Comparison

Hello vs Babbel

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

Head to head
About

Hello

This app provides access to comprehensive language learning courses, including conversational lessons and vocabulary exercises. It utilizes a unique mobile immersion methodology to help users learn quickly and effectively across 13 languages. Access your courses on any mobile device or the web.

Highlights
  • Conversational lessons
  • Vocabulary exercises
  • 13 languages available
  • Mobile and web access
  • Mobile Immersion methodology
  • Interactive animations
Features
Read full description

ATTENTION: Hello-Hello Complete is a free download exclusively to Hello-Hello subscribers to access the content from their mobile devices. Only Hello-Hello subscribers have access to our courses from this app. Hello-Hello Complete offers: Conversational Course: 30 conversational lessons based on real-life situations that will enable you to start communicating effectively from Lesson 1! Vocabulary: More then 1,000 vocabulary words with exercises to practice all skills you need: Read, Write, Speak, Listen! Access to both courses in 13 Languages: Spanish, English, French, Italian, German, Dutch, Portuguese, Hungarian, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, Indonesian and Hindi. Access to your courses from any mobile device and from the Web! Unique Mobile Immersion methodology developed in collaboration with The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages - ACTFL LEARN FAST! Put your new language to use today! With Hello-Hello you can learn fast because it is: CONVENIENT: learn from your mobile device anytime, anywhere. EFFECTIVE: research-based innovative mobile immersion methodology that develops all skills you need at your own pace. RELEVANT: learn to communicate about real world topics. FUN: animated videos and interactive exercises. UNIQUE MOBILE IMMERSIONTM Hello-Hello’s innovative Mobile ImmersionTM methodology engages and encourages learners of all ages to acquire usable language skills quickly! Mobile ImmersionTM creates a unique VIRTUAL environment that GUIDES the learner VISUALLY to develop FUNCTIONAL language skills. Mobile Immersion is: VIRTUAL: Creates real-world animated situations in the new language. GUIDED: Builds new vocabulary and phrases to develop language skills. VISUAL: Conveys meaning with animation and game-like activities FUNCTIONAL: Develops the foundation for learners to put their new language skills to use in the real-world fast. ________________________________________________________________________ App features: 2 COURSES: Conversational and Vocabulary 13 LANGUAGES: All languages included: Spanish, English, French, Italian, German, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, Portuguese, Dutch, Hungarian, Hindi and Indonesian . WORKS ON ALL DEVICES: Access the course from any mobile device & on the Web. RESEARCH-BASED METHODOLOGY: Developed in collaboration with ACTFL - The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, which is the largest and most respected association for language teachers and professionals. ACTFL's proficiency guidelines are followed by all major schools and universities in the U.S. LEARN TO COMMUNICATE: Learn to communicate effectively from LESSON 1! Hello-Hello offers 30 conversational lessons based on real-life situations rather then a collection of out-of-context words and phrases. INTERACTIVE ANIMATIONS AND COMIC STRIPS: Beautiful, fun animated lessons! Meet Paul, Mark and Ann! Follow them on a trip and have fun learning! PRACTICE ALL SKILLS: Games and exercises to practice Speaking, Writing, Reading and Listening skills! VOCABULARY BUILDING: Practice vocabulary with our innovative “Build Your Vocabulary” exercise where you can practice vocabulary in the context of a dialogue. Receive “WORD OF THE DAY” notifications to help you memorizing throughout the day. Practice individual words with our Basic Course featuring 7 different modules for learning. NOTES: Save your own notes from within the lessons to review later! LESSON REMINDERS: Don't worry about remembering to study. We will do that for you! TRACK YOUR PROGRESS: Track your lesson and course progress. USER-FRIENDLY INTERFACE: Intuitive interface with beautifully designed graphics.

About

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.

Highlights
  • Bite-sized lessons
  • Expert-built courses
  • Interactive conversation practice
  • Smart review system
  • Grammar in context
  • Offline mode
  • Learn 14 languages
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, 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

Hello4 screens
Babbel4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Babbel at 4.7 against Hello's 3.7. Babbel also leads on update cadence (every 5 days vs every 5 months) and ratings volume (755K vs 61). Hello's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 13) and ads (none vs shown). On price, review sentiment 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 12 in-app purchases, starting at $17.99 per month. Hello asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Babbel holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Babbel has 755K ratings behind it against 61, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 50% of Hello'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

Hello ships an update every 5 months, Babbel every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on July 17, 2026 and September 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
Hello versus Babbel: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHelloBabbel
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.7 (61 ratings)4.7 (755K ratings) — better
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews — better43.8% of reviews
Number of ratings61755K — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsEvery 5 days — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterSubscription
Best chart rank—#12 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS12.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size285 MB263 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperHello-Hello LLCBabbel GmbH

Customer experience

Hello

All ratings58 ratings
Positive62.1%
Neutral6.9%
Negative31.0%
Written reviews24 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

Babbel

All ratings754,788 ratings
Positive93.8%
Neutral3.8%
Negative2.5%
Written reviews2,669 reviews
Positive43.8%
Neutral13.9%
Negative42.2%

Bugs and requests

Hello

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

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

Hello

No in-app purchases

12 purchases

Babbel

Subscriptions12
  • Mexican Spanish – 1-month plan$17.991 Month
  • Spanish 1 month$17.991 Month
  • French 1 month$17.991 Month
Show 9 more
  • 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 Hello free?
Hello 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, Hello or Babbel?
Babbel is rated higher. Hello averages 3.7 out of 5 from 61 ratings, while Babbel averages 4.7 from 755K ratings.
Do Hello or Babbel have ads?
Babbel shows ads; Hello does not.
Which is updated more often, Hello or Babbel?
Hello ships an update every 5 months, and Babbel every 5 days. Most recently, Hello was updated on July 17, 2026 and Babbel on September 30, 2026.

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