Want to explore the world? How about diving into the life of foreign literature? Language learning opens new doors that can change your life forever. In this Babbel vs Mondly comparison, we review two popular language learning apps that can have a significant impact on your life.
People learn new languages to expand their knowledge beyond their native language, to experience local life when they travel, and to apply for new jobs. If you’re currently looking for a trustworthy app to improve your language skills, then you’ve come to the right place. Let’s see which of the two tools wins the “learn a language” app contest.
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Babbel Vs. Mondly: Two Learning Apps That Go a Long Way
Today, you don’t have to attend an actual class to learn a language. Whether you’re studying or working, you can learn a new language that adds value to your resume and helps you explore various opportunities.
Babbel and Mondly have some similarities, but they work differently. It’s quite common for a newbie to get confused when they’re looking for the best language app. However, we’ll clear all the confusion by telling you the good and the bad of each app.
Spanish is a prevalent language, and there are currently more than 572 million people who speak Spanish as their first or second language. If you’re looking for a job opportunity in Latin America, or are simply interested in Spanish literature, you can achieve your goals with the help of one of these apps.
Similarities Between Babbel and Mondly
Both platforms offer multiple languages to appeal to all language lovers. They’re relatively inexpensive and provide various learning option to help you get started.
By joining Babbel or Mondly, you’ll have access to lessons on multiple languages, including Spanish, French, Italian, German, Arabic, and Russian. There are other rarer languages that are exclusive to each platform.
Babbel Review
Babbel is an outstanding language learning app that is guaranteed to improve your vocabulary and pronunciation of the target language in the shortest time. There are currently 14 languages available, and for a subscription, you’ll gain access to various tools that will improve your knowledge about your target language.
This Germany-based app was launched in 2007 and in 2017 counted one million customers. There’s no live interaction as the app is curriculum-based. The website can be displayed in multiple languages, including English, French, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Swedish, and Spanish, and you can learn on any Android or iOS device.
Who is Babbel For?
If you’re a beginner with zero to little knowledge about the target language, then Babbel would definitely work for you. Its primary purpose is to improve your vocabulary and sentence structure, so you can start to make better use of the language.
Babbel is quite affordable, so it’s suitable for students, stay-at-home parents, and employees. All the content is pre-recorded, so you can also customize your online experience.
Unlike other language platforms, you can skip levels while using Babbel. Other platforms force you to start from the beginning until you reach the level that suits your skills. However, this is not the case with Babbel. You can start at any level if you feel that the current level is too basic or advanced for you.
Babbel will work for you in the following cases.
- If you’re a beginner and have no prior experience with your target language.
- You’re trying to learn a language like Spanish.
- You have some experience with the language like you’ve studied Spanish at school and want to refresh your memory but you don’t have too much time.
- You’re interested in understanding the grammar and sentence structure of the language.
- You’re busy and need pre-recorded content, so you can work according to your own pace.
How Does Babbel Work?
Babbel focuses on three aspects; teaching new vocabulary words, enhancing your grammar skills, and helping you build your sentences. If you are planning on livng in Latin America for work or study, for example, this will be one of the best choices for you. It doesn’t waste your time or effort over skills that you won’t use or need in real-life situations.
At the same time, Babbel will help you improve your conversational skills, so it’s a good choice if you’re planning to live in a foreign country. The website looks simple, but Babbel will teach you the 4 basic skills; reading, writing, speaking, and listening.
The content of each language is based on how popular it is. For example, users agree that the Spanish content is high-quality, so it’s a good choice if your target language is Spanish. Since Spanish is extremely popular, you’re likely to find beginner and more advanced levels. Less popular languages will only have basic content.
Babbel uses different types of open and closed exercises that aim at improving your use of the words, as you learn how to speak and write like a native speaker. However, there’s no live interaction with other learners or native speakers, so you can improve your conversational skills.
You can view the website from your laptop or smartphone, and you can practice your language during lunch break or while commuting. One lesson takes between 10 and 15 minutes and is quite effective at teaching a few things that you need to learn about your target language.
The quiz-styled lessons are designed to help reinforce new information. After being introduced to vocabulary or grammar items, you’ll keep on answering questions to help you practice the information learned.
For Spanish-language students, the app will teach you all about the verb conjugations. English speakers usually struggle with conjugations and the daily lessons will help get the message through.
The grammar rule is displayed and followed by multiple questions and exercises to help you practice. Moreover, the flashcards will help you practice various grammar lessons. When you’re focusing on vocabulary, you’ll get 7 or 8 words in each lesson and focus on their pronunciation and spelling, so things won’t be confusing.
How Much Does Babbel Cost?
Babbel has various pricing plans, so it caters to the needs of all users.
- A monthly subscription costs $12.95 charged every month.
- A 3-months subscription costs $26.85, which is equivalent to $8.95 per month.
- A 6-months subscription costs $44.70, which is equivalent to $7.45 per month.
- A 12-months subscription costs $83.40, which is equivalent to $6.95 per month.
What We Like About Babbel
- It’s a good choice for basic and intermediate-level learners.
- Courses include Latin American And Mexican Spanish topics
- The app is straightforward to use.
- Babbel will teach your vocabulary and grammar skills.
- You can skip levels.
- It’s affordable.
What We Don’t Like About Babbel
- The content isn’t suitable for more advanced students
- You might not be able to develop good conversational skills.
- Some languages don’t have a lot of advanced content.
Mondly Review
Mondly is a Romanian-based website that offers free and paid courses. There are currently 34 languages available on the website, and the app is available for Android and iOS users, with more than 50 million users in 190 countries.
Founded in 2014, Mondly is a well-established app that can help adults and kids. It uses chatbots and speech recognition technologies to help you master your target language. This platform is the closest app that you can find that resembles a real classroom. It starts with simple and basic lessons and then walks you through the language for more advanced learning.
The app claims that it can get you speaking fast enough by combining course material with augmented reality, and chatbots to help you master a language. If you’re practising Spanish, you don’t have to learn through English. You can combine any two languages to suit your needs, so a Russian native speaker will also be able to learn to speak Spanish fluently.
Who is Mondly For?
Mondly is a stress-free platform that you can customize based on your needs. There are lots of languages available on the platform, but some languages have more content than others.
The good thing about Mondly is that you don’t have to pay for the subscription if you’re not sure that it’s the right language app for you. The free version isn’t impressive, but it gives you a glimpse of what you can get when you upgrade to the premium version.
With multiple learning options, Mondly is one of the best tools for employees, students, stay-at-home parents, as well as their kids. It could be the right app for the whole family if you’re planning to move away from home.
Mondly may work for you in the following cases.
- You’re not sure that the learning app will work for you, and you’re not ready to pay for the subscription.
- You’ve picked a popular language like Spanish because of the larger body of content available.
- If you like to use multiple learning tools to assess your knowledge.
- You’re learning a foreign language with your family or colleagues.
How Does Mondly Work?
Mondly offers various ways to help you learn any new language. In addition to the main platform, Mondly offers other versions that you can make use of.
- Mondly Works is a special dashboard for businesses. It allows employers to track the progress of the employees if they’re trying to master a new skill for training purposes. It’s also a good choice if you’re trying to expand your business operations somewhere else.
- Mondly VR is a virtual reality immersion tool as it puts you in a simulated situation to help you practice the language. This feature may help you grasp the proper use of the words and sentences to express yourself in different real-life situations.
- Mondly AR uses the technology of augmented reality to show you animations of words, so you can practice how to use it better.
- MondlyKids is a special feature that works in the same way as the original Mondly app, but the illustrations used are more kids-friendly.
You can either download the app of Mondly or set up an account to get started. Setting up an account allows you to save and synchronize your data across multiple devices, so it’s a better option if you’re trying to learn Spanish for work or study purposes.
The app allows you to select your native language, the target language, and your level. Mondly doesn’t force you to go through the very basic levels; a waste of your time if you’ve already learned the basics.
There’s a tutorial that will show you the basic features of the app so you can find your way around. You can skip the subscription option until you’re ready to commit. The basic version of Mondly is free but has limited options, so it can only give you a hint of what you’ll learn once you commit to the app. If you’re really serious about learning a foreign language, you’ll have to pay the full subscription.
As you progress, you’ll unlock new daily lessons and a weekly test when you’ve completed all your lessons. The way Mondly works keeps students motivated because if you miss any daily lesson, you won’t have access to the weekly test.
With your paid account, you’ll unlock new vocabulary lessons, real-life situations, the sentences that can be used, and grammar skills. You can also complete other lessons in any order you like.
Every lesson starts with three stars, and when you make mistakes, you’ll lose a star. If you lose all your stars, you may start the lesson one more time. The way Mondly operates means that you may only move forward when you’ve actually mastered the skills studied in the lesson.
When you finish lessons with fewer mistakes, you’ll gain points that improve your position on the leaderboard and provide access to more lessons. The chatbot allows you to record your answers in simulated situations, so you can see how the language works. However, you might face some problems with translating some sentences and phrases, as the app doesn’t really dive into the core of the language.
How Much Does Mondly Cost?
You can use Mondly for free until you’re ready to upgrade to the premium version.
- A monthly subscription for one language costs $9.99.
- A yearly subscription for one language costs $47.99.
These prices fluctuate as Mondly will calculate the subscription fee in your currency. Mondly also offers a yearly subscription that grants you access to all languages on the platform. There are always special offers, discounts, and price plans available.
What We Like About Mondly
- Mondly uses different tools to keep you motivated.
- You don’t have to start at the basic level, so you can customize your learning experience.
- There are 34 different languages available on Mondly, and each one of them can be your source or target language.
- Mondly shows your progress, and how many lessons you’ve completed, so it keeps you motivated.
What We Don’t Like About Mondly
- Mondly’s content depends on each language. Less popular languages don’t have a lot of material available.
- Some of the features and tools aren’t available for all languages.
- The app is targeted towards basic or intermediate students at best.
- The free version has very limited options, so you may have to pay for the premium package if you want to see the full catalogue of lessons.
- More focus on vocabulary and less on grammar.
Babbel Vs. Mondly: The Final Verdict
There are multiple language learning apps available, and both Babbel and Mondly may work for you if you’re interested in learning Spanish for work or fun purposes. Although both apps offer some useful learning tools, we think that Babbel would be a better option.
Babbel doesn’t offer as many languages as Mondly, but the content is more advanced and this may help you master the language better. It combines vocabulary and grammar lessons to improve your skills faster.
Mondly will work if you’re a beginner because it’s engaging and easy to use. However, it won’t satisfy your needs if you’re more concerned about mastering the language for real-life situations.
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