Review Insights · App Store
Babbel - Language Learning
Babbel GmbH · 734,721 ratings · ★ 4.7
4.7
★★★★★
734,721 ratings
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Top complaints - extracted from 45 negative reviews
Recurring phrases mined from 1-2★ reviews. The bigger the percentage, the more users have the same problem. Fix the top 2-3 in your version and you have product-market fit on day one.
1
"lessons"
10 negative reviews mention this · 22% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Flawed model. This app just doesn’t work for me, with how I learn. It seems to race through lessons, but I retain very little. It’s frustrating. Also, if I have indicated I want to learn European Spanish, why am I given Mexican and South American lessons…" - sdruber
2
"subscription"
9 negative reviews mention this · 20% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Couldn’t trial. Couldn’t do a trial without setting up an account and subscription. Deal breaker. App gone." - QuickTake
3
"doesn"
8 negative reviews mention this · 18% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Flawed model. This app just doesn’t work for me, with how I learn. It seems to race through lessons, but I retain very little. It’s frustrating. Also, if I have indicated I want to learn European Spanish, why am I given Mexican and South American lessons…" - sdruber
4
"learn"
8 negative reviews mention this · 18% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Flawed model. This app just doesn’t work for me, with how I learn. It seems to race through lessons, but I retain very little. It’s frustrating. Also, if I have indicated I want to learn European Spanish, why am I given Mexican and South American lessons…" - sdruber
5
"language"
7 negative reviews mention this · 16% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Not impressed. There is WAY TOO MUCH having to spell in here. I want to learn to speak not write in another language!" - Terri Werth
6
"learning"
6 negative reviews mention this · 13% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Not the best. Not learning vocabulary. Feel like I am just learning verbs." - Zach's mom2
7
"babbel"
6 negative reviews mention this · 13% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Course organization. Babbel takes you on a random walk through Spanish. There are lots of lessons, but I guess the order is up to you. There is no spiraling of learning, so I’m not building skills. I wasted $90, going back to free Mango." - Nj31
8
"lesson"
6 negative reviews mention this · 13% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Flawed model. This app just doesn’t work for me, with how I learn. It seems to race through lessons, but I retain very little. It’s frustrating. Also, if I have indicated I want to learn European Spanish, why am I given Mexican and South American lessons…" - sdruber
9
"frustrating"
5 negative reviews mention this · 11% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Flawed model. This app just doesn’t work for me, with how I learn. It seems to race through lessons, but I retain very little. It’s frustrating. Also, if I have indicated I want to learn European Spanish, why am I given Mexican and South American lessons…" - sdruber
10
"spanish"
5 negative reviews mention this · 11% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Flawed model. This app just doesn’t work for me, with how I learn. It seems to race through lessons, but I retain very little. It’s frustrating. Also, if I have indicated I want to learn European Spanish, why am I given Mexican and South American lessons…" - sdruber
11
"without"
5 negative reviews mention this · 11% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Couldn’t trial. Couldn’t do a trial without setting up an account and subscription. Deal breaker. App gone." - QuickTake
12
"find"
5 negative reviews mention this · 11% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Moves to fast. App is not fluid learning. Jumps well beyond first time skills and pushes forward without successfully learning. Requires user to push themselves back and find ways to review the gaps." - BigAL157
📋 All 45 negative reviews
Every 1-2★ review we fetched. Use the copy button to grab them all for your own analysis (paste into ChatGPT/Claude with a prompt like "summarize core user problems, group by theme, ignore bugs, focus on missing features").
Flawed model
This app just doesn’t work for me, with how I learn. It seems to race through lessons, but I retain very little. It’s frustrating. Also, if I have indicated I want to learn European Spanish, why am I given Mexican and South American lessons?
Not going on vacation and looking to quickly communicate.
The sum of the directions for what we’re supposed to be doing or just not there. Not understanding what’s going on it’s like starting in the middle
Not impressed
There is WAY TOO MUCH having to spell in here. I want to learn to speak not write in another language!
Shortcomings
Hard if beginner. Doesn’t explain mistakes so cannot learn how not to repeat them. Vocabulary introduced then not seen again but need to be taught through repetition. Advances you to next level when you are still getting many wrong. Online chat told me to take private lessons & talk with native speakers. Really?
TOO FAST!!
The speakers are too fast, and their enunciation is hard to hear!! Very frustrating!!! 😡😡😡
Couldn’t trial
Couldn’t do a trial without setting up an account and subscription. Deal breaker. App gone.
No free option, wastes time
Long sign up process only to find out it requires a subscription.
Feedback for speaking
Can’t correct mispronunciation because the app doesn’t tell you what you did wrong.
Help Stinks
I tried to cancel my subscription within 30 minutes of subscribing and i only got a Chat that didn’t answer anything. No answer and of course no human to help.
VERY limited number of languages
This is another worthless app. Yet again. I am already studying Japanese on other apps. This doesn't allow for that. Going to delete it now.
Not enough languages
I’m trying to learn Japanese but it’s not on there
Not great
Not great at helping retain the lessons. Pointing and clicking is easy while in the lesson, clicking what you hear, but it’s not making you retain it long term. It also jumps to different verbs and tenses before teaching you the verbs and tenses. I’m not finding its approach helpful in truly teaching.
Not helpful
I find that I’m just guessing at things.
Ddb
Babel doesn’t offer Japanese.
Beware of unscrupulous charges
The app and language services were not worth the spend, in my opinion. And despite purchasing the subscription in app, it is not available to manage via your Apple account, even when the account is associated with your Apple ID. I was charged for a renewal without notification and their support team was unwilling to refund the charge, and needed to be reminded of my request several times, clearly sending canned replies. Poor service, poor app, and shady subscription model. Not recommended.
Not the best
Started out ok then it got super hard. Went from beginner to advanced. Lessons gets very frustrating. The French find the phrases useless for every day use.
No true lesson. More of a review
Expects you to have some prior knowledge of the language. Better as a review program while taking classes. Not the best program if you want to speak the language. I’m in the first lessons and it is more listening and spelling.
AI nonsense
Doesn’t let you use the app particularly the speaking portion without agreeing that they can record your voice and use it for AI training. This is new since I last used Babbel. Disappointed
WAIT HEAR ME OUT
This app was very useful BUT when i deleted it for some reasons, it still kept sending me messages and my mail is PACKED with babbel bundles and other stuff, PLS FIX THIS I HAVE FULL SPACE ON MY PHONE I NEED MORE SPACE PLS STOP, BABBEL JUST FIX THIS.
steal money
Waited 3 months for me to forget I haven’t had a card in my account and as soon as I did took 100 after the trial had expired to take it immediately. I will go as far as I need to to get my money back useless greedy app
Errr
The App lowk sucks- doulingo is by farrr much better than this- to much unless your just trynna fix up your Rusty Language after a while (Not for biginners!!)
Bad business model
I shouldn’t have to pay to learn after a single lesson just to prove that I’m willing to learn/stick to a program. And even after selecting “I know basic phrases”, it still started me off with hello and goodbye. I’m well passed that (from using Duolingo) and was hoping for another way to test my knowledge and learning. They claim to use real human voices as well but it sounded just as robotic as any well rounded AI voice. I think it’s my second time giving this app a try and I just ended up deleting it again. I figured they would make it better by now.
it doesnt tell u until after u download the app and sign up that u need a subscription
#no
Offline downloads don’t work
There is an option to download lessons for offline use, however when you go to try and use the app or the downloaded lessons it doesn’t work offline.
Couldn’t even sign up
I don’t know but as I was trying I wasn’t even able to sign up got me so disappointed
Two years later
I'm just trying to hang on until my subscription runs out. After two years and trying other apps, babbel grows progressively worse. Especially as the lessons grow more difficult, the practice and review offered is increasingly more pathetic. After a one paragraph tutorial, the exercises allow little time to fully grasp the concepts. D minus.
For the love of god don't purchase any lifetime subscription. This app is good for a beginner for one year at best.
For the love of god don't purchase any lifetime subscription. This app is good for a beginner for one year at best.
Predatory, don't waste your money
I only used this app partially for a month, cancelled through apple subscriptions, and they continued to charge me for over $340 over time. They would only refund me a single $50 charge. Don't waste time and money working with this company that will leech money off of you like a parasite.
Ai
Was excited until I realized that you have to sign your rights to your voice away to their ai to use certain features of the app. They used to have the verbal functionality WITHOUT ai….. they should feel stupid for spending money to make ai do something their dev team literally already knew how to do. Pass.
No Bengali????
The 7th most spoken language on earth is not included???
Not the best
Not learning vocabulary. Feel like I am just learning verbs.
Ai not good
Fix the speaking practices to acceptance numbers and weight values are asked to be repeated
Not so great
When I try to switch to another language it takes forever to open and then does not function the same????
Course organization
Babbel takes you on a random walk through Spanish. There are lots of lessons, but I guess the order is up to you. There is no spiraling of learning, so I’m not building skills. I wasted $90, going back to free Mango.
Moves to fast
App is not fluid learning. Jumps well beyond first time skills and pushes forward without successfully learning. Requires user to push themselves back and find ways to review the gaps.
Not great
Duolingo is flawed, but this is even more so. It spends far too much time digging into technical grammatical definitions (gerunds? infinitives?). Who cares? Who in the real world knows or cares what these things are - just teach the words and language structure.
Also, I’m trying to learn Latin American spanish. I don’t need endless lessons on the difference between Spain and Latin America.
Also, I’m trying to learn Latin American spanish. I don’t need endless lessons on the difference between Spain and Latin America.
The subscriptions
So I just downloaded this app went to go try it out and finished the first lesson.Also can I mention the fact that after I finished the lesson it said would you like to subscribe to continue?! So I think Duolingo or some other app is better than this because I hate subscribing to things that can literally help me.
Loved at first..
I had heard a lot of good things about Babbel and thought about trying it out. The first lesson was just fine, basic hellos and goodbyes. But then i have to have a subscription to even do the second lesson? I’m not saying the app is bad, but as someone whos funds aren’t exactly prepped for a yearly or monthly subscription, its a but disappointing to hear all this good stuff about a ‘free’ learning app, only to be stuck at a pay wall
Looks good but
I expected a nice little thing for Dutch but I don’t want to pay for a subscription I bet it’s good but I don’t want to pay money when I can get Duolingo
Looking for an app
We have been doing Duolingo as part of our Italian course at school. They announced that they will discontinue duo for education next summer ‘27. Looking for an app to motivate students.
Add japaness
I was really excited but it had very limited languages for me to learn, i wanted to learn japaness but it didnt have that, so i was gunna pick mandarin but it didnt have that eather. So sadly i cant use this app :((
But i heard it was very good!!
But i heard it was very good!!
Not enough grammar review
Goes too fast - doesn’t allow for reviewing things previously learned so it’s easy to forget. Also random topics and not enough grammar practice and review. Can’t re do lessons or review grammar topics. Even though there is a grammar review section it is very thin with very few grammar topics that seem only for beginners not intermediate users. So if you don’t quite have a handle on the lesson there is no way to get clarification. Can be frustrating if review and repetition help you learn.
Ok
The what I thought would be 10 minute exercises are now closer to 30 minutes. Lots of useless spelling exercises. Also it will tell me I missed a day after I spent a half an hour with the program. Meh
Russian Good, but not all characters on iPhone Keyboard so miss all the questions
Updated my keyboard to Russian. The e with dots character is not on the Russian or Russian QWERTY keyboard that I can find. I could not get any help on how to type this character. The AI bot just kept telling me to load the Russian keyboard. Which was already using smh
Poor
There is a lot of guessing when it comes to the way this teaches. I teaches as if the student already know Spanish. From spelling, word introductions. I look forward to my subscription to end so I can try a new app
Not Impressed
I did a speed Spanish course with cassette tapes many years ago and learned many short sentences in Spanish. This is more of a reading exercise and I do better at just hearing a phrase and learning to say it. Babbel is frustrating to me.
Sentiment summary
94%
Positive (4-5★)
4%
Neutral (3★)
2%
Negative (1-2★)