Babbel Review: German Lessons

You may already be familiar with Babbel, a language learning platform, from your favorite travel vlogger's YouTube channel. Established in 2007, Babbel has expanded to provide courses in 14 different languages. A significant study from the City University of New York and the University of South Carolina found that you can develop basic conversational skills in a new language by using Babbel for only 15 hours over two months.

Set your learning goal

To get started with Babbel, they'll first ask you a few questions - why you want to learn German, how much German you know already, and what level you're aiming for. Next, they'll have you set a daily learning goal, starting at just 5 minutes. Now, don't be fooled by apps saying you can master a language in a few minutes a day - it's going to take a bit more commitment than that. But hey, starting with 5 minutes a day is a great way to build a habit, and then you can ramp it up from there. Once you're done with that, you have to decide between self-study with Babbel or Babbel Live.

Babbel live includes live classes

What's the difference? The self-study option on Babbel includes app-based exercises developed by language experts, tools for real-life language use, podcasts, videos, games, and planning tools for tracking progress. The Babbel Live option, on the other hand, includes all of the self-study features plus the ability to practice speaking with qualified teachers in a flexible class schedule, with an unlimited number of classes and no hidden fees.

Self-assessment for placement

When you choose self-study on Babbel, the first thing you'll see on your dashboard is an assessment designed to find the right level for newcomers. It would be more useful if they tested your understanding of German, as most people tend to overestimate their abilities on self-assessments, thanks to a phenomenon known as the Dunning-Kruger effect. However, the assessment consists more of a series of self-evaluations of things you think you can do in German, like summarizing a book or TV show, or understanding the news without subtitles. But don't worry: if you get placed incorrectly, you can always move to the level that feels right.

Zero in on tricky grammar

You can browse Babbel's German lessons by level or by topic, like specific grammar topics you need to work on. When you browse by topic, you'll see 4 courses that focus on grammar and 2 courses to improve your listening and speaking skills. If you're aiming to learn German for work, they have 9 courses that cover job applications, interviews, and business trips, along with 2 courses specifically for vocabulary in different professions. You can also learn about Germany's culture with 3 courses on countries and traditions. If you want to refresh your memory or learn idioms, they have 3 special courses for that. And to build your vocabulary, they offer 31 courses with over 3,000 words and everyday sentences.

B1 course isn't finished yet

If you're browsing by level, you'll see a total of 21 courses from A1 to B2. At the time of our review, there were 9 A1 courses on the basics of grammar, vocab, and pronunciation, 8 courses for A2 beginners, and they weren't finished with creating the content for the B1 course for intermediates to consolidate what they've learned and express themselves in German with nuance. The last level, B2, has 4 courses to help you get better at writing, reading, speaking, and listening.

Helpful grammar hints

In the lessons, you'll do activities like matching words to pictures and filling in blanks in sentences. We like that the lessons include literal translations as well as common translations of German sentences. They also highlight the case being used in each sentence. When we were practicing the prepositions that take the dative case, Babbel taught us a useful saying to memorize them: "Herr von Nach-Seit-Zu und Frau Aus-Bei-Mit bleiben mit dem Dativ fit". We do wish there was more colloquial German, though, maybe through native speaker videos. For example, if you learned German only from Babbel, you wouldn't know that a lot of Germans shorten "habe" to "hab'", and it'd take you some time to tune your ear to quirks like that. But, you can always supplement your learning with free resources from YouTube.

Review with spaced repetition

With Babbel, you can easily check your learning plan on the homepage to see what lessons are coming up. Each lesson comes with a title and description of what you'll learn. After each lesson, you'll do a review. You can choose how you want to review: flashcards, listening, speaking, games, or writing. Babbel uses a learning technique called "spaced repetition", which helps you remember things better. When you learn something new, you'll review it at increasing time intervals - from a day to six months. Each time you get it right, the time before you review it again gets longer. This moves the word from your short-term to your long-term memory, helping you to really learn, not just cram. And don't worry about remembering when to review - Babbel will remind you.

Babbel Live works well for busy schedules

Let's talk a bit more about what you get with Babbel Live, which starts at $99 a month. Is it worth it? That depends on you. The main draw of Babbel Live is its live drop-in classes. You can test these for free twice before you'll have to subscribe. Although the lessons only reach B2, the online classes can go all the way to C1. These 55-minute classes are capped at 6 participants so everyone is able to get some time to ask the teacher questions. Topics include "Über Erziehung Sprechen" (talking about education), "Eine Beschwerde Äußern" (expressing a complaint) and "Über Feminismus Zu Sprechen" (talking about feminism). Babbel Live could be a great choice for you if you're someone with a tight schedule and can't always plan for regular tutoring sessions. If you're the type of person who might need to join a class at the last minute, and if you're really eager to start speaking right away, Babbel Live could be just what you're looking for.

Self-study starts at $17.95

Babbel Live could be a little cheaper if you purchase more than one month at a time (like 12 months for $50 a month), but that's still a considerable chunk of cash to put down at once. If you're considering Babbel Self-Study, you should know it's also a bit pricey for what you get. All plans come with a 20-day money-back guarantee and access to all Babbel languages.

• 1 Month Plan: $17.95/mo
• 3 Months Plan: $15.25/mo, billed as $45.75
• 6 Months Plan: $13.45/mo, billed as $80.70
• 12 Months Plan: $8.95/mo, billed as $107.40
• Lifetime Plan: One-time payment of $349

Just okay

Babbel Self-Study just doesn't stand out from its competitors enough to justify the cost. If you like the idea of live classes but not the associated Babbel price tag, you might be happier with one-on-one tutoring sessions, which you can find for much less through one of our top-rated German lesson platforms in this review. Overall, Babbel is decent, but they don't wow us enough to earn a higher place in our ratings.

Learn More  ➜

On the Babbel website