Alternatives

The 6 best Babbel alternatives in 2026

Updated: October 2, 2026

We make Typeflu, one of the apps below, so weigh this accordingly. We checked prices and features on 2 October 2026, and we rank other apps above ours where they are the better choice.

Babbel is a solid, grammar-led course app, but it does not suit everyone. It has no Arabic interface, it teaches only Brazilian Portuguese, almost nothing in it is free, and on the US App Store it costs $17.99 a month. If one of those is your reason for looking elsewhere, these six apps are the best Babbel alternatives we found, ranked by how well they replace what Babbel does and who each one fits.

The picks

1 Busuu

Best for
A structured course like Babbel's, with an Arabic interface
Price
Free tier. Premium and Premium Plus are paid; prices vary by platform and country, so check busuu.com
How you practise
Grammar-led lessons, review, native-speaker corrections

Busuu is the closest thing to Babbel on this list. It teaches 14 languages, including English, Spanish and Arabic, with expert-designed lessons, grammar explanations and a review tool, and it says it offers more than 2,500 hours of content from A1 to C1. Two things set it apart from Babbel: its interface is available in Arabic, and native speakers in its community correct your written and spoken exercises. Premium adds certificates by McGraw Hill, and Premium Plus adds AI conversations and pronunciation feedback. The downsides: community feedback can take hours or days, many Trustpilot reviewers complain about billing and refunds, and its Portuguese is mainly Brazilian. Busuu is the better choice than Typeflu if you want a complete course with certificates.
Visit site: Busuu ↗
2 Duolingo

Best for
Learning for free, in Arabic or Spanish
Price
Free with ads and an energy limit. Super from about $12.99 a month in the US
How you practise
Short, game-like lessons with speaking and AI conversation

If Babbel's price is the problem, Duolingo is the obvious answer: every course is free, with ads and an energy system that limits how many lessons you can do in a row. It works in Arabic, with courses from Arabic in 10 languages including English, Spanish and Portuguese, and English from Spanish is its biggest course. Its main courses reach B2, and the Duolingo English Test is a cheap, widely accepted certificate at $70. You lose Babbel's careful grammar teaching, and many learners find the game takes over from the learning. Its Portuguese is Brazilian only. Duolingo is the better choice than Typeflu if you want a free app with many languages and some speaking practice.
Visit site: Duolingo ↗
3 italki

Best for
Live lessons with a tutor, as an alternative to Babbel Live
Price
Pay per lesson: community tutors about $4 to $15 an hour, professional teachers about $15 to $60
How you practise
One-to-one video lessons

Babbel Live puts you in a small group class. italki gives you a tutor of your own, and you pay per lesson with no subscription. It covers more than 150 languages, and you can filter for tutors from Portugal if you need European Portuguese, or for English tutors who speak Arabic and can explain things in your language. It is the best way on this list to practise real conversation. Quality depends on the tutor you choose, and the cost adds up if you take several lessons a week. Many learners pair a tutor with a cheaper app for daily practice.
Visit site: italki ↗
4 Typeflu Made by us

Best for
Arabic speakers who want to understand spoken English
Price
Free first lesson of every unit. Pro €7.50 a month or €49 a year in Europe, local prices elsewhere, half price in many countries
How you practise
Listen to real sentences and type them, with coaching in your language

Typeflu is our app, and it is not a full Babbel replacement. It does one thing in depth: you hear a real sentence in a natural voice, type it word by word, and get each mistake explained in Arabic, Spanish or English. It tags mistakes typical of your first language, such as p and b for Arabic speakers, builds Weak Spots lessons from them, and lets you turn your own text into a lesson with audio. Where it is strong is English for Arabic speakers: 31 courses from A1 to B2 and an IELTS prep course, with an Arabic interface Babbel lacks. It also teaches European Portuguese from Arabic, though only at A1. Outside those, the catalog is small (one A1 course each for Spanish speakers and English speakers), and it has no speaking practice, no tutors, no certificates and no store app.
Try Typeflu free
5 Pimsleur

Best for
Speaking practice while you drive or walk
Price
Free first lesson. Subscriptions from about $19.95 a month
How you practise
Audio-only lessons where you answer out loud

Pimsleur is the opposite of a screen-based app like Babbel or Typeflu: 30-minute audio lessons that prompt you to speak and recall phrases, so you can learn while commuting. It offers more than 50 languages for English speakers, including European Portuguese (Levels 1 and 2), and lessons can be downloaded for offline use. It is expensive, there is very little reading or writing, and its European Portuguese course stops early. Pick it over Typeflu if you want to learn hands-free, because Typeflu needs your eyes and hands.
Visit site: Pimsleur ↗
6 Mondly

Best for
Beginners who want any language taught from Arabic
Price
Free daily lesson. Premium about $10 to $12 a month, lifetime deals are common
How you practise
Short phrase lessons with speech recognition and a chatbot

Mondly teaches 41 languages and lets you learn any of them from any other, including from Arabic. So an Arabic speaker can start German or French with Arabic instructions, something neither Babbel nor Typeflu offers. Lessons are short and gamified, with speech recognition and a chatbot. It is fine for the first months, but it gets shallow past A2 and the drills become repetitive, so treat it as a starting point rather than a full course.
Visit site: Mondly ↗

At a glance

App	Best for	Price	Arabic interface	Typing from audio
Busuu	A full course like Babbel's	Free tier; paid plans vary by country	Yes	Not a core mode
Duolingo	Free learning	Free; Super from about $12.99/month (US)	Yes	One exercise type, not the core
italki	Live tutors	About $4 to $60 per lesson	Arabic-speaking tutors available	Up to the tutor
Typeflu	Arabic speakers, listening	€7.50/month or €49/year in Europe, half price in many countries	Yes	Yes, the whole method
Pimsleur	Hands-free speaking	From about $19.95/month	Not confirmed	No
Mondly	Any language from Arabic, beginners	Free daily lesson; Premium about $10 to $12/month	Yes	No

Why people look for a Babbel alternative

No Arabic. Babbel's interface comes in nine languages, and Arabic is not one of them.
Price. Babbel is mainly paid. On the US App Store it is $17.99 a month or $89.99 to $107.99 a year.
Brazilian Portuguese only. If you are moving to Portugal, Babbel will teach you the other accent.
Limited conversation. Some reviewers want more real speaking practice than the app gives, without paying for live classes.
Billing. Surprise auto-renewal charges are a common complaint on Trustpilot, even though Babbel's overall rating there is good.

None of this makes Babbel a bad app. If you study through English or Spanish and want a grammar-led course, it is still one of the best. See Typeflu vs Babbel for a direct comparison.

How we chose

Does it replace something Babbel does? A structured course, live teachers, or speaking practice.
Does it fix a Babbel gap? An Arabic interface, a free tier, European Portuguese, or a lower price.
Is it honest about price? We list prices from official pages, the App Store or 2026 reviews, and say when they vary by country.
Who is it really for? We ranked by how many Babbel users each app would suit, not by whether it is ours.

Who should skip Typeflu

Skip Typeflu if you want to speak and get pronunciation feedback, if you need a certificate, if you want a tutor, or if you want a long course in Spanish, French or German. Babbel, Busuu or a tutor on italki will serve you better. Typeflu is also typing-heavy, so it does not work for hands-free learning, and it is for ages 13 and up.

Which one should you pick?

You want Babbel, but with Arabic: Busuu for a full course, or Typeflu if listening is your weak spot.
You want to pay nothing: Duolingo.
You used Babbel Live and want more speaking: italki.
You are moving to Portugal: a tutor from Portugal on italki, Pimsleur's European Portuguese, or Typeflu's A1 courses if you speak Arabic. See the best Portuguese apps for Arabic speakers.
You are preparing for IELTS and speak Arabic: Typeflu's IELTS prep course, alongside official practice tests.
You commute a lot: Pimsleur.

We checked every price and feature on this page on October 2, 2026. Prices change and can differ by country, so confirm on each app's own site before you pay.

Questions

What is the best free alternative to Babbel?

Duolingo. Every course is free, with ads and an energy limit on how many lessons you can do in a row. Busuu and Mondly also have free tiers, and Typeflu's free plan gives you the first lesson of every unit, forever.

Is there a Babbel alternative in Arabic?

Yes. Busuu, Duolingo, Mondly and Typeflu all work with an Arabic interface. Typeflu explains your mistakes in Arabic and focuses on English up to B2 and IELTS. Busuu and Duolingo offer more languages.

Is Busuu better than Babbel?

They are similar: both are structured courses with grammar. Busuu adds an Arabic interface, native-speaker corrections and McGraw Hill certificates. Babbel has Babbel Live classes and is often praised for its grammar teaching. Pick the one whose interface language and price suit you.

Which Babbel alternative has live teachers?

italki and Preply let you book one-to-one tutors and pay per lesson or per week. Typeflu, Duolingo and Mondly have no live teachers.

Which alternative teaches European Portuguese?

Babbel, Duolingo and Busuu focus on Brazilian Portuguese. For Portugal, look at Pimsleur's European Portuguese, a tutor from Portugal on italki, or, if you speak Arabic, Typeflu's two A1 courses.

Try Typeflu free

Hear a real sentence, type what you hear and fix your own mistakes. The first lesson of every unit is free, no card needed.

Start free

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