Comparison

Babbel vs Mango Reader

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

Mango Reader

This app helps intermediate language learners improve their skills by providing real-time translations and pronunciation for words on any website. Users can save new vocabulary, bookmark content, and enjoy an ad-free reading experience.

Highlights
  • Real-time website translation
  • Word and phrase pronunciation
  • Personalized vocabulary lists
  • Ad-free reader mode
  • Website and article bookmarking
  • Supports 14 languages
Read full description

With Mango Reader, you can go to any website on the internet and get translations for words you don’t know, in real time, while you’re reading. Designed with Intermediate-level language learners in mind, this powerful tool will help boost your language proficiency to an Advanced level. • Visit any website in the language you're learning and immerse yourself in content that interests you. • Highlight unfamiliar words and phrases to see their translation and hear them pronounced. • Save vocabulary you want to learn to personalized lists with the tap of a button. • Convert web pages into readable content without ads or distractions using "Reader Mode." • Bookmark your favorite websites and articles. • For the full experience, get the Mango Languages app to practice new vocabulary. Mango Reader supports 14 languages, including Modern Standard Arabic, Mandarin Chinese, Cantonese, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Brazilian Portuguese, Russian, Latin American Spanish, and English.

Screenshots

Babbel4 screens
Mango Reader4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Mango Reader at none against Babbel's 13. Mango Reader also leads on ads (none vs shown) and review sentiment (63% vs 44%). Babbel's advantage is update cadence (every 4 days vs monthly) and ratings volume (754K vs 13). On price, rating, device support and iOS requirement 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. Mango Reader asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Babbel against 4.6 for Mango Reader. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Babbel has 754K ratings behind it against 13, 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 63% of Mango Reader's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Babbel ships an update every 4 days, Mango Reader monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Babbel versus Mango Reader: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBabbelMango Reader
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (754K ratings) — better4.6 (13 ratings)
Positive reviews43.7% of reviews62.5% of reviews — better
Number of ratings754K — better13
Update frequencyEvery 4 days — betterMonthly
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationSubscriptionFree — better
Best chart rank#10 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.016.4 — better
Further details — not scored
Size263 MB10 MB
Age rating12+17+
DeveloperBabbel GmbHCreative Empire, LLC

Customer experience

Babbel

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

Mango Reader

All ratings13 ratings
Positive84.6%
Neutral7.7%
Negative7.7%
Written reviews8 reviews
Positive62.5%
Neutral12.5%
Negative25.0%

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

Mango Reader

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

Mango Reader

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Babbel free?
Babbel is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Mango Reader free?
Mango Reader is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Babbel or Mango Reader?
Babbel is rated higher. Babbel averages 4.7 out of 5 from 754K ratings, while Mango Reader averages 4.6 from 13 ratings.
Do Babbel or Mango Reader have ads?
Babbel shows ads; Mango Reader does not.
Which is updated more often, Babbel or Mango Reader?
Babbel ships an update every 4 days, and Mango Reader monthly. Most recently, Babbel was updated on September 25, 2026 and Mango Reader on September 7, 2026.

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