# Babbel vs French

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: French at none against Babbel's 10. French also leads on ads (none vs shown) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 17.0). Babbel's advantage is update cadence (every 4 days vs every 16 months) and ratings volume (758K vs 2). On price and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Babbel sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $17.99 per month. French asks for nothing beyond the download.

Babbel holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Babbel has 758K ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.

Babbel ships an update every 4 days, French every 16 months. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Babbel | French |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.7 (758K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/babbel-language-learning/id829587759/reviews)** | [4.5 (2 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/french-khmer-dictionary/id1387252918/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **758K** | 2 |
| Positive reviews | 44.1% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | **Every 4 days** | Every 16 months |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Free** |
| Best chart rank | **#14** | — |
| Size | 286 MB | 16 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | **12.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Babbel GmbH](https://appshunter.io/developer/357018535) | [sovannarith sok](https://appshunter.io/developer/1001603684) |

## What reviewers say

### Babbel

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

**Currently charting:** #14 Top Grossing · Education, #37 Top Free · Education (US App Store)

Learn a new language through real-life conversations and bite-sized lessons. This award-winning app, built by language experts, offers courses tailored to your native tongue and includes an AI conversation partner for pronunciation practice. Start speaking in as little as 3 weeks with a proven method.

**Highlights:** Tailored courses for native speakers, Real-life conversation practice, AI-powered pronunciation feedback, Bite-sized, effective lessons, Grammar explained in context, Offline lesson access, Smart review system

**Features:** Vision Pro support, iPhone Duo support

**In-app purchases (10)**

| 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 – 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 |
| 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


### French

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/french-khmer-dictionary/id1387252918)

This offline dictionary app provides quick access to definitions for around 14,000 French words translated into Khmer. Users can easily search for words, bookmark favorites, and manage their saved list for daily use.

**Highlights:** Offline French to Khmer dictionary, Search for words, Bookmark favorite words, Manage bookmarked words, 14,000 word database

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Babbel free?

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

### Is French free?

French is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

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

Babbel is rated higher. Babbel averages 4.7 out of 5 from 758K ratings, while French averages 4.5 from 2 ratings.

### Do Babbel or French have ads?

Babbel shows ads; French does not.

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

Babbel ships an update every 4 days, and French every 16 months. Most recently, Babbel was updated on November 6, 2026 and French on November 2, 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.*