Comparison

Babbel vs effectLang

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

effectLang

Master new languages with an effective, free system. Create custom flashcards with images and audio, and utilize spaced repetition for optimal memorization. Learn at your own pace, even offline, with a fun, game-like approach to vocabulary building.

Highlights
  • Custom flashcard creator
  • Spaced repetition algorithm
  • Image and audio integration
  • Offline learning capability
  • Excel import/export
  • Text-to-speech pronunciation
Features
Read full description

Learn different languages in the most effective way for free! A simple and straightforward system will help you practice new languages effectively. You can use spaced repetition algorithm for memorization or just learn and practice at your own pace, even daily! A flexible "card creator" system, the use of modern learning strategies, and ease of use are not all the benefits of the app. A unique flashcard maker application lets you do things that weren't possible before. Your studying process will change thanks to the app. What are the main features of effectLang? - Integration with photo providers to instantly find a photo for your own flashcards, ability to add your pictures from your device if you want to. - Ability to add your own audio file or just use device built-in text to speech (TTS) technology for pronunciation (available languages are dependent on your device). Improve your English pronunciation (or any other language you are learning). - Provide an additional example, hint, or description for each flashcard. - Learn any language you want - English, Spanish, Portuguese German, Dutch, Hebrew, Italian, Russian, Polish, Korean, Japanese and many others. - Import and export flashcards content using Excel files. Flashcards and spaced repetition study app can work offline - without the internet (wi-fi is not required), but additional features, like downloading photos, can be used only online. Choose a study cards strategy, you only need to add new words, phrases, and sentences. Learn vocabulary and practice different languages with easy flashcards and modern active recall (active learning) strategies - image learning, spaced repetition & index cards. The whole learning process is like a fun memory game, you don't need to use boring dictionaries. Works for everyone - students, teachers, adults and beginners. Learning can be simple and fun! Doesn't matter if you want to travel, become a language expert or just get a glance at different languages, become a language learner today! Privacy policy: https://dawidwnukowski.com/dawid-wnukowski-mobile-games-privacy-policy/ Terms of service: https://dawidwnukowski.com/flashcards-terms/

Screenshots

Babbel4 screens
effectLang4 screens

Verdict

The call

Babbel and effectLang both sit at 4.7 stars, but that hides the real split: 44% of Babbel's written reviews are positive against 0% of effectLang's. Babbel also leads on ratings volume (754K vs 7) and update cadence (every 4 days vs every 3 weeks). effectLang's advantage is monetization model (free with in-app purchases vs subscription). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases 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 effectLang sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $3.49 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 effectLang. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Babbel has 754K ratings behind it against 7, 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 0% of effectLang's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Babbel ships an update every 4 days, effectLang every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and June 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Babbel versus effectLang: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBabbeleffectLang
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (754K ratings)4.7 (7 ratings) — better
Positive reviews43.7% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings754K — better7
Update frequencyEvery 4 days — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationSubscriptionFree with in-app purchases — better
Best chart rank#7 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS17.016.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size263 MB93 MB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperBabbel GmbHDawid Wnukowski

Customer experience

Babbel

All ratings753,872 ratings
Positive93.8%
Neutral3.8%
Negative2.5%
Written reviews2,638 reviews
Positive43.7%
Neutral13.9%
Negative42.3%

effectLang

All ratings7 ratings
Positive85.7%
Neutral14.3%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

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

effectLang

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
2 purchases

effectLang

Subscriptions2
  • Premium3 Days trial$3.491 Month
  • Premium3 Days trial$21.491 Year

Questions

Is Babbel free?
Babbel is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is effectLang free?
effectLang is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Babbel or effectLang?
effectLang is rated higher. Babbel averages 4.7 out of 5 from 754K ratings, while effectLang averages 4.7 from 7 ratings.
Do Babbel or effectLang have ads?
Both Babbel and effectLang show ads.
Which is updated more often, Babbel or effectLang?
Babbel ships an update every 4 days, and effectLang every 3 weeks. Most recently, Babbel was updated on September 24, 2026 and effectLang on June 24, 2026.

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