Preply

Market position

Preply describes itself as the largest online language learning marketplace and the category leader in human-led, AI-enabled learning. Company materials cite a $115 billion global language learning market and an estimated $227 billion direct-to-consumer language learning market by 2035, with 1.8 billion people worldwide working toward second-language proficiency according to HolonIQ. It reached unicorn status at a $1.2 billion valuation in January 2026.

Preply positions its combination of live human tutoring with AI assistance against platforms moving toward full automation, and emphasizes personalized one-on-one instruction over standardized curricula. Its 2025 Efficiency Study with LeanLab Education reported that 96% of learners viewed human tutoring and real conversation as essential to progress, 97% said such interactions boosted confidence, learners progressed up to 3x faster than average benchmarks, and one in three advanced a full CEFR level in 12 weeks. The company also offers a free replacement lesson with another tutor if a learner is not satisfied.

Technology

The platform uses a machine-learning recommendation and ranking algorithm to match learners with tutors based on factors such as budget and schedule. Preply Classroom (formerly Preply Space) provides integrated video, chat and screen sharing, replacing earlier reliance on third-party tools like Skype. An AI tutoring co-pilot suite supports grammar explanations, conversation starters, lesson plans, lesson summaries, homework generation, learner–tutor matching, progress tracking and automation of administrative work. Native mobile clients are available on iOS and Android.

Go-to-market

Individual language learners worldwide, including adults, children, students preparing for exams such as IELTS, and business English learners; independent tutors who use the platform to find students and get paid; and corporate employers purchasing language training for employees through Preply Business.

Geography

Headquartered in the United States (Brookline, Massachusetts per Wikipedia) with four global hubs in New York, London, Kyiv and Barcelona. Learners are served in 180 countries (more than 190 per Wikipedia's 2024 figure), and the site is available in languages including English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Russian, Spanish and Ukrainian.

History

Founded in 2012 by Ukrainian entrepreneurs Serge Lukianov, Kirill Bigai and Dmytro Voloshyn, Preply launched the first version of preply.com in November 2012 and expanded the same year into other Eastern European markets including Belarus, Kazakhstan, Poland and Russia. It raised $180,000 in angel funding in August 2013 and $1.3 million in June 2016, when headcount reached 100 and the platform adopted a machine-learning-based tutor ranking algorithm; at that stage lessons were run over third-party tools such as Skype. Preply Space/Classroom introduced integrated video, chat and screen sharing, and Preply graduated from Techstars. In 2019 the company entered Spain with a Barcelona office, expanded in the UK and Germany, and launched Preply Business. Booked lesson hours and tutor registrations spiked during early COVID-19 school closures in March 2020, and in May 2020 Preply won "The Revenue Hack of 2020" at the Ukrainian Startup Awards. By March 2021 it had facilitated over 10 million lessons with roughly 40,000 tutors across 190 countries and had raised $50.6 million across eight rounds. A $50 million round followed in July 2022 and a $70 million Series C extension led by Horizon Capital in July 2023; offices opened in New York (October 2023) and London (July 2024). In January 2026 the company closed a $150 million Series D at a $1.2 billion valuation.

Risks & controversies

Preply's origins and a substantial engineering presence in Ukraine expose it to the effects of the 2022 Russian invasion; the company relocated employees from Ukraine and organized support initiatives, including free lessons for about 1,000 displaced Ukrainians. Tutors are engaged as independent contractors who set their own rates and schedules. The English-language Wikipedia article about the company carries a promotional-content maintenance notice.