Babbel vs Tutor Lily
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- Bite-sized lessons
- Expert-built courses
- Interactive conversation practice
- Smart review system
- Grammar in context
- Offline mode
- Learn 14 languages
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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.
Tutor Lily
Engage in natural conversations to build real language fluency. This AI tutor remembers your progress and interests, adapting sessions to your goals and mistakes. Practice real-world scenarios and receive gentle corrections for effective learning.
- Natural conversation practice
- Personalized learning based on goals
- Real-time, gentle corrections
- Smart vocabulary building
- Adaptive difficulty levels
- Practice real-world scenarios
- Pronunciation coaching
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How long have you been telling yourself you'll learn English? Spanish? French? Let's make this the year it actually happens. Not from 400 owl reminders. Not from tapping pictures of fruits and animals. From real conversations — from your very first day. You'll be speaking with confidence in weeks, not years. Just 10 minutes a day with me. You speak or type. I match your level in real time. Use your target language, your native language, or a mix of both as you get more comfortable. MISTAKES ARE WELCOME It's actually how we learn. Make all your mistakes with me first. Then you won't have to make them with real people. When you slip up, I don't shame you. No red Xs. No buzzers. I give you real-time feedback on grammar, pronunciation, and word choice. I use a three-step method I call the Lily Method: I nudge, then I hint, and only then do I give you the answer. Learners fix their own mistakes 46% of the time with this method (Lyster & Ranta research). Other apps just feed you the correct answer — so you learn nothing. With me, you learn it because YOU found the answer. The biggest mistake you can make is being afraid to make one. Duolingo punishes you for mistakes — I reward you for making them. LET'S TALK ABOUT WHAT YOU LIKE Whatever you want to talk about — I'm like a friend who happens to speak 50+ languages. The movie you watched last weekend. Your day at work. The trip you're planning. Your favorite K-drama. The book you can't put down. The song stuck in your head. Personal conversations stick. Generic lessons don't. Pack me for the trip. I'll be your travel buddy who already speaks the language. Want to practice a specific moment — ordering at a Parisian café, checking into a Tokyo hotel, meeting your partner's parents? Just ask me to roleplay it. I REMEMBER YOU Other apps forget you the moment you close them. I don't. I remember the word you stumbled on last Tuesday. I remember your sister's wedding next month. I remember you work in marketing and your dog's name is Bean. Session 100 with me is smarter than session 1 — because I've been paying attention. You told me in onboarding you have a trip to Italy? Today let's talk about what you're packing. You mentioned you're nervous about a presentation? Walk me through it — I'll help you fix the rough spots. EARN STREAKS FOR REAL PRACTICE Streaks earned by real messages, not by tapping a button to keep a number alive. All the motivation. None of the guilt trips. No hearts. No leaderboards. No "you broke your streak!" notifications. 50+ LANGUAGES, NATIVE ACCENTS English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Italian, Portuguese, Arabic, Russian, Hindi, Turkish, Dutch, Swedish, Polish, Thai, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Greek — and 40+ more. Each with native accent variants (British or American English, Latin American or European Spanish, etc.) — so you sound like you actually live there, not like a textbook. STOP STUDYING. START SPEAKING. Babbel scripts you. ChatGPT forgets you. A human tutor costs $30-60 an hour and needs scheduling. I'm available 24/7. I'm 50× cheaper than a private tutor. I remember every word you've ever said to me. And I'll never make you feel stupid for not knowing something — that's the whole reason you're here. Five minutes on your coffee break. Thirty on the train home. I fit your day, not the other way around. Open the app. Say hi. I'll take it from there. — Lily Privacy Policy: https://tutorlily.com/privacy License Agreement: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is monetization model: Tutor Lily at free with in-app purchases against Babbel's subscription. Tutor Lily also leads on ads (none vs shown) and iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.0). Babbel's advantage is ratings volume (754K vs 239) and update cadence (every 4 days vs fortnightly). On price, rating, review sentiment 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
Both are free to download. Babbel sells 12 in-app purchases, starting at $17.99 per month and Tutor Lily sells 15 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per 7 days. 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 4.6 for Tutor Lily. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Babbel has 754K ratings behind it against 239, 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 50% of Tutor Lily's.
Babbel ships an update every 4 days, Tutor Lily fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 26, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Babbel | Tutor Lily |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (754K ratings) — better | 4.6 (239 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 43.7% of reviews | 50.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 754K — better | 239 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 days — better | Fortnightly |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Subscription | Free with in-app purchases — better |
| Best chart rank | #12 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 15.1 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 263 MB | 60 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Babbel GmbH | Tutor Lily Inc. |
Customer experience
Babbel
Tutor Lily
User reviews
Babbel
From 754K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Excellent structured learning
- 🚀 Effective vocabulary and grammar teaching
- 👍 Helpful pronunciation guides
- 👍 Engaging and practical lessons
- 👍 Useful review and repetition features
Room to improve
- 🐛 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
Tutor Lily
From 239 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Great for language practice
- 👍 AI is personable and engaging
- 👍 Provides corrections and explanations
- 👍 Wide range of language options
- 👍 Natural sounding AI voice
Room to improve
- 🐛 Buggy and glitches
- 🐛 Freezes often
- 🐛 Hands-free mode is glitchy
- 🐛 Incorrect translations at times
- 🐛 Robotic and artificial voices
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
Tutor Lily
Reported bugs
27 issues- App settings change and can't contact support
- Recent update removed roleplay/topics
- App is buggy
- Makes users answer same questions each time
- App locked behind paywall without notice
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- Had to give payment info for free trial
- Stopped working after paying for pro
- No way to restore purchases
- Automatic recording function is very poor
- Correct statements understood and written incorrectly
- App has loading dots without allowing use
- Hands-free mode isn't useful
- Translations are incorrect at times
- Speak option only works best with built-in phone voice to text
- Cancelled subscription but still got charged
- No customer support reply
- Voices are very robotic
- Questions asked are very artificial
- Hands-free mode is glitchy and poor
- Message disappears/gets deleted when clicking to see mistakes
- Freezes on 'evaluating sentence…'
- Loading dots forever
- Resetting conversation is only fix
- Doesn't change input language to German for voice
- Fails to record first response or delay in submitting
- Doesn't know how to use formal 'You'
- No sound on iPhone 13
Requested features
18 requests- Option to watch ads for more messages
- Ability to see pre-corrected version of messages
- Add Icelandic language
- Improve hands-free mode
- More natural sounding voices
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- Fix slow audio for German and French
- Provide more phrases for repetition
- Better support for absolute beginners
- Allow users to restore purchases
- Improve automatic recording function
- Fix formal 'You' usage
- Fix delay in recording submissions
- Allow viewing of original message before correction
- Offer a cheaper alternative
- Fix sound issues on iPhone 13
- Improve input language switching
- Make it easier to use while driving
- Increase chat limit or offer unlimited option
In-app purchases
Babbel
- Mexican Spanish – 1-month plan$17.991 Month
- Spanish 1 month$17.991 Month
- French 1 month$17.991 Month
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- 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
Tutor Lily
- Weekly PRO $1$0.997 Days
- Weekly PRO Membership$4.997 Days
- Monthly PRO Membership$9.991 Month
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- Monthly PRO Membership$11.991 Month
- Monthly PRO Membership$19.991 Month
- Monthly PRO Membership$29.991 Month
- Annual PRO Discount3 Days trial$29.991 Year
- Annual PRO Discount3 Days trial$49.991 Year
- 6-Month PRO Membership$56.996 Months
- Annual PRO Membership3 Days trial$69.991 Year
- Annual PRO Discount3 Days trial$71.991 Year
- Annual PRO Membership$83.991 Year
- Annual PRO Membership3 Days trial$83.991 Year
- Annual PRO Membership3 Days trial$89.991 Year
- Annual PRO Membership7 Days trial$169.991 Year
Questions
Is Babbel free?
Is Tutor Lily free?
Which has better reviews, Babbel or Tutor Lily?
Do Babbel or Tutor Lily have ads?
Which is updated more often, Babbel or Tutor Lily?
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