Duolingo vs Babbel: Free Habit or Paid Course?

Duolingo is free, gamified and covers 40+ languages. Babbel costs about $9 a month, explains grammar, and covers 14. In our 30-day Spanish test Babbel scored 82% on the A1 placement, Duolingo 58%.

Pick Duolingo when

• The language is not on Babbel (Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Arabic, Hindi).
• You need a habit more than a course — the streak works.
• Budget is zero.

Pick Babbel when

• You want to understand why sentences work, not just recognise them.
• You are learning a European language for work or travel within a year.
• You will use the review manager daily.

Both

Many people run Duolingo for the streak and Babbel for the lesson. If that is you, buy Babbel Lifetime on sale.

» See the full rankings: Best Language Learning Apps of 2026, Best Free Language Learning Apps .