Compare language apps side by side
Pick any two or three apps to see what a year costs, what is free, the languages and the features side by side. "Show differences only" leaves just the rows where they differ.
Prices checked 6 Sept to 10 Oct 2026 · How we check
Babbel vs Duolingo · 14 published facts
Babbel if you want the grammar explained and a published price.
Duolingo if you want a free daily habit.
| Compare | Babbel | Duolingo |
|---|---|---|
| A year costs | $107.40 a year, or $17.99 month to month | Free. Super's yearly price is not published; its US App Store purchases run $9.99 to $119.99 |
| Practice | Course app: Short structured lessons with grammar notes and review sessions | Course app: Game-shaped lessons for every course, with paid tiers that remove the ads and the daily limits |
| Annual plan | $107.40 upfront · $8.95/mo | — |
| Monthly plan | $17.99 | — |
| Lifetime plan | $299.99 once, all languages | — |
| Free access | Free account; the first lesson of every course is free, and up to 80 free lessons depending on the language. | Full free tier with ads and limits; paid tiers remove ads and limits. |
| Languages offered | 14 | 40 |
| CEFR levels stated | A1 to C1. Course ceilings vary by language: the catalog includes A1-only course coverage and Spanish courses reaching C1. | A1 to B2. Duolingo says its biggest courses (Spanish and French from English) reach B2; its other courses stop between A1 and B2. |
| Speech recognition | Yes | Yes |
| Live tutoring | No · Babbel Live is no longer available to individual consumers | No |
| Offline mode | Yes · Downloaded lessons, vocabulary review and podcasts in the mobile app | Yes · Limited lessons available offline; progress syncs when connected |
| Refund or trial | Direct purchases: 14-day withdrawal where applicable, excluding US residents; early service can reduce the refund. US terms do not promise a pro-rata cancellation refund. App Store purchases follow store terms. | 1 week free trial on Super |
| US in-app purchases | — | Super in the US App Store: $9.99 to $119.99, depending on the plan. |
| Prices checked | 6 Sept 2026 | 6 to 7 Oct 2026 |
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Full comparisons
The pairs people search for most, each with a verdict per kind of learner and every plan.
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Babbel vs Duolingo
Babbel if you want the grammar explained and a published price; Duolingo if you want a free daily habit.
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Duolingo vs Rosetta Stone
Rosetta Stone if you will pay $159 a year for a picture-led course with a 14-day money-back guarantee; Duolingo if you are not sure you will stick with it.
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Busuu vs Duolingo
Busuu if you want a person to correct you and a course with named levels; Duolingo if you want it free across several languages.
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Memrise vs Duolingo
Memrise for real speech and vocabulary once you have the basics; Duolingo to get the basics for free.
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Babbel vs Rosetta Stone
Babbel if you want the grammar explained at the lower price; Rosetta Stone if you want immersion, a tutor option and a money-back guarantee.
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Preply vs italki
Preply if you want to see the price range before you look; italki if you want a placement test and a guaranteed trial lesson.
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Duolingo vs Pimsleur
Pimsleur if you want to speak first and will pay $164.95 a year for half-hour audio lessons; Duolingo if you want a free daily habit that also teaches reading and writing.
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Babbel vs Pimsleur
Babbel if you want each grammar point explained and the lower yearly bill; Pimsleur if you want to speak first, by ear, away from a screen.
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Babbel vs Busuu
Babbel if you want grammar explained and more than one language for one price; Busuu if you want native speakers to correct you and a course with named CEFR levels.
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Speak vs Duolingo
Speak if you want to practise talking aloud with an AI that corrects you, in one of its six languages; Duolingo if you want a free course that covers reading, writing and vocabulary.
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Rosetta Stone vs Pimsleur
Rosetta Stone if you want to learn through pictures and audio with your pronunciation scored, for $159 a year; Pimsleur if you want to learn by ear and speak first, for $164.95.
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Preply vs Cambly
Preply if you want to choose a tutor and a price lesson by lesson, in almost any language; Cambly if you are learning English and want a fixed weekly plan with native-speaker tutors.
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italki vs Cambly
italki if you want to choose a teacher and pay lesson by lesson, in almost any language; Cambly if you are learning English and want a weekly plan you can book on short notice.
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Duolingo vs Mondly
Duolingo if you want a full course free for good; Mondly if you want short daily lessons with a chatbot and a small yearly bill in one of its 41 languages.
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Lingopie vs LingQ
Lingopie if you want to learn from TV shows and films with two sets of subtitles; LingQ if you want to read and listen to anything, including content you import, in one of 52 languages.
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FluentU vs Lingopie
FluentU if you want short real-world videos turned into quizzes; Lingopie if you want whole TV shows and films with interactive subtitles, for about a third of FluentU's yearly price.
Every other pair works in the comparer above, and its address can be shared. All 28 apps are also in one sortable table.