The Babbel Review: Is Babbel Worth It?

We’re often asked to provide a quick overview of Babbel: How does it work? Who is it for? What sets Babbel apart? We are passionate about our product so we may not be an impartial reviewer, but, in this Babbel review, we wanted to answer your questions and give you an overview of how you can learn a language with the Babbel app. You’ll get a sense of how Babbel works, who it’s designed for, understand some of its advantages and how you can get started learning a language. 

Before we get to that, though, we can recommend the best way to see how Babbel works: try it for yourself! The first lesson of every course is free, so you can see exactly how Babbel approaches grammar and vocabulary before you commit. Get started now!

What makes Babbel worth it?

What sets Babbel apart is that learning with Babbel costs less per month than your morning coffee habit, is ad-free, and has been made by a team of language experts, educators and designers. You’re guaranteed a top-quality learning experience for the best value. Here’s what you can expect from Babbel:

• Explore multimedia lessons. Babbel’s lessons cover all four aspects of language acquisition – listening, reading, writing, and speaking – with fully interactive multimedia lessons. The AI-powered speech recognition feature even helps you improve your pronunciation, so you’re speaking the language from your very first lesson.

• Use whichever device you want. iOS and Android apps are fully integrated with the web application. Your progress is saved in the cloud and synced across all devices – so you can learn anytime, anywhere.

• Learn at your own speed. Set your own pace and learn what’s relevant to you with courses organized by topic and theme. Access to the app ensures you can revise vocabulary, practice grammar, or apply conversational speech whenever, wherever.

• Reinforce new words with Babbel's Review feature. All the material you cover is stored in your personalized Review dashboard where you can continue to practice and improve on what you’ve learned, even if you decide not continue with a paid subscription.

• Work on your conversations without leaving your home. Babbel has two ways to practice your conversational skills. First is Guided Conversations, where you follow along with an easy script to master some common scenarios you’re likely to encounter. Or if you want something more improvisational, you can talk to Babbel’s AI-powered Conversation Partner, where you can have short chats with the app and get feedback on how to improve.

What is the Babbel Method?

Bite-sized lessons fit into everyday life and cover useful real-world topics, from introducing oneself, to ordering food and making travel arrangements. Babbel doesn’t have any ads – instead, it uses a transparent, subscription-based business model which means you’re both a learner and a customer. Babbel’s focus remains firmly on empowering you to start speaking your new language.

All Babbel learning content is designed by a professional team of over 200 linguists and language teachers and is specifically tailored to each language combination. This is because an English speaker, for example, learns French differently than an Italian speaker would. This approach focuses on the four ways of communicating: reading, writing, listening and speaking.

Babbel does this with contextual content in small learning units that apply to everyday life. Topics like travel, culture, local cuisine, and nature touch on many of the interests you might have. You’re always introduced to new grammar and vocabulary in a real-world context, and the practice you get reinforces what you’ve learned.

What are people saying about Babbel?

Babbel has been around for a while, so it’s no surprise that people have been talking about us. It can be hard to keep up with everything, so here are some of our favorite highlights.

• Babbel has participated in a number of efficacy studies. In a study done by linguists based at Yale University, the researchers found that after three months using the app, participants’ speaking abilities ranged between exchanging greetings and providing basic personal information to discussing activities and future plans in the new language. Plus, 95% of those learners left the study saying that they found Babbel to be a convenient way to learn a language.

• In 2023, Fast Company magazine recognized Babbel as one of the most innovative companies in the world, ranking number four in the field of education.. 

• Noting the fact that Babbel individually designs each of its language combinations, PCMag wrote in 2024, "The minds behind Babbel have clearly spent time crafting a learning program that's unique to each language."

Of course, our favorite Babbel reviews come directly from our users.

Based on the latest didactic research, Babbel gives you skills that you can use right away, enabling you to immerse yourself in a new language like a native. Compare Babbel to other language learning apps and, instead of drilling abstract sentences, vocabulary, or grammar rules, you’ll discover the app is useful because it teaches you a new language using real-life dialogue. You start with typical greetings like, “Hello, how are you?” and gradually build up to practical dialogues like, “How can I book a single room?” 

Learning through conversation in this way also teaches vocabulary actively and passively. Babbel guides your brain to connect the dots by passively learning new information based on the dialogue’s context. This empowers you to actively use passively learned words, giving you the confidence to start talking right away. Here’s how you can get started with Babbel:

Step 1: Choose one of the 14 languages offered.
Step 2: Take a placement test to see where you should get started.
Step 3: Try a language lesson, either starting at the very beginning or a bit further along.
Step 4: Upgrade to a paid subscription to get access to all courses for your language.

Babbel review summary

• The first lesson of every course is free

• Babbel subscribers can learn up to 14 languages

• The product works on your phone, tablet, and computer, and syncs across all your devices

• Have real conversations in as little as three weeks

• Not satisfied with Babbel? We’re so confident you’ll find the benefits of the app in your first couple weeks that there’s a 20-day money-back guarantee — no questions asked