Pimsleur Vs Babbel: What the Difference Between Them

Similar to numerous other websites like Duolingo, Babbel and Pimsleur provides courses for teaching yourself a variety of new languages.

However, each language learning platform has a distinct focus when it comes to the details on how these languages are taught.

They both have beautiful designs, offer fantastic value for the money, and offer instruction of the highest caliber.

However, they both provide the user various experiences which are very different from one another.

It can be difficult to know between these platforms you should choose.

In this article, we are going to compare Pimsleur vs Babbel against one another and see who comes out on top.

Babbel Overview

Babbel is the original app of its sort, which was first established back in 2007.

According to its claims, it is the best language learning software available, and Fast Startup magazine named it the most innovative company in the field of education.

After pursuing the US market, they recently passed the 10 million user threshold as well.

When it comes to its main features, Babel includes the following:

• There are 14 available languages, ranging from German to Indonesian.
• 10 to 15-minute lessons.
• Lessons on many subjects to assist you in all aspects of your life.
• Program for recognizing speech.
• Dialogue coach.
• Exceptional audio quality.
• User-friendly interface.
• Outstanding review functionality.
• Synchronization of your progress across all of your devices.

Pimsleur Overview

Pimsleur is another renowned name in the language learning world.

The Pimsleur method—which the company originally developed in 1963—follows a more audio-based approach to language learning.

Pimsleur was founded by linguist Dr. Paul Pimsleur. The course was promoted more to individuals who might learn while on the go.

Such as while doing chores or driving to work. This is because it is a more audio-based learning method.

Some of the key features that you will find with Pimsleur are as follows:

• 50 distinct languages are available.
• Prompts to help you remember to finish your lessons.
• 30-minute lessons with an audio learning emphasis.
• Conversation preparation through role-playing with transcripts.
• You may still view the lessons offline using streaming and downloads.
• All lessons flow together seamlessly and don’t have any significant differences.
• Lessons in reading have been designed for those people who are constantly moving.
• Quick rounds for improved retention.
• Digital flashcards to aid in lesson review.
• After each section, unique badges are given.

Plans And Prices

Both Babbel and Pimsleur both have their own pricing structures and plans.

It is important that you are aware of both to see which one will suit your budget better.

Babbel

When it comes to Babbel, there are four different plans that you can join with. These include:

• 1-Month Plan – $10.50
• 3-Month Plan – $31
• 6-Month Plan – $63
• 12-Month Plan – $126

However, you want to keep a close eye out for sales and reductions. Babbel frequently provides special offers and discounts.

If you don’t want to sign a long-term contract, you can choose these monthly subscriptions instead of the Babbel annual subscription.

Babbel also offers you a free trial, to ensure you like the site. There is also a 20-day money-back guarantee as well.

Pimsleur

With Pimsleur they have fewer plans for you to choose from. Their plans are #the following:

• Pimsleur Premium Plan – $19.95 a month
• Pimsleur All Access Plan – $20.95 a month

You will have admission to every language if you choose the All Access Plan.

The languages are easily changeable, if you want to change which language you are learning.

Additionally, you will receive all the benefits included in the Premium plan. A 7-day free trial is also available.

It seems that Babbel is a more reasonably priced choice in terms of cost.

Nevertheless, it’s crucial to check what each membership includes. So let’s examine the features and content of each platform.

Features And Structure

Babbel and Pimsleur may do the same thing, which is teach people languages. Yet, they both do it in different ways. We will see how they differ below.

Babbel

Babbel is among the most widely used language-learning apps. Basically, Babbel is a collection of quick courses, drills, and exercises.

It includes repeating words, fill-in-the-blank tasks, flashcards, grammatical lectures, and more. It contains traces of everything you need.

Babbel’s lessons last around 10 to 15 minutes on average.

As a result, the app will assist you in incorporating learning languages into your everyday routine, which is crucial.

After all, the purpose of language learning applications is to facilitate rapid language learning.

Anywhere, at any moment, you can learn. You may learn every day with Babbel’s bite-sized lessons.

Danish, German, Turkish, French, Swedish, Russian, Norwegian and Italian are among the 14 languages that Babbel now offers.

Subjects and more specialized courses are created for each language. In addition, you can select a learning path that works for you.

Although, you can modify it at any time if you change your mind. You will get access to all the language-learning courses with the Babbel subscription.

Natural dialogues, cultural views, native pronunciation, and tried-and-true cognitive processes are the core components of the Babbel approach.

You can improve your conversational abilities by using Babbel.

Additionally, the platform emphasizes cultural information, useful vocabulary, and grammar.

However, it won’t bore you with detailed explanations of grammar points. Babbel uses grammar in a very tasteful, understandable way.

There is also Babbel Live if you want to have live virtual classes in addition to vocabulary and grammar.

You can participate in live group lessons and learn in a fun and effective setting.

Pimsleur

There are several similarities in the structure and format. With Pimsleur, audio exercises and tutorials are a part of the program.

There are reading exercises, speed games, flashcards, tests, and other things to help you on your language learning journey.

However, Pimsleur’s lessons are a little bit longer. You’ll need about 30 minutes to finish them. Most lessons begin with audio exercises.

You will be guided through a native dialogue by a moderator who will explain everything. Therefore, it resembles a guided dialogue.

The moderator will begin to fade out more and more as you go along on the course.

The gradual interval recall element of the Pimsleur Method is crucial.

It is a powerful memory method that relies on remembering new words at regular intervals.

Pimsleur is concentrated on fundamental vocabulary and natural learning. Each new word or idea is introduced in the context of a dialogue or exchange.

Additionally, they took care not to overwhelm you with lots of information at once.

Language Levels

When starting to learn a new language, it can be difficult to know where to begin. Both of these platforms have different levels for you to master.

Babbel

If you decide to start a language from the beginning, you will be placed in the “Newcomer” level.

Here you must finish three courses before moving on to the next level.

Although, if you have some experience with the language, you can choose which level you start at.

Overall, there are 7 different levels to complete to fully master the language.

You may undertake placement tests if you’re unsure of the class or level you’re in. This will make it clear which stage you are already at.

Then, Babbel will then place you in the course they believe is best for you.

Each level is built of a number of courses, each of which is divided into a number of lessons.

Then each lesson includes a number of smaller, linked activities.

Pimsleur

You’ll decide which stage you would like to begin learning at after selecting the language you wish to learn.

The majority of languages contain five levels. However, some languages have fewer levels than others.

Each level, which progresses from beginner to advanced, consists of 30 lessons, each lasting 30 minutes. One session a day is intended to be completed.

You’ll discover that listening to their audio lessons takes up the majority of your time on Pimsleur.

The sessions are quite engaging, allowing you to take part in the discussion and improve your speaking abilities.

The “instructor” provides numerous explanations, and you also hear from speakers who are both male and female.

Interface

It is important that the interface on both of these platforms are easy to use. This will make signing up and learning a lot easier.

Babbel

The user experience on Babbel’s UI is incredibly well-thought-out, making learning a new language easy and straightforward.

Although, the speech recognition software is a bit clumsy and could use some work.

Yet, reviews have been positive and users have reported that after 3 months of daily classes, they have been fully able to communicate with native speakers.

There aren’t many cutting edge features that are meant to blow you away, but the interface works well.

Pimsleur

Pimsleur’s user interface has a pretty sleek, organized feel about it.

The audio quality is excellent, and the directions on the screen and in the visuals are both quite clear.

It could be criticized, though, for being too basic and lacking in immersion.

However, this isn’t a huge drawback and doesn’t put people off from using this learning platform.

Support

It is also important to have a reliable support team that you can use if things happen to go wrong, or you have any queries.

Babbel

Babbel’s help center is well organized and offers a variety of options for assistance.

In case you need to, they also provide links on their site that will take you to an online form rather than their direct email address.

They also offer the Babbel magazine if you’re searching for any extra details on Babbel, assistance with starting up, or more knowledge about the languages you want to study.

There are numerous articles on this website on learning languages, discovering new cultures, and getting the most out of life.

Hence, Babbel tries to cover everything you may need. Their articles and advice are in depth and contain up-to-date knowledge.

Pimsleur

There isn’t a custom support landing page provided by Pimsleur. However, there are a number of links that are intended to provide users help.

These include the Contact Us and Frequently Asked Questions buttons that are shown on their website.

If you absolutely must get in touch with them, calling their phone number will be the most effective route to take.

This is because operators are always on duty to answer the phone.

Main Differences Between Pimsleur And Babbel

Now we know more about both of these platforms.

To make everything easier, we have collected the main differences that set these two learning language platforms apart.

Babbel focuses on grammar and writing skills in addition to oral and auditory instruction.

Whereas, Pimsleur places a strong emphasis on spoken language skills, which aid learners in developing their conversational abilities.

Grammar drills and writing assessments are part of Babbel’s overall approach to language instruction. Although, these are often overlooked in Pimsleur.

Babbel offers shorter session lengths than Pimsleur, which may be too long for rapid learners. Babbel’s classes are only half an hour.

However, in addition to this, there are a lot more languages to learn on Pimsleur than Babbel

Pimsleur is more rapid-fire and only cycles back for testing. Yet, Babbel is more focused on repetition, which may get extremely tiresome.

Conclusion

Everything ultimately boils down to your preferences and ambitions.

Both Babbel and Pimsleur are trustworthy, well-liked platforms that can advance your language abilities.

For instance, Pimsleur is more portable and adaptable, and it supports more languages.

Babbel is ideal if you want a more reasonably priced choice and shorter classes.

While Pimsleur tends to move more quickly, Babbel focuses on repetition and all the key language abilities.

In our opinion, Pimsleur or Babbel are both excellent choices. Thus, we hope this article has helped make your decision based on your needs.