Why Pay For Babbel — And Why ‘Free’ Apps Cost More Than You Think (2024)

If you’re going to pay money for your language learning app, it’s only right that you get a clear idea of what it is you’re paying for first. Here’s why Babbel isn’t free.

1. The Myth Of ‘Free’

To put it bluntly: There’s no such thing as a free language-learning app. That much is probably clear to anyone who knows that labor isn’t free, either. If there isn’t a price tag for the user to see, then there are other ways you end up paying for something:

  1. You give up your personal data, which third parties use for advertising purposes. To quote the blogger Andrew Lewis: “If you are not paying for it, you’re not the customer; you’re the product being sold.” Whenever you interact with something on Facebook, it’s recorded, and then this data is analyzed so the ads you see are personally tailored to you. The same goes for Google, which from your browsing habits alone (never mind the rest of the data it collects on you) knows a whole lot more about you than social media does. We’re not trying to paint some 1984-style dystopian picture here — but we want to be clear about our company values. At Babbel, thanks to our payment model, we only keep the information we need, and we never sell it.
  2. Another way is to put up with ads. This is fairly self-explanatory, but they can also be pretty invasive. At Babbel, we decided against ads —because when you’re learning, it’s learning you should be focused on.
  3. Or you can select an app with a so-called “freemium” model. This means that you can use them for free up ’til a certain point, but better content is hidden behind a paywall. Either you pay a fixed price for the full content, or you end up paying a cent here, a dollar there — which all adds up. In contrast, with Babbel you pay once and get access to all our lessons — which are constantlybeing expanded and updated.

With Babbel, you pay a fixed monthly fee for access to all our lessons — without suffering through ads, and without your data being passed on to third parties.

2. Value For Your Money

So how does Babbel compare to offline and traditional learning opportunities? A private tutor will set you back at least $20 per hour ($30 is closer to the average), and professional classes quite a bit more. Even group learning typically comes to about $15 to $30 per hour. Babbel is a much bigger bang for your buck in comparison, with prices from $6.95 per month. For this price, you get to decide how much and how often you want to learn. If you do one lesson per day, you end up paying only $0.22 per 15-minute lesson — that’s less than a quarter!

At this point, it should be said that Babbel and learning with a tutor are not the same thing. There are different learning methods that produce different results for different people. It only makes sense to combine several different methods and figure out which one works best for you: sticky notes, watching foreign films, writing your own hip-hop lyrics in French, cooking recipes … creativity has no limits. Your language-learning process should be as dynamic as your life.

If you can afford a tutor or a language class, then Babbel is a fantastic way to keep practicing when you’re outside the classroom. Whatever you need more work on, whether it’s building your vocabulary, strengthening your conversational skills, or even improving your pronunciation (with our speech recognition software), Babbel is a great addition to your studies.

It comes down to value: With Babbel, one 15-minute language lesson costs less than a quarter. You can pick from 14 different languages to learn and 7 display languages. Get the most for your money!

Bonus Tip:

Babbel can also be used as an educational tool to take your career up a notch. Your employer may be willing to cover the costs of your professional development or even get other employees involved, too.

3. Quality Matters To Us

With Babbel, you’re paying for quality. We have more than 150 people working on our Didactics team and, with their expert linguistics knowledge, they can build the courses themselves — instead of working with machine-translated content like other apps. Teaching is a skill that takes years of study to master. After all, you wouldn’t want your kids to be taught math by someone who wasn’t qualified to be a mathematics teacher.

Don’t get us wrong — algorithms are great! But they’re also not a substitute for trained experts producing content. We have a real didactic method behind Babbel, and our team ensures your learning experience is tailored to suit your native language. A French native speaker, for example, will learn Italian in a completely different way than a German native speaker. Our team not only has expert knowledge about the grammatical aspects of these languages but, unlike a machine, they also know about the real world. That’s why we build our lessons around real-life situations.

Babbel means premium content — made in Germany with quality tech.

So try out whether or not Babbel is right for you. You’ll be paying a fair price for expert content, ad-free learning and data security!

Learn a new language today.

Try Babbel

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Why Pay For Babbel — And Why ‘Free’ Apps Cost More Than You Think (2024)

FAQs

Why Pay For Babbel — And Why ‘Free’ Apps Cost More Than You Think? ›

Babbel obviously costs more than free apps, but you're also getting a more immersive experience than those types of services provide. I've tried the free apps before, also for French, and I learned this language better on Babbel.

Why does Babbel cost money? ›

They use educational best practices and a rigorous quality control process to ensure our courses are effective. When you pay for a Babbel subscription, you're paying for their expertise.

How to get Babbel for free without paying? ›

You can register with Babbel for free, and when you do so, you automatically get access to one free lesson per language course. Given that Babbel offers around 14 different courses, that means you can in theory get free access to 14 Babbel lessons.

Is Babbel no longer free? ›

There is no charge to register, and the first lesson in every course is free. Babbel also offers discounts for select groups. College students, for example, can save 65% on a three-month subscription, bringing the cost down to $15.99 for access to the app for three months.

What are the disadvantages of Babbel? ›

Another downside for the polyglots: Babbel currently only offers 14 different languages, almost all of them European. What's more, some language courses are more developed than others. It's expensive: Babbel is quite expensive for a subscription to a desktop program, especially if you choose to be billed monthly.

Why is Babbel charging me? ›

The recurring payments will be charged automatically until you decide to cancel. It's important to note that registration with Babbel is completely free. We'll never charge you unless you voluntarily enter your payment details on our payment page.

Can you use Babbel without a subscription? ›

If you do not have an existing subscription, you will be asked to enter a valid payment method when booking your first free class as part of our verification process. This can be completed when logged in to your account on Babbel.com via a web browser.

Which free language app is best? ›

We've put together a list of the best free language learning apps with options that span different fluency levels, time constraints, and ages.
  1. Best Overall: Duolingo. ...
  2. Best for multiple languages: Memrise. ...
  3. Best for general vocabulary: Busuu. ...
  4. Best for kids: StudyCat. ...
  5. Best for conversation: HelloTalk.
Oct 26, 2023

Is rosetta stone or Babbel better? ›

The primary difference between Babbel and Rosetta Stone is lesson format. The lessons from Babbel are more comprehensive and engaging than the repetitive, image-heavy lessons from Rosetta Stone.

What is better, Duolingo or Babbel? ›

Approach to learning

The biggest difference between Babbel and Duolingo is the approach to language learning. Babbel is a better option if you want traditional language instructions through modules and lessons. By contrast, Duolingo works great if you need a playful, gamified experience.

What is the hardest language to learn? ›

1. Mandarin Chinese. Interestingly, the hardest language to learn is also the most widely spoken native language in the world. Mandarin Chinese is challenging for a number of reasons.

What is the difference between Babbel Standard and Premium? ›

Premium users get all the great lesson content that Standard subscribers do, except they don't have to limit themselves to just one language at a time. You'll then decide whether you'd like to gift a 6-month, 12-month, or 24-month package. Don't worry — there are no recurring fees, so you won't be charged again.

Can you become fluent from Babbel? ›

However, Babbel isn't perfect. I don't think it's fair to expect yourself to become fluent in Spanish, or any other language for that matter, just using a language learning app. But, it's a good starting point. You can go over grammar rules and memorize vocab, and that's a core component of learning a language.

How much does Babbel really cost? ›

How much does Babbel cost per month? Babbel offers several different monthly subscription options, which all retail for $15 per month. However, as Babbel is almost always running sales, the true cost for Babbel's subscription options after applying discounts is closer to $7 to $14 per month.

What do you get with free Babbel? ›

You can start right away: The first lesson is free to test for every single course (for example, Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, Grammar, etc.) when you register for a Babbel account. That way, you can familiarise yourself with the structure of lessons and the course themes before you sign up for a paid subscription.

What is the success rate of Babbel? ›

Overall 92% of the participants improved their language proficiency.

Is Rosetta Stone or Babbel better? ›

The primary difference between Babbel and Rosetta Stone is lesson format. The lessons from Babbel are more comprehensive and engaging than the repetitive, image-heavy lessons from Rosetta Stone.

Can you become fluent using Babbel? ›

However, Babbel isn't perfect. I don't think it's fair to expect yourself to become fluent in Spanish, or any other language for that matter, just using a language learning app. But, it's a good starting point. You can go over grammar rules and memorize vocab, and that's a core component of learning a language.

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