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. 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

Learn German

Learn German through engaging stories and interactive exercises. Build vocabulary with smart flashcards and master grammar with built-in helpers. Practice listening with native speaker recordings and prepare for exams.

Highlights
  • 2,000+ German stories at your level
  • Smart flashcards with spaced repetition
  • Instant German dictionary and grammar helpers
  • Quizzes to test German skills
  • Native speaker audio recordings
  • Daily new stories
Features
Read full description

Learn German with real news and stories at your level, from A1 beginner to C1. A new story every day, tap-to-translate on any word and a quiz on grammar, vocabulary and der, die, das. Readle teaches German the way you actually use it: by reading and listening. Just 5 minutes a day is enough to make steady progress. HOW IT WORKS • Pick your level (A1, A2, B1, B2 or C1) and a topic you enjoy. • Read and listen to the story, recorded by native German speakers. • Tap any word you don't know to see the English translation and an explanation. • Check your understanding with a short quiz and save new words as flashcards. WHAT YOU GET 【 2,000+ German stories and news 】 Real topics from the news, travel, culture, science, technology and more, rewritten for your level. A new story is added every day. 【 Instant dictionary in the text 】 Tap a word for its translation into English and many other languages, without switching apps. 【 Der, die, das and grammar in context 】 More than 170 grammar helpers explain key structures right inside the story. After each story, a quiz practices articles, grammar and vocabulary. 【 Native-speaker audio 】 Every story comes with audio, so you train listening and pronunciation while you read. 【 Flashcards that stick 】 Save words from the stories you like. Spaced repetition brings them back just before you would forget them. 【 Exam preparation 】 Build the reading and vocabulary you need for the Goethe-Zertifikat, telc, DSH and TestDaF. TOPICS Latest news (e.g. DW, ZDF, Tagesschau) · Travel and transport · Culture · Food · Entertainment · Science and medicine · Technology · People WHO IS READLE FOR? German beginners who want more than flashcards, learners moving to Germany, Austria or Switzerland for work or study, travelers, exam candidates – and anyone who wants to read and understand real German. Download Readle for free and start your first German story today! Follow Readle: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ReadleApp Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/readle.german/ Privacy policy: https://readle-app.com/privacy-policy/ Terms of use: https://readle-app.com/term-of-use/

Screenshots

Babbel4 screens
Learn German4 screens

Verdict

The call

Babbel and Learn German both sit at 4.7 stars, but that hides the real split: 82% of Learn German's written reviews are positive against 44% of Babbel's. Learn German also leads on monetization model (free with in-app purchases vs subscription) and ads (none vs shown). Babbel's advantage is update cadence (every 5 days vs every 5 weeks) and ratings volume (757K vs 1.1K). 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 Learn German sells 4 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 4.7 for Learn German. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Babbel has 757K ratings behind it against 1.1K, 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 82% of Learn German's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Babbel ships an update every 5 days, Learn German every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Babbel versus Learn German: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBabbelLearn German
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (757K ratings) — better4.7 (1.1K ratings)
Positive reviews44.0% of reviews82.2% of reviews — better
Number of ratings757K — better1.1K
Update frequencyEvery 5 days — betterEvery 5 weeks
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationSubscriptionFree with in-app purchases — better
Best chart rank#18 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size272 MB138 MB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperBabbel GmbHA-Type Technologies

Customer experience

Babbel

All ratings756,839 ratings
Positive93.7%
Neutral3.8%
Negative2.5%
Written reviews2,786 reviews
Positive44.0%
Neutral13.9%
Negative42.0%

Learn German

All ratings1,050 ratings
Positive93.3%
Neutral2.8%
Negative3.9%
Written reviews276 reviews
Positive82.2%
Neutral8.7%
Negative9.1%

User reviews

Babbel

From 757K 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

Learn German

From 1.1K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Great way to learn and practice reading
  • 👍 Interesting and relevant stories
  • 👍 Helpful vocabulary and grammar support
  • 👍 Ability to save words for flashcard review
  • 👍 Clear audio narration

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional app freezes or crashes
  • 🔒 Limited to one device per subscription
  • 💰 Subscription cost may be high for some users
  • 🔍 Lack of search/filter options for stories

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

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Quizzes not working properly in some cases
  • Audio not loading for certain stories
  • Inability to exit vocabulary review without completing all words

Requested features

4 requests
  • Ability to sync progress across devices
  • More free content for non-subscribers
  • Offline reading mode
  • Verb conjugation and grammar exercises

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
4 purchases

Learn German

Subscriptions3
  • Readle German: Premium Monthly$9.991 Month
  • Readle Quarterly Subscription$44.993 Months
  • Yearly Premium Subscription7 Days trial$69.991 Year
One-time1
  • Readle German Lifetime$249.99

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 757K ratings, while Learn German averages 4.7 from 1.1K 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 5 days, and Learn German every 5 weeks. Most recently, Babbel was updated on October 31, 2026 and Learn German on October 29, 2026.

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