I noticed a lot of people on italki don't want to pay money so they just look for language partners. But if you want to learn the language seriously, I definitely recommend getting an italki teacher first (main priority), and then consider language partners to supplement your learning. Finding a good language partner is possible but it can take some time to find one. Also a teacher will constantly push you a little bit more each lesson. A good teacher will not make it too hard to learn, but also not too easy. Overall you will learn quickly if you have teachers (or teachers + language partners). Just my opinion anyway.

I second what Gavin wrote. If you are a beginner, it is definitely better to get a teacher. A teacher can teach you in a more structured way. Also, as you pay the teacher, he/she will make time for teaching you, whereas a language partner might sometimes be to busy.