Babbel vs Verbling
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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
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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.
Verbling
Master new languages through live, one-on-one conversations with native-speaking teachers. Practice speaking from day one to gain fluency and confidence for real-world interactions. Access lessons anytime, anywhere directly through the app.
- Live video lessons with native teachers
- Learn over 40 languages
- In-app video chat
- Book lessons on your phone
- Focus on speaking practice
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Learn Spanish, English, French, German, Portuguese, Italian, Dutch, Danish, Swedish and more, with native teachers. The only way to learn a language, is to speak it. "Over time I’ve hit walls with Duolingo; the app’s structured lessons offer a nice (and free) foundation, but conversations on Verbling provide more depth and help me prepare for the real world." - Editor, VentureBeat FIND YOUR DREAM TEACHER Conversations are the heart and soul of the Verbling experience. We believe that the most effective way to learn a language is to speak it, which is why it’s our mission to connect you with amazing teachers who are a perfect fit for your learning. BOOK & TAKE LESSONS ON YOUR PHONE Verbling is designed for you to learn whenever and however you want to. Our built-in Verbling Video chat connects you directly to your teacher without using external apps or tools. Simply login to the Verbling app from your phone and you are connected. We teach over 40 languages.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Babbel at 4.7 against Verbling's 3.8. Babbel also leads on update cadence (every 4 days vs monthly) and ratings volume (754K vs 135). Verbling's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 13) and ads (none vs shown). On price 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. Babbel sells 12 in-app purchases, starting at $17.99 per month. Verbling asks for nothing beyond the download.
Babbel holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Babbel has 754K ratings behind it against 135, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 44% of Babbel's written reviews are positive against 31% of Verbling's.
Babbel ships an update every 4 days, Verbling monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and August 26, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Babbel | Verbling |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (754K ratings) — better | 3.8 (135 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 43.7% of reviews — better | 30.9% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 754K — better | 135 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 days — better | Monthly |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Subscription | Free — better |
| Best chart rank | #11 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 10.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 263 MB | 112 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Babbel GmbH | Verbling, Inc. |
Customer experience
Babbel
Verbling
Bugs and 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
Verbling
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Babbel
- Mexican Spanish – 1-month plan$17.991 Month
- Spanish 1 month$17.991 Month
- French 1 month$17.991 Month
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- 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
Verbling
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Babbel free?
Is Verbling free?
Which has better reviews, Babbel or Verbling?
Do Babbel or Verbling have ads?
Which is updated more often, Babbel or Verbling?
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