Is a Spanish tutor worth it compared to an app?

It depends on what you need. A tutor is worth it for speaking practice, personalized feedback and accountability. An app is better for daily habit, vocabulary and flexible, cheap practice. They solve different problems, so the strongest setup for most learners is a bit of both rather than one or the other.

What a tutor gives you that an app doesn't

Real conversation. A person reacts, asks follow-up questions, and sometimes says things you don't expect. That's what real speaking is like.
Personal feedback. A good tutor spots your recurring mistakes, like a verb ending you keep getting wrong, and fixes them before they become habits.
Explanations. You can ask "why?" and get an answer fitted to you.
Accountability. A booked lesson is harder to skip than an app notification.
Tailoring. If you need Spanish for travel, work or family, a tutor can shape lessons around that.

What an app gives you that a tutor doesn't

Frequency. You can practice for ten minutes anywhere, every day.
Lower cost per session. Apps are generally much cheaper than live lessons.
Spaced review. Apps are good at scheduling vocabulary review. See what spaced repetition is.
Low pressure. No awkwardness if you make mistakes or want to repeat something five times.
Volume of input. Some apps give you plenty of listening and reading, which an hour a week with a tutor can't match. Langtok, the app I built, is one example: short stories with synced subtitles, though it won't give you feedback on your speaking.

Where each one struggles

Tutors have limits: cost, scheduling, and uneven quality. Not every tutor is a good teacher, and a pleasant chat isn't the same as real instruction. Also, an hour a week is a small slice of the hours you need. I'd treat lessons as a way to sharpen, not as your main source of Spanish.

Apps struggle with feedback and real conversation. They can't easily tell what you mean when your sentence is unusual, and they tend to practice what's predictable. See becoming fluent with only apps.

When to pick a tutor first

Choose a tutor when:

Speaking is your main goal and you freeze in conversation.
You have a deadline, like a trip, move or exam.
You struggle to stick to self-study without someone expecting you.
You've plateaued and need someone to spot what's holding you back.

When to start with an app

Start with an app when:

You're a complete beginner and not sure you'll stick with it.
Your schedule is unpredictable.
Budget is a real limit.
You want to build vocabulary and basic listening first, so lessons are more productive later.

A combined setup

A very workable plan: use apps or other self-study for daily practice, and book one or two tutor sessions a week. Before each lesson, prepare a few things you want to say. After, add the corrections to your notes or flashcards.

Starting with tutor lessons while knowing almost nothing can be a slow way to spend money, since much of the time goes to basics you could cover alone. Learn the first few hundred words and simple sentences first, then bring that to a tutor, and the hour goes much further.

If cost matters, see free ways to learn Spanish, or language exchanges for a free way to get conversation practice.