Comparison

Babbel vs Basic English

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

Head to head
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.

About

Basic English

Learn to speak English fluently and confidently with interactive lessons, audio, and quizzes. Improve speaking, listening, and vocabulary through step-by-step instruction and real-world conversation practice, even offline.

Highlights
  • Offline learning support
  • Interactive lessons with audio and quizzes
  • Real-world conversation practice
  • Vocabulary and grammar expansion
  • Speaking practice with recording
  • Listening practice via radio
Features
Read full description

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO SPEAK ENGLISH FLUENTLY + Support iPhone and iPad. + iOS 13.0 above + Can use offline. ● Do you feel nervous or shy when you speak English? --> The app can help you learn English and improve your speaking without taking a class. --> All the lessons include images, slideshows, audio files, and quizzes to help you learn in an easy way. If you are a beginner or low intermediate English learner, then this app will be perfect for you. ● Do other people sometimes not understand you when you speak English? --> The app will improve your English skill speaking, listening and understanding. All the lessons were created in a step-by-step manner teaching simple words and sentences in the beginning and slowly getting harder in later lessons. ● Do you want to practice English speaking even when you have nobody to practice with? --> The app have many conversations for you practice speak English naturally and confidently for work, travel, or daily life ... ● Would you like to know how to use English in real world situations? --> Become a confident English speaker by seeing, hearing, and participating with interactive lessons ●●● Main features - Over 5000 conversations. - Support learning offline without internet - Expand vocebulary, grammar through videos channel. - Practice speaking and record to listen again. - Quizzes test will helpful for you test what did you know. - Bookmarks: group the lessons to a package. - History, Favorite will be better for you learn again. - Take note on lesson. - Support 3000 words for speaking. - Practice listening via English radio. ●●● BEST GOAL: The app can help you after completing - You will be able to speak English. - Feel confident when you speak English. - Speak natural English with clear pronunciation. - Improve your English speaking even when you are alone. - Learn all the grammar and vocabulary you need to communicate in English. - Speak smoothly and fluently without stopping or pausing. - Learn English for specific situations like travel or business meeting. ### Purchase to unlock features and ads free on the app ### - Privacy policy: https://mobilephl.com/eslcourse/privacy.php - Terms of Use: https://mobilephl.com/eslcourse/term_of_use.php - And read more USER LICENSE AGREEMENT (about EULA) at here: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Babbel4 screens
Basic English4 screens

Verdict

The call

Babbel and Basic English both sit at 4.7 stars, but that hides the real split: 91% of Basic English's written reviews are positive against 44% of Babbel's. Basic English also leads on monetization model (free with in-app purchases vs subscription) and ads (none vs shown). Babbel's advantage is ratings volume (754K vs 5.8K) and update cadence (every 4 days vs every 3 weeks). On price, rating, in-app purchases 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 and Basic English sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 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 Babbel against 4.7 for Basic English. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Babbel has 754K ratings behind it against 5.8K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 44% of Babbel's written reviews are positive against 91% of Basic English's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Babbel ships an update every 4 days, Basic English every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Babbel versus Basic English: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBabbelBasic English
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (754K ratings)4.7 (5.8K ratings)
Positive reviews43.7% of reviews90.8% of reviews — better
Number of ratings754K — better5.8K
Update frequencyEvery 4 days — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationSubscriptionFree with in-app purchases — better
Best chart rank#8 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size263 MB198 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperBabbel GmbHNguyen Thi Hoai Thu

Customer experience

Babbel

All ratings753,872 ratings
Positive93.8%
Neutral3.8%
Negative2.5%
Written reviews2,638 reviews
Positive43.7%
Neutral13.9%
Negative42.3%

Basic English

All ratings5,786 ratings
Positive93.3%
Neutral2.6%
Negative4.1%
Written reviews76 reviews
Positive90.8%
Neutral6.6%
Negative2.6%

User reviews

Babbel

From 754K 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

Basic English

From 5.8K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 🚀 Excellent learning tool
  • 💡 Helpful for improving English
  • 🤩 Great app
  • 🥰 Love the app

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Ads disrupt usage
  • 🤔 Incorrect quiz answers
  • 🤷‍♀️ Premium not connected

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

Basic English

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Audio issue during use
  • Repeated audio lessons

Requested features

2 requests
  • Option to speak slowly
  • Desktop version for online classes

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
3 purchases

Basic English

Subscriptions2
  • Month$6.991 Month
  • Year$9.991 Year
One-time1
  • Premium$11.99

Questions

Is Babbel free?
Babbel is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Basic English free?
Basic English is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Babbel or Basic English?
Babbel and Basic English are both rated 4.7 out of 5 on the App Store, from 754K and 5.8K ratings respectively.
Do Babbel or Basic English have ads?
Babbel shows ads; Basic English does not.
Which is updated more often, Babbel or Basic English?
Babbel ships an update every 4 days, and Basic English every 3 weeks. Most recently, Babbel was updated on September 24, 2026 and Basic English on September 22, 2026.

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