Rocket Spanish vs Babbel: Which One is The Best For You?

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Learning Spanish can be challenging, but having the right tools at hand can make the process much easier. If you are looking for the best apps to add to your study routine, you might have heard about Rocket Spanish and Babbel. These two apps have complete language courses that can help you develop all the language skills you need to become fluent. But only one has everything you need to stay motivated and engaged, and that’s Babbel.

Editor’s Choice

Babbel Overview

Babbel has quick interactive lessons that can teach you Spanish from zero. With Babbel, you can improve your Spanish vocabulary, grammar, listening, speaking, and reading skills. 

Price $17.95/month

Free trial 1 Lesson

Try Babbel

People compare Rocket Spanish to Babbel because both are popular language-learning apps that have extensive Spanish language courses to help you study the language from the basics. But, there are important differences between them that can make one better than the other. In this article, we’ll look at how both apps work, their pros and cons, and tell you which has what you are looking for.

Rocket Spanish vs Babbel: A Quick Breakdown

Rocket Spanish and Babbel both have complete courses you can use to develop your Spanish skills. Babbel has a Spanish (Europe) and Spanish (Latin America) course, but Rocket Spanish only offers Spanish (Latin America). Rocket Spanish focuses more on grammar and culture, while Babbel has quick grammar tips and interactive exercises. You can complete a Babbel study session in a few minutes, but Rocket Spanish has longer, audio-based lessons to improve your listening and speaking skills.

The table below shows a direct comparison between Rocket Spanish and Babbel based on the languages they offer, price, and free trials.

Rocket Spanish	Babbel
1 Spanish course	2 Spanish courses
$149.99 per level	$17.95/month
First lesson of the course	One free lesson

Babbel vs Rocket Languages Spanish: Cost Comparison

Babbel allows you to try the first lesson of each language course for free, but to unlock all the content, you must pay for a subscription. Babbel has a monthly subscription available for $17.95 per month, but there are longer options that can save you some money. You can buy 3 months for $45.75, 6 months for $80.70, and 12 months for $107.40. Keep in mind that you pay for each language course individually. If you want to study multiple languages, you can buy a lifetime subscription for a one-time payment of $299 and access all languages on the platform.

Rocket doesn’t offer a monthly subscription. You purchase levels of a language course and have lifetime access to the content on the platform and mobile app. One level of Rocket Spanish sells for $149.99, but you can also get 2 levels for $299.90. You can buy the Rocket Spanish entire course for a single payment of $449.85. Rocket Languages doesn’t have monthly subscription options, but you can use its free trial to test the first three levels of the Spanish course to see if you like the app. 

While Rocket Spanish and Babbel are both excellent tools that can successfully improve your Spanish, I like Babbel for its price. With Rocket Spanish, you must buy each level separately or in bundles. I think this isn’t too practical because once you move to the next level, you should have no real use for the previous one. Buying levels in bundles also doesn’t seem too attractive because there’s no way to know if the content of the next level is right for you. For me, it’s better to have a monthly subscription that I can use for as long as I need, even if I don’t get to keep the content forever. I enjoyed using both apps, but for what it offers, I’d pick Babbel. 

If you’d like to see more language apps before you make a decision, don’t worry. We still have many useful recommendations for you. Here are some similar alternatives.

Try Mondly

Try Pimsleur

Try LingoPie

Rocket Spanish vs Babbel: How They Work

Babbel and Rocket Spanish have everything you need to improve your Spanish skills. Babbel offers a gamified learning experience and teaches you to apply different Spanish grammar rules. Rocket Spanish has lessons in audio and text that tackle vocabulary, grammar, culture, and context. With Rocket Spanish, you can learn how society and culture have influenced the language, while Babbel focuses on learning new words and grammar. 

Check out the table below to see how Rocket Spanish and Babbel rate across the web in 2024:

How Rocket Spanish Works

Rocket Spanish has a complete language program to help you learn Latin American Spanish. It uses interactive audio lessons to teach you the vocabulary, phrases, and grammar you need to become conversational. The course follows a logical structure, but you can skip forward or study the modules that interest you the most.

Rocket Spanish has thorough explanations to help you understand the language’s grammar, context, and colloquial use. Each interactive audio lesson introduces you to new Spanish vocabulary and phrases and teaches you the context in which you can use them.

You can find a Language & Culture section that allows you to read through more specific content, like the Spanish alphabet and the sound of its letters. These lessons also tell you more about Latin American culture and its relationship with the language.

Rocket Spanish has several review tools to practice, like flashcards, quizzes, audio, and a Write It! feature. If you want to refresh your knowledge or learn essential Spanish quickly, you can use the Survival Kit to study all you need for your next trip. 

To learn more about the app, read our complete Rocket Spanish review.

How Babbel Works

Babbel is a language learning platform and app with comprehensive language courses. It has Spanish (Europe) and Spanish (Latin America) available, so you can choose the one you prefer. The Spanish (Europe) course has lessons for the complete beginner to advanced Spanish levels, but the Spanish (Latin American) course only has one level. All Babbel courses provide a structured plan, but you can also take the lessons in whatever order you like.

Each Spanish lesson introduces you to new keywords and phrases and builds on what you previously learned. The app uses spaced repetition as well as a mix of mix-and-match and fill-in-the-blank exercises to help you remember what you learned. The lessons also include audio and a voice recognition tool to develop your listening and speaking skills. In the intermediate and advanced levels, Babbel also has reading practices and comprehension questions to make sure you really understand the language.

You can review your lessons with Babbel’s flashcards or with its writing, speaking, and listening practices. If you’d like to practice with a native speaker, Babbel has group lessons available through Babbel Live. Each live class lasts 60 minutes and has up to 6 people per group.

If you want to learn more about the app, read our complete Babbel review.

Rocket Spanish: Pros and Cons

Rocket Spanish includes brief notes in its audio and language and culture lessons so you can understand how to apply Spanish in the real world. Knowing the language can help you communicate easily, but being familiar with the cultural and social context is the best way to ensure you sound like a native speaker. With Rocket Spanish, you can read about the different types of Latin American music, traditions, expressions, etc. Overall, this is a great of learning about Latin American culture while you discover the Spanish language.

Using Rocket can help you learn Spanish if you like learning with audio but also like to have additional material available. In the audio tracks, you can listen to two speakers hold a conversation and repeat after them to improve your pronunciation skills. In addition, Rocket Spanish also has text lessons that you can read through to refresh your grammar skills and clear up complicated topics. These are helpful features if you struggle with Spanish verb forms or distinguishing the sound of letters. 

However, some of Rocket Spanish’s lessons are too long to complete during a break. Both audio and text lessons can be lengthy and include a lot of detail, which makes Rocket Spanish less convenient for quick study. You have to pay close attention to get the best out of the material. For example, you can play the audio lessons in the background while you do other things like exercise, drive, or cook, but you won’t develop your speaking skills unless you practice repeating after the speakers. If you have time to fit the lessons into your schedule, this isn’t necessarily bad. 

While Rocket Spanish has an effective method and provides all the information you need to understand the language, there are better apps if you are a visual learner. The app uses fewer images than most, making the texts feel longer and heavy to the eye. Even its interactive exercises and flashcards seem more dry. It’s not a big issue, but it could improve the learning experience in Rocket Spanish.

Babbel: Pros and Cons

Spanish grammar can be tricky to learn, but Babbel has found a solution to help you learn how to apply grammar as you go. Instead of making you read through extensive grammatical explanations, Babbel uses pop-up bubbles and short grammatical tips to show you how to use the language. Then, you complete a couple of exercises that use the rule to help you practice. This way, you learn Spanish through practice instead of just memorizing information. I think this is the best way to learn the language because there are different verb forms and grammatical nuances that can change and adapt to various contexts. You are safer learning Spanish through application rather than trying to memorize a couple of examples to guide you.

Babbel’s lessons have audio so that you can listen to the pronunciation of each word and phrase. Many apps have a similar feature, but not all use natural-sounding voices to familiarize you with how Spanish sounds in the real world. This is a really important aspect of studying Spanish because the pronunciation can vary depending on the region you visit, and you need to understand it to become fluent.

In my opinion, it’s strange that the Spanish (Latin America) course only has one level while the Spanish (Europe) one has many. I understand that Babbel develops each course individually to help its users learn the language in the most accurate way. However, there aren’t that many variations between both Spanish versions to justify cutting down the content to one level. I don’t see the point in subscribing to the Latin American version unless you just want to explore the basics of the language. For now, I recommend choosing the Spanish (Europe) Babbel course if you wish to develop all your skills.

With that in mind, Babbel might not be for you, depending on your Spanish level and goals. While its Spanish courses have valuable features and tools to help you use essential language to communicate, the activities in the upper levels don’t add much challenge. For example, if you are in the Advanced level (C1), you can find reading comprehension exercises, but they are often very brief. I also noticed that the advanced multiple-choice exercises had fewer options, which could prompt some people to guess instead of thinking about the answer. 

Rocket Spanish or Babbel: Which Can Help You Learn Spanish?

Babbel and Rocket Spanish are both great apps to start learning Spanish. They both have interactive features to help you develop your vocabulary, grammar, speaking, and listening skills. Yet, depending on your learning style and preferences, one might be better for you.

With Rocket Spanish, you can work on your vocabulary, grammar, speaking, and listening skills. The app has everything you need to truly understand the Spanish language, including cultural and grammar notes. But, some of its lessons take too long to be completed casually. It only offers a Latin American Spanish course, so if you want to learn the regionalisms of European Spanish, you must use other resources.

Babbel, on the other hand, has quick and interactive lessons you can complete in a couple of minutes. The app has integrated grammar tips, so you don’t have to interrupt your practice time at all. Rocket Spanish and Babbel have great review features, but Babbel is more convenient if you want to study during your breaks or busy schedule. Besides, Babbel has a cheaper subscription price. For its value and flexibility, I’d choose Babbel. 

Rocket Spanish vs Babbel: FAQ