Rosetta Stone Review: A Redesigned But Less Inspiring Language Learning Experience | PCMag
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3.5 Good this.$refs.template.innerHTML, onCreate: (instance) => this.tippyInstance = instance, onShow: (instance) => { this.escapeHandler = (e) => { if (e.key === 'Escape') instance.hide(); }; window.addEventListener('keydown', this.escapeHandler); }, onHide: (instance) => { if (this.escapeHandler) { window.removeEventListener('keydown', this.escapeHandler); this.escapeHandler = null; } }, onMount: (instance) => { const closeBtn = instance.popper.querySelector('[data-tooltip-close]'); if (closeBtn) closeBtn.addEventListener('click', () => instance.hide()); }, }; }, }"> What Our Ratings Mean 5.0 - Exemplary: Near perfection, ground-breaking 4.5 - Outstanding: Best in class, acts as a benchmark for measuring competitors 4.0 - Excellent: A performance, feature, or value leader in its class, with few shortfalls 3.5 - Good: Does what the product should do, and does so better than many competitors 3.0 - Average: Does what the product should do, and sits in the middle of the pack 2.5 - Fair: We have some reservations, buy with caution 2.0 - Subpar: We do not recommend, buy with extreme caution 1.5 - Poor: Do not buy this product 1.0 - Dismal: Don't even think about buying this product Read Our Editorial Mission Statement and Testing Methodologies. The Bottom Line The newly repackaged Rosetta Stone, now with the Sapphire branding, has shorter lessons designed for a mobile-first learning experience, but it abandons the structured practice requirements that made it special. Per Month, Starts at $19.99 $19.99 per month or $159 per year See It PCMag editors select and review products independently. If you buy through affiliate links, we may earn commissions, which help support our testing.
Pros & Cons Polished user experience Accurate lessons Optional online tutoring sessions Repetitive No placement test Not good for learning a new script Latest rebranding leaves Rosetta Stone Lifetime purchasers in the dust Rosetta Stone Specs Name Value tr:nth-of-type(n+6)]:hidden" :class="{ '[&>tr:nth-of-type(n+6)]:!table-row': open }"> Price Includes All Languages, All Levels Style of Program Interactive Exercises No. of Languages Offered (Not Incl. English) 23 Average Duration of Lesson (Mins) 10
Rosetta Stone is now called Rosetta Stone Sapphire—but don't be fooled. It merely organizes existing content into shorter lessons for you to complete on your phone and throws in some AI tools for good measure. Although the learning materials are still accurate and the app experience is slick, this change ultimately isn't for the better. If you bought a Lifetime subscription to Rosetta Stone in recent years, for example, you might rightfully be upset to find that you don't get any of the new Sapphire features. Moreover, the old Rosetta Stone asked you to sit with lessons for a full 30 minutes per day, a worthy goal for learning a language; the new app encourages learning at your leisure, just like every other alternative. In essence, Rosetta Stone has moved away from the aspects that made it special, so we've lowered its score by half a star. You're much better off with our Editors' Choice winners for language learning: the free Duolingo for daily practice, Fluenz for self-paced learning, and Lingoda for live online classes and tutoring.Which Languages Can You Learn With Rosetta Stone?Excluding American and British English, Rosetta Stone has programs for 23 languages: Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin), Dutch, Farsi, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latin (web app only), Polish, Portuguese (Brazilian), Russian, Spanish (Latin American and European), Swedish, Tagalog (Filipino), Turkish, and Vietnamese.If you need a language that's not on that list, you should try other apps. Duolingo covers more than 30 languages. Pimsleur (named for Dr. Paul Pimsleur, who founded the method it uses) has around 50 language programs and is one of my favorite services. The catch is that the best parts are entirely audio-based. As such, Pimsleur is great for speaking, listening, and learning pronunciation, but not for reading and writing. For languages that are especially hard to find, try Transparent Language or Mango, though neither is a stellar program. (Credit: Rosetta Stone/PCMag) Who Should Use Rosetta Stone?Rosetta Stone works best if you're a beginner in a language and can already read the script (you might struggle if you don't). The app doesn't offer a placement test, which makes it hard for experienced speakers to know where to start.I've used Rosetta Stone both at home and for review purposes at PCMag for more than two decades. I've tried the programs for French, German, Irish, Italian, Korean, P