Comparison

Babbel vs EF Hello Speak

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

EF Hello Speak

Practice English conversation with an AI tutor that provides instant feedback on pronunciation, grammar, and fluency. Engage in short, personalized lessons designed for real-life scenarios, helping you build confidence for work, study, or travel.

Highlights
  • AI English Tutor (Addi)
  • Real-time pronunciation and grammar feedback
  • Bite-sized 5-minute learning sessions
  • Personalized learning paths
  • Pronunciation Coach
  • Grammar Checker
  • Immersive listening exercises
Features
Read full description

On paper, you're great. Out loud, at speed, in a room full of people? That's the part nobody ever trained you for. So train it here first! Meet Addi, your AI language tutor. Addi builds a plan around the job you actually do and practices with you anytime, anywhere—until you speak up with confidence. YOUR PLAN, BUILT AROUND YOUR WORK Tell Addi your level, your goal and how much time you have. You get a path — what to practice today, what comes next — instead of a library to guess your way through. FIVE LANGUAGES, ONE TUTOR English, Spanish, French, German, Italian. Pick one and Addi builds your plan from there. FOR THE ROOM YOU'RE IN • Give the presentation — open strong, hold the room, handle the Q&A without freezing. • Write the email — say it directly and professionally, the first time. • Ace the interview — from "tell me about yourself" to the questions you ask back. • Run the meeting — disagree, interrupt politely, close the loop. PRACTICE OUT LOUD, 24/7 Addi is a patient tutor who never runs out of time. Role-play a real scenario over messages or in a live voice call, and get real-time feedback on pronunciation, grammar and fluency. No scheduling, no judgment, no waiting for a class to start. KNOW EXACTLY WHAT TO FIX Every conversation ends with a score on pronunciation, fluency, grammar and how well you hit your goal — plus the exact lines you'd say better next time. "You're doing great" isn't feedback. This is. REAL VIDEO, REAL ACCENTS Watch short clips with subtitles and the key phrases pulled out, then practice saying them yourself. TEN MINUTES, OR THIRTY Commute, lunch break, before bed — one scenario takes ten minutes. Got a real block of time? Work through a full structured lesson: learn it, try it, then use it in conversation. AWARD-WINNING LANGUAGE LEARNING 2024 App Store Award Winner, rated 4.9 stars, and built on over 60 years of EF's language education expertise. TRY IT FREE FOR 7 DAYS Every feature unlocked, cancel anytime. Ten minutes a day is long enough to hear yourself say it. HERE TO HELP 24/7 Shake your phone inside the app or email efhello@ef.com, and we'll be there. Terms of Service: https://hello.ef.com/terms-of-service Privacy Policy: https://hello.ef.com/privacy-policy

Screenshots

Babbel4 screens
EF Hello Speak4 screens

Verdict

The call

Babbel and EF Hello Speak both sit at 4.7 stars, but that hides the real split: 88% of EF Hello Speak's written reviews are positive against 44% of Babbel's. EF Hello Speak 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 9.4K) and update cadence (every 4 days vs fortnightly). 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 EF Hello Speak sells 16 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 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 4.8 for EF Hello Speak. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Babbel has 754K ratings behind it against 9.4K, 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 88% of EF Hello Speak's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Babbel ships an update every 4 days, EF Hello Speak fortnightly. Both last shipped on September 24, 2026.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Babbel versus EF Hello Speak: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBabbelEF Hello Speak
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (754K ratings)4.8 (9.4K ratings) — better
Positive reviews43.7% of reviews88.1% of reviews — better
Number of ratings754K — better9.4K
Update frequencyEvery 4 days — betterFortnightly
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationSubscriptionFree with in-app purchases — better
Best chart rank#8 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.015.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size263 MB125 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperBabbel GmbHSignum International AG

Customer experience

Babbel

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

EF Hello Speak

All ratings9,401 ratings
Positive96.2%
Neutral1.9%
Negative1.8%
Written reviews1,177 reviews
Positive88.1%
Neutral3.3%
Negative8.6%

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

EF Hello Speak

From 9.4K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Engaging and easy to use
  • 🚀 Intuitive AI features
  • 💡 Practical real-life scenarios
  • 👍 User-friendly interface
  • 👍 Helpful for improving language skills

Room to improve

  • 🔒 Subscription required for full access
  • 🐛 Inconsistent performance with voice recognition
  • 🐛 Inability to review past lessons
  • 🐛 Clunky interactions and meaningless quizzes
  • 🐛 Lack of language selection options

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

EF Hello Speak

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Freezing issues when trying to access lessons
  • Inability to change language settings
  • Inconsistent behavior between app versions

Requested features

5 requests
  • More language options beyond English, Spanish, French, and German
  • Improved voice recognition and feedback
  • Better lesson review functionality
  • Customizable difficulty levels
  • Offline mode for lessons

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
16 purchases

EF Hello Speak

Subscriptions16
  • 1 month access$9.991 Month
  • 3 months access$38.993 Months
  • 3 months premium$38.993 Months
Show 13 more
  • EF Hello Pro 3 Month Plan$39.993 Months
  • 6 months access$48.996 Months
  • Annual access$55.991 Year
  • Annual Pro access$55.991 Year
  • Annual premium$59.001 Year
  • EF Hello Pro Yearly Plan$79.991 Year
  • Learn Spanish: 1-year plan7 Days trial$79.991 Year
  • 1 Year Access7 Days trial$79.991 Year
  • 1 year Hello Pro$79.991 Year
  • 1 year access7 Days trial$79.991 Year
  • 1 year premium7 Days trial$84.991 Year
  • EF Hello Pro Yearly Plan7 Days trial$119.991 Year
  • EF Hello Pro Family Plan7 Days trial$119.991 Year

Questions

Is Babbel free?
Babbel is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is EF Hello Speak free?
EF Hello Speak is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Babbel or EF Hello Speak?
EF Hello Speak is rated higher. Babbel averages 4.7 out of 5 from 754K ratings, while EF Hello Speak averages 4.8 from 9.4K ratings.
Do Babbel or EF Hello Speak have ads?
Babbel shows ads; EF Hello Speak does not.
Which is updated more often, Babbel or EF Hello Speak?
Babbel ships an update every 4 days, and EF Hello Speak fortnightly. Most recently, Babbel was updated on September 24, 2026 and EF Hello Speak on September 24, 2026.

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