Comparison

Cambly vs Babbel

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Cambly

Practice English with native speakers through live, immersive conversations. Improve your speaking skills and build confidence for real-life situations, regardless of your current level. Lessons are tailored to your goals and supported by tutors dedicated to your progress.

Highlights
  • Live conversations with native speakers
  • Immersive learning experience
  • Personalized lessons based on goals
  • Tutor support for skill development
  • Practice for any level
  • Recorded lessons for review
Features
Read full description

Learn English through real conversations with native speakers. Anytime, anywhere, any level.  Cambly’s active, immersive lessons help you develop skills and confidence for real life—because that's where it matters. Every conversation is led by your goals, and supported by tutors here to help you grow. Every word, every lesson is a step closer to doing your dreams.

About

Babbel

Learn a new language through real-life conversations and bite-sized lessons. This award-winning app, built by language experts, offers courses tailored to your native tongue and includes an AI conversation partner for pronunciation practice. Start speaking in as little as 3 weeks with a proven method.

Highlights
  • Tailored courses for native speakers
  • Real-life conversation practice
  • AI-powered pronunciation feedback
  • Bite-sized, effective lessons
  • Grammar explained in context
  • Offline lesson access
  • Smart review system
Features
Read full description

Speak a new language with real-life conversations. Babbel is the award-winning language learning app with courses tailored to your native language, built by 200+ language experts and trusted by millions worldwide. Because lessons are built for speakers of your language, an English speaker learning Spanish gets different lessons than a French speaker does. You learn to speak, listen, and understand grammar in context, then practice real conversations with Babbel Speak (Beta)*, an AI conversation partner that gives you personalized feedback. Learn a new language faster with bite-sized lessons designed to fit your everyday life. With Babbel’s proven method, you could start having real conversations in as little as 3 weeks. Your language learning adventure starts with a lesson. WHY BABBEL WORKS • Tailored to your native language: Courses are created by language experts and tailored to your native language, so you learn naturally and efficiently. • Real-life conversations: Learn the language people actually speak, for travel, work, and everyday life. • Speak with confidence: Practice out loud with speech recognition and Babbel Speak, an AI conversation partner to improve your pronunciation. • Research-proven results: Efficacy backed by researchers at Yale University: 100% improved their oral proficiency in 3 months.** TRUSTED BY MILLIONS • 25 million subscriptions sold • 1.6 million 5-star ratings across platforms (based on App Store ratings) • After 10 hours with Babbel, 96% of learners saw better test scores on grammar and vocabulary*** BUILT FOR REAL LIFE • Short, effective lessons: Learn in as little as 10 minutes a day • Lessons for every motivation: Learn for travel, work, or fun • Listen, speak, write: Options for every learning style • Stress-free conversation practice: Build confidence with Guided Conversations, then practice freely with Babbel Speak (Beta) • Smart review system: Boosts learning and retention • Grammar in context: Clear explanations exactly when you need them • Offline mode: Download lessons and learn anywhere, anytime • 5,000+ courses: Over 60,000 lessons across all languages LEARN 14 LANGUAGES Spanish (Latin American or Spain), French, Italian, German, Portuguese, English (American or British), Russian, Polish, Turkish, Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, Dutch, and Indonesian. TRY BABBEL TODAY Download Babbel now and take a free lesson. SUBSCRIPTION DETAILS A subscription is required to access full courses. Subscriptions renew automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Payment will be charged to your Apple account. Available plans: • 3 months • 6 months • 12 months • Lifetime Privacy policy: https://about.babbel.com/en/privacy/ Terms of use: https://about.babbel.com/en/terms/ LEARN MORE Read Babbel Magazine for tips and insights: https://www.babbel.com/en/magazine Follow us: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/babbel Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/babbel.languages CONTACT US Questions or feedback? Email: support-mobile@babbel.com *Babbel Speak is in beta: functionality, quality, and availability may change or be withdrawn at any time. Babbel reserves the right to charge for this feature in the future. **Based on a study conducted with Babbel users learning Spanish. Available at http://bit.ly/BabbelYale. ***Based on a study conducted with Babbel users learning Spanish. Available: http://bit.ly/BabbelMSU.

Screenshots

Cambly4 screens
Babbel4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Cambly at none against Babbel's 10. Cambly also leads on ads (none vs shown) and review sentiment (64% vs 44%). Babbel's advantage is ratings volume (758K vs 9.3K) and rating (4.7 vs 4.5). On price and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Babbel sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $17.99 per month. Cambly asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Babbel holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Babbel has 758K ratings behind it against 9.3K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 64% of Cambly's written reviews are positive against 44% of Babbel's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Cambly ships an update every 11 days, Babbel every 4 days. Both last shipped on November 13, 2026.

Scorecard9 real differences · 2 level
Cambly versus Babbel: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCamblyBabbel
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (9.3K ratings)4.7 (758K ratings) — better
Positive reviews63.6% of reviews — better44.1% of reviews
Number of ratings9.3K758K — better
Update frequencyEvery 11 daysEvery 4 days — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank—#15 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size214 MB286 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperCambly, Inc.Babbel GmbH

Customer experience

Cambly

All ratings9,321 ratings
Positive86.9%
Neutral4.4%
Negative8.7%
Written reviews911 reviews
Positive63.6%
Neutral5.7%
Negative30.7%

Babbel

All ratings757,706 ratings
Positive93.7%
Neutral3.8%
Negative2.5%
Written reviews2,802 reviews
Positive44.1%
Neutral13.9%
Negative41.9%

User reviews

Cambly

From 9.3K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🌟 Helpful for improving English speaking skills
  • 👍 Friendly and patient tutors
  • 🌍 Opportunity to practice with native speakers
  • 📽️ Recorded lessons for review
  • 🕰️ Flexible scheduling

Room to improve

  • 🤖 Inconsistent or unreliable tutors
  • 💰 Expensive subscription fees
  • 🔌 Connection issues and dropped calls
  • 🗓️ Difficulty cancelling or managing subscription
  • 🤷‍♀️ Lack of customer support responsiveness

Babbel

From 758K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Excellent structured learning
  • 🚀 Effective vocabulary and grammar teaching
  • 👍 Helpful pronunciation guides
  • 👍 Engaging and practical lessons
  • 👍 Useful review and repetition features

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Inconsistent voice recognition
  • 🐛 Lack of flexibility in lesson progression
  • 🐛 Confusing user interface and navigation
  • 🐛 Overly strict scoring and lack of forgiveness for minor errors
  • 🔋 Drains battery quickly

Bugs and requests

Cambly

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Automatic subscription renewals without consent
  • Lesson time deductions for connection issues
  • Inability to access account/lessons after cancellation

Requested features

5 requests
  • Accent/dialect filters for tutors
  • Improved tutor search and scheduling options
  • In-app messaging and feedback system
  • Tutor-focused app version
  • Refund/credit options for missed/cancelled lessons

Babbel

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Lessons sometimes freeze or crash the app
  • Subscription cancellation process is overly complicated
  • Inconsistent behavior when switching between languages
  • Keyboard issues and inability to use system keyboard

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add more language options, especially Asian languages like Japanese, Korean, and Chinese
  • Improve review and practice tools to better reinforce learned material
  • Provide more customization options for lesson pacing and content
  • Implement a more forgiving scoring system and allow users to revisit past lessons
  • Add a dark mode and optimize the app for better readability

In-app purchases

None

Cambly

No in-app purchases

10 purchases

Babbel

Subscriptions10
  • Mexican Spanish – 1-month plan$17.991 Month
  • Spanish 1 month$17.991 Month
  • French 1 month$17.991 Month
Show 7 more
  • Italian 1 month$17.991 Month
  • Mexican Spanish – 3-month plan$45.993 Months
  • Learn French – 3-month plan$45.993 Months
  • Learn Spanish – 3-month plan$45.993 Months
  • Mexican Spanish – 1-year plan$89.991 Year
  • All Languages – 12-month plan$107.991 Year
  • All Languages – 12-month plan7 Days trial$107.991 Year

Questions

Is Cambly free?
Cambly is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Babbel free?
Babbel is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Cambly or Babbel?
Babbel is rated higher. Cambly averages 4.5 out of 5 from 9.3K ratings, while Babbel averages 4.7 from 758K ratings.
Do Cambly or Babbel have ads?
Babbel shows ads; Cambly does not.
Which is updated more often, Cambly or Babbel?
Cambly ships an update every 11 days, and Babbel every 4 days. Most recently, Cambly was updated on November 13, 2026 and Babbel on November 13, 2026.

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