4 Best Apps to Reduce Filler Words (2026)

A filler count is useful only if it helps you make the next answer clearer. You can lower the count by saying less, rushing, or reading a script. None of those changes necessarily prepares you for a real conversation.

This comparison focuses on four apps that document relevant speech feedback or exercises. For the underlying practice method, read why filler words happen and how to reduce them. For a broader product comparison, see the speech coaching roundup.

Articulated publishes this guide and includes its own app. We reviewed official product descriptions on October 11, 2026. The recommendations describe practice fit; we have not benchmarked the products' detection accuracy against the same audio recordings.

Compare detection, practice, and context

1. Articulated: best for a repeatable practice loop

Articulated's filler-word practice combines the Filler Eliminator drill with feedback on the wider speaking attempt. Its six skills are clarity, fluency, structure, vocabulary, confidence, and engagement. That matters when a repeated “so” or “basically” appears because the next point is not yet organized.

Use a familiar prompt, record, and select one change from the feedback. You might finish the recommendation before adding background, or allow a pause between two ideas. Key moments and suggested rewrites connect the advice to the recording.

Tradeoff: this is recorded practice, not a background monitor running inside your meetings. It also does not provide an AI partner that replies to your Scenario Practice answer. Choose it for deliberate rehearsal and review.

Access: iOS and Android; recorded practice and feedback support 16 languages. Premium speaking practice requires a subscription. Articulated: US$5.83/month (billed yearly) — US App Store. Local prices and trial eligibility vary.

2. Orai: best for reviewing the same speech repeatedly

Orai's official listing includes filler-word feedback, transcripts, audio playback, prepared and freestyle practice, and progress history. Its website links iOS, Android, and web access.

This suits a recurring piece of speaking: a one-minute project update, an introduction, or the opening of a presentation. Repeat the same task, inspect the transcript, and listen to the part where a repeated word appears.

Tradeoff: a detected word still needs context. “Like” can introduce an example or comparison, and a repeated word can be intentional emphasis. Review the phrase before deciding it needs removal.

Access: Orai: Pro: US$12/month (billed monthly); Pro: US$4.17/month (billed yearly) The separate Orai Journey course is not included merely because you subscribe to Pro; check its pricing page.

3. Speeko: best for combining feedback with guided exercises

Speeko's help center describes speech feedback, course content, warm-ups, and practice across iOS, macOS, Android, and web. It also says Pro members can add custom filler words from their language, alongside choosing a supported transcription language.

That is useful to investigate if your repeated phrase is not a standard English hesitation. The setting does not by itself establish perfect recognition: record the phrase naturally, review how it appears, and check whether useful words are being flagged too broadly.

Tradeoff: distinguish an exercise that teaches a speaking habit from a report that identifies one. Check which course activities and level of feedback you can access in your plan; basic free feedback is not the full paid offering.

Access: Speeko: US$29.99/month (billed monthly); US$8.33/month (billed yearly)

4. Yoodli: best for taking the habit into a conversation

Yoodli's public-speaking page describes reports with pacing and filler-word analytics. Its interview-practice page adds contextual follow-up questions, giving you a way to practice when you do not control the next turn.

This is a different test from repeating a prepared paragraph. If your fillers mainly appear when someone challenges an answer, interactive practice can reproduce the need to think about a response. Evaluate whether the feedback helps you notice that moment.

Tradeoff: limits apply to the practice session, not just the filler report. The Starter plan includes five lifetime sessions. Verify the current mode and allowance before building a daily routine around it.

Access: Yoodli: Pro: US$8/month (billed yearly); Advanced: US$20/month (billed yearly)

A free way to inspect a transcript

Our filler and repetition checker flags possible patterns in pasted English text. It is a free text tool, separate from Articulated's subscription-based voice feedback. It does not record, transcribe, or hear your speech.

That distinction matters. If a transcription service turns “I, um, think we should, uh, wait” into “I think we should wait,” the missing sounds are no longer available to a text checker. A tidy transcript can make a hesitant recording look different from how it sounded.

For a short sample, listen and add the hesitations you actually hear. Keep the original audio for review. If you compare sessions, use the same transcription approach rather than comparing a cleaned transcript with a verbatim one.

Use a one-minute comparison that keeps the message intact

This exercise is a self-review method, not a validated measurement of speaking ability.

1. Choose a real question: “What should our team prioritize this week, and why?”
2. Record the first answer: explain the point in your own words.
3. Find one pattern: perhaps “basically” before each new idea, or several restarts before the recommendation.
4. Choose one change: state the recommendation first or pause before the supporting reason.
5. Repeat the answer: preserve the meaning and relevant details.
6. Listen to both: decide whether the second response is easier to follow.

Use Record & Compare to listen to two attempts. It leaves the judgment to you and does not create an AI score. If you need a timed prompt instead, try the 60-second speaking practice.

What should you compare besides the count?

There is no zero-filler target in this routine. Focus on patterns that distract your listener and keep words that do useful work. For a response that wanders even after fillers are reduced, practice how to stop rambling rather than treating every problem as a word-count issue.

FAQ

What is the best app to reduce filler words?

Articulated is our pick for repeated drills that also review clarity and structure. Orai suits recording-based delivery feedback, Speeko combines feedback with guided exercises, and Yoodli adds conversation practice. Choose based on whether you need detection, an exercise, or an interlocutor.

Can a transcript checker count every um and uh?

No. It can inspect only the words present in the transcript. If transcription removes hesitations, a text checker cannot recover them. Listen to the audio and keep the transcription method consistent between attempts.

Should I remove every filler word?

You do not need a zero-filler goal for this practice. Reduce repeated sounds or words that distract from your point, preserve meaningful wording, and check that the change has not made the answer rushed or unnatural.

Sources and comparison method

We checked the official descriptions linked above on October 11, 2026 for relevant feedback, practice format, platforms, and access. Price components retain October 7 snapshot dates. We do not rank detection accuracy or claim a measured reduction from using any app. See our editorial standards for sourcing and corrections.

Keep reading

• Free speech practice apps and tools
• Interview practice apps for spoken answers
• How fast should you speak?