Rocket Languages vs Babbel
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Rocket Languages
Learn to speak new languages like Spanish, French, and Japanese with structured audio lessons and cultural insights. This app offers lifetime access to courses designed for real conversations, helping you overcome common learning frustrations and speak confidently from day one.
- Structured audio lessons for speaking
- Lifetime access with free updates
- Cultural insights and customs
- Voice recognition for pronunciation
- Adaptive review activities
- Interactive audio and conversation practice
Read full descriptionHide full description
Rocket Languages - Finally Speak Spanish, French, Japanese & More Learn Spanish, French, Japanese, Italian, German, Korean, Chinese, and more with Rocket Languages - trusted by 2+ million learners worldwide. Unlike game-based apps, Rocket gives you lifetime access to structured lessons that teach you to speak confidently in real conversations. Start your free trial today and see how quickly you’ll go from learning words to actually speaking your new language. WHY ROCKET LANGUAGES WORKS • Speak in real conversations from day 1 – guided audio lessons get you talking fast • Get lifetime access with free updates – your course never expires, and you own it for life • Understand culture, not just grammar – greetings, customs, food, holidays, and everyday life • Perfect your pronunciation – state-of-the-art voice recognition with thousands of native audio examples • Fix weak spots fast – smart review activities adapt to your progress WHAT YOU’LL GET IN EACH LEVEL • 60+ hours of interactive audio lessons you can listen to anywhere — like a podcast, but designed to get you speaking • 60+ hours of Language & Culture lessons that explain the “why,” not just the “what” • Writing practice for Japanese, Korean, Chinese, and other script-based languages • Stress-free conversation practice – train both sides of real dialogues so you’re ready when it counts • Built-in motivational tools to keep you inspired and on track SOLVE THE BIGGEST LANGUAGE LEARNING FRUSTRATIONS • Forgetting what you’ve learned • Memorizing phrases you can’t use in real life • Feeling nervous speaking with locals • Struggling to find time in a busy schedule • Believing you’re too old to learn • Finding other apps unstructured or confusing With Rocket Languages, you’ll remember what you learn, practice until it sticks, and finally speak with confidence. EXTRA BENEFITS YOU WON’T FIND ELSEWHERE • Train your ear – interactive audio sharpens listening skills quickly • Learn how the language actually works – build sentences step by step • Get tailored courses – each one crafted for what’s practical and relevant • Stay motivated – built-in tools keep your learning on track WHY LEARNERS CHOOSE ROCKET LANGUAGES • Proven by millions worldwide • One-time purchase – no ads, no subscriptions • A complete method that teaches speaking, listening, reading, writing, and culture START SPEAKING TODAY Whether it’s for travel, work, or personal growth, Rocket Languages gives you everything you need to finally speak your new language with confidence. • Free trial included – explore the course with no time limit. • Try a set number of lessons for free, then unlock full levels when you’re ready for more. • Additional levels are available as optional in-app purchases, but you’ll always keep free access to your trial lessons. Download Rocket Languages today - start your free trial and begin speaking Spanish, French, Japanese, and more with confidence.
Babbel
Master a new language with expert-designed, bite-sized lessons that fit your schedule. Build conversational confidence quickly through interactive practice and a smart review system. Learn Spanish, French, German, and more for travel, work, or fun.
- Bite-sized lessons
- Expert-built courses
- Interactive conversation practice
- Smart review system
- Grammar in context
- Offline mode
- Learn 14 languages
Read full descriptionHide 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, 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 • 1.5 million 5-star ratings (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 for one language. 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: • 1 month • 3 months • 6 months • 12 months 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/babbelusa Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Babbel.usa CONTACT US Questions or feedback? Email: support-mobile@babbel.com *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
Verdict
The clearest difference is monetization model: Rocket Languages at free with in-app purchases against Babbel's subscription. Rocket Languages also leads on ads (none vs shown) and review sentiment (69% vs 44%). Babbel's advantage is ratings volume (754K vs 2.4K) and update cadence (every 4 days vs every 3 weeks). On price, rating, in-app purchases 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
Both are free to download. Rocket Languages sells 49 one-off in-app purchases and Babbel sells 12 in-app purchases, starting at $17.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for Rocket Languages against 4.7 for Babbel. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Babbel has 754K ratings behind it against 2.4K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 69% of Rocket Languages's written reviews are positive against 44% of Babbel's.
Rocket Languages ships an update every 3 weeks, Babbel every 4 days. Both last shipped on September 24, 2026.
| Parameter | Rocket Languages | Babbel |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (2.4K ratings) | 4.7 (754K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 69.2% of reviews — better | 43.7% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 2.4K | 754K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Every 4 days — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases — better | Subscription |
| Best chart rank | — | #8 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 16.4 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 44 MB | 263 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Libros Media Ltd | Babbel GmbH |
Customer experience
Rocket Languages
Babbel
User reviews
Rocket Languages
From 2.4K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Interactive and engaging lessons
- 🚀 Comprehensive and structured learning approach
- 💡 Variety of practice methods (listening, speaking, writing)
- 👍 Explanations of grammar and cultural context
- 🚀 Detailed and accurate pronunciation feedback
Room to improve
- 🐛 Voice recognition issues and inconsistencies
- 🐛 App crashes and bugs
- 🐛 Inability to review/replay recorded audio
- 🐛 Lack of offline functionality
- 🐛 Outdated or confusing user interface
Babbel
From 754K App Store ratingsWhat 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
Rocket Languages
Reported bugs
5 issues- Audio playback issues
- Inconsistent voice recognition
- Lesson progress not properly tracked
- Compatibility problems with newer devices/OS
- Crashes and freezes during use
Requested features
5 requests- Ability to slow down audio playback
- More grammar and vocabulary review tools
- Improved search and navigation within the app
- Customizable learning plans and progress tracking
- Integration with other language learning resources
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
Rocket Languages
- Rocket Sign Language Level 1$39.99
- Rocket Spanish Level 1$59.99
- Rocket Japanese Level 1$59.99
Show 46 moreShow fewer
- Rocket Italian Level 1$59.99
- Rocket Korean Level 1$59.99
- Rocket Arabic Level 1$59.99
- Rocket French Level 1$59.99
- Rocket Portuguese Level 1$59.99
- Rocket Sign Language Level 1$59.99
- Rocket Spanish Level 1$89.99
- Rocket Korean Level 1$89.99
- Rocket Arabic Level 1$89.99
- Rocket French Level 1$89.99
- Rocket German Level 1$89.99
- Rocket Italian Level 1$89.99
- Rocket Japanese Level 1$89.99
- Rocket French Level 1$99.99
- Rocket Japanese Level 1$99.99
- Rocket Italian Level 1$99.99
- Rocket Spanish Level 1$99.99
- Rocket Spanish Levels 1 & 2$119.99
- Rocket Spanish Premium: Level 1$149.99
- Rocket French Premium: Level 1$149.99
- Rocket German Premium: Level 1$149.99
- Rocket Italian Premium: Level 1$149.99
- Rocket Japanese Premium: Level 1$149.99
- Rocket Chinese Premium: Level 1$149.99
- Rocket Arabic Premium: Level 1$149.99
- Rocket Portuguese Premium: Level 1$149.99
- Rocket Korean Premium: Level 1$149.99
- Rocket Russian Premium: Level 1$149.99
- Rocket Spanish Levels 1, 2 & 3$179.99
- Rocket French Levels 1, 2 & 3$179.99
- Rocket Japanese Level 1, 2 & 3$179.99
- Rocket Russian Levels 1, 2 & 3$179.99
- Rocket German Levels 1, 2 & 3$179.99
- Rocket Chinese Levels 1, 2 & 3$179.99
- Rocket Italian Levels 1, 2 & 3$179.99
- Rocket Spanish Levels 1, 2 & 3$249.99
- Rocket Japanese Level 1, 2 & 3$249.99
- Rocket Italian Levels 1, 2 & 3$249.99
- Rocket German Levels 1, 2 & 3$249.99
- Rocket Chinese Levels 1, 2 & 3$249.99
- Rocket Russian Levels 1, 2 & 3$249.99
- Rocket French Levels 1, 2 & 3$249.99
- Rocket Japanese Level 1, 2 & 3$259.99
- Rocket Italian Levels 1, 2 & 3$259.99
- Rocket Spanish Levels 1, 2 & 3$259.99
- Rocket French Levels 1, 2 & 3$259.99
Babbel
- Mexican Spanish – 1-month plan$17.991 Month
- Spanish 1 month$17.991 Month
- French 1 month$17.991 Month
Show 9 moreShow fewer
- Italian 1 month$17.991 Month
- Mexican Spanish - 1-month plan$19.991 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
- All Languages – 3-month plan$53.993 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 Rocket Languages free?
Is Babbel free?
Which has better reviews, Rocket Languages or Babbel?
Do Rocket Languages or Babbel have ads?
Which is updated more often, Rocket Languages or Babbel?
Other comparisons















