Brilliant is the better app overall, scoring 8.6 to 8.4. Brilliant wins on 3 of the 5 scores, Babbel on 2.
Curious adults and teens who want to understand math and science by solving problems
Adults who want structured, grammar-aware lessons for travel, work or a move abroad
Score by score
The details
| Feature | Brilliant | Babbel |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Learning | Learning |
| Category rank | #4 of 8 | #5 of 8 |
| Developer | Brilliant.org | Babbel |
| Pricing | Free + paid plans | Subscription |
| Usable for free | Yes | No |
| iPhone & iPad | ✓ | ✓ |
| Android | ✓ | ✓ |
| Web | ✓ | ✓ |
Strengths and weaknesses
Brilliant
- Learn-by-doing lessons build intuition, not rote memory
- Beautiful design makes hard topics approachable
- Lessons are short enough for a daily habit
- Free plan is capped at a couple of lessons a day
- No certificates and little help for school exams
Brilliant teaches math, science, data and coding by making you solve things, not watch things. Each lesson is a short run of interactive puzzles that build real intuition, and the design is excellent. The free plan caps you at a couple of lessons a day with ads, so Premium is where it makes sense. Get it if you learn by doing. Skip it if you need exam prep or credentials.
Full Brilliant review
Babbel
- Grammar is explained, not just drilled
- Lessons use practical, real-world dialogues
- No ads or game pressure, just steady progress
- Almost everything sits behind a subscription
- Fewer languages than Duolingo, mostly European
Babbel is the grown-up alternative to Duolingo. Lessons are built around practical dialogues, and grammar is explained clearly instead of left for you to guess. Review sessions, podcasts and optional live classes round it out. There is no real free tier, and it offers fewer languages than Duolingo, but the teaching is more structured. Get it if you want steady progress toward real conversations.
Full Babbel review
