Comparison

Babbel vs Lingo Books

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

Lingo Books

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
Read full description

Learn a language by actually enjoying it – read real stories, hear native narration, and remember what you learn through games. No boring drills. Lingo Books turns reading into the fastest, most natural way to learn English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, or Russian. WHY READERS LOVE LINGO BOOKS – Instant translations – tap a word or sentence for context-aware meaning while you read, with no flow broken – Bilingual stories – see your language and the one you're learning side by side, so you're never lost – Listen like a local – native-speaker narration with synced text to train your ear and pronunciation – Lessons for every level – guided courses from absolute beginner to advanced – Learn through play – crosswords, word-pairs, matching, and blitz games turn new words into long-term memory – Your own dictionary – every word you save is sorted and ready to review – Track your progress – streaks, daily goals, levels, and achievements keep you coming back – Works offline – download books and translation models, learn on the plane or the subway PERFECT FOR Beginners who want a gentler start than flashcard apps, travelers prepping for a trip, students building vocabulary, and anyone who's tried other apps and quit. Just 10 minutes of reading a day adds up fast. 7 LANGUAGES English – Spanish – French – German – Italian – Portuguese – Russian Download Lingo Books free and read your first story today. Notes: Lingo Books includes an optional premium subscription. This is offered on a monthly or annual basis. If you choose to purchase a subscription your payment will be charged to your iTunes account. Subscriptions will automatically renew unless canceled within 24-hours before the end of the current period. You can turn off auto-renewal at any time by going to your Account Settings on the App Store after purchase. Privacy Policy: https://telegra.ph/Privacy-Policy-02-22-35

Screenshots

Babbel4 screens
Lingo Books4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: Lingo Books at freemium against Babbel's subscription. Lingo Books also leads on ads (none vs shown) and review sentiment (78% vs 44%). Babbel's advantage is update cadence (every 5 days vs every 5 weeks) and ratings volume (757K vs 102). On price, rating, 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 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.

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 Lingo Books. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Babbel has 757K 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.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Babbel ships an update every 5 days, Lingo Books every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and October 23, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Babbel versus Lingo Books: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBabbelLingo Books
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (757K ratings) — better4.7 (102 ratings)
Positive reviews44.0% of reviews77.8% of reviews — better
Number of ratings757K — better102
Update frequencyEvery 5 days — betterEvery 5 weeks
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationSubscriptionFreemium — better
Best chart rank#18 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.015.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size272 MB160 MB
Age rating12+9+
DeveloperBabbel GmbHMykola Mylashko

Customer experience

Babbel

All ratings756,839 ratings
Positive93.7%
Neutral3.8%
Negative2.5%
Written reviews2,786 reviews
Positive44.0%
Neutral13.9%
Negative42.0%

Lingo Books

All ratings102 ratings
Positive90.2%
Neutral3.9%
Negative5.9%
Written reviews9 reviews
Positive77.8%
Neutral22.2%
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

Lingo Books

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
4 purchases

Lingo Books

Subscriptions3
  • Premium (1 Month)$4.991 Month
  • Premium (1 Year)7 Days trial$19.991 Year
  • Premium Annually$19.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime Premium$29.99

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 757K 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 October 30, 2026 and Lingo Books on October 23, 2026.

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