Babbel Review | PCMag

With a low price and truly useful content, Babbel is one of the best language-learning programs available. Babbel has a web app and mobile apps ... Home Reviews Education LanguageLearning By JillDuffy Updated August26,2020 facebook twitter flipboard socialshare Flipboard Pinterest Reddit LinkedIn Email Copied Error! CopyLink https://www.pcmag.com/reviews/babbel Comments 4.0 Excellent TheBottomLine Language-learningappBabbelteachesphrasesandvocabularyyou'llactuallyuse.Whiletheexercisescangetdull,alowsubscriptionpricemakesupforit. PerMonth,Startsat$12.95 $8.95PerMonthfor3MonthPlan Babbel SeeIt $7.45PerMonthfor6MonthPlan(17%Off) Babbel SeeIt $6.95PerMonthfor6MonthPlan(22%Off) Babbel SeeIt PCMageditorsselectandreviewproductsindependently.Ifyoubuythroughaffiliatelinks,wemayearncommissions,whichhelpsupportourtesting.Learnmore. Pros Usefulandchallengingcontent Inexpensive Helpfulinstructionalblurbsfortruebeginners Highqualitylessonsthatareuniquetoeachlanguage Podcastsavailableforsomelanguages Cons Totalamountofcontentvariesbylanguage NeedsabettervisuallayoutofTopicsandlessonscompleted BabbelSpecs PriceIncludes Subscription StyleofProgram Exercises No.ofLanguagesOffered(NotIncl.English) 13 AverageDurationofLesson(Mins) 5 AllSpecs Withalowpriceandtrulyusefulcontent,Babbelisoneofthebestlanguage-learningprogramsavailable.Babbelhasawebappandmobileappsthathelpyoulearnandpracticeanewlanguageatyourownpace,plusnewpodcastsforafewlanguagesandfordifferentexperiencelevels.Itsinteractiveexercisescanfeeltediousattimes,buttheyarealsomorechallengingthanwhatmostotherlanguageappsoffer.WithBabbel,youlearnconcepts,words,andphrasesuniquetothelanguageathand—it'snotacookie-cuttercourseforeachlanguage,thewaymanyofitscompetitorsare.Ifyoufindotherappstooeasy,Babbelmightbeupyouralley.Bringapentotakenotes,andgetreadytolearnalot.Alternatively,ifyouneedaslowerapproachtolanguagelearning,onethatwon'tthrowtoomanynewwordsatyouatonce,werecommendDuolingo(free)andRosettaStone($11.99permonth),ourEditors'Choices.Duolingoisawonderfulapptoaddtoanylanguage-learningplan,andRosettaStoneisatoppickforbuildingasolidfoundationofwordsandphrases. WhatLanguagesCanYouLearnWithBabbel?Babbeloffersprogramsin13languages,assumingyourlanguageofinstructionisEnglish.YoucanlearnDanish,Dutch,French,German,Indonesian,Italian,Norwegian,Polish,Portuguese,Russian,Spanish,Swedish,andTurkish.There'salsoacourseforlearningEnglish,withinstructionavailableinFrench,German,Italian,Polish,Portuguese,Spanish,orSwedish.Ifyoualreadyhaveexperienceinthelanguage,youcantakeabriefplacementtest,andBabbelwillstartyououtattherightpointintheprogram,basedonyourknowledge. SimilarProducts 5.0 Exemplary RosettaStoneLanguageLearning   CheckPrice   ReadOurRosettaStoneLanguageLearningReview 5.0 Exemplary Duolingo       ReadOurDuolingoReview 4.0 Excellent TransparentLanguageOnline $24.95/Month SeeIt atTransparentLanguage ReadOurTransparentLanguageOnlineReview 4.0 Excellent Pimsleur AllAccessSubscriptionOfferwith7DayFreeTrial SeeIt atPimsleur ReadOurPimsleurReview 2.0 Subpar LivingLanguageComprehensive $154.09 SeeIt atAmazon ReadOurLivingLanguageComprehensiveReview 4.0 Excellent Yabla $9.95 SeeIt atYabla ReadOurYablaReview 3.5 Good RocketLanguages $99.00 SeeIt atRocketLanguages ReadOurRocketLanguagesReview 4.0 Excellent Fluenz   SeeIt atAmazon ReadOurFluenzReview 3.5 Good Lingualia       ReadOurLingualiaReview Babbel'sPricingandPlansBabbelsellssubscriptionmembershipsstartingat$12.95permonth.Theper-monthpricedecreaseswhenyoupayforseveralmonthsofaccessinadvance.Youcanbuythreemonths($26.85),sixmonths($44.70),oroneyear($83.40).Apaidmembershipgivesyouunlimitedaccesstothelanguageprogramyouchooseonthewebsiteandmobileapps.Thesearecompetitiveprices—especiallythesix-monthandone-yearplans.Withmostlanguage-learningapps,youcanexpecttopayaround$10-$12permonth,andsomewhereintherangeof$100-$200peryear.Fortraditionallanguage-learningsoftwarethatyoubuyonceandownforever,thecostcanbeanywherefromabout$130tonearly$500,dependingontheprogramandhowmanylessonscomewithit.BeforeyoubuyaBabbelmembership,youcantryasmallportionoftheprogramforfree,butyoudon'tgetenoughlessonstokeepyoulearningforlong. GettingStartedWithBabbelI'vetestedBabbelmultipletimesinthepast,lookingatitscoursesforDutch,German,Spanish,Italian,Norwegian,andSwedish.Thistime,IreturnedtoGerman,alanguagethatIdon'tknowwell,althoughIhavesomefamiliaritywithitandcansayafewphrases.Youwouldn'tknowitfromtryingjustoneofBabbel'scourses,butthematerialisuniqueforeachlanguage.Forexample,intheDutchprogram,there'sanexercisethatinvolvesaFrenchwomanspeaking,andanotherpersonrespondstoherinDutch,"Idon'tspeakanyFrench."InTheNetherlandsandBelgium,that'saphraseyoumightactuallyhavetouse.TheDutchlessonsalsoexposeyoutothenameofcitiesinTheNetherlandsandteachyoutheirlocalpronunciation.IntheGermanprogram,yougetalessonfairlyearlyonwithallkindsofwordsfordrinks:juice,wine,beer,mineralwater,lemonade,coffee,tea.IntheRussianprogram,theearlylessonsfocusalotonhelpingyoulearnCyrillic.ThefactthateachBabbelcourseisuniqueboostsmyconfidenceintheservice.Someotherlanguage-learningprogramsusethesameimagesandthecorevocabularynomatterwhatlanguageyou'relearning,RosettaStonebeingaprimeexample.DoenoughRosettaStone,andyou'llbeabletosay"thedogeatsrice"in20languages.YoumightneverlearnhowtopronounceGroningenlikealocal,however,thewayyoudoinBabbel.Babbel'sProgramStructureBabbelhasareasonablyclearstructure.Therearecoursesthatcontainlessons,andunlessyouhavepriorexperiencewiththelanguageandwanttojumpahead,you'remeanttodotheminorder.Onepartthat'satinybitconfusingisTopics.Topicsallowyoutochoosetolearnthelanguageforaspecifictopic,suchasBusinessGerman,CountriesandTraditions,butalsoGrammar,SpeakingandListening,amongothers.BabbelstartsyououtwithaTopicbasedonyourinterests,whichyouindicatewhenyoufirstsignup.BeginnersmightfindthemselvesintheWordsandSentencesTopic,asIdid.IfyouswitchTopics,however,itcanbeconfusingtofigureoutwhatyouwerelearningbeforetheswitchandreturntoit.BabbelwouldbenefitfromlayingouttheseTopicsvisuallysothatyoucouldseethemallatonceeasilyandrememberwhatyou'velearnedsofar,akindoflearningroadmap.IfyouneverswitchTopics,thenit'sallveryclear.Youlogin,andthenextlessonyou'remeanttodoisrightinfrontofyou.Theamountofcontentintheprogramsvarythesamewaytheircontentdoes.IntheGermancourse,yougetsixlevels:Pre-intermediate(containingthreecourses),Intermediate(threecourses),andIndependent(twocourses).UnderasectioncalledMoreCourses,youcanfindaddedlessonsonGrammar,ListeningandSpeaking,BusinessGerman,CountriesandTraditions,andmore.Bycontrast,theDutchprogramhasBeginnerI(fourcourses),BeginnerII(fourcourses)andPre-intermediate(twocourses).DutchalsohasasectionforMoreCourses,withslightlyfewermodulesthanwhatyougetforGerman. Intheveryearliestlessons,youencounterexplainers,afewsentencesatatimethattellyousomethingaboutthelanguage.Theyaretypicallyinterspersedwithinteractivequestionsthatyouanswertoshowyoureadandunderstoodthematerial.Ifyouarenewtoalanguage,theselessonsareveryhelpfulinorientingyoutonewsounds,letters,andconcepts.IfyoucomeintoBabbelwithsomefamiliaritywithalanguageandtakeaplacementtest,youmightskipoverthesesections.Evenifyouskipthem,however,youhaveaccesstothemandcandothematanytime. InBabbel,ifyouworkconsecutively,theappalwaysshowsyouthenextcourseinyourprogramwhenyoulogin.Youcanjumpaheadatwillorrepeatlessonsatanytime.Notallappsletyoudothis.Forexample,Duolingolocksadvancedlessonsuntilyoupassenoughoftheearlierones. InterfaceandInformationIntheyearsI'vebeenreviewingBabbel,itsinterfacehascomealongway.Itdoesn'thavethesamefinesseasRosettaStonenorthestickygamificationofDuolingo,butit'ssimple,straightforward,andeasytouse. Babbel'swebsiteandmobileappssyncupwellsoyougetnearlyidenticalexperiencesnomatterwhichdeviceyouusetodoyourlanguagelessons.SomethingBabbeldoeswellisgiveyouinformationabouthowitworks.Forexample,ithasahelppagethatexplainswhatspacerepetitionmeansandwhyit'simportantinlanguage-learning.Onthissamepage,youcanreadaboutonepartoftheBabbelprogram,calledReview,tounderstanditspurposeandhowit'smeanttowork.Veryfewlanguageprogramsgiveyoudeepinsightintohowlanguage-learningworks.Pimsleurdoes(thewholeprogramisdesignedaroundDr.Pimsleur'stheoryoflanguagelearning),andDuolingomakesresearchandstudiesaboutitsefficacypubliclyavailable.LearningWithBabbelBabbelteachesreading,writing,listening,andspeaking.Mostoftheexerciseshaveyoupracticebyfillinginmissingwordsfromsentences,spellingwordsandshortphrases,translating,andrepeatingwordsandphrasesaloud.Asmentioned,ItestedGermanthistimearound.I'veneverformallystudiedGermanandIcanonlymanageafewwordsandphrases.Itooktheplacementtestandgotbumpeduponlyatinybit,enoughtoskiptheNewcomermaterialthatteachesnewsoundsandletters,whichseemedappropriate. Formyfirstlesson,IrememberedmypriorexperienceswithBabbelandgrabbedanotebookandpen.Inthepast,IsometimesfeltfrustratedwithBabbelwhenIcouldn'trememberhowtospellalongwordexactlyright,andIwouldthereforefailanexercise.SoIdecidedthistimetotakenotes. Peninhand,Istartedwithsomeexercises.Here'showatypicalroundofexercisesmightgo,takingaboutfiveminutestocomplete:First,theappintroducesasmallsetofwordsandphrases,threeorfouronly,andhasyourepeatthemoutloud.Here,youcanchoosetohaveBabbelrateyourspeakingonapass/failbasisorleaveyourmicrophoneoff.Next,thesamewordsandphrasesappearwithimages,andyouhavetomatchthewordtothepicture.Nextisspelling.Youseeapictureandhearawordandmustspellitusingabankofletters.Inthisexercise,youcaneithertypeorselectthelettersbyclickingortappingonthem.That'shelpfulwhenitcomestospecialcharacters,likeletterswithdiacriticalmarks.Alittlelater,Babbelasksyoutotypethewordbutthistimeinthecontextofasentence.TheEnglishtranslationisbelowthesentence,andthewordyouneedtospellisinboldinthetranslation.Mynoteshelpedalotwithspelling.Withoutthem,Iwasforeverswapping'i'and'e'andgettingmarkedwrong.Whenyou'rewronginBabbel,theappdoesn'thighlighttheincorrectletters.Itjusttellsyou'rewrongandthatyoucanstartoverormoveon.Iwishitwouldgivefeedbackinamoreconstructiveway.Theexercisescangetdullquickly,butthey'rechallenging,especiallywhenyougetafullsentenceandhavetotypeinamissingword.Thesentencesarenotoverlysimplifiedandoftenexposeyoutoalotofnewgrammar.Ifyoupickuplanguagesquickly,thistypeofwordexposureisprobablytoyourbenefit.Ifyougetfrustratedeasilywithlanguage-learning,thischallengemaybetoointense.AnewReviewsection,whichImentionedearlier,encouragesyoutodospace-repetitionlearning.Inotherwords,ittailorsareviewsessiontoyoubasedonwhatyoulearnedandwhen.Istillfoundithelpfultohavemynotesbymysideforthispart,butoverallit'sagreatfeature.  IdippedintotheSpanishprogram,alanguageIknowreasonablywell,toseewhatitcoversfromthebeginnerthroughadvancedlessons.SimilartotheGermancourse,thebeginnercontenthasgreatexplainersthatactuallyteachyouaboutthelanguage,aswellastrulyusefulwordsandphrases.Inthemoreadvancedareas,yougetlongerpassagestoread,thoughyoustillhavetowritewordsintoblankspacesfairlyoften.Youalsogetaudiosegmentswithmultiplespeakerswhogoatanaturalpace.Whenyoufinishlistening,youansweraquestionaboutwhatyouheard.It'sgreatcontent,especiallyforpeoplewhoarereadytofigureoutwordsfromcontextratherthanlearningthemallthroughdirecttranslation.AsfarasIgotwithanyofBabbel'sprograms,Ineverhadtogeneratelanguage.Languagegenerationmeansthinkingwhatyouwanttosayandthensayingitwithouttoomuchdelayformentaltranslation.Outsideofclassroomexperiencesandtutoring,you'llrarelyfindopportunitiesforlanguagegeneration.One-on-onetutoringissurprisinglyeasytofindonlineandforaveryreasonablecost.Rype,forexample,isamarketplacewhereyoucanfindlanguageinstructorsforaround$9.99perhalfhoursession.LearnbyListeningtoPodcastsBabbelhasaddedsomebonuscontentintheformofpodcasts.TherearequiteafewforpeoplelearningSpanish,Italian,French,andEnglish.Ilistenedtotwotogetasenseofwhattheycontain.A-ZerotoA-HeroisSpanishforbeginners.It'saconversationbetweentwopeoplewhobothuseEnglishtohelpguidethelistener.ThehostsdiscussasimpleconversationtheymighthaveinSpanishandtalkoutloudastheybreakdownwhattheywanttosayinSpanish.PalabrasBravasisforintermediatetoadvancedspeakers.It'sentirelyinSpanish,givingyoutheopportunitytopracticeextensivelisteningandhopefullypickupafewnewwordsintheprocess.TheshowIlistenedtowasaboutlanguage:Onepersonintroducedforeignwordsorphrases,andtheotherhostsguessedwhatlanguageitcamefromandwhatitmeant,allinSpanish.Babbelisn'ttheonlyprogramwithpodcasts,however.DuolingohaspodcastsforintermediatetoadvancedlearnersofSpanishandFrench.UnlikeBabbel'spodcasts,wherethetopicislanguage,Duolingo'spodcaststellrealstories(they'reshortradiodocumentaries,really)andeachepisodeusesamixofEnglishandthelanguageyou'relearningtotakeyoualong.DuolingoalsohasafeaturecalledStories(availableforselectlanguages)thatletsyoupracticeextensivereadingandlistening,too.RosettaStonehasbonuscontentthatincludesvideosthathelpteachyouhowtousethelanguageineverydaysituations.Thesevideosareverymuchstructuredforbeginners.IlikeBabbel'spodcastsandhopethecompanycontinuesaddingmorebonuscontentlikethissothatlearnershavemorediversewaystoexpandtheirskills.It'sofftoagreatstart.LearnSomethingUsefulWithBabbelThemindsbehindBabbelhaveclearlyspenttimecraftingalanguage-learningprogramthat'suniquetoeachlanguage.WhenyoulearnwithBabbel,youlearnwordsandphrasesyou'llactuallyuseasabeginnerinyournewtongue.Someoftheexercisescangetboringorfeelrepetitiveattimes,butthecontentissolidandthelowpricemakesupforit.It'sagreatappforlanguagelearning,especiallypeoplewhoaresomewhatexperiencedatlearninglanguagesorthosewhotakewelltochallenges. Babbel 4.0 CheckPrice Pros Usefulandchallengingcontent Inexpensive Helpfulinstructionalblurbsfortruebeginners Highqualitylessonsthatareuniquetoeachlanguage Podcastsavailableforsomelanguages ViewMore Cons Totalamountofcontentvariesbylanguage NeedsabettervisuallayoutofTopicsandlessonscompleted TheBottomLine Language-learningappBabbelteachesphrasesandvocabularyyou'llactuallyuse.Whiletheexercisescangetdull,alowsubscriptionpricemakesupforit. LikeWhatYou'reReading? SignupforLabReporttogetthelatestreviewsandtopproductadvicedeliveredrighttoyourinbox. Email SignUp Thisnewslettermaycontainadvertising,deals,oraffiliatelinks.SubscribingtoanewsletterindicatesyourconsenttoourTermsofUseandPrivacyPolicy.Youmayunsubscribefromthenewslettersatanytime. Thanksforsigningup! Yoursubscriptionhasbeenconfirmed.Keepaneyeonyourinbox! Signupforothernewsletters Advertisement DigDeeperWithRelatedStories TheBestLanguage-LearningSoftwarefor2021 By JillDuffy TheBestFreeLanguage-LearningAppsfor2021 By JillDuffy LingopieReview 3.5 LingodaReview 4.0 Editors'Choice PCMagStoriesYou’llLike Editors'Choice AboutJillDuffy JillDuffyisthedeputymanagingeditoroftheSoftwareteamatPCMag.Shehasbeenwritingforandcontributingtothesitesince2011,coveringproductivityappsandsoftware,aswellastechnologiesforhealthandfitness.ShewritestheGetOrganizedcolumn,withtipsonhowtoleadabetterdigitallife.HerlatestbookisTheEverythingGuidetoRemoteWork.FollowheronTwitterorgetintouchontheJillDuffycontactpage. ReadthelatestfromJillDuffy ZohoProjectsReview ProofHubReview TeamGanttReview StormboardReview TildeReview MorefromJillDuffy TableofContents Babbel $8.95PerMonthfor3MonthPlanatBabbel CheckPrice ReturntoTheTop WhatLanguagesCanYouLearnWithBabbel? Babbel'sPricingandPlans GettingStartedWithBabbel Babbel'sProgramStructure InterfaceandInformation LearningWithBabbel LearnbyListeningtoPodcasts LearnSomethingUsefulWithBabbel BabbelSpecs