Babbel alternatives

What reviewers actually said

Built only from these 106 real reviews (foreign ones translated). Superscripts jump to the quote here. Apple has no per-review links, so [ref] opens that app's reviews on the App Store.

1. [R3] Babbel 3/5 · US Thorough but soooooo slow: Love the content and the structure, but the AI takes forever to process the spoken word!
2. [R4] Babbel 1/5 · US No longer works: I’ve been using the babel italian app for more than 4 years… suddenly it won’t link to my iPhone. I still have 6 months of my paid subscription remaining.. I’ve had no luck reaching out to them. When my subscription is up in December I’ll likely look for a different service.
3. [R9] Babbel 3/5 · US Glitchy: App glitchy and crashes when trying to view your progress
4. [R12] Babbel 3/5 · US Starting off bad: Haven’t even been able to complete my first lesson after I just downloaded/paid for the app. Finish all the way to the last question, then it fails on me. Go back into the app and have to restart the same lesson. Doesn’t give me a lot of hope that this is going to be a useful tool
5. [R2] Babbel 5/5 · US Croatian: I would love if you added Croatian as another language
6. [R15] Babbel 3/5 · US Ironic Name: It’s a nice app but ironic and disappointing that they don’t have Hebrew when the story of the Tower of Babbel comes from the HEBREW bible… Please add Hebrew!
7. [R16] Babbel 2/5 · US No Asian languages: If all you want to learn are European languages, it’s fine. But they offer no Asian languages at all. No Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Tagalog, Thai, Malaysian, etc. Very disappointing
8. [R27] Babbel 3/5 · GB Limited options: I’ve heard great things from mates hence the 3 star review. Although the language options are very limited 13 , ES, PT, FR, DE, IT, SE, TR, NL, PL, NO, DK, IDN & RU. Happily use the app for these but not helpful if you’re planning on learning a language outside Europe or Indonesia / it’s 700+ other languages. It’s got a good platform and learning model but yes it’s limited to Euro
9. [R1] Babbel 1/5 · US Pictures have very little correspondence to word or phrases. Will charge you yearly without notice: The current PICTs are useless for expressing what is being taught. Zero refund once charged! I don’t recommend this company. No human to talk to also!!
10. [R10] Babbel 1/5 · US Do we have to pay?: I really do hate apps that I have to pay in this app is one of them. I’m trying to learn so I can talk to my friends and understand what they’re saying, but I really can’t because every app I go to I have to pay so can somebody please tell me an app that doesn’t pay because I’m so sick and tired of apps staying like you have to pay you have to pay no I don’t like y’all just fin
11. [R19] Babbel 1/5 · US lifetime pass not worth it: I purchased the lifetime pass thinking I could learn a language, but what ended up being the last segment was far more difficult than the penultimate lesson.
12. [R34] Babbel 1/5 · US Misleading: The app is free but after filling out their questionnaire you’re hit with a $100 pay wall
13. [R6] Babbel 3/5 · US Good, needs improvement: I like the overall layout and scope of the program. The different speaking/listening/writing options are nice. The pacing seems right, but there desperately needs to be a function that generates new sentences to apply what the words and phrases learned. Using the same sentences over and over to review seems cheap given the cost of the program. Similarly, there should also
14. [R7] Babbel 1/5 · US Travel: I wanted to learn basic French for travel, the app is geared more for reading and writing not basic conversation
15. [R21] Babbel 3/5 · US Just like the others: I spent several years on Duolingo and learned thousands of words but couldn’t speak very well or understand what was being said on television or radio. I decided to give Babbel a try and have been on it now for about six months. Although I continue to learn more words, I feel that I am just as far away from speaking it as I was before I started. At this point, it seems benefi
16. [R11] Babbel 4/5 · US Review: It’s good but it does not encourage me enough So possibly add a daily streak Like Duolingo
17. [R46] Babbel 2/5 · US Too easy: The app offered placement test and then gave me lessons too simple and boring. Duolingo is better.
18. [R49] Babbel 1/5 · US My opinion: Got to pay right away unlike Duolingo where you can do it right away for free
19. [R54] Duolingo 2/5 · US I don’t need the “fun” distractions: I like learning languages. No, I love learning languages. Learning languages is what’s fun to me. The gamification is not at all fun because it takes me away from what I find fun. I have tried to get rid of the idea of fun that keeps being foisted on me. To no permanent avail. It just keeps coming back. It’s such a drag that I have cancelled my subscription. I’
20. [R66] Rosetta Stone Classic (2024) 5/5 · US So fun and fulfilling!: In the same age where we’re constantly taking things in that are just entertainment when you finish the short fun, easy lesson if you feel good about yourself and it’s one of the only ways to keep your brain renewing and getting better learning, a musical instrument or language and with Rosetta Stone it’s infinite and why not reach out
21. [R72] Rosetta Stone Classic (2024) 5/5 · US Great app: Rosetta Stone is a great app for learning any and all different languages and it teaches in different ways to help people understand and remember.
22. [R75] Rosetta Stone Classic (2024) 5/5 · US You can get a job: This is one of the best apps in order to grow and expand your knowledge of languages. Now I do use this app along with ChatGPT, but this combined can help you no to grow in language to learning as well as develop further vocabulary in the language. from this, you can learn as much languages as possible in order to be a translator for school or for a lawyer‘s office or for busine
23. [R76] Rosetta Stone Classic (2024) 3/5 · US Actually learning the words: It’s good at making you mimic how things are meant to sound, but for some reason, the translate feature only works half the time, so your stuck guessing what things mean based on the pictures. This isn’t an issue for simple singular objects, but when it’s asking you to recite full sentences with no idea what you’re saying, it’s annoying. Plus when it won’t allow you to
24. [R83] Memrise Easy Language Learning 5/5 · US Best one yet: I have tried so many language apps, but once I got memories, it changed my life forever. Duolingo didn’t work. It kept asking me for subscriptions when it said free and it’s add
25. [R86] Memrise Easy Language Learning 5/5 · US Suggestions: I do really think this is the best language learning app out there. However, I have a few suggestions. It seems the biggest way to progress the lessons is to say I know a word. Though, when I choose this, I would still like if the word I chose that I know would show up randomly/quickly during lessons, just so I don’t forget, and to test if I still know it. This may already happen, but
26. [R87] Memrise Easy Language Learning 3/5 · US App seems to break every other update: This is my absolute favorite app to use ever and got me through so many languages at break-neck speeds, but its like every few weeks it breaks on and off after an update. Past few days its been a white screen with a red dot then an error message 70 percent of the time.
27. [R89] Memrise Easy Language Learning 5/5 · US Hmm: Better than duolingo
28. [R94] Busuu 5/5 · US After two days I learned a lot: So far this app seems to ba a really good tool
29. [R97] Busuu 4/5 · US Um app excelente para aprender outros idiomas: O Busuu é o app de aprendizado de idiomas gratuito mais completo que eu já testei! Mesmo sem pagar o plano Premium, você consegue aprender muita coisa, gramática, vocabulário, pronúncia. Ele é bem completo mesmo!
30. [R101] Busuu 5/5 · US Love it!: I’m learning German, and this taught me more in a day than Duolingo has in a month! But, since you learn so much so quickly, go back and take the chapter reviews again to sharpen up your skills once in awhile
31. [R102] Busuu 5/5 · US Lessons stick and are easy to follow: I love the teaching style and how their lessons are easy to follow. They also give tips for learning as well as a good explanation for why something is. Great learning tool!
32. [R5] Babbel 5/5 · US New: I just started and I feel like I’ve learned a conversation already
33. [R23] Babbel 5/5 · US Practicality meets Functionality: Form and function love the lesson style and how it works with you to really get the language to stick making it well worth the time you put into it! Practice makes better not perfect remember that!
34. [R30] Babbel 3/5 · GB It’s ok: For an app called Babbel I thought I’d be talking more. However the context is much more suitable than Duolingo. They are actual conversations. I’m using Babbel, Duolingo, Falou and Coffee Break French to see which one works best. Or if a combination is good.
35. [R31] Babbel 2/5 · US Need to learn the alphabet first. It starts out to advanced for a beginner.: If you don’t know how to sound out the letters you can’t read
36. [R28] Babbel 1/5 · US You need Greek: You don’t have Greek as an option. If you had Greek it would be better!