Babbel

Subscription language course with structured lessons, grammar explanations and live classes.

Verified facts: 3 of 3
Alternatives ranked: 6
Approved reviews: 0
Visits sent from here: 0

About Babbel

Babbel is a Berlin-based language course app aimed at adults who want practical conversation skills. Lessons are written by language experts for each language pair, so the course explains grammar and teaches dialogues for everyday situations such as travel, work and small talk, with speech recognition, review sessions, podcasts and games alongside. Babbel Live adds small online classes with teachers for an extra cost. It covers fewer languages than Duolingo, focusing on major European languages plus a few others, and it is a paid subscription with only a free first lesson in each language; lifetime plans are sometimes offered. It runs on iOS, Android and the web. Learners who find Duolingo too gamified and too light on explanations often switch to Babbel, though it still needs conversation practice elsewhere to reach fluency.

Best for: Adults who want structured, practical lessons with clear grammar explanations.

What works

Clear grammar explanations in each lesson
Courses built for each language pair
Optional live classes with teachers

Why people leave

Fewer languages than Duolingo
Only a taster is free
Live classes cost extra

Top Babbel alternatives

See all 6

1
Duolingo
Free and more game-like if motivation matters more than explanations.
66.5
2
Busuu
Similar structured courses with feedback from native speakers.
62.6
3
Rosetta Stone
Immersion method without translations, with lifetime options.
59.6
4
Pimsleur
Audio-first lessons that build speaking and listening on the go.
57.2
5
Lingoda
Regular live classes with certified teachers for faster progress.
55.3

Why people left Babbel

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Babbel: common questions

Is Babbel free?

No, Babbel is a paid product.

Is Babbel open source?

No, Babbel is not open source.

What platforms does Babbel run on?

Babbel is available for Web, iOS and Android.

What are the best alternatives to Babbel?

The highest-ranked Babbel alternatives right now are Duolingo, Busuu and Rosetta Stone. See the full ranked list for pricing, platforms and verified facts.

See all 6 Babbel alternatives

Babbel facts

3 of 3 verified

Subscriptions sold: Over 25 million; Checked Oct 25, 2026about.babbel.com(opens source in a new tab); “The first language learning app with over 25 million subscriptions sold”
Course size: 60,000 lessons across 14 languages; Checked Oct 25, 2026about.babbel.com(opens source in a new tab); “The first language learning app with over 25 million subscriptions sold 60,000 lessons across 14 languages”
Founded: 2007; Checked Oct 25, 2026about.babbel.com(opens source in a new tab); “In 2007, co-founders Thomas Holl, Markus Witte, Lorenz Heine, and Toine Diepstraten”