Comparison

Babbel vs Language Transfer

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

Language Transfer

Learn new languages and music theory through free, downloadable audio courses. This app offers a structured approach to language learning, allowing you to track progress and listen offline. No sign-up is necessary to begin your educational journey.

Highlights
  • Free audio courses
  • Downloadable lessons
  • Progress saving
  • Offline listening
  • No sign-up required
  • Multiple languages available
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Language Transfer provides free audio courses that teach you to take control of your thought process. There's no sign-up required — just pick a language and start learning! Available courses: - Complete Spanish - Complete Greek - Complete Swahili - Complete German (work in progress) - Introduction to Arabic - Introduction to Turkish - Introduction to Italian - Introduction to French - Inglés Completo (para Hispanohablantes) - Introduction to Music Theory This app provides the same audio available for free on languagetransfer.org, but allows you to download tracks in advance, save your progress, and listen with your phone locked. We collect some anonymous usage data so we can improve the app and learn about how users are engaging with the lessons. You can learn more in the About section of the app, or turn off this data collection in the Settings pane. The source code for the Language Transfer app is available on GitHub: github.com/language-transfer

Screenshots

Babbel4 screens
Language Transfer4 screens

Verdict

The call

Babbel and Language Transfer both sit at 4.7 stars, but that hides the real split: 94% of Language Transfer's written reviews are positive against 44% of Babbel's. Language Transfer 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 14 months) and ratings volume (757K vs 1.6K). On price, rating 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. Language Transfer asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Babbel against 4.9 for Language Transfer. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Babbel has 757K ratings behind it against 1.6K, 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 94% of Language Transfer's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Babbel ships an update every 5 days, Language Transfer every 14 months. Both last shipped on November 3, 2026.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
Babbel versus Language Transfer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBabbelLanguage Transfer
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (757K ratings)4.9 (1.6K ratings) — better
Positive reviews44.1% of reviews94.1% of reviews — better
Number of ratings757K — better1.6K
Update frequencyEvery 5 days — betterEvery 14 months
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationSubscriptionFree — better
Best chart rank#13 — better#162
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.015.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size272 MB79 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperBabbel GmbHMihalis Eleftheriou

Customer experience

Babbel

All ratings756,839 ratings
Positive93.7%
Neutral3.8%
Negative2.5%
Written reviews2,799 reviews
Positive44.1%
Neutral13.9%
Negative42.0%

Language Transfer

All ratings1,573 ratings
Positive96.5%
Neutral1.1%
Negative2.4%
Written reviews608 reviews
Positive94.1%
Neutral2.6%
Negative3.3%

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

Language Transfer

From 1.6K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Highly effective language learning method
  • 👍 Intuitive and logical approach
  • 🤩 Incredible value for being free
  • 💡 Unique teaching style that builds on existing knowledge
  • 🎉 Accelerates language learning progress

Room to improve

  • 🐛 App has some bugs and stability issues
  • 🔍 Lack of playback controls (speed, rewind, etc.)
  • 🗂️ Difficulty navigating and finding specific lessons

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

Language Transfer

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Lessons not always marked as complete correctly
  • App sometimes reverts to earlier lessons unexpectedly
  • Occasional audio playback issues

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add more language options
  • Improve lesson navigation and progress tracking
  • Implement playback speed controls
  • Provide transcripts or subtitles for lessons

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

Language Transfer

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Babbel free?
Babbel is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Language Transfer free?
Language Transfer is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Babbel or Language Transfer?
Language Transfer is rated higher. Babbel averages 4.7 out of 5 from 757K ratings, while Language Transfer averages 4.9 from 1.6K ratings.
Do Babbel or Language Transfer have ads?
Babbel shows ads; Language Transfer does not.
Which is updated more often, Babbel or Language Transfer?
Babbel ships an update every 5 days, and Language Transfer every 14 months. Most recently, Babbel was updated on November 3, 2026 and Language Transfer on November 3, 2026.
Which is more popular, Babbel or Language Transfer?
Babbel currently peaks at #13 in the App Store charts, and Language Transfer at #162. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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