Language Learning App Babbel Celebrates 10 Million Subscriptions Sold
Top-grossing language app sees triple digit growth during COVID-19
Learning activity in the app doubled from March 2020
Expert created content and efficacy research are honored with trust
Babbel, the world’s top-grossing language learning app is celebrating the milestone of 10 million subscriptions sold. Reaching this unprecedented figure has been sped-up due to international lockdowns that saw people worldwide turn to online education. Babbel, which has long had a premium subscription model, already reached a recognized revenue of $130 million USD in 2018 via the app-stores as well as direct. Amongst others, the U.S. market as well as the German speaking markets reached more than 200% growth in terms of new sales. Besides new sales, the company also sees its learners, new and old, being more active: The amount of lessons completed has doubled since March 2020. As growth remains strong Babbel sees a sustainable opportunity for the online learning market.
“10 million subscriptions sold is a milestone that proves the vast opportunities in online learning”, says Arne Schepker, CEO of Babbel. “While we would have wished for better circumstances than a pandemic, I personally believe that our industry has taken a relevant leap in terms of adoption and trust that is here to stay. That people invest in learning languages to be able to communicate with others even while travel and interpersonal connections are down gives me faith in humanity.”
While the whole market for self-improvement gained massive interest during the pandemic, Babbel’s data shows that people foremost turned to well-known and trusted services. During the last years the Berlin based company heavily invested into efficacy research and market education which now pays off. On average Babbel learners stay with the app for more than 18 months. More than that, many of them resume their language journey at a later point in life, resulting in an average of 1,5 subscriptions per Babbel user.
“After all, learners do not only focus on the price of a monthly subscription fee. It is more important to them to know that their time and efforts are properly invested. Babbel is highly effective and great to use. It gets people talking in a new language and ultimately transforms their lives, no matter if they want to improve their career or make new friends. Our learners appreciate that”, Schepker adds.
Babbel has recently launched 10 different and expert created podcast series to its app. This enables users to keep on learning even while exercising, cooking or commuting. In 2020 these award winning podcasts have seen over 1 million downloads already.
