Are you an online ESL teacher looking to save time on lesson planning by investing in an affordable teaching material subscription?
In this blog post, I’ll compare 5 of the most popular ESL lesson material subscriptions to help you choose which one is best for you and your learners. We’ll look at the ages/levels and cost of the materials, whether there is a free trial or free lessons to test out, what the lessons are like, and what makes the lessons different from the others.
- ESL Brains
- Abridge Academy
- ESL Pals
- Off2Class
- Crystal Clear ESL
Disclaimer: This blog post contains affiliate links. If you choose to make a purchase through one of my links, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. This helps me continue to create free content for teachers. Thank you!
Post Contents
ESL Lesson Material Subscriptions: Quick Comparison Table
| Platform | Best For | Levels | Price | Free Access |
| ESL Brains | Adult learners | A1–C2 | $6–$12 per month | 36 free lessons |
| Abridge Academy | Young learners | A1–C2 | From $11.99 per month | 30 free lessons |
| ESL Pals | Kids and adults | A1–C2 | $19 per month | Free sample lessons |
| Off2Class | Teens and adults | A1–C1 | $24 per month | 150 free lessons |
| Crystal Clear ESL | Preschool to adults | Pre-A1–C1 | $6.99–$12.99 per month | 40 free lessons |
ESL Brains
If you primarily teach adults, ESL Brains is one of the first websites you should check out. The platform offers more than 1,000 lessons (at all proficiency levels), with approximately 17 new lessons added every month.
The curriculum covers A1–C2. Almost all lessons are based on authentic videos.
ESL Brains Pricing
There are two primary plans:
- Premium: $6 USD per month
- Unlimited: $12 USD per month
- Annual subscriptions provide additional savings
Higher tiers unlock more lessons and features. Personally, the unlimited option provides the best value because you can access the entire library and tools.
Free plans: Free trial with 36 lesson plans. You must create an account and sign in.
Lesson Formats
Teachers can access:
- Printable PDFs (teacher and student versions)
- E-lessons (for interactive online teaching)
- Editable slides
- Worksheets and activities
The editable slides are one of the biggest advantages of ESL Brains. Rather than skipping content that doesn’t fit your learners, you can customize lessons to match specific student needs.
Lesson Types
- Standard lessons: Work on all language skills (reading, writing, listening, speaking)
- Speaking classes: Focus on conversations to encourage students to voice opinions
- Critical reading club: Article-based lessons that promote critical thinking, vocabulary, and reading
- Flipped lessons: Pre-teach concepts before class to maximize in-class learning
- Vocabulary lab: Interactive worksheets to teach new words
What Makes ESL Brains Different?
Several features make ESL Brains stand out:
- Authentic videos form the basis of many lessons, making them more practical.
- Slides are customizable, unlike other companies.
- Lessons work for both online and in-person classes.
- Flipped classroom options maximize speaking time.
- Vocabulary labs provide interactive practice.
Ready to try ESL Brains? Sign up here to access your free trial.
Abridge Academy
Abridge Academy focuses primarily on young learners while offering several specialist courses for older or advanced students.
The core curriculum targets A1 and A2 learners, although advanced programs extend to the C2 level through debating, guided reading, and other specialized courses.
There are 500+ lessons, with new lessons added each week. Classes are designed for 1–6 learners only due to how interactive they are.
Abridge Academy Pricing
Membership starts at:
- $11.99 USD per month for individual teachers
- Group accounts with multiple teachers cost $11.99 USD per month per teacher
Free plans: Limited free tier with access to 30 interactive lessons.
You can test lessons first through the free tier before committing to a paid subscription. Click here to try out Abridge Academy.
Lesson Formats
Abridge Academy lessons are highly interactive and require a teaching platform such as Koala, ClassIn, Voov, or similar. Students are able to manipulate parts of the lessons on their screen.
Resources include:
- Interactive slides
- Homework workbooks
- Flashcards
- Lesson previews for students
- Built-in feedback and assessments
Lesson Types
Available lesson types include:
- Vocabulary and grammar
- Speaking and listening
- Reading and phonics
- Story-based lessons
- Specialist courses: debating, guided reading, topic-based lessons
What Makes Abridge Academy Different?
The biggest advantage is interactivity for young learners. Students can drag objects, click responses, draw on screens, and participate in gamified activities. As a result, lessons feel dynamic and engaging rather than passive.
Additionally, the platform follows a zero-preparation approach. Teachers simply open the lesson and begin teaching.
Ready to try Abridge Academy? Click here to sign up for your free trial.
ESL Pals
ESL Pals is for both kids and adults and includes grammar, conversational, and business English classes. They offer levels A1-C2, with over 1000 lessons and new lessons added each week. There are also placement tests as part of your subscription.
The ESL curriculum is organized into four areas:
- Kids’ English – Levels 0,1,2, and 3
- Business English – B1–C2
- General English – A1–C2
- Grammar-specific – A1–C1
- ESL Conversational Classes
Pricing
Choose from several options:
- $19 USD per month
- $49 USD for six months ($8.20 per month)
- $79 USD for one year ($6.50 per month)
All plans include unlimited access to the full library, ESL tests, and weekly new lessons.
Free plans: ESL Pals provides a limited selection of free lessons for all categories and levels. No signup is required to download the lessons.
Lesson Formats
Lessons typically include:
- Videos that are an audio recording or an article
- Ready-to-teach format with a variety of activities
- Download the lessons or click a button and use them to teach online with the screen share feature of your platform of choice
What Makes ESL Pals Different?
ESL Pals has created their lessons using the mantra: We plan, you teach. The lessons are ready-to-teach.
ESL Pals uses videos (basically an audio file) and articles as resources for more engaging content instead of relying on traditional textbooks.
The large library of over 1000 lessons covers a variety of teaching topics, and new lessons are added weekly.
The lessons are step-by-step. You can also filter lessons and tests by level and topic.
Separate student and teacher versions of each lesson make it easy to teach.
Off2Class
Off2Class is designed mostly for middle and high school students, with some adult lessons too. You can teach almost all levels from A1–C1, excluding C2. Additionally, you can get over 1,500 lessons for both newcomers and long-term English learners, with new lessons added continuously. There’s also Business English, IELTS, and TOEFL prep lessons.
Off2Class Pricing
- $24 USD per month (annual subscription) for an individual teacher
- Up to five students are included
- Can be upgraded for more students/teachers
Free plans: Sign up for free to download 150 to 200 lessons.
Lesson Formats
Off2Class is a fully interactive digital platform with downloadable materials.
- Slide-based interactive lessons (PDF/PPT)
- Most lessons are optimized for online teaching, but printable materials are also available, including slide templates and structured PDFs for offline use.
- Audio tasks
Lesson Types
The types of lessons include:
- Grammar
- Speaking
- Listening
- Reading
- Writing
- Business English
- IELTS preparation
- Vocabulary development and skills-based lessons
What Makes Off2Class Different?
Off2Class integrates all the tools within one ecosystem. You can combine lesson content, student management, and track progress in one platform.
Another advantage is the dynamic nature of the lessons, which allows the students and teacher to interact in real time. The interactive elements include typing, drawing, and audio on the same screen.
The lessons follow a clear progression, from A1 to C1, making it ideal for long-term programs.
Finally, you can conduct placement tests for students to help prepare individualized lesson plans.
Crystal Clear ESL
Crystal Clear ESL provides ready-to-use, interactive lesson materials for preschool to adult learners. The materials cover A1–C1 levels, including Business English, IELTS preparation, and phonics. There are 744 core lessons.
Crystal Clear ESL Pricing
Curriculum bundle:
- Business English: $9.99 USD per month
- Kids and Teens: $12.99 USD per month
- Phonics: $6.99 USD per month
Free plans: There is a forever-free library under the Free Trial Plan for pre-A1 to C1 ESL learners. The library includes 40 sample lessons of the core curriculum, built-in homework, customizable games, and downloadable backup lessons.
Lesson Formats
The lessons utilize:
- Interactive slides (main delivery)
- Downloadable homework booklets
Note: Core ESL lessons remain online rather than downloadable.
What Makes Crystal Clear ESL Different?
Crystal Clear ESL uses gamified lessons for fully interactive learning experiences. The materials include songs, games, and exercises, targeted especially for young learners.
There is a zero-prep teaching system, which is sequential and ready-to-teach.
Like all of the lesson plan subscriptions in this post, a commercial-use license is included as part of your subscription.
Final Thoughts
ESL lesson plan material subscriptions are a great tool that can help you save time lesson planning so you can focus on helping your students improve. I hope this post helped you determine which ones you’d like to test out in your classes!
If you’d like to learn about how to teach online (for beginners) or how to freelance teach online, then check out the ESL Teacher 365 Membership, which includes access to my online courses Teach Online in 10 Days and the Freelance Online Teaching Course, along with all my other courses and training recordings.
Click here to check out the membership.
Happy teaching!
Jamie
Frequently Asked Questions
Question: Can I test out ESL teaching material subscriptions before enrolling?
Answer: Yes. Companies like ESL Brains, Abridge Academy, Crystal Clear ESL, and more allow you to try out free trials or download free lessons.
Question: Can I use the ESL lesson material subscription for freelance teaching?
Answer: Most major providers, like Crystal Clear ESL, include commercial licenses that allow you to use the lessons on other platforms such as Preply.
Question: Can I download all the lessons in ESL lesson plan subscriptions?
Answer: It depends on the platform. Some companies, like Abridge Academy, have highly interactive lessons that must be hosted on their platform.
