Free Public Speaking Apps: What Free Actually Gets You
There are three genuinely free ways to practise public speaking: record yourself on your phone, count your filler words with Ummo on iOS, or answer questions in Google Interview Warmup. Everything else described as a free public speaking app is a free tier, capped by session count, feedback depth or platform. This page lists what each one gives you, what it withholds, and where EchoPitch's free Pitch Scorer and $12.99 trial sit alongside them.
Quick Answer
The best free public speaking app depends on which signal you want measured. Ummo (iOS, free) counts filler words. Google Interview Warmup (browser, free, no account) shows you a transcript with talking points and filler words but says nothing about how you sounded. Recording yourself is free and effective but gives you no counts, no pace figure and no trend line. Orai, Yoodli and Speeko offer free tiers that limit sessions or features: Yoodli's free plan is five sessions in total. Toastmasters is not free but is cheap, at roughly £50 to £100 a year plus club dues, and is the only option with a live audience. EchoPitch offers a free 60-second Pitch Scorer with no signup, then 5 full sessions with multimodal reports for $12.99, paid once. For the wider field, including paid tools, see the best public speaking apps comparison.
Three kinds of "free"
Search for a free public speaking app and you will find three quite different things wearing the same label. It helps to know which one you are looking at before you download anything.
Free forever, and small. Ummo and Google Interview Warmup cost nothing and will never ask for a card. They are also narrow by design: one counts filler words, the other checks whether your interview answer covered the talking points. Neither will tell you whether you sounded confident.
Free tier of a paid product.Orai, Yoodli and Speeko all let you in for nothing and then meter what you get. The meter is usually sessions (Yoodli's free plan is five in total, not per month), sometimes features (lessons, meeting integration, analytics) and occasionally the device (Orai is a phone app, Speeko leans Apple). These free tiers are useful for a week of finding out which app you like. They are not useful for the four to eight weeks it takes to change a habit.
Free of software, not of cost. Recording yourself costs nothing in money and a fair amount in discomfort. Toastmasters costs a small membership fee and a weekly evening. Both are excellent; neither is an app.
EchoPitch fits the middle category with one difference: instead of a metered free plan, there is a free tool. The Pitch Scorer scores a 60-second recording on confidence, clarity and persuasion with no signup. The full report, saved sessions and trend tracking are on the $12.99 trial: 5 sessions, paid once, 30 days of access, no subscription. We say so plainly because pages that promise a free trial and then show a card form are the most irritating thing on the internet.
The genuinely free options and free tiers
Recording yourself
Any phone or laptop
What free gets you: A replay of exactly what the audience saw and heard. Self-observation measurably reduces filler words and improves posture.
What it limits
- No framework: most people fixate on hair and clothes, not delivery
- No filler-word count, no words-per-minute figure
- No progress tracking across sessions
- Uncomfortable enough that most people stop within a week
Ummo
iOS only
What free gets you: A simple filler-word counter with audio recording. Good for basic awareness of how often you say um, like and so.
What it limits
- iOS only
- Filler words only: no pace, confidence or clarity feedback
- No video, so nothing on eye contact or expression
- Audio recording with a simple interface, little else
Google Interview Warmup
Any browser
What free gets you: Answer interview questions out loud and get a transcript with talking points, job-related terms and filler words highlighted.
What it limits
- Content only: it never tells you how you sounded
- No confidence, pace or delivery feedback
- Interview questions only, not presentations or pitches
- Nothing is saved, so there is no trend to follow
Orai (free tier)
iOS and Android
What free gets you: Audio-only speech analysis of filler words, pacing and energy, with structured lessons for beginners.
What it limits
- Free tier is limited; lessons and full feedback sit behind the subscription
- Audio only, so no body language or expression analysis
- Post-recording feedback only
- Less suited to formal presentation rehearsal
Yoodli (free tier)
Browser
What free gets you: Filler words, pacing and eye contact on recorded or uploaded speech, plus meeting integration on paid plans.
What it limits
- Five free sessions is a lifetime total, not a monthly allowance
- Live meeting feedback and analytics need a paid plan
- Delivery metrics only: it does not assess content quality
- Priced for enterprise teams; individuals pay more per feature
Toastmasters
In person, weekly or fortnightly
What free gets you: A real audience, human feedback, a structured curriculum and a community. The one thing no app replicates.
What it limits
- Not free, though cheap for what it is
- You face a room from the first meeting
- Feedback quality varies by club
- Fixed meeting cadence: no practice at midnight before the big day
What each free option measures
| Option | Cost | Filler words | Pace | Confidence | Saved progress |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Recording yourself | Free | By ear | By ear | By eye | Folder of files |
| Ummo | Free (iOS) | ✓ | - | - | - |
| Google Interview Warmup | Free | ✓ | - | - | - |
| Orai free tier | Limited | ✓ | ✓ | - | Paid |
| Yoodli free tier | 5 sessions total | ✓ | ✓ | - | Paid |
| Toastmasters | ~£50-100/yr + dues | Human ah-counter | Human | Human | Pathways record |
| EchoPitch Pitch Scorer | Free, no signup | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | Trial |
| EchoPitch trial | $12.99, 5 sessions | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ voice + face | ✓ |
When free is enough
- You have one problem and already know what it is, usually filler words.
- You will actually watch your own recordings back, more than once.
- The talk is low stakes, or a long way off.
- You want a week of trying tools before choosing one.
When $12.99 is the better deal
- The problem is nerves, not vocabulary. Free tools count words; they do not read composure.
- You need to see whether you are improving, which means the same metrics across several sessions.
- There is an interview, pitch or board presentation in the next month.
- You would rather pay once than start another monthly subscription. After the trial it is $37 a month, and only if you want it.
A free week of practice that actually works
Whichever tools you pick, the method matters more than the software. Practise out loud, standing up, and record every run. Watch each recording with one question in mind: what is the single thing to change next time? Fix that one thing, then re-record. Three deliberate sessions with recording and review beat ten read-throughs of your notes. Our guide on how to practise a presentation walks through the full method.
A sensible free sequence: score a 60-second clip on the Pitch Scorer to find your weakest signal, then spend the week recording yourself on your phone working on only that signal. If it is filler words, Ummo or Google Interview Warmup will give you a count each day for nothing. If it is pace, count words in a 60-second recording and aim for the 130 to 150 words per minute that reads as confident. If it is the way you come across, that is the point at which free tools run out and the trial earns its keep.
What the paid report adds on top of a free score
This is an unedited report from a real EchoPitch session: a 9 minute conference talk, recorded by EchoPitch's founder. Every session you record gets the same breakdown.
Scores out of 100
- Overall72
- Confidence75
- Composure73
- Clarity70
- Enthusiasm72
- Persuasion68
You delivered a competent, knowledge-backed presentation that positioned you as credible within your field. With stronger opening impact and more dynamic delivery, you'd elevate this from solid to memorable for this competitive conference audience.
What worked
- Maintained steady pacing throughout the 9-minute slot, allowing time for key points to land without rushing despite time constraints
- Demonstrated subject matter expertise through specific examples and data points that resonated with conference attendees
- Effective use of conversational tone and occasional humor to build rapport with a room of peers and competitors
What to change
- Strengthen your opening hook in the first 15 seconds—conference audiences decide engagement quickly; lead with a bold statement or relevant question rather than background context
- Increase vocal variety and strategic pausing; some sections felt monotone, which diluted the persuasive impact of your strongest claims
- Clarify your call-to-action or key takeaway in the final 30 seconds; ensure the audience knows exactly what you want them to do, remember, or discuss next
Key moments in the recording
- 0:08Opening — Introduced topic professionally but with standard framing; missed opportunity to open with surprise insight or bold take
- 2:45Data Integration — Cited specific metrics and examples that grounded your argument—this built credibility with the conference audience
- 6:30Engagement Peak — Asked the audience a reflective question; this moment created interactive energy and showed audience awareness
- 8:45Closing — Ended with a summary but lacked a memorable final statement or clear next step; audience left without distinct takeaway
Try this on your next attempt
In conference settings, your first 10 seconds determine who stays mentally present. Replace any throat-clearing or slow build-up with one compelling statement that makes attendees think 'I need to hear this.'
Free public speaking app FAQ
Is there a completely free public speaking app?
Yes. Ummo is a free iOS filler-word counter, Google Interview Warmup is a free browser tool with no account, and recording yourself on a phone costs nothing. Every other app on this list (Orai, Yoodli, Speeko) is freemium: a limited free tier that exists to move you onto a paid plan. EchoPitch's free Pitch Scorer gives you a confidence, clarity and persuasion score on a 60-second clip with no signup; the full report and saved sessions are on the paid trial.
What do the free tiers of speaking apps actually limit?
Usually one of three things: the number of sessions (Yoodli's free plan is five sessions in total, not per month), the depth of feedback (Google Interview Warmup analyses your transcript but says nothing about how you sounded), or the platform (Ummo is iOS only). Free tiers rarely limit recording length, but they almost always withhold the progress tracking that makes practice worthwhile over more than a week.
Is recording yourself as good as a public speaking app?
It is the best free option and genuinely works: self-observation reduces filler words and improves posture better than mental rehearsal. Its weaknesses are that you do not know what to look for, you cannot count filler words objectively, you have no pace measurement, and most people find watching themselves uncomfortable enough that they stop after a few sessions. Apps add the counting, the targets and the trend line.
Is Toastmasters free?
No, but it is cheap. Membership runs roughly £50 to £100 a year plus club dues, for which you get a real audience, human feedback and a structured curriculum at weekly or fortnightly meetings. The cost that puts most people off is not money but exposure: you face a room from the first meeting, and feedback quality varies from club to club.
Does EchoPitch have a free plan?
EchoPitch has a free tool, not a free plan. The Pitch Scorer scores a 60-second recording on confidence, clarity and persuasion with no signup. Beyond that, 5 full sessions with complete AI reports cost £9.99, paid once, with 30 days of access. There is no recurring free tier, which is a deliberate choice: the money pays for the multimodal analysis rather than for adverts or upsell nags.
Which free public speaking app should I start with?
If you only want to know how many filler words you use, Ummo (iOS) or Google Interview Warmup (any browser) will tell you for nothing. If you want a read on how you come across, score a clip on EchoPitch's Pitch Scorer, then record yourself for a week with your phone. Spend money only once you know which signal you need to fix.
Related comparisons
Best Public Speaking Apps →
Best Presentation Practice Apps →
Free Presentation Practice →
Free Interview Practice →
EchoPitch vs Recording Yourself →
EchoPitch vs Toastmasters →
EchoPitch vs Google Interview Warmup →
EchoPitch vs Yoodli →
EchoPitch vs Orai →
Start free, pay once if it helps
Score a 60-second clip on confidence, clarity and persuasion with no signup. When you want the full report and saved sessions, 5 sessions cost $12.99, paid once.