Top 12 Babbel Alternatives For All Languages (2024 Research)

Babbel is an online language-learning platform that teaches several languages, including French. The program doesn’t implement the traditional teaching approach. Instead, it designs some activities to make learning fun and create a stress-free environment for learners. 

It ensures that each lesson consists of exercises that enable you to learn every aspect of the language, like writing, reading, listening, and speaking. 

After reading about the company on review sites like Trustpilot, we discovered that the general sentiment about their service is quite controversial. Although a few praised Babbel’s unique advantages, it has a lot of limitations for most users. 

Most complained about the fact the program doesn’t allow them to:

• Construct sentences effectively in French, 

• Speak the language fluently,

• Engage in French conversations as the words sound strange because of the lack of listening comprehension courses,

• Read a French text and fully grasp its content, 

• And more. 

If you’re here, chances are you’ve figured that Babbel doesn’t offer enough to help you reach your fluency goals. Or maybe you’re just doing your due diligence and looking to choose the best option for you. 

In this post, we will take a close look at Babbel’s services, and what makes them different from other online French learning platforms. We will discuss the top 12 Babbel alternatives, including Get French Classes, our online French learning platform.

As a competitor in the industry, we offer unique features and benefits that make us stand out from Babbel and others. We will also discuss why Get French Classes is the best alternative to Babbel and show you how we grant exceptional results.

Why Get French Classes is your best Babbel alternative for learning French online

Learning French, or actually any language, online comes with tons of challenges. 

• You have to immerse yourself in a French-speaking environment for you to learn and achieve proficiency FAST. But immersion does take time, and when you don’t understand the basics of French when speaking with locals, all you get is a response in English. Yikes.

• You have to work with private tutors, which is very expensive and can cost you thousands of dollars by the time you move from one language level to another (i.e., going from A1 to A2).

• You have to tirelessly repeat audio recordings and memorize expressions. While this helps you boost your reactiveness when talking to people, it comes at a steep price: whatever has been memorized is subject to forgetfulness.  Let alone the fact that you need contextual learning to achieve full proficiency. And self-recorded audios manifestly lack context and nuances.

• If you choose to learn French without spending too much, you’ll then have to learn with apps like Duolingo, Babbel, and Rosetta Stone. While these tools are free or cost little to nothing, their effectiveness is questionable . Not only do they rely on memorization, but Duolingo specifically, is designed to keep you going from streak to streak, when in fact, your goal should be “How am I moving towards French proficiency?”

“ You’ll never learn a language if you don’t prioritize speaking it. There are a lot of different ways you can boost your language lessons. Flashcards, reading, listening, etc. But at the end of the day, language is a tool to be used, and you can only improve if you speak it. That’s where Duolingo falls short ,” says language activist Jonty Yamisha. “If you’ve ever been in a situation where you know that you understand tons of vocabulary, but you’re completely unable to converse with native speakers in your target language, then you know exactly what I’m talking about,” he goes on to say. 

As a result of all these challenges, many French enthusiasts like yourself end up:

• Not taking learning the language as seriously as you should

• Developing your listening skills but being unable to speak 

• Spending tons of time and money on French learning methods that don’t work

So, at Get French Classes, we designed our classes and course materials to help you focus on listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Each of our materials will focus on teaching you one and only one concept and the spoken and written assignments will help you practice and demonstrate mastery. 

Then, with the help of our qualified French tutors, you'll have the chance to practice speaking French with native speakers in a real-world setting, ask them questions, and gain more knowledge about its nuances. 

Here’s how it works. 👇👇👇

Bite-sized lessons that teach you one core language concept at a time

Instead of creating 30-minute-long course materials like most companies do out there, we chose to teach one thing at a time.

That’s because we want our learners to easily remember what they just learned and have at least one takeaway after taking a lesson. So, our lessons only feature bite-sized video lessons that last between 5 and 10 minutes, covering only one specific thing per video. 

At the end of each lesson, you’ll have more learning material to further develop your skills.

Also, you’ll take both a written and spoken assessment that’ll help your tutor know whether or not you grasped the material. Here are a few examples of assignments you can take:

Matching words:

Spoken assignments:

Written assignments:

Not only that, these assignments are also a way for you to practice what you just learned. 

Remark: Taking the lessons and assignments is compulsory. That’s how you unlock your private session with your tutor. Taking the lessons and submitting your assignments help you prepare for the live lesson and focus on more of the stuff you don’t know but need to know. And here are some of our French tutors:

Badges and certificates to incentivize you and showcase your French mastery

Many online language schools give their learners a certificate of completion at the end of their program. While this incentivizes the learner, we found that it doesn’t help them focus on the ACTUAL prize, which is how fluently they can speak at the end of the program.

Unarguably, just because you completed a language course doesn’t make you de facto a proficient speaker of that language.

So, at Get French Classes, we make sure that only people who demonstrate mastery of the lessons and concepts get certificates. This entices our learners to improve their language skills and be rewarded with fluency — with a certificate being a byproduct of their proficiency.

But we also enjoy having fun. So to make learning fun, we deliver badges after you hit a certain milestone. You can share these badges with your loved ones and on social media as most of our learners do. 

Private sessions with your tutor that consolidate your learning and improve your language skills

As we mentioned earlier, your private sessions are conditioned by whether or not you took and submitted your assignments. This helps you and your tutor focus on the most important thing, which is practicing and improving on the lesson you took. 

During the private courses, your tutor’s number 1 goal is to make sure that:

• Any misunderstanding you have about the previous lesson is clarified

• Any mistake you’ve made in your assignment is corrected

• Any nuances about what you learned are stated and gone over

Besides, during the session, depending on your French level, you’ll also get to practice through reading, writing, speaking, or listening with your tutor. You’ll get to converse with your tutor on topics, and he or she will give you live feedback.

While the private sessions are focused on teaching you nuances, improving your grammar, and basic understanding of the French language, our group classes help you improve your conversational skills.

That’s why you get 2 private lessons and 2 group classes every week until the end of your program.

Group classes that fuel your conversational skills and connect you with French lovers across the world

Twice a week, your tutor will gather 5 other learners they’re working with, along with you, in group sessions for you to mingle.

The way this works is that 6 people will meet to debate or get to know each other under the supervision of a tutor. During that group class, you’ll be divided into 2 groups of 3 people, will be given a topic, and context, and called to debate and defend your opinion.

Your peers will take note of any mistakes you’ve made while speaking, and you’ll do the same while others are speaking. After the debate, together with your tutor, you’ll help your new friends know what mistakes they made and how they can improve going forward.

This has proven to drastically improve our learners’ speaking and listening skills all while helping them build connections with other learners. Hear it from our learners' testimonials:

Top Babbel Alternatives for Learning French Online 

LingQ.com

• Trustpilot reviews: 3 stars out of 5  

• Teaching methods/Language services: Gamified learning + tutoring

• Pros: You can design your own learning path and go at your own pace.

• Cons: Not great if you're looking for something organized with a clear outcome.

• Service platforms: App for iOS and app for Android .

• Time to fluency: 12 months minimum

LingQ is also an excellent alternative to Babbel. It's featured in notable publications such as CBC, TechCrunch, Medium, El Pais, and more.

With an extensive library of language resources, you can choose a lesson that intrigues you from this program. Most of its lessons are immersion-based and focus on different categories like travel, food, science, business, entertainment, and more. 

The program employs different learning materials to create an enjoyable learning session. These materials include flashcards, some gamification elements, and learning challenges, which last for 90 days. 

Unlike Babbel, there is also a community section where you can interact with other language learners. 

LingQ offers its pricing plans in two categories – Premium and Premium Plus. The premium plan includes:

• 1-month plan that costs $12.99 per month

• A 6-month plan that costs $11.99 per month or $71.94 for a one-time payment

• An annual plan that costs $8.99 per month or $107.88

• A 24-month plan that costs $7.99 per month or $191.76

The Premium Plus plan includes:

• 1-month that costs $39.99 per month

• A 6-month plan that costs $38.99 per month or $233.94 for a one-time payment

• An annual plan that costs $35.99 per month or $431.88

• A 24-month plan costs $34.99 per month or $839.76.

Learn French with Alexa

• Trustpilot reviews: 4.8 stars out of 5 for 252 reviews  

• Teaching methods/Language services: Free YouTube lessons and group coaching 

• Pros: Good if you’re on a budget and want to learn French without breaking the bank.

• Cons: There are no private sessions with a dedicated language tutor who helps you improve.

• Investment required: The lessons with Alexa cost between $25 and $50 per month.

• Service platforms: YouTube and live web app.

• Time to fluency: 12 months minimum

Another top-tier Babbel alternative is Learn French with Alexa. Some notable publications such as Connection and The Telegraph feature the French-learning program. 

Subscribing to this program grants you access to Alexa's unique teaching style that can fully enable you to understand the language. Her engaging presentation style coupled with humor captivates your interest as a learner and keeps you engrossed. The program offers various lessons for all proficiency levels, whether beginner, intermediate, or advanced. 

Unlike Babbel, which mainly utilizes apps, the lessons take place live on platforms like YouTube. You can have access to over 170 replay videos. In addition to the videos, you can use worksheets, quizzes, and guides to further support what you learned. 

The program offers three subscription options for its users:

• 1-month plan, which costs $35 per month

• 3-month plan, which costs $25 per month

• An annual plan which costs $15 per month. 

Memrise

• Trustpilot reviews: 2.3 stars out of 5 for 77 reviews  

• Teaching methods/Language services: Spaced repetition and bilingual translation

• Pros: Excellent if you’re busy and want to learn in a few minutes every day. Their mobile app makes learning fun yet not time-consuming

• Cons: Their method takes time. Plus, the audio you repeat needs more context for you to know where to use the expressions

• Service platforms: web app .

• Time to fluency: 12 months minimum

Memrise is also a Babbel alternative that helps improve learners' language skills. With about 65 million learners, the app takes a conversational learning approach to reinforce its lessons. 

It features different native-speaker videos that capture your attention. These videos teach you essential words and enable you to understand how the words sound in local accents. 

Besides, you can chat with their AI language tutors to develop your language skills and gain confidence to communicate in the language. 

Its subscription plans include:

• Monthly plan that costs $14.99 

• Annual plan that costs $7.50 per month or $89.99 annually

• A lifetime plan that costs $199.99 

Top Babbel Alternatives for Learning Spanish

Duolingo

• Trustpilot reviews: 1.7 stars out of 5 for 4000 reviews  

• Teaching methods/Language services: Gamification, daily streaks, and flashcards

• Pros: You get to learn the ABCs of the language and have 5 minutes a day to do so.

• Cons: Not good if your goal is to learn the language fast and achieve fluency in months, not years.

• Service platforms: App Store and Play Store .

• Time to fluency: 12 months minimum

Duolingo teaches Spanish through the gamification method. Its bite-sized lessons last around 20 minutes each, and they make it easy for one to learn Spanish conveniently.

These lessons incorporate learning techniques like multiple-choice questions, fill-in-the-gaps, listening, and speaking exercises. These techniques drill the users into mastering new words and useful vocabulary. 

Its lesson content varies by level and complexity. As you advance in level, you will encounter more complex topics such as verb conjugation, grammar topics, and more. 

Duolingo offers a free version for most of its lessons. But the paid version, Super Duolingo, exists as well. It costs $6.99 monthly after you've enjoyed a 14-day free trial.

Lingodeer

• Trustpilot reviews: 4.8 stars out of 5 for 20k reviews  

• Teaching methods/Language services: Gamification, learning tips, and spaced repetition

• Pros: You easily learn the basics of the language through gamification.

• Cons: The learning method is not intensive, and it’ll take years to achieve fluency.

• Service platforms: App Store and Play Store .

• Time to fluency: 24 months minimum

Lingodeer is another app where you can learn Spanish in a fun manner. They have over 20 million subscribers and over 200 lessons.

Unlike Babbel, the program illustrates some of its lessons through context. The platform also uses resources such as flashcards, audio lessons, quizzes, and stories to reinforce your learning. The app covers topics such as family, school, food items, drinks, transportation, and more.

As you proceed with the lesson, you can track your progress through its progress bar. 

Lingodeer’s four-tier pricing plan includes:

• Monthly plan that costs $14.99

• Quarterly plan that costs $39.99

• Yearly plan that costs $79.99

• A lifetime plan that costs $159.99

StoryLearning

• Trustpilot reviews: 5 stars out of 5 for 875 reviews  

• Teaching methods/Language services: Learning languages via stories

• Pros: Good if you have a visual memory and learn faster via stories.

• Cons: Not good if you lack the basics of the language and want to learn them, grammar rules, vocabulary, etc.

• Service platforms: web app .

• Time to fluency: 18 months minimum

StoryLearning creates engaging language learning materials for visual learners. 

The founder discovered that learning through stories allowed him to pick up Spanish quickly. He then developed original stories targeted at different language skill levels to help others learn rapidly. 

These fictional narratives, optimized for binge-reading, aim to immerse learners while teaching vocabulary and grammar. While the company’s testimonials should be critically examined, their language programs using compelling stories may be great in assisting some visual learners. 

Top Babbel Alternative to Learn Italian

Preply

• Trustpilot reviews: 4.2 stars out of 5 for 12k reviews  

• Teaching methods/Language services: Live coaching with tutors

• Pros: You get to learn through group classes and practice with other learners.

• Cons: Not all the teachers are language natives, and tutors are on their own, they’re trained properly.

• Service platforms: App Store and Play Store .

• Time to fluency: 6 months minimum

Preply Italian allows you to book your preferred tutor on their platform. You can choose this tutor based on their nationality, your level, your budget, preferred time, and more. 

The lesson takes place on its video-conferencing platform, Space, where you can interact with your tutor. Aside from the general courses, you can also sign up for specialized fields like business courses, conversational courses, Italian homework help, Italian classes for English speakers, and more. You can also find courses that prepare you for the Italian language tests, CELI, and CILS.

The pricing model varies among the tutors, but you can select one that suits your budget. You should expect to pay at least $5 for a 50-minute lesson. 

Europass Italian Language School

• Reviews: N/A 

• Teaching methods/Language services: Live coaching with tutors as well as multimedia materials. 

• Pros: You get to learn through the culture. You can also get in-person courses (if you’re in Florence)

• Cons: Live tutoring includes several learners, up to 12, which means very little attention for you.

• Service platforms: Website .

• Time to fluency: 12 months minimum

Europass offers online Italian courses for students of all proficiency levels, from A1 to C1. These courses are of two types: a live class and a private lesson. 

The live class features you, a tutor, and a group of 3-12 students. The teacher who hosts the lessons ensures that the lessons are fun and interactive for you. They encourage conversations and make use of additional resources to reinforce learning. 

Even if you miss the live lesson, you’re in safe hands. The platform will provide a recorded version to help you catch up.

Most features for the group class also apply to the private lesson. The unique difference is that you have a private teacher who personalizes the lessons to fit your needs. All classes take place for 50 minutes. Upon completion of the course, you will receive a certificate. 

While the live classes cost €150 per month, the private classes vary hourly pricing. The minimum time, which is five to nine hours, costs €35.

Online Italian Club

• Reviews: N/A 

• Teaching methods/Language services: Practice materials, live coaching with tutors as well as multimedia materials. 

• Pros: You get to learn through exercises. 

• Cons: You’ll have to work with their third-party partners to get live tutoring at extra courses.

• Service platforms: Website .

• Time to fluency: 12 months minimum

Next on the list is the Online Italian Club. The club provides 2-3 Italian exercises that fit your level. These exercises cover various aspects such as grammar, pronunciation, dialogues, listening practice, verbs, and vocabulary. All exercises are free. 

Although the platform only offers free exercises, it affiliates with another website, nativespeakerteachers.com, where you can register for an online class. The class features a native-speaking teacher who offers 30-minute lessons via Zoom or Skype. You can attend this class as many times as you like. 

However, you must note that the pricing model varies by the number of classes you choose to attend. While one class costs £22, five classes cost £105.

Top Babbel Alternatives to Learn German

Deutsche Welle

• Trustpilot reviews: 2 stars out of 5 for 36 reviews  

• Teaching methods/Language services: Video courses

• Pros: Good if you are on a budget and want to learn from experts.

• Cons: You won’t be assisted and guided throughout your learning journey.

• Service platforms: web app .

• Time to fluency: 6 months minimum

Deutsche Welle provides free German courses for learners of all proficiency levels, from beginner to advanced. While the topics in each level vary by complexity, they all focus on improving your knowledge of the German language. 

Starting with the beginner levels (A1 and A2), you will engage in topics that build your foundational knowledge of the language. You start with basics like alphabets, detailed grammar topics, vocabulary practice on everyday topics, and more. 

Intermediate and advanced learners niche down on specific topics like politics, economics, culture, jobs, and more. Plus, you will gain access to resources such as audio files, videos, and word of the week. All videos come with subtitles to help you understand the content. 

If you don’t want to follow the lessons, you can opt for the program’s podcasts. The program is free for users. 

Goethe-Institut

• Reviews: N/A 

• Teaching methods/Language services: Both online and physical courses. You’ll also find extra materials on their website. 

• Pros: Provides a well-rounded experience with all the materials you need to immerse yourself in the language. 

• Cons: It’s very expensive. Plus, you’ll have to pay a different price each learning option, there is no bundle pricing to favor you. 

• Service platforms: Website .

• Time to fluency: 6 months minimum

Goethe-Institut offers both physical and online lessons to boost your knowledge of the language. 

Focusing on the online lessons, you can choose to study independently or opt for an online course that features a teacher. The self-study option provides you with over 70 hours of learning materials and specifically targets your listening and reading skills. 

Meanwhile, the teacher-featured course includes a native-speaking teacher who takes you through the intricacies of the German class. With this option, you can opt for a private lesson, a group class, or a speaking class. 

As the private and group classes feature a formal learning style and cover every aspect like grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation, the speaking class provides you with lots of conversation practice to help you speak the language effectively. 

Plus, you can enroll in the exam preparation course that enables you to prepare for the Goethe-Zertifikat exam. The lessons can take place in person or online. The online class takes place on Zoom. 

The pricing plan for each course varies by what you choose. While the self-study course costs €129, the private class costs €695. You must visit their website to select the one that suits your needs. 

Deutsche Akademie

• Reviews: N/A 

• Teaching methods/Language services: Free coursebooks and learning materials. 

• Pros: You’ll have access to over 170 coursebooks to study and tons of exercises to practice in over 150 grammar topics and vocabulary. 

• Cons: Too many people in the live courses. 

• Service platforms: Website .

• Time to fluency: 6 months minimum

Deutsche Akademie offers free online German courses through various learning resources. With the program’s audio courses, you can improve your listening and speaking skills. Plus, there are over 170 coursebooks to study and tons of exercises to practice in over 150 grammar topics and vocabulary.

Additionally, you can enroll in the program’s live lessons. You’ll get online courses, whether intensive classes, semi-intensive classes, weekend classes, phonetic classes, writing classes, and more. 

The class features you, a native-speaking teacher, and a maximum of 11 other learners. It takes place anywhere you want and at your convenience. 

The program's live lesson pricing varies by the course you choose.

Let Get French Classes Teach You French Online and Watch How You’ll Improve

All the companies on this list have the potential to compete with Babbel. Although each of them provides their services uniquely, their primary objective is to ensure you can learn French online and communicate with the language effectively. 

If your goal is to learn French through games and translate random words, we recommend sites such as Duolingo, Memrise, and Babbel.

But if you want to get specific results and work with a partner who:

• Ask meaningful questions about your goals

• Craft a personalized teaching approach that fits you

• Have qualified teachers who monitor your progress

• Participates in engaging teaching session

That’s us.

At Get French Classes, we don’t give you some random words to translate and call it a lesson. Rather, we prioritize the goals of our customers and create an engaging teaching session that makes you do the work.

We take the time to study our customers and modify our approach to ensure you fully understand and communicate in French.