# Babbel vs Italian Course For Beginners

The clearest difference is monetization model: Italian Course For Beginners at free with in-app purchases against Babbel's subscription. Italian Course For Beginners also leads on iOS requirement (13.0 vs 17.0). Babbel's advantage is update cadence (every 4 days vs every 3 months) and ratings volume (754K vs 14). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Babbel sells 12 in-app purchases, starting at $17.99 per month and Italian Course For Beginners sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Babbel holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Babbel has 754K ratings behind it against 14, so its average is the more settled of the two.

Babbel ships an update every 4 days, Italian Course For Beginners every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on September 27, 2026 and September 7, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Babbel | Italian Course For Beginners |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.7 (754K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/babbel-language-learning/id829587759/reviews)** | [4.5 (14 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/italian-course-for-beginners/id1670465615/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **754K** | 14 |
| Positive reviews | 43.7% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| Update frequency | **Every 4 days** | Every 3 months |
| Monetization | Subscription | **Free with in-app purchases** |
| Best chart rank | **#14** | — |
| Size | 263 MB | 148 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | **13.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Babbel GmbH](https://appshunter.io/developer/357018535) | [Ali Hassan](https://appshunter.io/developer/1669096087) |

## What reviewers say

### Babbel

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/babbel-language-learning/id829587759)

**Currently charting:** #14 Top Grossing · Education, #57 Top Free · Education (US App Store)

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:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (12)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Mexican Spanish – 1-month plan | $17.99 | per month |
| Spanish 1 month | $17.99 | per month |
| French 1 month | $17.99 | per month |
| Italian 1 month | $17.99 | per month |
| Mexican Spanish - 1-month plan | $19.99 | per month |
| Mexican Spanish – 3-month plan | $45.99 | per 3 months |
| Learn French – 3-month plan | $45.99 | per 3 months |
| Learn Spanish – 3-month plan | $45.99 | per 3 months |
| All Languages – 3-month plan | $53.99 | per 3 months |
| Mexican Spanish – 1-year plan | $89.99 | per year |
| All Languages – 12-month plan | $107.99 | per year |
| All Languages – 12-month plan | $107.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Excellent structured learning
- 🚀 Effective vocabulary and grammar teaching
- 👍 Helpful pronunciation guides
- 👍 Engaging and practical lessons
- 👍 Useful review and repetition features

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 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

**Reported bugs**

- 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**

- 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


### Italian Course For Beginners

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/italian-course-for-beginners/id1670465615)

Master Italian in 60 days with this comprehensive course. Learn essential phrases, vocabulary, and sentences through interactive exercises and quizzes. All content is free and accessible without registration.

**Highlights:** Beginner to advanced Italian lessons, Daily life phrases, Thousands of words and sentences, Practice quizzes, No registration required, Completely free content

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (4)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Italian Course | $7.99 | per 7 days |
| Italian | $12.99 | per month |
| Italian | $34.99 | per year |
| Italian Course Premium | $59.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Babbel free?

Babbel is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Italian Course For Beginners free?

Italian Course For Beginners is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Babbel or Italian Course For Beginners?

Babbel is rated higher. Babbel averages 4.7 out of 5 from 754K ratings, while Italian Course For Beginners averages 4.5 from 14 ratings.

### Do Babbel or Italian Course For Beginners have ads?

Both Babbel and Italian Course For Beginners show ads.

### Which is updated more often, Babbel or Italian Course For Beginners?

Babbel ships an update every 4 days, and Italian Course For Beginners every 3 months. Most recently, Babbel was updated on September 27, 2026 and Italian Course For Beginners on September 7, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*