Babbel – Language Learning
Best For:
Serious language learners who want to focus on real-world conversation and travel readiness
Cost:
Subscriptions from $17.95/mo (discounts for 6- or 12-month commitments)
Where Duolingo leans into gamification, Babbel leans into practical conversation. Lessons are built around real-world dialogues, like ordering food, navigating a city, and chatting with coworkers, and are typically around 10 to 15 minutes long, making them easy to fit into your daily schedule.
The app uses spaced repetition and speech recognition to help you memorize phrases and practice speaking, but it always aims at teaching things you can use in real life. Babbel is effective for getting beginners to conversational ability more quickly than some alternatives, which makes it a strong pick if travel or relocation is on your radar.