Babbel is a language app with short lessons built around real-life conversations, made by language experts. Bubblegum is an app for reading and listening, where Poppy, an AI tutor, writes about topics you pick at a level you can mostly follow, and saved words turn up again later.
How Babbel and Bubblegum Compare
The biggest difference is what a lesson is. In Babbel it's a guided set of exercises, and in Bubblegum it's a whole conversation or story to read and hear.
| Bubblegum | Babbel | |
|---|---|---|
| How you learn | Poppy writes lessons, stories, and news at your level, and you read and listen | Short lessons around everyday dialogues, with grammar explained along the way |
| How words come back | Regenerative Review™: saved words return inside new lessons | Reviews use spaced repetition, and mistakes come back for more practice |
| Phone apps | iPhone and Android | iPhone and Android |
| On the web | Free guides and alphabet courses | Lessons at babbel.com |
| Languages | 60 | 14, counting English |
| Menu languages | 74 | 9 on its iPhone listing |
Babbel's language count comes from the questions at the end of its Babbel Method page, and its menu count from its App Store listing. Bubblegum teaches the 60 languages shown on this page, and its language picker offers 74.
Which App Fits Which Learner
Bubblegum
Bubblegum is the best app for serious learners. You learn from text and audio you can mostly understand, which is called comprehensible input.
Say you're planning a trip to Lisbon. Tell Poppy, your AI tutor, and she writes a lesson about it at your level, like asking for directions or ordering lunch. You read it, listen to it, and ask her about any line you don't follow.
The trade-off is that Bubblegum doesn't lay out a path for you, and it isn't a person to talk with. For a guided course with speaking drills, Babbel is the better fit.
- Poppy writes each lesson for your level, about a topic you pick.
- You can hear every lesson, and there are stories and news to read too.
- Tap a word to see what it means, or ask Poppy why a sentence works the way it does.
- Saved words come back inside new lessons through Regenerative Review™, so there's no deck to drill.
- Clear, expressive AI voices read every lesson aloud, with a different voice for each speaker.
- There's no set course that runs from the first lesson to the last.
- Your own books, articles, and videos can't be brought in.
- A new custom lesson costs us real money to make, so your first one is free, and Bubblegum Pro gives you unlimited custom lessons. The lesson library is free for everyone, because we believe everyone should be able to learn.
- Regenerative Review™
Mobile
Babbel
Babbel's courses are made by more than 200 language experts, its site says, and a typical lesson takes about six minutes. Its app also says lessons are written for speakers of your language, so an English speaker learning Spanish gets different lessons than a French speaker does. It suits learners who want a clear path and lots of chances to speak.
- Each lesson is built around a real-life situation, with phrases you can use right away.
- Speech recognition helps with pronunciation, and Babbel Speak is an AI partner you can talk with.
- Lessons follow the CEFR, a common scale that runs from A1 to C2, so you can see how far along you are.
- A placement test helps you find where to start.
- Flashcards
MobileWeb
Choose Babbel if:
- You want a course where each short lesson is built around a real-life situation.
- You'd like to practice speaking out loud, with feedback on your pronunciation.
- You enjoy extras such as Babbel's podcasts and grammar tips.
Choose Bubblegum if:
- You want every lesson to be about something you care about, at a level you can mostly follow.
- You'd rather meet saved words again in new reading than drill them on their own.
- You want a language that isn't among Babbel's 14, such as Japanese, Korean, or Mandarin.
Using Both Together
The two can work side by side. A Babbel lesson gives you the phrases for one situation, and a Bubblegum lesson on the same topic gives you a longer conversation to read and hear. Fit a few sessions of each into your week, at your own pace.
Common Questions
Which app should a beginner choose?
If you are serious about learning a language, start with Bubblegum. Poppy writes lessons at your level about things you like. Or start with Babbel if you'd like a placement test and a course that picks up at your level.
Does Bubblegum teach grammar?
Yes, inside the lessons. Each lesson comes with grammar notes, and you can ask Poppy about any sentence to hear why it's built that way. You learn the rule from a sentence you just read.
Is Bubblegum free?
Yes. The lesson library is free for everyone, because we believe everyone should be able to learn. It holds lessons that other learners asked Poppy for. A new custom lesson costs us real money to make, so your first one is free, and Bubblegum Pro gives you unlimited custom lessons.
Sources
- Babbel: Courses, free first lessons and the languages it teaches
- Babbel: The Babbel Method, lesson length, CEFR levels and spaced repetition
- Babbel: iPhone App Store listing
- Babbel: Learn on Android or iOS
- Bubblegum: Every language you can learn
- Bubblegum
Checked on October 14, 2026 against each app's own pages.
