Babbel vs Duolingo for Learning Italian: Review

In today’s post, we’ll discuss the differences between Babbel and Duolingo. Highlighting their differences in teaching methods, course content, and target audience.

 

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Summary

The article compares and contrasts the popular language-learning apps Babbel and Duolingo.

While both apps are designed to help users learn a new language, they differ in various aspects, including teaching methods, language options, cost, and more.

Both Babbel and Duolingo are popular language-learning apps for Italian. If you prefer a more structured and grammar-focused approach to learning, Babbel may be a better choice.

On the other hand, if you prefer a more gamified and immersive approach, Duolingo may be a better fit.

The article provides a comprehensive overview of each app's strengths and weaknesses to help readers make an informed decision on which app best suits their language learning goals.

In today’s post, we’ll talk about the differences between Babbel and Duolingo.

These two are probably the most well-known language-learning apps out there.

We’ll also talk about another amazing Italian course: Ripeti con me.

Let’s get started!

babbel vs duolingo differences review

Babbel Review

Babbel is great for beginners because it starts from the very basics of Italian.

It takes you through new and useful vocabulary and grammar rules, such as verb conjugations and Italian tenses.

Babbel explains grammar pretty clearly with many examples. It uses conversational language that you’re likely to use in real life, and there is a good variety of exercise types.

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Your language skills
How would you rate your skills in your native language? is required.
Were you raised bilingual (or more)? is required.
Have you ever reached an intermediate proficiency in a foreign language? is required.
Have you ever reached an intermediate proficiency in a foreign language? is required.

Namely French, Spanish, Portuguese, or Romanian.

How old are you? is required.
Create a study schedule
Your current Italian level is required.
Set the target level higher than your current one.
Elementary: Can communicate in simple and routine tasks.
Intermediate: Can deal with most situations likely to arise while traveling.
Upper-intermediate: Can interact regularly without strain with native speakers.
Your target Italian level is required.
Set the target level higher than your current one.
Deadline is required.
Based on your weekly time commitment, you need extra days to meet the deadline.
Example: your next trip to Italy.
Deadline is required.
In order to meet your deadline, you need to commit extra hours/week.

Yes! If you follow the plan, you'll be speaking Italian at Advanced level by .

Intensive
Intensive

In the intensive plan, you commit 2 hours per day.

Diversify your study activities to cover all the language skills that you need: speaking, listening, writing, and reading.

Even though you could argue that more your study, the faster you learn, I wouldn't recommend studying more than a couple of hours a day because the gain from extra time gradually gets smaller.

At the end of this form, you'll get a detailed weekly plan with all the study activites you need to reach your goal. 100% free!

Regular
Intensive

With a regular plan, you practice 1 hour a day, every day.

Taking 2 live 1-on-1 lessons per week with a qualified teacher or an experienced native tutor is a good pace to practice speaking and get feedback.

This plan is the closest to the one I follow myself and I can assure that you'll make steady progress.

At the end of this form, you'll get a detailed weekly plan with all the study activites you need to reach your goal. 100% free!

Free
Intensive

There's plenty of free resources online to make the free plan viable.

You need to substitute paid 1-on-1 tutoring with language exchange with native speakers or find other venues to practice speaking. This can be time-consuming and you need to make up for lack of guidance with self-study.

At the end of this form, you'll get a detailed weekly plan with all the study activites you need to reach your goal. 100% free!

Get your results

You're almost there!

After you submit this form, you'll receive the results in your mailbox and will see the study schedule based on your level and the plan that you selected.

These questions below are not used to create your study plan, but I'd love to know more to make my service more relevant to you!

What's your reason for learning Italian? is required.
How long have you been studying Italian? is required.
What are you struggling with? is required.
Gender is required.
Your first name is required.
You'll receive the results together with my best free resources to learn faster. You may opt out at any time.

1000s of happy learners on their way to fluency

If you complete Babbel Italian, you can expect to be at or close to a B1 level of proficiency. This means it won’t make you fluent, but it will leave you with a functional level and the knowledge you need to structure your sentences.

However, if you have a high level of Italian, we don’t recommend it. This is simply because Babbel doesn’t offer advanced lessons.

Even though Babbel uses audio recordings from real native speakers, it won’t help you much with your pronunciation since there are not enough speaking exercises.

Babbel review italian course 1

Duolingo Review

Duolingo is one of the most popular language-learning apps, and this is probably because it offers 37 language courses and it’s free.

Duolingo is a very entertaining and fun app. It’s basically like a game that tracks your progress and weakest words to keep you motivated.

Everything is very visual. You learn new words and phrases with lots of visual revision reminders.

However, language learning isn’t exactly like playing a game. So although Duolingo can be very fun, it won’t give you all the tools you need to learn a language.

Duolingo won’t teach how to communicate in Italian or how to understand a native speaker.

If that’s what you’re looking for, you’ll be disappointed with Duolingo.

Duolingo review Italian

Babbel vs. Duolingo: what are the differences?

Both language learning apps offer basic grammar and vocabulary lessons for all their languages. However, Babbel has a stronger focus on conversation phrases.

This is what pushes certain users to go premium with Babbel.

On the other side, Duolingo focuses on grammar and sentence structure, whereas Babbel has a more straightforward approach to teaching you the language with easy explanations.

However, lessons on Duolingo aren’t always structured in the most logical order and don’t really focus on useful language, in fact, you’ll find lots of nonsensical sentences.

Duolingo features flashy and colorful images which are more suited for children and younger learners. Babbel’s doesn’t have as many features to keep you motivated.

This is because Babbel’s design is oriented towards more serious adult learners who want a more straightforward approach to language learning without extra gamification.

Also, Babbel teaches cultural tips about Italy — like regional differences — instead of just vocabulary and how to use words in sentences, whereas Duolingo ignores cultural context.

So, in a few words, if you’re looking for something easy and fun to start with, go for Duolingo. If you want to learn in a more serious way, give Babbel a go.

Babbel vs Duolingo 1
Babbel vs. Duolingo: difference in terms of price

This is a big difference between Babbel and Duolingo. While Babbel has a simple monthly subscription model, where users pay a flat fee to gain access to its language courses, Duolingo is 100% free.

However, Duolingo’s free version is supported by displaying ads in the app, which can be distracting for learners. On the other hand, Babbel offers an entirely ad-free experience, keeping the focus on learning.

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With Babbel, you can subscribe either with a one-month plan for $12.95, a three-month plan for $26.85, six months for $44.70, or a yearly subscription for $83.40.

So, Babbel subscription prices range between $7 and $13 a month, depending on the subscription length purchased.

You might be wondering how Duolingo gets financed. Well, as we mentioned earlier, it gets money with advertising campaigns; it also sells words translated by users to big corporations.

It gets financed thanks to certification tests which cost around $20, and, finally, with a paid subscription where premium users get an ad-free experience with offline access.

Babbel review Italian 1

An alternative to Babbel and Duolingo

A great alternative if you really want to learn Italian is Ripeti Con Me.

Ripeti Con Me will make you think in Italian.

Basically, you will improve your Italian just by listening and repeating sentences, meaning your listening skills will get better, as well as your pronunciation.

As you listen to the course, you will notice small changes in the sentences. You may not notice the changes at first, but you’ll soon realize that just by listening, your Italian is improving.

All it takes is 20 minutes every day, and you’ll start thinking in Italian in just a few days.

And the great thing is that you can start a 7-day free trial!

Why not give it a go?

Best Italian course 1

Still translating in your head? Wanna speak Italian for real? Check out Stefano's courses to think directly in Italian and become fluent fast!

FAQs on Babbel vs Duolingo for Learning Italian: Review

Can you learn Italian with app?

Yes, there are many apps available that can help you learn Italian. Some of the most popular ones include Duolingo, Babbel, Rosetta Stone, Think in Italian, and Busuu.

What app is better for learning Italian, Babbel or Duolingo?

Both Babbel and Duolingo are popular language learning apps for Italian. If you prefer a more structured and grammar-focused approach to learning, Babbel may be a better choice. On the other hand, if you prefer a more gamified and immersive approach, Duolingo may be a better fit.

What is an alternative for Babbel and Duolingo for learning Italian?

An alternative for learning Italian is Ripeti Con Me. It's an Italian language-learning program that focuses on improving your listening and speaking skills by teaching through repetition. It's designed to help you think in Italian and improve your pronunciation.

Stefano

Italian language tutor, course author, and polyglot. After learning 12 languages, I can tell you that we all master languages by listening and mimicking. With my method, you'll be speaking Italian from Lesson 1.

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