# Babbel vs Lingo Books

The clearest difference is ads: Lingo Books at none against Babbel's shown. Lingo Books also leads on review sentiment (78% vs 44%) and iOS requirement (15.6 vs 17.0). Babbel's advantage is update cadence (every 5 days vs every 5 weeks) and ratings volume (758K vs 102). On price, rating, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Babbel sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $17.99 per month and Lingo Books sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Babbel against 4.7 for Lingo Books. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Babbel has 758K ratings behind it against 102, 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 78% of Lingo Books's.

Babbel ships an update every 5 days, Lingo Books every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 4, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Babbel | Lingo Books |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.7 (758K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/babbel-language-learning/id829587759/reviews)** | [4.7 (102 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/lingo-books-learn-spanish/id1671191637/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **758K** | 102 |
| Positive reviews | 44.1% of reviews | **77.8% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | **Every 5 days** | Every 5 weeks |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Best chart rank | **#13** | — |
| Size | 301 MB | 160 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | **15.6** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 12+ | 9+ |
| Developer | [Babbel GmbH](https://appshunter.io/developer/357018535) | [Mykola Mylashko](https://appshunter.io/developer/1073344258) |

## What reviewers say

### Babbel

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

**Currently charting:** #13 Top Grossing · Education, #37 Top Free · Education (US App Store)

Learn a new language through real-life conversations and bite-sized lessons. This award-winning app, built by language experts, offers courses tailored to your native tongue and features an AI conversation partner for pronunciation practice. Start speaking in as little as 3 weeks.

**Highlights:** Tailored courses for native speakers, Real-life conversation practice, AI conversation partner with feedback, Bite-sized lessons (10 mins/day), Grammar explained in context, Offline mode, Smart review system

**Features:** Vision Pro support, iPhone Duo support

**In-app purchases (10)**

| 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 – 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 |
| 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


### Lingo Books

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/lingo-books-learn-spanish/id1671191637)

Learn languages through engaging bilingual stories, lessons, and games. Offers side-by-side translations, native speaker narration, and progress tracking. Supports 7 popular languages for learners of all levels.

**Highlights:** Bilingual books with side-by-side translations, Native speaker narration, Interactive lessons, Vocabulary games and exercises, Offline reading and listening, Progress tracking and achievements

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

**In-app purchases (4)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Premium (1 Month) | $4.99 | per month |
| Premium (1 Year) | $19.99 | per year |
| Premium Annually | $19.99 | per year |
| Lifetime Premium | $29.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Babbel free?

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

### Is Lingo Books free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Babbel or Lingo Books?

Babbel is rated higher. Babbel averages 4.7 out of 5 from 758K ratings, while Lingo Books averages 4.7 from 102 ratings.

### Do Babbel or Lingo Books have ads?

Babbel shows ads; Lingo Books does not.

### Which is updated more often, Babbel or Lingo Books?

Babbel ships an update every 5 days, and Lingo Books every 5 weeks. Most recently, Babbel was updated on November 4, 2026 and Lingo Books on November 3, 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.*