Comparison

Babbel vs DK Illustrated Dictionary

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

DK Illustrated Dictionary

Learn over 10,000 words and phrases with clear illustrations and native speaker audio. This app supports the printed DK Illustrated Dictionary series, offering offline access to pronunciation guides and over 7 hours of high-quality audio.

Highlights
  • 10,000+ words and phrases
  • Crystal-clear illustrations
  • Offline audio recordings
  • Native speaker pronunciation
  • Over 7 hours of audio
  • Supports printed books
Features
Read full description

The DK Illustrated Dictionary series uses crystal-clear illustrations to help you learn over 10,000 useful words and phrases. The DK Illustrated Dictionary app provides offline access to the audio recordings that accompany the dictionary, allowing you to listen and perfect your pronounciation for all the words featured in the book. The app contains more than 7 hours of high-quality audio to accompany each book. All the key language from the course is clearly spoken by native speakers. Please note that the DK Illustrated Dictionary app is designed to support the printed books, which are available to buy at DK.com

Screenshots

Babbel4 screens
DK Illustrated Dictionary3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Babbel at 4.7 against DK Illustrated Dictionary's 3.7. Babbel also leads on ratings volume (754K vs 6) and chart position (#12 vs unranked). DK Illustrated Dictionary's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 13) and ads (none vs shown). On price 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. DK Illustrated Dictionary asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Babbel holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Babbel has 754K ratings behind it against 6, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 44% of Babbel's written reviews are positive against 67% of DK Illustrated Dictionary's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Babbel ships an update every 4 days, DK Illustrated Dictionary every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on September 26, 2026 and August 12, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard9 real differences · 2 level
Babbel versus DK Illustrated Dictionary: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBabbelDK Illustrated Dictionary
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (754K ratings) — better3.7 (6 ratings)
Positive reviews43.7% of reviews66.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings754K — better6
Update frequencyEvery 4 days — betterEvery 9 days
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationSubscriptionFree — better
Best chart rank#12 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.012.4 — better
Further details — not scored
Size263 MB29 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperBabbel GmbHDorling Kindersley

Customer experience

Babbel

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

DK Illustrated Dictionary

All ratings6 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%

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

DK Illustrated Dictionary

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

DK Illustrated Dictionary

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Babbel free?
Babbel is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is DK Illustrated Dictionary free?
DK Illustrated Dictionary is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Babbel or DK Illustrated Dictionary?
Babbel is rated higher. Babbel averages 4.7 out of 5 from 754K ratings, while DK Illustrated Dictionary averages 3.7 from 6 ratings.
Do Babbel or DK Illustrated Dictionary have ads?
Babbel shows ads; DK Illustrated Dictionary does not.
Which is updated more often, Babbel or DK Illustrated Dictionary?
Babbel ships an update every 4 days, and DK Illustrated Dictionary every 9 days. Most recently, Babbel was updated on September 26, 2026 and DK Illustrated Dictionary on August 12, 2026.

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