Comparison

Innovative Language Learning vs Babbel

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

Head to head
About

Innovative Language Learning

Learn to speak new languages quickly with short, engaging audio and video lessons created by experienced teachers. Access a vast library of content for over 30 languages and practice conversations from your first session.

Highlights
  • Short audio/video lessons (3-15 minutes)
  • Lessons taught by real teachers
  • Instant practice with assessments
  • Offline lesson downloads
  • Progress syncing across devices
  • Multiple playback options
Features
Read full description

Want to speak a new language from your 1st lesson? Learn practical conversations fast with fun audio/video lessons made by real teachers. With Innovative Language Learning, you can learn up to 34 languages. Download the App for FREE and start speaking today! === 4 REASONS WHY YOU CAN & WILL LEARN A LANGUAGE === START SPEAKING IN MINUTES: Audio/video lessons are just 3-15 minutes. Just press “Play” and learn practical conversations in every lesson. LEARN FROM REAL TEACHERS Feel confident as you learn from actual teachers and hear real-life conversations. INSTANTLY PRACTICE WHAT YOU’VE LEARNED Tired of learning and forgetting immediately after? That’s why after every few lessons, you’ll get tested on what you’ve learned with our Assessments. 16+ YEARS OF TEACHING LANGUAGES With 2+ billion lesson downloads and 16 years of teaching languages, you’re learning with a time-tested, proven system. === WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING === "This is always my first port of call when starting a new language.” - The Guardian "A painless and FREE way to bone up on the language.” - PC Magazine “Of particular note is SurvivalPhrases, which offers 3- to 5-minute episodes that cover basics.” - The New York Times === 34 LANGUAGES AVAILABLE === Afrikaans Arabic Bulgarian Cantonese Chinese Czech Danish Dutch English Filipino Finnish French German Greek Hebrew Hindi Hungarian Indonesian Italian Japanese Korean Norwegian Persian Polish Portuguese Romanian Russian Spanish Swahili Swedish Thai Turkish Urdu Vietnamese === WHAT’S INSIDE THE APP === Start now and access hundreds of audio and video lessons by real teachers, lesson notes, study tools and more. You get: - A 7-Day Free Premium Trial of Any of Our Language Courses (Free) - New Audio & Video Lessons EVERY Week for LIFE (Free) - Offline Mode - Download Lessons to My Library (Free) - Daily Vocabulary Lessons Delivered to Your Email (Free) - Progress Syncing Across Devices - Start On One Device & Finish on Another (Free) - Multiple Playback Options - Stream from the App or the Lock-Screen, Skip Ahead & Control the Speed of Your Lessons (Free) - The Largest Library of Audio & Video Lessons (Basic Users & Above) - In-Depth Lesson Notes with Grammar Explanations (Basic Users & Above) - Progress Tools to Track Your Learning Progress (Basic Users & Above) - Line-by-Line Breakdowns of Lesson Dialogues (Premium Users & Above) - Word Bank - Your Own Custom Vocabulary List (Premium Users & Above) - 1-on-1 Learning with Your Own Teacher (Premium PLUS only) - Get a Personalized Learning Program & Guidance (Premium PLUS Only) === DOWNLOAD THE APP & LEARN FREE TODAY. === Download the App and sign up for your Free Lifetime Account. You get a 7-day Trial of our entire Learning System – both the mobile app and the desktop version! Want to add Basic, Premium, or Premium PLUS and learn on your device and computer? There's an option for that, too. *Please note that subscriptions made using the in-app purchases will auto-renew at the end of the subscription period and be charged to your iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase unless you turn off auto-renew at least 24 hours before the end of your current subscription period. Subscriptions made through in-app purchases cannot be cancelled during active subscription period. Please see this article for managing your in-app subscriptions and auto-renewal: http://support.apple.com/kb/ht4098 Monthly Premium PLUS Access: $46.99/month per language Monthly Premium Access: $24.99/month per language Monthly Basic Access: $7.99/month per language *all amounts are in US dollars. At Innovative Language Learning, we take your privacy very seriously. You can view our privacy policy here: http://www.innovativelanguage.com/privacy You can view our Terms of Service here: https://www.innovativelanguage.com/terms-of-service

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. 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/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

Innovative Language Learning4 screens
Babbel4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: Innovative Language Learning at free with in-app purchases against Babbel's subscription. Innovative Language Learning also leads on ads (none vs shown) and review sentiment (67% vs 44%). Babbel's advantage is update cadence (every 5 days vs every 2 months) and ratings volume (755K vs 34K). On price, rating and in-app purchases 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. Innovative Language Learning sells 13 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per month 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.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Innovative Language Learning against 4.7 for Babbel. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Babbel has 755K ratings behind it against 34K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 67% of Innovative Language Learning's written reviews are positive against 44% of Babbel's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Innovative Language Learning ships an update every 2 months, Babbel every 5 days. Both last shipped on October 13, 2026.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
Innovative Language Learning versus Babbel: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterInnovative Language LearningBabbel
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (34K ratings)4.7 (755K ratings)
Positive reviews66.7% of reviews — better43.9% of reviews
Number of ratings34K755K — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 5 days — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterSubscription
Best chart rank—#9 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS14.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size52 MB255 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperInnovative Language Learning USA LLCBabbel GmbH

Customer experience

Innovative Language Learning

All ratings34,138 ratings
Positive93.1%
Neutral3.3%
Negative3.5%
Written reviews657 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral8.7%
Negative24.7%

Babbel

All ratings755,490 ratings
Positive93.8%
Neutral3.8%
Negative2.5%
Written reviews2,717 reviews
Positive43.9%
Neutral14.0%
Negative42.0%

User reviews

Innovative Language Learning

From 34K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Well-constructed course
  • 🚀 Comprehensive learning system
  • 👍 Option to use a night screen
  • 👍 Engaging and interesting lessons
  • 👍 Helpful for learning and improving language skills

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Freezing and crashing issues
  • 🐛 Lessons getting locked after 7 days
  • 🐛 Inconsistent performance across devices
  • 🐛 Bugs with audio and video playback
  • 🐛 Errors and typos in lesson content

Babbel

From 755K 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

Innovative Language Learning

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Lessons not downloading successfully
  • Screen freezing when using certain features
  • Inconsistent lesson navigation between app and website
  • Automatic subscription renewal issues

Requested features

5 requests
  • Flashcard functionality in the app
  • Ability to create custom playlists
  • Improved integration between app and website
  • More advanced features like speech recognition
  • Ability to switch between multiple languages

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

13 purchases

Innovative Language Learning

Subscriptions13
  • French Basic Subscription$7.991 Month
  • Korean Basic Subscription$7.991 Month
  • Italian Basic Subscription$7.991 Month
Show 10 more
  • Japanese Basic Subscription$7.991 Month
  • Spanish Basic Subscription$7.991 Month
  • French Mobile Subscription$9.991 Month
  • Korean Mobile Subscription$9.991 Month
  • Russian Mobile Subscription$9.991 Month
  • Spanish Mobile Subscription$9.991 Month
  • Japanese Mobile Subscription$9.991 Month
  • Japanese Premium Subscription$24.991 Month
  • Spanish Premium Subscription$24.991 Month
  • Japanese Basic Subscription1 Year trial$59.991 Year
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 Innovative Language Learning free?
Innovative Language Learning 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, Innovative Language Learning or Babbel?
Innovative Language Learning and Babbel are both rated 4.7 out of 5 on the App Store, from 34K and 755K ratings respectively.
Do Innovative Language Learning or Babbel have ads?
Babbel shows ads; Innovative Language Learning does not.
Which is updated more often, Innovative Language Learning or Babbel?
Innovative Language Learning ships an update every 2 months, and Babbel every 5 days. Most recently, Innovative Language Learning was updated on October 13, 2026 and Babbel on October 13, 2026.

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