Babbel Live Review: Are the Live Classes Really Worth It?

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Babbel is one of the best-known providers in the language-learning world. In addition to their course software and, more recently, language trips, Babbel now offers another new feature: Babbel Live, online language lessons with trained teachers. In this article, we explain what exactly is being offered, the cost of Babbel Live, and our initial impressions after a few trial runs!

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If you want more information about the main Babbel language program, check out our detailed review.

What Does Babbel Live Offer?

Currently, this online language instruction is available for English, Spanish, French, and Italian. More languages are on the way, and quite a bit has changed since Babbel Live launched. Initially, it was only for English. Your native language doesn’t matter because lessons are entirely conducted in the target language.

To begin, you pick your current proficiency: A1, A2, B1, B2, or C1—covering everything from beginner to advanced.

Then you can immediately book your lesson: from Monday to Friday, at least one session starts every hour, with occasional sessions on weekends. Each lesson lasts 60 minutes and always begins on the hour. The lesson is delivered via Zoom. Shortly before it starts, you simply join the Zoom meeting via Babbel, provided you have Zoom installed.

You can choose between 1-on-1 or group sessions with up to six people. The price varies, but the basic structure and topics are the same.

PS: Don’t be confused about the pictures – we tested Babbel Live starting from German to English as a target language. It works just the same if you‘re a native English speaker though, and it looks identical as well.

Which Topics Are Offered in Our Babbel Live Review?

Each Babbel Live lesson focuses on a single topic. There’s a wide range of subjects that vary significantly by language level. Some examples:

Our Experiences with Babbel Live

We took a few trial sessions at Babbel Live to see how good the lessons really are. We applied the latest research on effective (and ineffective) language teaching—read more in our article on what makes good or bad language classes!

What Is the Lesson Format?

Babbel’s language lessons come in small groups (up to 6 learners plus the teacher) or, more recently, as one-on-one sessions. In my lessons, we were always just 2-3 students with one teacher—maybe Babbel Live isn’t that popular yet, or I just got lucky.

However, I noticed that even with only 2 or 3 learners, 60 minutes felt tight—so the groups definitely shouldn’t get bigger. Alternatively, there’s 1-on-1, which is more expensive but 100% adapted to your skill level and needs, making it potentially more productive.

Typically, the class starts with a quick intro from the teacher. The learners introduce themselves as well, usually saying why they’re learning the language. Then we dive in: we look at a pre-set PowerPoint-style presentation that Babbel prepared (not the individual teachers). Some teachers follow it slide by slide, while others stray and adapt content to the group’s level and interests.

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Each slide poses multiple questions. For each slide, you move into a breakout room and discuss with a partner. The time for that was often quite short—especially for the more advanced C1-level topics, which can be complex and multilayered.

Additionally, you end up spending very little time with the teacher, listening more to your classmates’ mistakes than receiving direct attention for your own. That’s not very efficient and can get frustrating.

Besides the discussion questions, there’s usually one grammar slide that typically doesn’t relate to the topic itself beyond a few example sentences. So realistically, that’s the only part that’s truly “classical instruction” per the presentation—everything else is basically teacher-moderated discussion.

Like in School: Big Differences Among Individual Teachers

Interestingly, my best experiences were in classes where the teacher diverged from Babbel Live’s slides. One teacher skillfully tied the lesson topic to me and another student’s jobs and interests. They adjusted the grammar exercise and gave each of us tasks tailored to our specific language levels.

That was not only the most beneficial Babbel Live session I had but also the most fun. So, just like a regular classroom, it all depends heavily on the instructor. Babbel tries to mitigate this with standardized presentations, but it can backfire. Those slides are like assembly-line tasks that leave little flexibility—and if your teacher sticks to them too rigidly, you might get little out of the lesson.

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Fortunately, Babbel Live shows you the teacher’s name before booking each lesson. However, you may have to test several teachers to find the right style. In my experience, all teachers were friendly, but some used an outdated approach that wasn’t very rewarding (and sometimes not that fun).

Pricing: What Does Babbel Live Cost?

During Babbel’s 7-day free trial, you can take up to 5 lessons at no extra cost. You can choose whichever sessions you want, which is awesome. Definitely take advantage!

Outside of that, Babbel Live has a few subscription options, with a distinction between group classes and one-on-one sessions. A bonus: if you subscribe to Babbel Live, you automatically get the entire Babbel course for that language at no extra charge!

Here are the unlimited monthly group lesson packages:

If you want one-on-one lessons, it’s a bit pricier, but group sessions are also included, so you can schedule unlimited single or group sessions.

Given you can take unlimited lessons per month, the price is fair—provided you actually use it often, ideally several sessions a week, to get your money’s worth compared to other providers or in-person language schools.

It’s a pity they removed bundle deals. Both group and one-on-one plans used to offer 3-, 6-, or 12-month packages that slashed the monthly rate in half for an annual plan.

Alternatives to Babbel Live: Who Does It Better?

At this point, it’s clear Babbel Live hasn’t won us over. Here are some providers that offer significantly better, more effective online lessons. Naturally, we’ve tested them all thoroughly.

Lingoda – The Best Online Language School

For online language lessons, Lingoda sets the new gold standard. Similar to Babbel Live, you can easily schedule classes and attend from anywhere. Lingoda features a huge roster of instructors, levels, and themes—something for everyone! You can also pick one-on-one or group lessons, according to preference.

Lingoda’s intuitive interface and fair pricing seal the deal—especially their “Sprints” and “Marathon” offers, which stand out from the crowd. Far from lagging behind in-person classes, Lingoda’s flexibility is a real bonus.

Rosetta Stone – Success via Dynamic Immersion

Rosetta Stone addresses some of Babbel Live’s shortcomings. First, lessons are offered for all of their languages, unlike Babbel Live’s limited set of four. Also, Rosetta Stone’s virtual sessions are aligned with course content, so you can focus on your exact level and target specific trouble spots.

What we wish Rosetta Stone would add is one-on-one lessons. They only do group sessions at the moment, whereas many competitors do both. Check out our in-depth experiences with their virtual classroom!

italki & Preply – Find Your Own Private Teacher

italki and Preply let you choose a personal language teacher. The advantages are clear: the teacher can get to know you over time and build on prior lessons, and in a 1-on-1 setting, you get immediate feedback on your mistakes.

That leads to a much higher learning impact than Babbel Live’s current model. The downside: basically anyone can offer lessons on these sites, so you may have to try a few teachers to find the right fit. Public reviews and detailed tutor profiles help you decide.

Bonus Tip: Self-Study Alongside Live Lessons

You can easily supplement virtual classroom lessons with a good self-study program, especially if your learning style prefers more solo practice. This can really enhance your progress.

To save you from searching endlessly, we’ve compiled a practical overview of the top-rated and most popular language courses in a price comparison. We also share tips on maximizing your budget.

Speaking of saving: learning languages doesn’t need to cost a fortune. Here are some great coupons and deals to kick-start your language journey on a budget. You’ll find lots of innovative concepts there too—don’t miss it!

Conclusion: Did Babbel Live Convince Us?

Babbel Live has improved a lot since its initial release. They now offer optional one-on-one lessons, and the pricing is quite fair. We definitely recommend the 1-on-1 sessions because group classes aren’t always as effective.

Like traditional classes, the experience is heavily dependent on the teacher, and the set materials aren’t particularly educational. More importantly, they don’t tie into the core Babbel app content. Sometimes you’ll end up in breakout rooms just talking with other learners, while the teacher is MIA, which makes us question the point of paying for live lessons.

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Especially for beginners, it can be confusing to spend an hour listening to other (possibly weaker) learners’ mistakes. At C1-level, it’s downright annoying. However, Babbel Live can be handy for working on your speaking or just practicing discussion in English, for example. Based on our Babbel Live experiences, you won’t pick up much extra grammar.

We think 1-on-1 is much more worthwhile: you can home in on your own interests and skill gaps, truly getting your money’s worth. We also appreciate Babbel’s pricing structure: if you get a Babbel Live subscription, you also get full access to the (rather pricey) Babbel course at no extra cost. Nice!