Babbel vs Rosetta Stone vs Duolingo: the ultimate guide

Babbel, Rosetta Stone, and Duolingo are 3 of the most popular ways to learn a language, so what’s the difference? When comparing Babbel vs Rosetta Stone vs Duolingo, what should you keep in mind as a language learner?

All 3 language apps are available in the following languages:

If you’re here and already know that one of these options isn’t for you, I’ve already compared all 3 head-to-head. Go ahead and skip right to the appropriate comparison:

• Babbel vs Rosetta Stone
• Duolingo vs Rosetta Stone
• Babbel vs Duolingo

If not, let’s continue through this comparison of Babbel vs Rosetta Stone vs Duolingo. Just as the title suggests, we’ll start with Babbel, continue with Rosetta Stone, and end with Duolingo.

Babbel

To start, Babbel is great for language learners looking for a structured approach, from beginner to advanced, based primarily on grammar.

If you’re interested in this approach, I recommend reading my Babbel review here, but at the end of the day, it is an excellent, very handy app for building a “correct” understanding of your target language.

This doesn’t mean that Babbel doesn’t foster communication – actually, recently they’ve offered a group coaching service called Babbel Live. It’s still very new and has a lot of growing to do (for example, I hope one day they offer coaching classes based specifically on their own lessons), but I’m excited to see Babbel’s future!

At the moment, Babbel Live is available in French, German, Italian, and Spanish.

Babbel prices

Babbel’s recently started to realize that the real value in a language learning program is having a human there to give you feedback, and their pricing has changed to reflect that!

Access to just the Babbel is a monthly subscription, ranging from $6-10 a month, depending on your commitment. If you really love Babbel’s approach, you can also opt for lifetime access to all languages. Click here to access current prices.

If you also want the Babbel Live classes (which I recommend if you like Babbel and you also want to improve your conversational skills), it’s a different story. Babbel Live is also a monthly subscription for unlimited classes, for $50-100 a month, depending on your commitment, but you’ll also get the app free for the duration of your subscription!

Click here for up-to-date prices for Babbel Live.

Rosetta Stone

Next, we have Rosetta Stone. Rosetta Stone is one of the original language learning resources, starting out as CD-ROM software back in 2013 at astronomical prices (like $300 for a single box set). Fortunately, as tech has developed and the language learning industry has exploded, Rosetta Stone has had to shift their prices to stay current.

You can read more in my Rosetta Stone review here.

Babbel vs Rosetta Stone: similarities

Babbel and Rosetta Stone have more differences than similarities, but they’re both convenient for language learners with any device and operate smoothly.

They are also great for learning the basics of the languages, which makes both Rosetta Stone and Babbel solid choices for beginners.

They’re also priced similarly: $10-$15 a month for ongoing subscriptions, or one easy lifetime membership.

Rosetta Stone vs Babbel: differences

Unlike Babbel, Rosetta Stone’s main goal is to get language learners a well-rounded education…but only to the tourist level. You’ll learn to say the words, read them, and think in the language instead of translating it, but you’ll only get through beginner words/concepts, and some may find it horrifyingly slow.

If you’re not a beginner language learner, Rosetta Stone is not for you. However, if you have pretty much zero experience with learning languages and you just want to get a foundation in the language, Rosetta Stone may be for you.

And my favorite part of Rosetta Stone: there are no words in any other language besides the one you’re learning. This prevents any habit of translating or relying on English, and fast-tracks your ability to use your target language.

Babbel, on the other hand, is less static, and less simple.

With Babbel, your language skills have the option to get to more intermediate levels, with more complex grammar and more niche vocabulary.

Babbel also takes another step to get you conversational by providing the option of live coaching. This is a separate membership and limited in the languages offered, but the live component of a teacher and fellow students can make for unmatched motivation.

Now the final comparison: Babbel vs Rosetta Stone vs Duolingo.

Duolingo

Finally, how does Duolingo fit into Babbel vs Rosetta Stone vs Duolingo? Duolingo is arguably the most popular, thanks to its $0 price tag and heavy gamification, but that doesn’t mean it’s the language learning app for you.

For one, Duolingo’s heavy gamification keeps its information much more surface-level than Rosetta Stone or Babbel. Duolingo is the industry’s best for short-term motivation, but not for advancing your ability to use a new language.

Be wary: even though the above lesson is more intermediate, most language learners leave Duolingo and are disappointed that their skills disappear in other contexts. This is more of a game than an education.

With Duolingo, don’t expect to get too advanced. At most, it’s great for building/reviewing the basics, and for the days when you’re just too tired to do anything else.

Learn more in my Duolingo review here.

Duolingo vs Rosetta Stone: similarities

As mentioned in my Duolingo vs Rosetta Stone review, both Rosetta Stone and Duolingo are great for beginner language learners. Both are appropriate for starting a new language from absolute zero, and neither is particularly good at more intermediate or advanced knowledge.

And just like Babbel, both Duolingo and Rosetta Stone are easily accessed on any device, and easy to maneuver. If either one of them is the first step in learning a language, you likely won’t have any issues with them.

Duolingo vs Rosetta Stone: differences

In my opinion, these two apps are wildly different, and that’s not just talking about the price tag (Duolingo’s $0 price tag compared to Rosetta Stone’s….not $0 price tag).

For one, their approach: Duolingo teaches you to implicitly pick up grammar, generally without any direct lessons, and with limited (and random) vocabulary. Many language learners complain that the sentences they learn using Duolingo are totally useless (though that is an intentional part of Duolingo’s strategy).

This isn’t always the case, fortunately. Duolingo’s Stories are their most popular effort to simulate a real-life conversation.

Rosetta Stone, on the other hand, teaches you the basic vocabulary to get you speaking ASAP. With Rosetta Stone, you’ll stick to relevant, everyday sentences that you’re likely to actually use at some point in your language learning journey.

And while Rosetta Stone is not nearly as “fun” as Duolingo (though most apps aren’t as fun as Duolingo), they do a significantly better job at providing you with a well-rounded language education by building all of your skills.

Think of it like a gym: Rosetta Stone is a full-body workout, while Duolingo is mostly just abs. There’s nothing wrong with just focusing on abs, but you’ll be a lot less functional in the real world.

Duolingo vs Babbel: similarities

Babbel and Duolingo also have more differences than similarities.

Beginners can benefit from both, and both are modern, accessible ways to learn a language in a more engaging way than staring at a textbook. Both have some form of gamification (daily streaks, satisfying sounds, etc.) and both mostly focus on understanding the language (outside of Babbel Live, of course).

Babbel vs Duolingo: differences

While Duolingo does feature some speech recognition practice, Babbel takes it a step further by offering access to professional tutors. This difference is also reflected in each app’s price tag: Duolingo is free, and both Babbel’s app and live coaching service are paid.

The clearest difference, however, is in the popularity of each app. Because Duolingo is fun, easy, and free, its audience is huge, quite frankly. Duolingo is a master of keeping their users motivated and entertained with short-term activities and shareable, like their “year in review”.

Babbel doesn’t have the same cult following, but there’s no doubt you’ll get a better language education.

Babbel vs Rosetta Stone vs Duolingo

Now that we’ve made comparisons between Babbel, Rosetta Stone, and Duolingo, how do you choose a language app?

Here are a few things to keep in mind when it comes to comparing any language app:

• what are your language goals?
• how do you like to learn?
• how do you stay motivated to learn a language?
• what kind of knowledge do you need?

For example, if you only have the motivation for a little at a time, you might be better off with Babbel or Duolingo (Rosetta Stone’s no-translation approach is hard!).

Or, if you don’t want to waste time with surface-level cartoons and get annoyed by childlike sounds, I’d recommend Rosetta Stone or Babbel – all 3 are engaging, but some find Duolingo to be outright obnoxious.

And if none of the 3 are doing it for you? These are the most popular, but certainly not the only options to learn a language.

Instead, I’d recommend you take my free course on how to choose a language app, where you’ll learn how to use my language app search to find the best resource for you.