Babbel Revenue and Usage Statistics (2024)

David Curry

Updated: July 25, 2024

Babbel is a language learning platform which has slowly but steadily grown in popularity, to the point now it is one of the top-grossing apps of its kind in the world. It was originally launched as a web-app in Mitte, Berlin in 2008.

Babbel has garnered a studious reputation for its language learning system, called The Babbel Method, which uses real conversations by native speakers and retention techniques to quickly teach subscribers the language.

This method is a slight dig at some of Babbel’s competitors, which use text-to-speech artificial intelligence instead of importing actual voices.

Babbel also differs from other language learning apps in its approach to paid content. While Duolingo offers its app for free with adverts and Memrise and Busuu both offer some free tiered services, Babbel is paid-for only.

That focus on paid-only has lowered the amount of users Babbel has obtained, it only reached 10 million total subscriptions purchased in October 2020. For reference, Duolingo has 42 million monthly active users.

Babbel and other premium language learning services have argued with the subscription comes more dedication to the platform and to learning, while freemium service are often forgotten about by users after a while.

We have collected data and statistics on Babbel. Read on below to find out more.

Babbel key statistics

  • Babbel generated €198 million revenue in 2021, a 34% year-on-year increase
  • It has operated at a loss since 2013 and reported a €15.5 million net loss
  • Over 10 million people have subscribed to Babbel since launch

Babbel overview

TitleTitle 2
Launch dateJanuary 2008
HQBerlin, Germany
PeopleArne Schepker (CEO), Thomas Holl (CTO), Geoff Stead (CPO), Markus Witte (founder, Chairman)
Business typePrivate
IndustryLanguage learning

Babbel revenue

Babbel made an estimated €198 million revenue in 2021, 34% more than the previous year

Babbel annual revenue 2013 to 2021 (€mm)

YearRevenue (€mm)
201313
201430
201550
201667
201797
2018123
2019143
2020171
2021232
2022275

Source: Company data

Babbel profit

Babbel has been unprofitable from the outset, but in 2019 it almost managed to break-even, followed by its largest annual loss in 2020 of €15.5 million.

Babbel annual net income 2013 to 2020 (€mm)

YearNet income (€mm)
2015-10.3
2016-8.4
2017-9
2018-12.4
2019-3
2020-15.5

Source: Company data

Babbel subscription sales

Babbel reports total subscription sales instead of annual sales, this hit 10 million in 2020. Babbel said 52% of 12-month subs in 2020 were renewed in 2021.

Babbel total subscription sales 2016 to 2020 (mm)

YearSubscription sales (mm)
20161
20197
202010
202316

Source: Company data

Babbel vs Duolingo: revenue

Babbel FAQ

What is Babbel’s valuation?

Babbel has reportedly valued itself at $1.5 billion ahead of an IPO on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (Reuters)

How many languages are available on Babbel?

Babbel currently offers 14 language courses

Where is Babbel most popular?

According to SimilarWeb, Babbel gets most traffic from the US (21.5%), Germany (16%) and France (9.05%)