Rosetta Stone teaches with its Dynamic Immersion method, and its newest app, Rosetta Stone Sapphire, adds Chat Missions for conversation practice, flashcard sets, and Sapphire Studio. Bubblegum is a language app for reading and listening, where Poppy, an AI tutor, writes each lesson at your level about something you care about and brings your saved words back in new lessons.
How Rosetta Stone and Bubblegum Compare
Rosetta Stone gives you a full set of tools around one course, and Bubblegum focuses on lessons to read and hear.
| Bubblegum | Rosetta Stone | |
|---|---|---|
| How you learn | Poppy writes lessons, stories, and news at your level, and you read and listen | Short immersion lessons in reading, writing, listening, and speaking |
| How words come back | Regenerative Review™: saved words return inside new lessons | Flashcard sets on more than 500 topics to practice with |
| Human tutors | No | Coaching from Rosetta Stone certified tutors |
| Phone apps | iPhone and Android | iPhone and Android |
| On the web | Free guides and alphabet courses | A web platform comes with the subscription |
| Languages | 60 | 25 |
| Menu languages | 74 | 6 on its iPhone listing |
Rosetta Stone's 25 languages and its menu count both come from the Rosetta Stone Sapphire App Store listing. For Bubblegum, 60 languages are listed on its Learn page, with menus in 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.
Imagine you've just moved to a new city. Ask Poppy, your AI tutor, for a lesson about finding an apartment or meeting your neighbors, and she writes one at your level. You read it, play the audio, and stop to ask her about anything you don't understand.
The trade-off is that Bubblegum has no human tutor and no fixed course. For an immersion course and coaching from a tutor in one place, Rosetta Stone is the better fit.
- Poppy writes lessons for your level about whatever you tell her you'd like to read.
- Each lesson has audio, and stories and news are there when you want something new.
- Look up any word with a tap, and ask Poppy about lines that don't make sense yet.
- When you save a word, Regenerative Review™ works it into fresh lessons, so reviewing is reading.
- Clear, expressive AI voices read every lesson aloud, with a different voice for each speaker.
- There are no human tutors or live classes.
- It can't turn your own books or articles into lessons.
- 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
Rosetta Stone Sapphire
Rosetta Stone has taught languages for more than 30 years, its App Store listing says. Its lessons can be as short as five minutes, and they build skills through what it calls Dynamic Immersion. It suits learners who want one place for a course, speaking practice, and help from a tutor.
- TruAccent, its speech recognition, gives you feedback on your pronunciation right away.
- Chat Missions let you practice conversations in dozens of real-life scenarios.
- Sapphire Studio has tools to make your own learning activities on any topic.
- One subscription covers every lesson in all 25 of its languages.
- Flashcards
MobileWeb
Choose Rosetta Stone if:
- You want an immersion course that builds reading, writing, listening, and speaking together.
- You'd like instant feedback on your pronunciation.
- You'd like coaching from a Rosetta Stone certified tutor.
Choose Bubblegum if:
- You want lessons written around your level and your interests.
- You'd like an AI tutor who answers your questions about any line.
- You want a language Rosetta Stone doesn't list, such as Thai, Cantonese, or Indonesian.
Using Both Together
You can pair them. Rosetta Stone's lessons and tutors help you build and say the basics, and Bubblegum gives you more to read and hear at your level. Split your study week between them in whatever way fits your schedule.
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 Rosetta Stone if you'd like an immersion course that has you speaking from the first lesson.
Does Bubblegum have stories and news too?
Yes. Besides the lessons Poppy writes for you, Bubblegum has stories and news written at your level. They give you something new to read even when you don't have a topic in mind.
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
- Rosetta Stone: Lessons, Chat Missions, flashcards, Sapphire Studio and tutoring
- Rosetta Stone Sapphire: iPhone App Store listing
- Rosetta Stone Sapphire: Google Play listing
- Bubblegum: Every language you can learn
- Bubblegum
Checked on October 14, 2026 against each app's own pages.
