History
The company was founded in August 2007 by Thomas Holl, Toine Diepstraten, Lorenz Heine and Markus Witte. [7] [8] In January 2008, the language learning platform went online with community features as a free beta version. [9]
In March 2013, Babbel acquired San Francisco startup PlaySay Inc. to expand into the United States. [10] [11] As part of the acquisition, PlaySay's founder and CEO joined Babbel as a strategic advisor. [12] Later that year, a third funding round led by Scottish Equity Partners raised another $22 million. [13] [14] Other participants in this round include previous investors Reed Elsevier Ventures, Nokia Growth Partners, [15] and VC Fonds Technology Berlin. [16] [17]
In response to increased migration to Europe, Babbel provided German courses worth one million euros for refugees in 2015. However, these courses could only be used with English or French as the starting language, as no courses with Arabic as the base language had been developed. [18]
According to the company, Babbel recorded up to 5,000 new registrations per hour in 2016. At that time, the apps were downloaded up to 120,000 times per day. [18]
In 2019, co-founder Markus Witte stepped down as CEO and was replaced by Arne Schepker. [19] In March 2020, a works council was elected in the Berlin office. [20] During the COVID-19 pandemic, Babbel saw a significant increase in demand. In 2022, revenue rose by 31% compared to the previous year, reaching 250 million euros. [21]
In March 2022, Babbel provided free access codes to Ukrainian refugees, allowing those with prior knowledge of languages offered by Babbel to learn relevant languages such as German, Polish, and English. [22] Also in May 2022, Babbel launched an Ukrainian interface for Ukrainian speakers to learn German, Polish, and English for free. [23]
In February 2023, Babbel was awarded the "CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) Silver Anthem Award for Humanitarian Action & Services" for its efforts to help displaced people affected by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. [24] At the time, over 500,000 Ukrainians accessed Babbel courses under the program. [25]
In 2023, Babbel acquired Toucan (a language-learning browser extension). At the time, it had around 1000 full-time employees and freelancers. [4] In October 2024, Markus Witte returned as CEO. [26]
Since 2023, Babbel has been gradually integrating AI-based features into its platform. Initially, the app introduced "Everyday Conversations", in which learners practice set dialogues while the AI evaluates their pronunciation. In 2024 the company launched a beta version of the "Conversation Coach", a generative AI tool designed to simulate realistic dialogues and allow learners to practice speaking in a foreign language. [27] In September 2025 this became "Babbel Speak". [28]
In June 2025, Tim Allen became CEO [29] while Markus Witte became Chairman of the Supervisory Board. [30]
Corporate structure
Babbel is a product of Babbel GmbH in Berlin. Babbel GmbH is headquartered in Berlin and has an office in New York. In 2023, the company generated €330 million in revenue and sold over 16 million subscriptions. [31] Since its founding, Babbel has sold more than 25 million subscriptions. [29]
The United States is Babbel's largest single market. Spanish, French, and Italian are among the most popular languages there, while German ranks fourth, according to the company. A third of the business now comes from corporate customers, for whom industry-specific learning packages are developed. [32]
Business model
Babbel was initially conceived as an advertising-financed platform, but switched to a subscription model in 2009. Since then, users have been paying per month for access to courses in their browser or via an app. According to the company, more than half of subscribers renew their subscription after one year. The business model thus differs from other early online offerings, which relied more heavily on advertising financing or community concepts. [6]
Originally, Babbel incorporated a community-oriented structure that was designed to enable learners to connect with one another. This concept proved unsuccessful, as learning pairs or groups were rarely formed. As a result, the company shifted its approach to individual learning supported by structured exercises. [6]
In addition to individual customers, Babbel increasingly targets corporate clients that purchase language training packages for their employees. [21]
Products and services
Core app experience
Babbel offers courses in 14 languages, which can be learned from seven source languages, making more than 130 language combinations possible. The platform contains over 60,000 lessons and around 13,000 hours of learning content. [32]
Available languages as of 2025: [5]
- Danish
- Dutch
- English
- French
- German
- Indonesian
- Italian
- Norwegian
- Polish
- Portuguese
- Russian
- Spanish (Latin American or European)
- Swedish
- Turkish
The courses are designed as short units that can be completed on the go or at home. They include tasks such as filling in words, repeating phrases, and following dialogues, with a particular focus on everyday topics rather than extended grammar exercises. Users can progress from beginner to advanced levels, with content co-developed by in-house and freelance language professionals. [6] [18] [33]
Vocabulary is stored in a "revision manager", which adapts review frequency based on learners’ performance. [6] [18] Pronunciation practice is supported with speech recognition software. [6] [33]
Babbel also offers Babbel Speak, an AI-based voice training feature introduced in 2025. It is designed for beginners and offers guided speaking exercises through real-life scenarios and dialogues and includes 28 scenarios per language combination, such as ordering coffee, calling a friend, or describing the weather. The tool provides feedback to help users improve pronunciation and fluency. [34]
Babbel for Business
In addition to language courses for private users, Babbel also offers corporate language training under Babbel for Business. The program includes online group classes with certified teachers, which can be attended both in the office and when working from home. It is aimed at companies seeking to improve the language skills of their employees in a professional context. [35]
Academic studies
Research has indicated that language-learning applications can produce measurable learning outcomes due to their accessibility and structured content. A study conducted by linguists at Yale University on behalf of Babbel reported that English-speaking users in the United States were able to communicate in Spanish after three months of study with Babbel. [36] The study examined 117 U.S.-based learners who used the app for around twelve weeks and completed an average of 110 lessons. It found that most participants reached proficiency levels within the ACTFL Novice range, with some attaining Intermediate. More than half of the participants were over 55 years old, a demographic rarely included in second language acquisition research. The study identified a positive correlation between app use and progress in spoken Spanish. [37]
A separate study by the City University of New York and the University of South Carolina concluded that learners without prior knowledge of Spanish achieved outcomes comparable to a full college semester after 15 hours of study with Babbel. [38] [39]
A study conducted by linguists at Michigan State University examined 85 undergraduate students who used Babbel to learn Spanish over a twelve-week period, of whom 54 completed the full program. Nearly all completers showed measurable improvements in oral proficiency, grammar, or vocabulary. The outcomes correlated with study time: among participants who studied for at least ten hours, 96 % improved their grammar and vocabulary knowledge and 73 % improved their speaking ability. [40]
Industry representatives state that providers such as Babbel complement traditional language schools, but do not replace them. [32] Language educators such as Jochen Plikat have noted that apps can be useful for beginners or as a supplement to classroom instruction or tandem learning, but warn against unrealistic expectations of rapid progress. The effectiveness of such tools depends heavily on individual learning styles. [36]
