Comparison

Babbel vs Picture Dictionary by Spe

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. 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: • 3 months • 6 months • 12 months • Lifetime 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

Picture Dictionary by Spe

Learn new vocabulary in multiple languages by associating words with custom-drawn images. Practice daily with memorization quizzes, spelling, and listening comprehension exercises. The app is completely free, offline, and ad-free.

Highlights
  • Over 200 topics
  • 4500+ words with custom vector images
  • Multiple language support
  • Pronunciation for all words
  • Memorization quizzes
  • Offline access
Features
Read full description

It’s much easier to learn words in another language when they are associated with pictures. Through this method, our app can help expand your vocabulary with just a few minutes of practice each day. The app is totally free, with no hidden costs or premium content, and no distracting advertisements flashing every other second. Features: • more than 200 topics • more than 4500 words with custom-drawn, vector images • vector images scale to any screen flawlessly • English (American and British), Spanish (Mexican), Portuguese (Brazilian), Italian, German, Russian, Ukrainian, and Hungarian • Pronunciation available for all words • Easy search function • Compile a set of your favorite words • Memorization quizzes • Listening comprehension and spelling practice • Available entirely offline

Screenshots

Babbel4 screens
Picture Dictionary by Spe4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Picture Dictionary by Spe at 100% against Babbel's 44%. Picture Dictionary by Spe also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 13) and ads (none vs shown). Babbel's advantage is update cadence (every 5 days vs every 3 months) and ratings volume (757K vs 7). On price 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. Picture Dictionary by Spe asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Picture Dictionary by Spe holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Babbel has 757K ratings behind it against 7, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 44% of Babbel's written reviews are positive against 100% of Picture Dictionary by Spe's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Babbel ships an update every 5 days, Picture Dictionary by Spe every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 27, 2026 and October 9, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard9 real differences · 2 level
Babbel versus Picture Dictionary by Spe: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBabbelPicture Dictionary by Spe
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (757K ratings)5.0 (7 ratings) — better
Positive reviews44.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings757K — better7
Update frequencyEvery 5 days — betterEvery 3 months
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationSubscriptionFree — better
Best chart rank#11 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.011.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size272 MB37 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperBabbel GmbHSPE-NOT Szamitastechnikai Szolgaltato es Tanacsado Kozkereseti Tarsasag

Customer experience

Babbel

All ratings756,839 ratings
Positive93.7%
Neutral3.8%
Negative2.5%
Written reviews2,777 reviews
Positive44.0%
Neutral13.9%
Negative42.0%

Picture Dictionary by Spe

All ratings7 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

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

Picture Dictionary by Spe

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
None

Picture Dictionary by Spe

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Babbel free?
Babbel is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Picture Dictionary by Spe free?
Picture Dictionary by Spe is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Babbel or Picture Dictionary by Spe?
Picture Dictionary by Spe is rated higher. Babbel averages 4.7 out of 5 from 757K ratings, while Picture Dictionary by Spe averages 5.0 from 7 ratings.
Do Babbel or Picture Dictionary by Spe have ads?
Babbel shows ads; Picture Dictionary by Spe does not.
Which is updated more often, Babbel or Picture Dictionary by Spe?
Babbel ships an update every 5 days, and Picture Dictionary by Spe every 3 months. Most recently, Babbel was updated on October 27, 2026 and Picture Dictionary by Spe on October 9, 2026.

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