# Babbel vs uTalk

The clearest difference is monetization model: uTalk at free with in-app purchases against Babbel's subscription. uTalk also leads on ads (none vs shown) and review sentiment (63% vs 44%). Babbel's advantage is update cadence (every 4 days vs monthly) and ratings volume (754K vs 987). On price, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Babbel sells 12 in-app purchases, starting at $17.99 per month and uTalk sells 89 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Babbel holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Babbel has 754K ratings behind it against 987, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 44% of Babbel's written reviews are positive against 63% of uTalk's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Babbel ships an update every 4 days, uTalk monthly. Both last shipped on September 25, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | Babbel | uTalk |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.7 (754K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/babbel-language-learning/id829587759/reviews)** | [4.4 (987 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/utalk-learn-150-plus-languages/id1085013031/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **754K** | 987 |
| Positive reviews | 43.7% of reviews | **62.8% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | **Every 4 days** | Monthly |
| Monetization | Subscription | **Free with in-app purchases** |
| Best chart rank | **#7** | — |
| Size | 263 MB | 287 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | **15.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Babbel GmbH](https://appshunter.io/developer/357018535) | [EuroTalk](https://appshunter.io/developer/296241477) |

## What reviewers say

### Babbel

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

**Currently charting:** #7 Top Grossing · Education, #64 Top Free · Education (US App Store)

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:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (12)**

| 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 - 1-month plan | $19.99 | 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 |
| All Languages – 3-month plan | $53.99 | 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


### uTalk

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/utalk-learn-150-plus-languages/id1085013031)

Learn over 150 languages with native speaker audio and interactive games. Build vocabulary and pronunciation skills through useful everyday phrases and 60+ topics. Progress through difficulty levels and track your learning journey.

**Highlights:** Learn from native speakers, Interactive games, 60+ learning topics, Offline content download, Progress tracking, Pronunciation practice

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (89)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Learn Latin American Spanish | $3.99 | per month |
| Learn Hebrew | $3.99 | per month |
| Learn Neapolitan | $7.99 | per month |
| Learn Luganda | $7.99 | per month |
| Learn Wolof | $7.99 | per month |
| Learn Amharic | $7.99 | per month |
| Learn Sesotho (Southern Sotho) | $7.99 | per month |
| Learn Argentinian Spanish | $7.99 | per month |
| Learn Canadian French | $7.99 | per month |
| Learn Swiss German | $7.99 | per month |
| Learn Cebuano | $7.99 | per month |
| Learn Flemish | $7.99 | per month |
| Learn Georgian | $7.99 | per month |
| Learn Ilocano | $7.99 | per month |
| uTalk Monthly Subscription | $10.99 | per month |
| uTalk's 150+ Languages | $11.99 | per month |
| Learn Kinyarwanda | $34.99 | per 6 months |
| Single Topic Purchase | $0.99 | one-time |
| Taster uCoin Pack | $1.99 | one-time |
| 200 uCoins | $8.99 | one-time |
| 800 uCoins | $32.99 | one-time |
| Learn Russian | $49.99 | one-time |
| Learn Latin American Spanish | $49.99 | one-time |
| Learn French | $54.99 | one-time |
| Learn Spanish (European) | $54.99 | one-time |
| Learn Modern Standard Arabic | $54.99 | one-time |
| Learn Slovenian | $54.99 | one-time |
| Learn Kazakh | $54.99 | one-time |
| Learn Dari | $54.99 | one-time |
| Learn Luganda | $54.99 | one-time |
| Learn Xhosa | $54.99 | one-time |
| Learn Portuguese | $54.99 | one-time |
| Learn Maltese | $54.99 | one-time |
| Learn Neapolitan | $54.99 | one-time |
| Learn Bosnian | $54.99 | one-time |
| Learn Chinese (Mandarin) | $54.99 | one-time |
| Learn Armenian | $54.99 | one-time |
| Learn Basque | $54.99 | one-time |
| Learn Estonian | $54.99 | one-time |
| Learn Italian | $54.99 | one-time |
| Learn Dutch | $54.99 | one-time |
| Learn Kinyarwanda | $54.99 | one-time |
| Learn Pashto | $54.99 | one-time |
| Learn Dzongkha | $54.99 | one-time |
| Learn Malayalam | $54.99 | one-time |
| Learn Gujarati | $54.99 | one-time |
| Learn Catalan | $54.99 | one-time |
| Learn Latvian | $54.99 | one-time |
| Learn Japanese | $54.99 | one-time |
| Learn Shona | $54.99 | one-time |
| Learn Korean | $54.99 | one-time |
| Learn Tswana | $54.99 | one-time |
| Learn Flemish | $54.99 | one-time |
| Learn Yoruba | $54.99 | one-time |
| Learn Khmer | $54.99 | one-time |
| Learn Greenlandic | $54.99 | one-time |
| Learn Argentinian Spanish | $54.99 | one-time |
| Learn Filipino (Tagalog) | $54.99 | one-time |
| Learn Amharic | $54.99 | one-time |
| Learn Swiss German | $54.99 | one-time |
| Learn Irish | $54.99 | one-time |
| Learn Macedonian | $54.99 | one-time |
| Learn Haitian Creole | $54.99 | one-time |
| Learn Nepali | $54.99 | one-time |
| Learn Egyptian Arabic | $54.99 | one-time |
| Learn Albanian | $54.99 | one-time |
| Learn Kurdish (Sorani) | $54.99 | one-time |
| Learn Georgian | $54.99 | one-time |
| Learn Shanghainese | $54.99 | one-time |
| Learn Urdu | $54.99 | one-time |
| Learn Bengali | $54.99 | one-time |
| Learn Tibetan | $54.99 | one-time |
| Learn Tigrinya | $54.99 | one-time |
| Learn Sicilian | $54.99 | one-time |
| Learn Sinhala | $54.99 | one-time |
| Pack of 2600 uCoins | $64.99 | one-time |
| Learn Croatian | $69.99 | one-time |
| Learn Chichewa | $99.99 | one-time |
| Learn Lao | $99.99 | one-time |
| Learn Scots | $99.99 | one-time |
| Learn Ilocano | $99.99 | one-time |
| Learn Samoan | $99.99 | one-time |
| Arabic (Gulf) | $99.99 | one-time |
| Learn Wolof | $99.99 | one-time |
| Learn Cebuano | $99.99 | one-time |
| Learn Moroccan Arabic | $99.99 | one-time |
| Learn Lebanese Arabic | $99.99 | one-time |
| Learn Canadian French | $99.99 | one-time |
| uTalk's 150+ Languages | $199.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Easy and fun to use
- 👍 Variety of languages available
- 💡 Rare languages like Kurdish and Cebuano
- 👍 Native speaker audio for pronunciation
- 🚀 Effective for learning vocabulary

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Crashes and bugs
- 💰 Expensive subscription and in-app purchases
- 🤔 Inconsistent translations and pronunciations
- 🤔 Lack of grammar and sentence structure lessons
- 🤔 Difficulty cancelling subscription

**Reported bugs**

- Crashes on launch or during use
- Syncing and login issues
- Incorrect translations or pronunciations
- Compatibility problems on newer devices

**Requested features**

- Add more grammar and sentence structure lessons
- Improve user interface for larger screens
- Allow users to record and compare their own pronunciation
- Provide more localized content for each language
- Improve subscription management and cancellation process


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Babbel free?

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

### Is uTalk free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Babbel or uTalk?

Babbel is rated higher. Babbel averages 4.7 out of 5 from 754K ratings, while uTalk averages 4.4 from 987 ratings.

### Do Babbel or uTalk have ads?

Babbel shows ads; uTalk does not.

### Which is updated more often, Babbel or uTalk?

Babbel ships an update every 4 days, and uTalk monthly. Most recently, Babbel was updated on September 25, 2026 and uTalk on September 25, 2026.

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