Babbel vs Shock Dictionary
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.
Shock Dictionary
Instantly translate words and sentences between 133 languages with this AI-powered dictionary and translator. Engage in AI-driven chat for learning and receive customizable reminders to reinforce new vocabulary. Track your progress and save favorite words for easy access.
- AI dictionary and translator
- AI-driven chat for learning
- Translate between 133 languages
- Save favorite words and phrases
- Learning progress tracking
- Customizable vocabulary reminders
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Your Ultimate Multilingual Companion! Ready to break language barriers? Isn't it to time to memorize the word you are still searching? Don't you know how many time you search a word or sentence? With Shock, effortlessly translate words and sentences between any language to 133 languages, instantly expanding your linguistic horizons! Features: * Your first AI dictionary and translator! * AI driven Chat... Talk and learn. * 133 Language and translate to any language and vice versa! * Word and sentence meanings! * Universal dictionary journey * Fast app * Never miss a beat with our powerful notification feature! Set reminders hourly, daily, weekly, or monthly to keep new vocabulary fresh in your mind, ensuring continuous language growth. * Love a word or phrase? Save it for quick access later! Easily organize and revisit your favorite translations with just a tap, making learning a breeze. * Keep track of your learning journey! Shock lets you monitor your search history, providing valuable insights into your progress and indicating when it's time to commit certain words to memory. Experience the convenience of Shock - download now from the Apple Store and embark on a journey of linguistic mastery! Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://shockdictionary.com/policy
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Shock Dictionary at 100% against Babbel's 44%. Shock Dictionary also leads on monetization model (free vs subscription) 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, in-app purchases 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
Both are free to download. Babbel sells 12 in-app purchases, starting at $17.99 per month and Shock Dictionary sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Shock Dictionary holds the better App Store score, 5.0 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 Shock Dictionary's.
Babbel ships an update every 4 days, Shock Dictionary every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and August 27, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Babbel | Shock Dictionary |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (754K ratings) | 5.0 (8 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 43.7% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 754K — better | 8 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 days — better | Every 3 weeks |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Subscription | Free — better |
| Best chart rank | #10 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 15.1 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 263 MB | 63 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Babbel GmbH | Pinecone Software LLC |
Customer experience
Babbel
Shock Dictionary
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
Shock Dictionary
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
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
Shock Dictionary
- Weekly7 Days trial$1.997 Days
- Monthly$4.991 Month
- Yearly$29.991 Year
Questions
Is Babbel free?
Is Shock Dictionary free?
Which has better reviews, Babbel or Shock Dictionary?
Do Babbel or Shock Dictionary have ads?
Which is updated more often, Babbel or Shock Dictionary?
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