Many of us in the online language learning community were saddened to hear that Babbel was shutting down their Live Classes program in June 2025, and more-so disappointed by their handling of the situation that left teachers and students uncertain of the program’s status leading up to their official announcement.

Lingoda has been one of my favorite methods for learning French. Speaking with real teachers and students in their live, online classes is an effective way to retain what I learn.

There are many possible reasons why Babbel ultimately decided to shutter their Live Classes– which I’ll expand on further in this article– but one of the most disappointing is their quiet roll-out of an “AI Conversation Partner” which removes the humanity from the language learning process in favor of reducing costs while attempting to scale this element of their business. I’ve written at length about why I don’t recommend using AI to learn languages (which you can read here), so learning about Babbel’s program changes was disheartening to say the least.

Attending live, online classes has been one of my favorite ways to learn and continue practicing my French– I especially love the format and convenience. As someone who’s experienced both Babbel Live and Lingoda classes, I’ll detail the similarities and differences between the two platforms and why I believe Lingoda is the best alternative for any ex-Babbel Live user who is looking to continue progressing.

Why did Babbel shut down their Live Classes?

As referenced in their announcement on LinkedIn, Babbel shared that not enough users attended their Live Classes, and that beginner and intermediate students who may have been intimidated by the format preferred the comfort of the Babbel’s safe-paced app modules. Having experienced Babbel Live personally before it shut down, here are my thoughts as to why their service was not profitable for their business and why Lingoda’s model is better.

Babbel Live had an unsustainable pricing model
I was easily persuaded to sign up for Babbel Live because the price was very appealing: for $99/month, I could attend an unlimited number of their Live classes. I calculated that if I took at least 4 classes a week, my cost per class would only be about $6.20 which was relatively affordable compared to all of the other methods I’ve tried for learning French. Perhaps the price was too good to be true for its users, and too low to be profitable for Babbel. Additionally, I had spoken with some of the classmates I met during the Live Classes, who shared with me that they were sometimes taking dozens of classes a week (or even up to five classes a day!) just to take advantage of Babbel Live’s unlimited subscription model and lower their average cost per class. Between the lack of new users signing up to use the platform, and the number of existing students squeezing as much value from it as possible, Babbel simply wasn’t earning enough from the program for it to be sustainable.
Lingoda’s pricing model: Recurring class packages, billed every four weeks (Current pricing: 5 classes for $70, 12 classes for $140, or 24 classes for $235). Lingoda often runs promotions on their class package pricing, and you can also click here to use my link for an automatic $20 discount!
Babbel Live class schedules were not set by students
Babbel Live students were only able to sign up for classes that were already on the schedule (whether they were decided by Babbel and then teachers are then assigned, or that the teachers themselves would set the schedules, I wasn’t sure). In my time using Babbel Live, I did not see a way for students to request a specific class at a specific time, but rather I would often see classes already on the schedule, with a teacher assigned, but without any students signed up. The class would show that 0 of 6 seats were taken. Babbel seemed to prioritize the availability of teachers (Babbel’s expense) rather than the demand of students (Babbel’s income stream), and the disconnect allowed many seats to remain unfilled.
Lingoda’s scheduling process: Students can join any class that’s already on the schedule that still has space available, or request a a specific subject, date, and time that’s beyond seven days away. A teacher is then assigned to the request, ensuring resources are applied only to where there is demand. Click here to sign up for Lingoda and browse their class schedules.
Babbel Live’s cancellation policy may have been too lenient
Babbel Live allowed students to cancel their spot in a class up to 24 hours before. Within 24 hours of a class starting, a cancellation or a no-show meant being charged $10. In my opinion the 24 hour window was fair, but it may have allowed students to have too much flexibility, too little accountability, and may have contributed to poor overall attendance. And because the unlimited pricing structure, students didn’t necessarily “lose” any credits if they signed up for classes they didn’t intend on attending.
Lingoda’s cancellation policy: For regular users of Lingoda, the cancellation window was 3 days (72 hours) ahead of class. For Lingoda’s Sprint and Super Sprint users, the cancellation window was 7 days. I think that by having stricter cancellation policies, Lingoda’s students are held to a higher standard of accountability to attend the classes they sign up for. With higher attendance rates, students are more likely to build better habits and continue signing up to attend future classes.

Why Lingoda is the best alternative to Babbel Live Classes?

The format and convenience of attending live, online classes makes it one of my favorite methods for learning French. I found Lingoda’s platform intuitive and easy to navigate, and thought their lessons were well-structured and informative. Lingoda’s teachers are professional and the classmates I encountered were thoughtful and respectful, and overall I had a great experience using the platform. The only downside (and the only reason why I don’t stil use Lingoda) is that they only have classes up to level B2.3 for French and I’ve already completed all their lessons at their highest level offered. I actually found Babbel Live after searching for alternatives to Lingoda after completing their lessons, and thought that the format of the platforms was very similar. If you were a user of Babbel Live and are not looking for a similar alternative to continue progressing in your language, Lingoda is a very similar platform.

The greatest benefit for new users of Lingoda is their Sprint and Super Sprint program, which rewards students with a considerable financial incentive if they complete a certain number of classes within a specific period of time. For the Sprint, it’s 30 classes in 60 days, and for the Super Sprint, it’s 60 classes in 60 days. For students that successfully complete the program, they are rewarded with 50% of their tuition back in cash, or 100% of the tuition back in the form of class credits to be used for continued learning on the platform. I successfully completed Lingoda’s Sprint in February 2025, and have written all about my positive experience here. Beyond the obvious benefits a student will gain from completing a Sprint on Lingoda, I think this element of gamification increases overall user-retention, participation, and morale across the entire platform.

In what ways was Babbel Live better than Lingoda?

The only disadvantage I encountered with Lingoda was that it only offered classes up to B2.3 for French whereas Babbel Live went up to C1. I loved everything else about using Lingoda, and would happily continue if they consider adding more advanced classes to their curriculum in the future.

Otherwise, I felt that Babbel Live and Lingoda’s formats were similar– and in many ways that I’ve mentioned in this article, Lingoda’s platform was and is superior. Lingoda also offers live classes in more languages: including French, German, Spanish, Italian, English and Business English. (Babbel Live was only offered in French, German, Spanish-Latin America, and Spanish-Spain).

Similar to Babbel Live, Lingoda students can join the platform and start learning right away. Unless you are participating in Sprint or Super Sprint which has specific rolling enrollment and start/end dates, Lingoda students have total flexibility to determine when they can learn a language online with a real teacher and real classmates.

Now that Babbel Live’s program has been shuttered for private users, it seems that Lingoda is the only reputable, convenient, and reliable platform that offers live online classes for individuals. Having used both platforms, I can certainly recommend Lingoda if you are an ex-Babbel Live student looking for a great alternative.

Lingoda Sprint and Super Sprint Promo Code

Click here to automatically apply my 20€ promotional discount code when signing up for your Sprint.

Were you a Babbel Live user that is now looking for a good alternative to continue learning a language online? If you are considering Lingoda and have any questions about my experience, or know of any other great alternatives, let me know below in the comments!