Verdict
Babbel gets praised for a clean, structured lesson flow, but a steady stream of reviews complain about subscription costs, confusing cancellation, and weak customer support.
Best for
Someone who wants a structured, guided course with a clear lesson path and is fine paying a subscription for it.
Dealbreaker
Cancelling and getting help from support are both reported as painful, and several reviewers felt the subscription pricing was a paywall trap rather than a fair deal.
The facts.
Pulled from the App Store, not written by hand. unverified
Price
Free
In-app purchases
Unknown
Ads
Unknown
Platforms
iPhone, iPad
Rating
4.7★ (753,289)
Version
22.14.0
Last updated
Sep 14, 2026
Released
Jun 11, 2014
Attributes
Native app
Category
Education, Travel
What reviews consistently say.
Themes grouped from 200 App Store reviews. Source feed ›
Praised for
Ease of use and design6 reviews
Subscription pricing and paywalls3 reviews
Import and export3 reviews
Value for money2 reviews
Notifications and reminders2 reviews
Complained about
Subscription pricing and paywalls20 reviews
Confusing interface5 reviews
Customer support3 reviews
Too expensive3 reviews
Import and export2 reviews
Crashes and stability2 reviews
Battery and performance2 reviews
Where this comes from
20 of 200 recent reviews raised: Subscription pricing and paywallsApp Store reviews ›
6 of 200 recent reviews raised: Ease of use and designApp Store reviews ›
5 of 200 recent reviews raised: Confusing interfaceApp Store reviews ›
3 of 200 recent reviews raised: Customer supportApp Store reviews ›
3 of 200 recent reviews raised: Too expensiveApp Store reviews ›
2 of 200 recent reviews raised: Value for moneyApp Store reviews ›
Listed at Free on the App StoreApp Store listing ›
Where we recommend it
The best language learning apps ›Language apps that are well rated and still maintained, with the reason you might not want each.
Alternatives with the same rule.
Every app here is rated 4.2 or better, has been updated in the last eighteen months, and has no significant number of reviewers reporting it broken. Price is not the rule on this list — some are free, some are not. Also with a catch.
Free · 4.8★ (216,829) · Updated Sep 7, 2026
Verdict. Memrise has real content depth—native speaker clips, AI conversations, video—but a meaningful slice of reviewers hit crashes during lessons and billing problems that support doesn't resolve.
Best for. Someone who wants native-speaker audio and AI conversation practice and is willing to watch their subscription and cancellation dates closely.
Dealbreaker. Multiple reviewers report the app freezing mid-lesson, plus recurring complaints about being charged after cancelling with no autorenew reminder and slow or unresponsive customer support when disputing it.
Free · 4.8★ (163,228) · Updated Sep 14, 2026
Verdict. Praktika offers AI conversation practice that many users find genuinely useful for building speaking confidence, but a recurring cluster of complaints centers on aggressive subscription tactics and difficulty getting refunds or canceling.
Best for. Someone who wants AI-driven conversation practice and is comfortable committing to a subscription without needing an easy exit if they change their mind.
Dealbreaker. A meaningful number of reviewers report the app makes canceling or refunding a subscription deliberately hard, and customer support often doesn't respond or refuses refunds outside a narrow window.
Free · 4.7★ (195,275) · Updated Jul 26, 2026
Verdict. EWA teaches English, Spanish, and French through short stories, but the review record is dominated by subscription billing complaints rather than praise for the learning method itself.
Best for. Someone curious about story-based language learning who reads the subscription terms carefully before starting a trial and sets a calendar reminder to cancel it.
Dealbreaker. A large share of reviews describe surprise renewal charges, no advance notice before billing, and support (via chatbots and third-party billing handlers) that doesn't resolve refund or cancellation requests.