Babbel vs Speak
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.
Speak
This app uses AI to help you improve your speaking fluency in various languages. Engage in simulated conversations, receive instant feedback on pronunciation and intonation, and track your progress to become a confident speaker.
- AI-powered speaking practice
- Real-life conversation simulation
- Instant pronunciation feedback
- Personalized progress tracking
- Learn Spanish, French, English, and more
- Immersive lessons
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Get ready to take your language skills to the next level with Speak, the ultimate language learning app focusing on improving your speaking abilities. Powered by cutting-edge AI technology, Speak ensures that you gain fluency by engaging in real-life conversations and receiving instant feedback. Whether you are learning Spanish, Korean, Japanese, Chinese, English, French or Italian, Speak's AI-powered lessons will have you learning a new language fast. With Speak, you'll feel like you have a personal language tutor right in your pocket. Our app provides immersive speaking practice sessions that simulate real-life scenarios, allowing you to become confident in your conversational skills. The advanced AI function analyzes your speech, providing a valuable assessment of pronunciation, intonation, and fluency. Say goodbye to those language barriers as you receive real-time feedback, enabling you to make necessary adjustments and improve your speaking skills on the spot. Our comprehensive language learning curriculum is available for Spanish, English, French, Italian, Japanese and Korean learners, ensuring that you become fluent. Whether you're a beginner or an advanced learner, Speak caters to your individual needs and helps you progress at your own pace. You'll love the personalized progress tracking, which helps you identify areas that need improvement, allowing you to focus your efforts effectively. Speak's method is simple: STEP 1: Do a real language learning lesson! Learn real-life, essential phrases with your dedicated local teacher. STEP 2: Practice speaking the language! Repeat the learned phrases until you can speak without thinking twice! STEP 3: AI Tutor provides personalized language feedback! With the latest AI technology, you can practice anywhere and anytime! Get real-time feedback on pronunciations, grammar, and much more. STEP 4: Real conversations in your chosen language! Now put what you've learned into real-life situations and speak with confidence! No more boring textbooks or one-sided conversations! With Speak, you'll experience interactive and engaging language practice that feels like a real-life conversation. Break free from traditional language learning and download Speak now! Gain fluency, receive real-time feedback, and become a confident speaker in Spanish, English, French, Italian, Japanese and Korean. There are plenty of other language apps out there, but Speak's key difference comes down to getting you speaking Spanish, English, French, Italian, Japanese or Korean out loud on day 1. SPEAK MEMBERSHIP Speak offers both monthly and annual auto-renewing subscriptions. Become a Speak Member to gain unlimited access to all courses, singles, review material, and other content within Speak. The subscription will automatically renew unless turned off in your iTunes Account Settings at least 24 hours before the current period ends. You can go to your iTunes Account settings to manage your subscription and turn off auto-renew. Your iTunes Account will be charged when the purchase is confirmed. If you subscribe before your free trial ends, the rest of your free trial period will be forfeited as soon as your purchase is confirmed. Terms of Service: https://usespeak.com/tos Privacy Policy: https://usespeak.com/privacy License Agreement: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is monetization model: Speak at free with in-app purchases against Babbel's subscription. Speak also leads on review sentiment (66% vs 44%). Babbel's advantage is ratings volume (754K vs 61K). On price, rating, update cadence and ads 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 and Speak sells 7 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 — 4.7 for Babbel against 4.8 for Speak. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Babbel has 754K ratings behind it against 61K, 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 66% of Speak's.
Babbel ships an update every 4 days, Speak weekly. Both last shipped on September 25, 2026.
| Parameter | Babbel | Speak |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (754K ratings) | 4.8 (61K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 43.7% of reviews | 65.7% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 754K — better | 61K |
| Update frequency | Every 4 days — better | Weekly |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Subscription | Free with in-app purchases — better |
| Best chart rank | #8 — better | #18 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 16.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 263 MB | 246 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Babbel GmbH | Speakeasy Labs |
Customer experience
Babbel
Speak
User reviews
Babbel
From 754K App Store ratingsWhat 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
Speak
From 61K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Excellent for practicing speaking
- 👍 Customizable and practical content
- 🤖 Helpful AI tutor with good feedback
- 📚 Covers a variety of useful expressions
- 🕰️ Bite-sized lessons for busy schedules
Room to improve
- 💰 Expensive subscription cost
- 🤖 Voice recognition can be inaccurate
- 🕰️ Timed lessons feel rushed
- 🔍 Limited language options
- 🐛 Occasional app crashes and bugs
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
Speak
Reported bugs
3 issues- Unable to record during lessons
- Lesson progress not saving properly
- Subscription issues and billing problems
Requested features
5 requests- Add more advanced and specialized lessons
- Improve organization of saved content
- Provide offline mode for lessons
- Allow more customization of AI tutor's tone
- Integrate text-to-speech feature
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
Speak
- Monthly Subscription3 Days trial$17.991 Month
- Monthly Premium7 Days trial3 variants$17.991 Month
- Monthly Premium Plus7 Days trial$39.991 Month
Show 4 moreShow fewer
- Annual Subscription7 Days trial3 variants$83.991 Year
- Annual Premium7 Days trial$83.991 Year
- Annual Subscription7 Days trial$99.991 Year
- Annual Premium Plus7 Days trial3 variants$164.991 Year









