Rosetta Stone Pros And Cons: My Experience Learning Spanish

Last Updated on January 6, 2025 by Kieran Beckles

Are you ready to embark on a language-learning journey but you’re not sure whether Rosetta Stone is the right fit for you?

I decided to start learning Spanish in 2021 in order to speak to my wife’s extended family. Three years later, I’m still on my journey.

While I initially started with Duolingo’s free app, I ended up subscribing to a lifetime membership to Rosetta Stone.

In this article, I’ll be sharing my pros and cons of using Rosetta Stone to learn a new language based on my experience over the past three years.

Although I like Rosetta Stone, I’d recommend Babbel based on my experience learning Mexican Spanish.

Rosetta Stone Pros

Good for beginners

Rosetta Stone is a good starting point if you’re beginning your language journey. So, if you’re at the A1 level, you’ll find some value with Rosetta Stone. As I mentioned in the introduction, I switched from Duolingo to Rosetta Stone. I found it to be a useful stepping stone as I looked to broaden my Spanish vocabulary. In the first few months, I started to expand my vocabulary noticeably. If you’re a complete novice, Rosetta Stone could be a good option.

Lots of languages

I’ve studied Irish, French, Italian and Spanish during secondary school and university. However, I’ve failed to master any of these languages. I’d love to revisit all four and try to improve now I’m at a stage of life where I can appreciate the value of being able to speak multiple languages. I love that Rosetta Stone has over 40 languages available on the app. If you’re an avid language learner, you’re spoilt for choice on the app.

Visual clues

Rosetta Stone aims to provide an immersive experience to its users. They use a lot of visual clues and speech recognition in their lessons. The goal is to make you feel immersed in the new language. To some degree, Rosetta Stone’s approach is a success. Unlike Babbel, Rosetta Stone doesn’t provide any translations, so you’re left to figure out the context of each slide and figure out the answer.

Affordable lifetime membership

Rosetta Stone is more affordable than some language learning apps. Rosetta Stone has an affordable lifetime membership, which I availed of. Their lifetime membership is currently priced at $199. This is cheaper than Babbel. So it does represent good value if you’re interested in a lifetime plan rather than paying monthly or annually.

Rosetta Stone Cons

Unhelpful for real-life situations

While I found some value in using Rosetta Stone, I felt it left me somewhat unprepared for real-life interactions with Spanish speakers. I was able to master some of the basics, but I found myself struggling to recall words and put together phrases. It’s the biggest reason I moved to Babbel because I felt that particular language-learning app improved my ability and confidence using Spanish.

Repetitive

The second-most important con is the repetitiveness of Rosetta Stone. At the start, I didn’t notice the reptitiveness of it. But eventually, I kept receiving the same questions and seeing the same images. I found this unhelpful when it came to language learning because I became demotivated and uninterested.

Pricey

While it’s cheaper than Babbel, it’s still pricey irrespective of the membership plan you select. For some language learners, apps that offer free plans may be more appealing.

Wrapping Up

We’ve reached the end of my Rosetta Stone pros and cons. I think it’s a good potential option if you’re looking to start learning a new language.

My personal preference would be Babbel instead of Rosetta Stone because I liked the app’s interface, the options available to users and even the live classes.

Having said that, Rosetta Stone does have a lot of languages so if you’re interested in learning multiple new languages, it could be the right choice for you.