Comparison

Babbel vs Learn German

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

Learn German

Master German vocabulary and fluency with interactive flashcards. This app uses a combination of images, audio, and example sentences to aid memorization. It offers a unique repetition system and user-generated content for comprehensive learning.

Highlights
  • Interactive flashcards
  • Image and audio support
  • Example sentences
  • Repetition system
  • User-generated lessons
  • English-German translator
Features
Read full description

What is the best way to learn German? The most efficient method is with flashcards! They help you quickly build up your vocabulary and German skills. It has been proved that they by far outperform traditional German courses, that are often boring and tiring, and do not bring the results you were hoping for. Flashcards are constantly rising in popularity, due to the fact that they combine entertainment with learning. If you aim to know and speak German fluently, for studies, work or in order to impress native speakers with your knowledge during the next trip to Germany - this app is perfect for you! VocApp was created in order to share an amazing product that offers the possibility to learn easy and fun. We are sure it will help you achieve all of your German language goals and ambitions. The product was made for everyone to enjoy. Whether you are a beginner or a master in German, you will find our app useful. Why are our flashcards special? The secret is in the combination of more elements that help you learn: the image, the pronunciation, examples of German sentences, definitions and hints, that explain the meaning of a word and show how can you use it in day-to-day life. Our method combines audio and visual memory to help remember forever. Also, we have created a Repetition System that reminds you the needed words at the right time, so you will not feel the need of dictionaries and subtitles anymore! Our courses are created by professionals in linguistics, so you can trust the material that is included in them. Besides, hundreds of users, most of whom are native German speakers, create daily lots of lessons to help others in learning German. Our database is unique! You can find something to learn on any topic you are interested in, whether it's the basics of the language or hard financial terms. Our flashcards will help you prepare for well-known proficiency tests such as DAAD, Goethe-Zertifikat and others. These courses have been created especially for developing your German vocabulary in order to prove your good level of knowledge. Fortunately, German grammar is quite simple. Knowing the basics is sufficient enough and it is not worth spending more time learning it, as all of it will come naturally. You can use our application as an English-German translator. Just type the word in English or German and we will do the rest. The translation, along with an image and sentence will be generated by the system. Apart from the translation, you will be able to add this (with pronunciation and exemplar usage) to your own flashcards. In this way, you cannot only check meanings of words but also learn and memorize them forever (as if it were there all along). Our methods will remarkably expand your German vocabulary and in the future you will no longer need to bother about unknown words. PLEASE NOTE A lot of the features are free, but you will need a subscription in order to get access to all features of this app. Your subscription will automatically renew unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current payment period. Your iTunes account will be automatically charged at the same price for renewal within the 24-hour period prior to the end of the current payment period unless you change your subscription preferences in your Account Settings. There are three types of subscription: The 1 month subscription for $ 6.49 (or the equivalent in your currency), renewed automatically until canceled. The 12 month subscription for $ 55.99 (or the equivalent in your currency), renewed automatically until canceled. Any unused portion of free trial period if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription to that publication, where applicable. You can manage your subscriptions through your Account Settings after purchase. Privacy policy: https://vocapp.com/privacy-policy Terms of Service: https://vocapp.com/terms

Screenshots

Babbel4 screens
Learn German4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: Learn German at freemium against Babbel's subscription. Learn German also leads on ads (none vs shown) and review sentiment (67% vs 44%). Babbel's advantage is update cadence (every 4 days vs every 2 months) and ratings volume (754K vs 8). On price, 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 Learn German sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Babbel holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Babbel has 754K ratings behind it against 8, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 44% of Babbel's written reviews are positive against 67% of Learn German's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Babbel ships an update every 4 days, Learn German every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 27, 2026 and August 12, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
Babbel versus Learn German: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBabbelLearn German
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (754K ratings) — better4.5 (8 ratings)
Positive reviews43.7% of reviews66.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings754K — better8
Update frequencyEvery 4 days — betterEvery 2 months
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationSubscriptionFreemium — better
Best chart rank#14 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.012.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size263 MB56 MB
Age rating12+9+
DeveloperBabbel GmbHVocApp Sp. z o.o.

Customer experience

Babbel

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

Learn German

All ratings8 ratings
Positive87.5%
Neutral0.0%
Negative12.5%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%

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

Learn German

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

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
10 purchases

Learn German

Subscriptions6
  • All access7 Days trial$3.991 Month
  • All access$4.991 Month
  • Premium Account7 Days trial$4.991 Month
Show 3 more
  • All access7 Days trial$36.991 Year
  • All access$43.991 Year
  • Premium Account7 Days trial$49.991 Year
One-time4
  • Language course$3.99
  • Language course$8.99
  • Language course$17.99
Show 1 more
  • Premium Account$119.99

Questions

Is Babbel free?
Babbel is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Learn German free?
Learn German is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Babbel or Learn German?
Babbel is rated higher. Babbel averages 4.7 out of 5 from 754K ratings, while Learn German averages 4.5 from 8 ratings.
Do Babbel or Learn German have ads?
Babbel shows ads; Learn German does not.
Which is updated more often, Babbel or Learn German?
Babbel ships an update every 4 days, and Learn German every 2 months. Most recently, Babbel was updated on September 27, 2026 and Learn German on August 12, 2026.

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