Comparison

Babbel vs Learn Russian with RLC

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 Russian with RLC

This app offers a structured Russian language course with 24 lessons covering the alphabet, vocabulary, and grammar. It includes various tests to track your learning progress, focusing on listening, grammar, and typing.

Highlights
  • 24 comprehensive lessons
  • Covers alphabet, vocabulary, and grammar
  • Tests for listening comprehension
  • Grammar knowledge tests
  • Typing Russian words practice
  • Progress monitoring
Features
Read full description

A basic course of Russian language. There are 24 lessons that cover many topics: from Russian alphabet to simple words and phrases to complicated grammar rules. The following parts of speech are covered: nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs. Each lesson includes multiple tests that help you monitor your progress and verify your knowledge of Russian language. There are tests for listening comprehension, grammar knowledge, typing Russian words, etc. The first six lessons are available for free.

Screenshots

Babbel4 screens
Learn Russian with RLC4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Learn Russian with RLC at 100% against Babbel's 44%. Learn Russian with RLC also leads on monetization model (freemium vs subscription) and ads (none vs shown). Babbel's advantage is ratings volume (755K vs 3) and chart position (#14 vs unranked). 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 Russian with RLC sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Learn Russian with RLC holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Babbel has 755K ratings behind it against 3, 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 Learn Russian with RLC's.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Babbel versus Learn Russian with RLC: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBabbelLearn Russian with RLC
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (755K ratings)5.0 (3 ratings) — better
Positive reviews43.8% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings755K — better3
Update frequencyEvery 5 days—
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationSubscriptionFreemium — better
Best chart rank#14 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.011.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size263 MB89 MB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperBabbel GmbHOrthodox Church in Hong Kong 香港聖彼得聖保羅東正教堂

Customer experience

Babbel

All ratings754,788 ratings
Positive93.8%
Neutral3.8%
Negative2.5%
Written reviews2,669 reviews
Positive43.8%
Neutral13.9%
Negative42.2%

Learn Russian with RLC

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 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

Learn Russian with RLC

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
1 purchases

Learn Russian with RLC

One-time1
  • Unlock all lessons$4.99

Questions

Is Babbel free?
Babbel is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Learn Russian with RLC free?
Learn Russian with RLC is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Babbel or Learn Russian with RLC?
Learn Russian with RLC is rated higher. Babbel averages 4.7 out of 5 from 755K ratings, while Learn Russian with RLC averages 5.0 from 3 ratings.
Do Babbel or Learn Russian with RLC have ads?
Babbel shows ads; Learn Russian with RLC does not.

Other comparisons