# Yabla Italian vs Babbel

The clearest difference is ads: Yabla Italian at none against Babbel's shown. Yabla Italian also leads on review sentiment (77% vs 44%) and device support (4 vs 2). Babbel's advantage is update cadence (every 4 days vs every 6 weeks) and ratings volume (758K vs 11). On price, rating, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Yabla Italian sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $12.99 per month and Babbel sells 10 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 Yabla Italian against 4.7 for Babbel. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Babbel has 758K ratings behind it against 11, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 77% of Yabla Italian's written reviews are positive against 44% of Babbel's.

Yabla Italian ships an update every 6 weeks, Babbel every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 8, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Yabla Italian | Babbel |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.6 (11 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/yabla-italian/id615399817/reviews) | **[4.7 (758K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/babbel-language-learning/id829587759/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 11 | **758K** |
| Positive reviews | **76.9% of reviews** | 44.1% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks | **Every 4 days** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | — | **#14** |
| Size | 29 MB | 286 MB |
| Requires iOS | **12.0** | 17.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 12+ | 12+ |
| Developer | [Yabla](https://appshunter.io/developer/596409486) | [Babbel GmbH](https://appshunter.io/developer/357018535) |

## What reviewers say

### Yabla Italian

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/yabla-italian/id615399817)

Learn Italian through authentic video content with interactive games and tools. Access a vast library of videos updated weekly, with features like slow playback and integrated dictionaries to aid fluency. Full access requires a subscription.

**Highlights:** Extensive video library updated weekly, Interactive video player with slowplay and loop, Integrated dictionaries and multi-language subtitles, Educational games like fill-in-the-blank and vocabulary review, Authentic content from TV, music, and interviews, Native speaker translations for accurate meaning

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (4)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Yabla Italian | $12.99 | per month |
| 30 Day Access Pass | $14.99 | one-time |
| 6 Month Access Pass | $54.99 | one-time |
| 1 Year Access Pass | $99.99 | one-time |


### Babbel

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/babbel-language-learning/id829587759)

**Currently charting:** #14 Top Grossing · Education, #40 Top Free · Education (US App Store)

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:** Vision Pro support, iPhone Duo support

**In-app purchases (10)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Mexican Spanish – 1-month plan | $17.99 | per month |
| Spanish 1 month | $17.99 | per month |
| French 1 month | $17.99 | per month |
| Italian 1 month | $17.99 | per month |
| Mexican Spanish – 3-month plan | $45.99 | per 3 months |
| Learn French – 3-month plan | $45.99 | per 3 months |
| Learn Spanish – 3-month plan | $45.99 | per 3 months |
| Mexican Spanish – 1-year plan | $89.99 | per year |
| All Languages – 12-month plan | $107.99 | per year |
| All Languages – 12-month plan | $107.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

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

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 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

**Reported bugs**

- 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**

- 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


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Yabla Italian free?

Yabla Italian is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Babbel free?

Babbel is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Yabla Italian or Babbel?

Babbel is rated higher. Yabla Italian averages 4.6 out of 5 from 11 ratings, while Babbel averages 4.7 from 758K ratings.

### Do Yabla Italian or Babbel have ads?

Babbel shows ads; Yabla Italian does not.

### Which is updated more often, Yabla Italian or Babbel?

Yabla Italian ships an update every 6 weeks, and Babbel every 4 days. Most recently, Yabla Italian was updated on November 1, 2026 and Babbel on November 8, 2026.

---

*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*