Comparison

Babbel vs OWL- English 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

OWL- English Language Learning

Master new languages through engaging AI-powered 3D lessons and interactive story lines. Practice speaking with advanced speech recognition and retain information effectively with spaced repetition. Enjoy a fun and effective learning experience for all ages.

Highlights
  • AI-powered 3D lessons
  • Voice assistant
  • Story-driven learning
  • Speech recognition for practice
  • Spaced repetition for retention
  • Multiple languages available
Features
Read full description

Learn languages with AI-powered 3D lessons! Why we love LANGONY: • Interactive 3D Lessons: No more boring lessons; • Artificial Intelligence: Created with neural networks; • Voice Assistant: Suitable for kids and adults; • Story Line: Unique plot in each lesson; • Speech Recognition: Speaking practice; • Spaced Repetition: Remembered for a long time. Available languages: English, Spanish, French, German, Russian, Italian and others! Learning languages has never been so interesting and effective! Interesting tasks and funny characters give an incentive to study every day, both with a teacher and on your own! Download and see for yourself! Privacy Policy: https://langony.com/privacypolicy Terms of Use: https://langony.com/termsofuse Discover the ultimate experience. Enjoy our basic features for free, or upgrade to a premium subscription for exclusive content and advanced functionality. ### Free Features: - Easy mode - Tips - Auto listen - A1, A2 phrases - Select languages ### Premium Subscription: - All lessons - All phrases - Auto record - Hard mode - All languages - Without ads - History Note: Some features require an active subscription. Subscriptions are available as in-app purchases.

Screenshots

Babbel4 screens
OWL- English Language Learning4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: OWL- English Language Learning at free with in-app purchases against Babbel's subscription. OWL- English Language Learning also leads on review sentiment (60% vs 44%) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 17.0). Babbel's advantage is update cadence (every 4 days vs every 2 months) and ratings volume (754K vs 36). On price, rating, ads 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Babbel sells 12 in-app purchases, starting at $17.99 per month and OWL- English Language Learning sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 7 days. 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 OWL- English Language Learning. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Babbel has 754K ratings behind it against 36, 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 60% of OWL- English Language Learning's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Babbel ships an update every 4 days, OWL- English Language Learning every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and June 11, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Babbel versus OWL- English Language Learning: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBabbelOWL- English Language Learning
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (754K ratings)4.7 (36 ratings) — better
Positive reviews43.7% of reviews60.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings754K — better36
Update frequencyEvery 4 days — betterEvery 2 months
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationSubscriptionFree with in-app purchases — better
Best chart rank#10 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.012.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size263 MB127 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperBabbel GmbHManuel Gallardo

Customer experience

Babbel

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

OWL- English Language Learning

All ratings36 ratings
Positive88.9%
Neutral11.1%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive60.0%
Neutral20.0%
Negative20.0%

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

OWL- English 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
5 purchases

OWL- English Language Learning

Subscriptions4
  • WEEKLY PREMIUM$4.997 Days
  • MONTHLY PREMIUM$9.991 Month
  • YEARLY PREMIUM SALE1 Year trial$14.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • YEARLY PREMIUM$29.991 Year
One-time1
  • UNLIMITED PREMIUM$39.99

Questions

Is Babbel free?
Babbel is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is OWL- English Language Learning free?
OWL- English Language Learning is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Babbel or OWL- English Language Learning?
OWL- English Language Learning is rated higher. Babbel averages 4.7 out of 5 from 754K ratings, while OWL- English Language Learning averages 4.7 from 36 ratings.
Do Babbel or OWL- English Language Learning have ads?
Both Babbel and OWL- English Language Learning show ads.
Which is updated more often, Babbel or OWL- English Language Learning?
Babbel ships an update every 4 days, and OWL- English Language Learning every 2 months. Most recently, Babbel was updated on September 25, 2026 and OWL- English Language Learning on June 11, 2026.

Other comparisons