com/en/teachers/english (trial-lesson prices listed per teacher) — checked 2026-09-16
• Cambly — cambly.com/en/students/pricing (login required, no price visible) — checked 2026-09-16
• EF English Live — englishlive.ef.com pricing page (returned 404) — checked 2026-09-16
• British Council Morocco — britishcouncil.ma/en/english (no course fees published) — checked 2026-09-16
• Babbel — babbel.com/prices (USD 8.95/month, 12-month individual plan) — checked 2026-09-16
• Duolingo — duolingo.com/super (price shown only after starting a free trial) — checked 2026-09-16
• Star ratings and review counts: not quoted for any provider, including Englify — automated access to review platforms was blocked when checked on 2026-09-16

Frequently asked questions

What are the best online English classes for adults moving abroad?

For an adult in Morocco, a live course with a CEFR curriculum and real speaking time, started several months before departure. Englify Academy ranks first in this comparison — which Englify publishes — for its published dirham pricing (private 100 MAD/hour; groups 650 MAD for 3 months, 1,000 MAD for 6 months), groups capped at six students, 60-minute sessions three times a week, and a free placement test and trial class. If your move requires an IELTS score, the British Council is the stronger institutional choice for exam preparation.

How much do English classes cost before moving abroad?

At Englify, private one-to-one classes are 100 MAD per hour and group classes are 650 MAD for three months or 1,000 MAD for six months, with a free placement test and trial class. On marketplaces like Preply and italki you pay per lesson at rates each tutor sets individually. Cambly, EF English Live and the British Council did not publish a price we could verify, so compare their quotes in dirhams before deciding.

Is general English enough, or do I need IELTS preparation for immigration?

It depends on the route. Some immigration programmes require a specific IELTS score — Canada and the UK are common examples — and for those, general fluency classes alone are not enough: add exam-specific preparation. If no exam is required for your move, put all your effort into spoken fluency and functional English for work and daily life.

How far in advance should I start English classes before moving?

As early as you can, and realistically at least three to six months before departure if your level is below B1. A CEFR placement test at the start tells you where you stand, so you can plan backwards from your departure date instead of guessing. Englify's placement test and first trial class are free.

Group classes or one-to-one classes before a move?

Choose a small group if you have three to six months and want peers to speak with at a lower cost; choose one-to-one if your departure is close, your level is very uneven, or you have a specific need like a job interview or visa interview. At Englify, groups are capped at six students so you still speak in every session, and one-to-one classes are available at 100 MAD per hour.

Why does this page not show star ratings or review counts?

Because we could not verify them live at the time of writing — the review platforms we tried blocked automated access. Rather than copy numbers we could not confirm, or invent a rating for ourselves, we left ratings out entirely and stated only facts taken from each provider's own site on the date shown on this page.

Explore more

• English classes for adults moving abroad
• English classes for immigrants
• IELTS preparation guide
• IELTS preparation in Morocco
• English interview preparation in Morocco
• English course prices in Morocco
• All English learning guides