Comparison

Babbel vs Say! Language learning

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

Say! Language learning

Practice speaking a new language with an AI companion. Select phrases relevant to your needs, improve pronunciation by speaking aloud, and create a personalized phrasebook for travel or other purposes. Supports multiple languages.

Highlights
  • AI language practice buddy
  • Personalized phrase selection
  • Pronunciation practice
  • Customizable phrasebook
  • Multi-language support
Features
Read full description

Learn a language by speaking with your AI Buddy. Choose words and phrases that matter to you. Practice pronunciation and speak out loud. Build your personal phrasebook for travel and more. Available for English, Korean, Spanish, German, Italian, French, Bulgarian, Japanese, Chinese, and Portuguese.

Screenshots

Babbel4 screens
Say! Language learning4 screens

Verdict

The call

Babbel and Say! Language learning both sit at 4.7 stars, but that hides the real split: 100% of Say! Language learning's written reviews are positive against 44% of Babbel's. Say! Language learning also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 13) and ads (none vs shown). Babbel's advantage is ratings volume (754K vs 8) and update cadence (every 4 days vs every 3 weeks). On price, rating 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. Say! Language learning asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Say! Language learning holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Babbel has 754K ratings behind it against 8, 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 Say! Language learning's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Babbel ships an update every 4 days, Say! Language learning every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and June 11, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
Babbel versus Say! Language learning: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBabbelSay! Language learning
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (754K ratings)4.9 (8 ratings) — better
Positive reviews43.7% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings754K — better8
Update frequencyEvery 4 days — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationSubscriptionFree — better
Best chart rank#7 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size263 MB27 MB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperBabbel GmbHDiego Salvatierra

Customer experience

Babbel

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

Say! Language learning

All ratings8 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

Say! Language learning

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
None

Say! Language learning

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Babbel free?
Babbel is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Say! Language learning free?
Say! Language learning is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Babbel or Say! Language learning?
Say! Language learning is rated higher. Babbel averages 4.7 out of 5 from 754K ratings, while Say! Language learning averages 4.9 from 8 ratings.
Do Babbel or Say! Language learning have ads?
Babbel shows ads; Say! Language learning does not.
Which is updated more often, Babbel or Say! Language learning?
Babbel ships an update every 4 days, and Say! Language learning every 3 weeks. Most recently, Babbel was updated on September 25, 2026 and Say! Language learning on June 11, 2026.

Other comparisons