Babbel vs Wlingua
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- Bite-sized lessons
- Expert-built courses
- Interactive conversation practice
- Smart review system
- Grammar in context
- Offline mode
- Learn 14 languages
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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.
Wlingua
Master Russian with a comprehensive online course designed for all levels. Learn vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation through interactive exercises and real-life examples. Progress quickly and earn certificates to validate your skills.
- Learn Russian from scratch
- Russian cases course
- Audio clips with clear pronunciation
- Linked concepts and vocabulary explanations
- Grammar and vocabulary exercises
- Reading comprehension texts
- Certificates of completion
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Learning Russian has never been so easy. It is perfect for you whether you have a beginner, basic, intermediate or advanced level of Russian. With our online Russian course you will notice your Russian improving very quickly. Millions of students have already tried our courses. Would you like to join them? Our online Russian courses: Russian Course In this course you will learn Russian from the ground up. Whatever your starting level, the course is designed to help you learn Russian from day one. Russian Cases Course In this course you will study Russian cases. You will practice their forms and learn how to use them correctly through additional exercises. Designed for people who are already doing the Russian Course. Our learning method: An easy, guided learning process designed for you: you will feel that you are learning more Russian every day. Every sentence, exercise, review and reading has been carefully selected for you. Audio clips in Russian: A wide variety of accents with clear, crisp pronunciation, recorded by professional narrators. Linked concepts: Each word is linked to its use or precise meaning. Tap a word in any sentence, exercise or reading to see its meaning or an explanation of its use. Lesson structure: Concepts are introduced progressively throughout the course. Only concepts that have already been explained are used to create the content (sentences, exercises and readings). Vocabulary: Learn the meaning, pronunciation and use of words with activities adapted to your progress. Grammar exercises: Practice your grammar with exercises linked to explanations. Vocabulary topics: Words are grouped into topic categories. Spaced reviews: Review vocabulary and grammar at increasingly long intervals. Search: Find whatever you are looking for, including vocabulary and grammar. Readings: Learn and practice with conversations, news, emails and interviews, among others. Diplomas: Earn a diploma that proves your knowledge at the end of each level. Account types: - Basic: With a Basic account the course is free, with some limitations. - Premium: With a Premium account you have access to all course content and activities. At Wlingua we work hard every day to offer you a quality Russian app that helps you at work, with your next exam, on holiday or when talking to people from around the world. Download our app to learn Russian! Terms of service: https://www.wlingua.com/en/terms Privacy policy: https://www.wlingua.com/en/privacy
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Wlingua at 91% against Babbel's 44%. Wlingua also leads on monetization model (freemium vs subscription) and ads (none vs shown). Babbel's advantage is ratings volume (754K vs 350) and chart position (#13 vs unranked). On price, update cadence, 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
Both are free to download. Babbel sells 12 in-app purchases, starting at $17.99 per month and Wlingua sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $12.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Wlingua holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Babbel has 754K ratings behind it against 350, 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 91% of Wlingua's.
Babbel ships an update every 4 days, Wlingua every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on September 27, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Babbel | Wlingua |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (754K ratings) | 4.9 (350 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 43.7% of reviews | 91.3% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 754K — better | 350 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 days — better | Every 5 days |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Subscription | Freemium — better |
| Best chart rank | #13 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 15.1 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 263 MB | 64 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Babbel GmbH | WLINGUA SOCIEDAD LIMITADA |
Customer experience
Babbel
Wlingua
User reviews
Babbel
From 754K App Store ratingsWhat 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
Wlingua
From 350 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Excellent explanations
- 👍 Better than Duolingo
- 👍 Free resource
- 👍 Well-structured lessons
- 👍 Built-in dictionary
Room to improve
- 🐛 Speaking option not working
- 🐛 App won't open (Russian version)
- 🐛 Some exercises behind paywall
- 🐛 Locked out despite subscription
- 🐛 Progress lost due to login change
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
Wlingua
Reported bugs
5 issues- Speaking option not working due to internet connection error
- App won't open for Russian version
- Some practice/exercises behind a paywall
- Locked out of account despite subscription
- Loss of progress due to login method change
Requested features
2 requests- Way to study and review verbs
- Ability to re-study previous lessons without finishing new ones
In-app purchases
Babbel
- Mexican Spanish – 1-month plan$17.991 Month
- Spanish 1 month$17.991 Month
- French 1 month$17.991 Month
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- 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
Wlingua
- 1 month Premium access7 Days trial$12.991 Month
- 3 months Premium access7 Days trial$26.993 Months
- 12 months Premium access7 Days trial$84.991 Year
Questions
Is Babbel free?
Is Wlingua free?
Which has better reviews, Babbel or Wlingua?
Do Babbel or Wlingua have ads?
Which is updated more often, Babbel or Wlingua?
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