Babbel Spanish Review 2024 — Is It Best For Learning?

My Babbel Spanish review is based on my actual experience with the program. A lot of you might be searching for the best language learning app to be able to write and speak Spanish fluently. 

Since Babbel has carved a special position in the language learning field, most of you might want to know if Babbel really is as effective as it promises to be. 

Also, as it’s a paid course, you want to make sure you are putting in the money on the right platform. 

Hence, I thought, why not share my own journey with you all to help you make a decision? So let’s dive in and get started with the review.  

What Is Babbel? 

Babbel is a language learning app that can help you master your foreign language speaking skills. The comprehensive teaching methods include various innovative tactics to make learning a new language easier for you. 

The language app claims not only to teach you some basic words or sentences. Instead, they claim that with their course, you will be able to speak the new language just like a native speaker. 

They claim that the courses are designed by expert language teachers for all levels of new speakers- beginner, mediocre and advanced. 

They help you learn using old-school language teaching methods, videos, online classes, podcasts, games, and more. 

Currently, they have 13 languages. It’s a subscription-based app; once you pay for a particular course, you can access the entire course material. 

What Are Babbel Course Pricings? 

Now that you are aware it’s a paid program, you must be curious to know how much Babble costs. So let’s talk about the pricing first. 

They have four different paid plans- monthly, quarterly, half-yearly, and yearly. You can opt for any of the plans based on your level or requirement. 

Also, the prices are the same for all the languages. So it does not matter which language you pick, you’ll pay the same amount. 

Here are the plans- 

Duration	Price
1 month	$13.95 per month
3 months	$9.95 per month (total $29.85)
6 months	$8.45 per month (total $50.70)
12 months	$6.95 per month (total $83.40)
Lifetime	$299.99 once

As you can see, the monthly plan is more expensive than the other plans. Also, I think it requires more than a month to learn an entirely new language. So I preferred the half-yearly plan. You can get a discount on all the plan with this Babbel coupon.

While I was looking for a language learning app, I considered other options like Pimsleur, Rosetta Stone, and a couple of others. 

But I found Babbel to be cheaper than these other alternatives. Pimsleur’s monthly subscription is $20 per month, so there is a huge difference between Babeel and Pimsleur. 

Also, Pimsleur has only two subscription options- Premium and All Access. All Access gives you access to all the courses for a year. Even though that is a bit cheaper, we all know that it’s not possible to learn all the languages in one year. 

Babbel Spanish Program: A Detail Breakdown Of The Course 

Here is the complete breakdown of the Babbel Spanish course. 

There are different levels of the courses. For example, once you choose Spanish from the Babbel website, it will redirect you to the course’s page. 

There you’ll find options for different speaking levels, and there are 3 to 5 courses within each level. For instance, if you choose the Newcomer level, there will be three courses: Newcomer Course 1, Newcomer Course 2, and Newcomer Course 3. 

And within each course, there are five to fifteen modules or lessons, as seen in the following picture. Each lesson takes not more than 10 to 15 minutes, so one to two hours of learning is enough for every day. 

Let’s see the lessons in Newcomer Course 1 to make you understand the structure better- 

Newcomer Course 1 

Lesson 1 

iMucho gusto! Part 1 

It’s a pleasure 

• In this lesson, you’ll learn to say thank you and goodbye and how to greet someone. 

Lesson 2

iMucho gusto! Part 2

It’s a pleasure 

• Here you’ll learn to say I, You, She, and He in Spanish. 

Lesson 3 

Letters One: The Vowels 

• In this lesson, you’ll learn the vowels- “A,” “E,” “I,” “O,” and “U” in Spanish. 

Lesson 4 

iMucho gusto! Part 3

It’s a pleasure 

• You’ll learn about more greetings to use for different times of the day. In this lesson, you’ll also be introduced to masculine and feminine endings. 

Lesson 5 

iMucho gusto! Review 

It’s a pleasure 

• This lesson is a review and recap of whatever you’ve learned in the previous lessons, like singular personal pronouns, vocabulary, grammar, and simple greetings in Spanish. 

Lesson 6 

Aprendo Espanol

I’m learning Spanish 

• You’ll be introduced to some of the phrases that’ll help you when you are starting to learn Spanish. 

Lesson 7 

Letters 2: First Consonants 

• In lesson 7 you’ll learn how to pronounce the consonants- “B”, “P”, “D”, “T”, “G”, “C” 
• This lesson will also teach you the Latin American and European pronunciation of “C.” 

Lesson 8

Yo soy Claudia. Part 1 

I’m Claudia 

• You’ll learn how to welcome someone and the personal plural pronouns and plural endings. 

Lesson 9

Yo soy Claudia. Part 2 

I’m Claudia 

• In lesson 9, you’ll learn how to introduce yourself and also the use of the verb “ser,” and the use of other verbs without using pronouns. 

Lesson 10 

Yo soy Claudia. Review 

I’m Claudia 

• This is a recap of the previous lessons where you learned to welcome someone and introduce yourself. Plus, the use of plural personal pronouns and the verb “ser.” 

Lesson 11 

Letters 3: More Consonants 

• You’ll be introduced to other consonants- “F’, “I,” “M,” “N,” “R,” and “S.” You’ll also get familiar with the consonants pronounced with the letter “E.” 

Likewise, there are a total of 275 hours of lessons to complete the whole Spanish course and to cover all the levels. If you feel some of the lessons are unnecessary or tedious, you can also jump to the other ones. 

Moreover, all the lessons integrate subtle grammar in between. They do this to make learning effective without boring learners with long grammar lessons. 

The lesson planners have inserted, for example, just a line or two of grammar in all the lessons. As you proceed in the course, you’ll get introduced to more complex concepts, but they will assist you throughout. 

My Experience With Babbel: Did It Help Me Learn Spanish? 

Now let’s get down to the review part. Due to my new job, I had to shift to the Dominican Republic; as you might know, Spanish is their official language. 

Even though I had the option to gradually learn their language, I wanted to go well prepared. When I researched language learning apps, I came down to three options- Babbel, Pimsleur, and Rosetta Stone. 

After reviewing reviews and considering the pricing and course pattern, I decided to opt for Babbel.

The first thing I liked about the Babbel Spanish course is that the lessons are very short. It sometimes bores me to attend one class for more than 30 minutes. But the lessons here take no longer than 20 minutes. 

Secondly, there are regular reviews that you must have noticed in the course module that I mentioned earlier. The reviews are a must to ensure that we don’t forget what we have learned. 

Practice is the most crucial part while learning a new language. And the frequent revisions have helped me not to forget the new words and terms I learned the other day. 

Plus, I could review the lessons by listening, speaking, writing, or using flashcards. I also liked the fact that all the lessons had English translations and directions. 

For example, if I’m struggling with a particular exercise, they give me hints in English as to what the meaning would be. 

Although I could not learn as fast as I expected, but I guess the pace varies from individual to individual. But I also noticed a few drawbacks of the course which I think you must know about as well. 

The course does not have live classes. Yes, Babbel does have live classes in their app, but that is not included in the course price. 

You have to pay separately for them, which are quite expensive. A monthly subscription to these live classes costs $50 to $100, which was way out of my budget. 

Also, the course worked for me because I was a totally new Spanish learner. But if you already can speak basic Spanish and want to learn the language deeper, Babbel may not be the right platform for you. 

The course is primarily beginner oriented. 

Babbel Spanish Review: Pros & Cons

Here are the pros & cons of taking the Spanish course on Babbel.

Pros

• They offer a 20-day money-back guarantee on all their courses.
• All the exercises on Babbel are fast-paced and highly engaging.
• It only takes 10-15 minutes to complete an exercise which is quick and easy.
• Babbel has really good reviews for its Spanish language.
• Along with Spanish, you will also get directions in English which will make it easier for you to learn.

Cons

• If you’re an advanced learner, then this is not the right app for you.
• It has a few speaking exercises.

Are There Any Substitutes For Babbel? 

After reading the review, if you think that Babbel might not be the right platform for you or if it does not fit your budget, there are substitutes as well. 

I found these four Babbel substitutes that might work for you- 

FluentU

FluentU focuses more on realistic videos and examples to help you learn a new language better. 

HelloTalk

HelloTalk is different from other language learning apps because it helps you learn a new language based on real conversations. 

The app will let you have conversations with native speakers while offering you translations and corrections. This will help you ace the language in no time. 

Duolingo:

Duolingo lessons are shorter than Babbel, only about 5 to 6 minutes. Plus, the app is free unless you want to access special materials. This app is best for those who have less time to dedicate. 

Mango Languages:

Mango Languages is another great alternative to Babbel. It has more than 70 languages to choose from. Plus, the app uses a more realistic way of teaching by giving real-life conversation examples. 

Related Read:

• Babbel vs Rosetta Stone
• Babbel vs Duolingo

Concluding Thoughts: Babbel Spanish Review (2024) 

I would say Babeel was helpful for me now that I can understand and am able to speak Spanish with my peers. I loved the fact that the course was not boring, and there were multiple exercises and drills which kept me hooked. 

No course can be 100% perfect, and neither is Babbel, but I would recommend it for the newbies. Would you opt for the Babbel Spanish learning program? Let me know in the comments. 

FAQs