Babbel vs Mondly
Overview
Babbel is the world’s best selling language app with 10 million purchased subscriptions. It teaches common words and phrases and then immerses you in simulated conversation to practice them. Recordings of native speakers and advanced voice recognition help to hone your accent, and culture and grammar tips bring the language into context. A review manager tracks your progress and with Babbel Live you can receive small group tuition.
Mondly is a language learning platform with 80 million learners. It offers 42 languages and enables you to learn anywhere on any device. It targets all aspects of communication: speaking, reading, writing, and listening. Mondly provides you with a gamified, interactive learning experience via memory exercises, a very intuitive interface and cutting edge augmented reality (AR) and chatbot technology.
Pros
- Covers all elements of language learning - speaking, listening, reading and writing plus grammar explanations and exercises
- Personalized learning paths and a review manager to help identify weaknesses
- Provides access to native speaking teachers through Babbel live
- Regularly updated content and a focus on practical, real-life conversations
- Available on both web and mobile platforms
- Culture Bites and Babbel Magazine promote cultural savviness
- Integrated podcast series promotes language immersion
- Effective and comprehensive covering speaking, listening, reading and writing
- You can tailor your learning according to your goals and interests
- Engaging and fun - short sharp lessons and gamification to make learning fun and motivating
- Learn anywhere, anytime on any device
- Great user experience with a user friendly, polished interface
- Augmented reality and Interactive chatbot conversations provide an immersive way to practice your skills
Cons
- Pacing is a little slow at times
- Fewer languages than its competitors and only one Asian language (Indonesian)
- Minor interface annoyances with the desktop version
- Less to offer more advanced learners or those wanting a strong conversational focus
- You always have to start at the basic level
- Bite-sized lessons may be too short for those preferring a more in-depth approach
- Free version is limited
Best for
Best for: Babbel is a comprehensive language learning platform that’s great for a wide range of learners. That said, I’d say Babbel is best for those wanting to learn a new language from scratch or looking to improve their intermediate skills. It will especially suit people who want to learn flexibly in short bursts and those interested in joining small live tutorial groups.
Best for: Anyone who is looking to learn a brand new language or has a limited grasp of one and wants to improve. Those who love fun, gamified, interactive apps and are intrigued by AR and like to engage with new technological experiences. Overall, Mondly is for those of you who consider themselves to be self-guided learners and would benefit from daily, weekly, and monthly lessons and goals
Price
From $7.45 per month
From $4.99 per month
Number of users
10 mlllion subscriptions sold
500,000 active subscribers
Overall
Overall: Babbel is an excellent choice if you want to learn a new language efficiently and effectively. Its well-designed lessons, practical approach, and customizable learning paths make it a great tool for gaining real-world language skills. Babbel Live instructor-led classes provide a more immersive experience for anyone serious about language learning. Combine Babbel’s curated courses with the Babbel Live classes and you’ll be speaking your target language in no time at all.
To providerOverall: Mondly is an incredibly popular platform that has over 80 million users. Having used the platform for the past couple of weeks it's easy to see why. Lessons are comprehensive and immensely fun and I found it a really effective way to learn a new language. I was very impressed by how easy it was to use and how fast I was able to introduce myself in a new language.
To providerSupported languages
Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Dutch, Swedish, Turkish, Polish, Norwegian, Danish, Indonesian, and English for non-native speakers.
English (UK), English, (US), Spanish, French, German, Italian, Russian, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Turkish, Arabic, Persian, Hebrew, Portuguese, Portuguese (Brazil), Hebrew, Catalan, Latin, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Latvian, Lithuanian, Greek, Romanian, Afrikaans, Croatian, Czech, Bulgarian, Polish, Slovak, Hungarian, Ukrainian, Vietnamese, Hindi, Bengali, Indonesian, Tagalog, Thai
About
Babbel was founded in Germany in 2007 as the world’s first language-learning app. It’s now the best selling, with over 10 million purchased subscriptions. It has a strong focus on intuitive lessons that center on learning a new language through real-life conversations
Babbel’s methods have been developed by 150+ language experts and the platform now has 13,000+ hours of content across 14 languages. It uses proven techniques that move new vocabulary through all your brain’s memory stages before cementing it into long-term memory.
In a study of Babbel’s teaching methods by , researchers found that 100% of participants improved their language proficiency by a statistically significant margin
All Babbel’s courses are unique and take into account the similarities and differences between ‘language pairs’. That is, your native language and the one you’re learning. This accelerates progress and helps develop cultural sensitivity.
Babbel also provides customized experiences that adjust to your progress and preferred way of learning. It recently added live instructor-led classes to create a more immersive and interactive experience for anyone serious about language learning.
Mondly is a language e-learning service founded in 2014 designed to meet one aim: to get adults and children speaking a new language - fast..
It’s consistently ranked as one of the highest-rated education apps in the app store and has 80+ million learners.
Mondly is a gamified language learning application that provides you with a guided yet interactive learning experience via memory exercises and a very intuitive interface. It offers learning in 42 languages via desktop and app, using virtual and augmented reality products.
It was acquired in 2022 by Pearson, the world’s leading education company, to boost its existing portfolio of state of the art learning tools and provide a way for students to study languages independently online. For Pearson to select Mondly, out of all the language platforms available is testimony to its effectiveness.
How it works
Babbel is a subscription service available on both desktop and mobile, providing portability if you want to learn on the go. Lessons are self paced so you can fit learning around your schedule.
Core lessons are arranged by Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) levels. Additional lessons are grouped by language-specific skills and themes so you can pick and choose based on what you want to develop. This combo of both structured and flexible approaches lets you progress through the material in a logical but personalized manner.
The Babbel method:
- Is grounded in real-world conversations to get you speaking right away
- Promotes cross over learning by building grammar and vocabulary in each new language using “language pairs”. That is, similarities and differences between your native language and the one you’re learning
- Supports learning by teaching you in your preferred style, be it by reading, writing, speaking, seeing or listening
- Trains your brain to learn constantly with spaced repetition, periodic prompts and reviews
Uses audio dialogue examples recorded with native speakers (not bots)
You’ll also learn about the history of your target language, discover recipes and songs, and gain tons of helpful cultural tips.
Babbel tracks your progress and displays it on a leaderboard. This gamified approach encourages healthy competition among learners and makes language learning more motivating.
To get started you simply select the language you want to learn and answer some questions about why and how you want to learn, how much time you’re willing to commit each week, your age range and where you heard about Babbel. You then either select a subscription or scroll down the page for a free trial.
To get started on Mondly you simply select the language you want to learn and click ‘Start Learning’. Mondly works the same way regardless of the language you choose.
You’ll see the Mondly dashboard containing lots of topic icons such as weather, travel, food, etc. You can choose a topic or select ‘daily lesson’ and Mondly will guide you through in a recommended order.
For each topic (or within the daily lesson) you’ll take bite-sized lessons which cover the following:
- Vocabulary (Interactive flashcards)
- Listening (Audio to written and spoken exercises)
- Speaking (Hands-free conversational lessons and thematic lessons)
- Reading and writing (image association and phrase creation)
Conversation (chatbot conversations)
Lessons are self-paced and you complete them in your own time. You can view them on the go, on your computer, mobile, or tablet. Plus, you can track your progress with statistics and leaderboards and compare your score with other learners. Weekly quizzes, and monthly challenges are created according to your progress.
On top of this there are additional resources to optimize your learning, such as the Mondly Augmented Reality (AR) app. The AR app uses a virtual teacher to help you learn new words by showing you interactive worlds and activities.
As an experience, Mondly very much has the feel of a board game, where your objectives, achievements, and progress are visible as you go along a ‘learning path’.
What a lesson is like
- Self-paced lessons that teach new material through context-based exercises
- Easy-to-understand grammar instruction
- Voice-recognition software to perfect your accent
- Babbel Live virtual instructor-led classes
Lessons take about 10 to 15 minutes to complete and are broken down into bite sized chunks.
Babbel introduces you to new vocabulary through context-based exercises, accompanied by images and native-speaker audio. This helps you memorize the vocabulary and understand how to use it in real-life situations. A combination of matching, fill-in-the-blank, sorting, writing and speaking exercises are mixed in with cultural and grammar tips.
Babbel's speaking lessons utilize voice recognition technology. You mimic a native speaker’s pronunciations and get instant feedback to help you perfect your accent.
Babbel also offers Babbel Live, which features live group classes led by certified language teachers. These sessions allow you to practice newly acquired skills with fellow students, receive real-time feedback, and engage in conversation.
Mondly’s lessons are grouped around topics such as weather, food, travel, etc.
The structure is very straightforward. This means that you know exactly how many words and phrases you will learn, the estimated time it will take you to complete the lesson and your overall rating.
For each topic there are:
- 6 vocabulary activities (all are interactive and use different methods to target memory retention)
- 1 conversation exercise (where you practice what you’ve learned with the chatbot function and voice recognition software)
1 vocabulary review in which you swipe the correct translation
You can match your lessons with an intelligent calendar that helps you organize your learning objectives and provides you with a visual record of how your learning progresses over time.
Overall, you can view your progress by navigating through Mondly’s map and using the calendar function and the statistics view.
If you want to extend your learning, it is possible to click on parts of phrases and sentences to get additional information or grammatical explanations. Such as this screen below which conjugated the verb ‘to be’ after I had clicked on ‘is’.
Who is it good for?
Babbel is an appealing and versatile language learning platform that’s great for a wide range of learners. That said, I’d say Babbel is best for the following learners:
Anyone who’s:
- Learning a new language from scratch
- Keen to improve their intermediate skills in another language
- Interested in applying language-learning to real-life scenarios
- Keen to join regular small group live tutorials
- Appreciates short, sharp bite sized lessons
- Needing to learn flexibly on any device
The Mondly learning style would suit anyone who:
- Wants to learn a new language from scratch or has a limited grasp and wants to improve
- Has a busy schedule and needs to fit lessons around their life
- Loves fun, interactive apps
- Likes the flexibility of learning on mobile and desktop
Is intrigued by AR and likes to engage with technological experiences
Overall, Mondly is for those of you who consider themselves to be self-guided learners and would therefore benefit from daily, weekly, and monthly lessons and goals.
Features
- Flexible learning with offline mode
- Personalized approach
- Speech recognition technology for pronunciation practice
- Babbel Live virtual group classes with certified teachers and native speakers
- Review Manager for reinforcing learned content
- Regularly updated content to ensure freshness
- Podcast series to aide language immersion
- Gamification
- Cultural insights and grammar tips
- Gamification
- Fun, interactive lessons that touch all learning styles
- Flexible learning
- Chatbot function
- Augmented reality
Is it worth it?
On balance, Babbel has a lot going for it if you want to learn a new language.
For a start, it’s more than just an app for acquiring vocabulary and phrases. It integrates cultural understanding into its programs because Babbel understands that language and culture are closely tied. An understanding of how a different culture works helps you learn the mechanics of the language associated with it.
Likewise, Babbel's grammar explainers ease you into complex concepts, whereas other apps rely on you learning grammar intuitively by constantly seeing it used in context.
And the addition of Babbel Live virtual classes addresses the shortcomings of purely pre-set programs. They're engaging, effective, affordable and absolutely no limit on the number you take.
The pacing and structure of core lessons may not be to everyone’s taste and may feel a little repetitive. But they could be ideal for time starved students who need to squeeze in some language learning into their daily hustle and bustle. And the Explore tab is always there in case you get a bit burnt out on the meat and potatoes in the primary lessons.
And while Babbel may not cater to all the Asian language enthusiasts out there, it's a goldmine for Euro-language lovers.
And with the free trial and generous refund policy, there’s really no reason not to give it a shot.
I found Mondly easy to use, and thought the lessons were well structured, engaging, effective and ‘sticky’.
Together with gamification through points, streaks and leaderboards it makes for a fun learning experience that motivates you to come back for more.
Mondly’s stand out feature is its use of technology such as chatbots and AR that provide a novel and more immersive way to practice your new skills. It’s also comprehensive, helping you to improve all aspects of communication: speaking, reading, writing, and listening.
That said, there’s always room for improvement. Whilst it is comprehensive it has a fairly narrow focus on grammar. Its approach to this is more intuitive - with constant practice of phrases and sentences you’ll learn the rules without realizing.
Also, if you really want a laser-like focus on conversational skills, you may find the chatbot a bit limited and prefer a platform that offers live lessons with native speaking teachers.
However, if you value a fun yet structured approach that really helps new learning stick then Mondly is definitely worth considering.
You can use the free version to get a flavor of the platform or subscribe and make use of the 7 day free trial to make up your mind. Just remember to cancel before the 7 days is up to avoid payment. The pricing point is very competitive and there are frequent discounts available making it even better value.