darji vs italki and Preply: an app or a Darija tutor? (2026)

italki and Preply aren’t apps that teach Darija. They are marketplaces where you book one-to-one video lessons with a tutor, many of them Moroccan. darji is a self-study app with short lessons and Moroccan voices. So this isn’t really a choice between two versions of the same thing: a tutor gives you conversation, an app gives you daily practice. Here is what each one offers, and what it costs.

Who each one is for

• A tutor on italki or Preply suits you if you want to speak from the first week, have someone correct you, and shape lessons around your life: your partner’s family, a move to Morocco, a wedding.
• darji suits you if you want to practise every day for a few minutes, at any hour, with every word recorded by a Moroccan, for a fixed price.

Side by side

What a tutor does well

A good tutor answers you. You try a sentence, get stuck, and someone gives you the word, fixes your “3” and asks a follow-up question, which is the closest thing to talking with Moroccans. Lessons can follow what you need: phrases for meeting your in-laws, the vocabulary of your job, the Darija of a particular city. On italki you can read profiles and reviews and book a cheap trial first; on 23 October 2026 trials on its Maghrebi Arabic page ran from $5 to $20.

The cost adds up, though. One lesson a week at $15 is around $60 a month, and between lessons you still need something to review with.

What darji does differently

darji is the part between lessons, or the start before them. Short lessons on real situations, every word recorded by a Moroccan voice and never a synthetic one, written in Latin letters the way Moroccans text and in Arabic script. The speak-back mode records you so you can compare, and the Dictionnaire keeps 3,500+ recorded words to review by theme. It costs the same each month however much you use it. darji was founded by Wissal, a Moroccan Darija teacher; the course is mapped from A1 to C1, and Pro opens the lessons as they come out.

What darji doesn’t do is talk back. No app replaces a person who listens and answers, and darji isn’t in the App Store or on Google Play yet: it’s a web app you open in your browser.

Choose a tutor if…

• you want real conversation and correction from the start;
• you have a specific goal and want lessons built around it;
• you can set aside a regular time each week;
• the budget for weekly lessons is there.

Choose darji if…

• you want to practise a few minutes every day, whenever suits you;
• you want to hear every word from a Moroccan voice and repeat it as often as you like;
• you want a fixed price rather than paying by the hour;
• you want a base of words and phrases before, or between, lessons with a tutor.

Plenty of learners do both: a tutor once a week to speak, an app every day to remember. darji’s first lesson needs no account: start it here. For other courses and apps, see our 2026 roundup of Darija apps or the course syllabus.

Questions

How much does a Darija tutor cost on italki or Preply? Tutors set their own prices. On 23 October 2026, trial lessons on italki’s Maghrebi Arabic page ran from $5 to $20, and Preply’s Moroccan Arabic page showed a range from $3 to over $40 per lesson.

Are italki and Preply tutors Moroccan? Many are, but not all. Read each profile: look for a tutor from Morocco who says they teach Darija, not only Standard Arabic.

Can an app replace a tutor? Not for conversation. An app is good for daily listening, vocabulary and repetition; a tutor is good for speaking and correction. They work well together.

Is there a free way to start? darji’s first 4 lessons are free, and the first 2 need no account. italki’s trial lessons are paid, from $5 on the page we checked.