• INTERFACE LANGUAGES: 15
  • LANGUAGES TO LEARN: 12
  • FREE TRIAL: Yes
  • CUSTOMER SUPPORT: Email, Online Form
  • APPS: Desktop, Mobile
  • YEARS IN BUSINESS: 13

2022’s Busuu Review: Features, Plans

Fact-checked
  • INTERFACE LANGUAGES: 15
  • LANGUAGES TO LEARN: 12
  • FREE TRIAL: Yes
  • CUSTOMER SUPPORT: Email, Online Form
  • APPS: Desktop, Mobile
  • YEARS IN BUSINESS: 13

Best For

Those Who Love Innovation

STRENGTHS

  • Highly quality content
  • Offline learning available
  • Huge language learning community
  • Determine your level, set goals, track your progress

WEAKNESSES

  • Limited free basic version
  • Small selection of available languages to learn

Founded in Madrid, in 2008, and now headquartered in London, Busuu is a major player in the online language learning industry. Busuu and its founders have earned numerous awards, including the best innovation and language app awards.

The Busuu blog reported in 2018 that the Busuu team had grown more than five times over the years. The company claims the largest language learning community, with more than 100 million users worldwide, enabling interaction with native speakers. Our Busuu review aims to show exactly why so many customers from various platforms rate Busuu as “excellent” service.

Platform Key Details

  • AI-enabled learning platform
  • 1,000+ language lessons
  • 12 languages to learn
  • 15 interface languages
  • 100+ million users 
  • Personalized study plans
  • Native speakers
  • Desktop and mobile version 
  • Free version

How Does Busuu Work? 

Busuu is an AI-enabled online language learning platform available across desktop and mobile devices, worldwide. Currently, Busuu offers 12 languages, with an interface available in 15 different languages – a rather unique feature commended in nearly every Busuu app review.

The lessons (1,000+) are designed by expert linguists in short, manageable lengths. Machine-learning technology adds value through such features as speech recognition, personalized study plans, and tracking of any weak performance (e.g. words, phrases, grammar, etc.) that needs improvement. 

One of the platform’s highlights is the ability to join Busuu’s global ‘community’ and connect with native speakers for peer feedback on your spoken and written lessons/exercises.

Interface languages are:

Arabic Chinese (Simplified) English French
German Indonesian Italian Japanese
Korean Polish Portuguese Russian
Spanish Turkish Vietnamese

The languages you can learn are:

Arabic German Portuguese Russian
Chinese Italian Spanish Turkish
English Japanese French Polish

Users can choose to take a 5-minute placement test to determine their level either at the start or halfway through the language course. 

Busuu Pricing & Plans

If you were thinking “Is Busuu free?” The answer is that Busuu allows free access to the basic version of the app with the option to purchase a premium membership. The premium membership opens up additional features, such as learning units, materials, and certificates. Other than discounts (e.g. currently 50%), Busuu gives you the right to cancel your membership within 14 working days of your initial purchase and may offer a free lesson or trial period. Other services and materials (e.g. business courses, live lessons, etc.) are available for purchase by both basic and premium members.

Free vs PaidThe free version of Busuu is great to get familiar with the app and gain an insight into how it works before you opt for a paid plan. As with everything free, Busuu free plan gives you limited access to languages and lessons. You will be able to access some languages and try out some of the exercises but not all of them and there are many different types. 

If you are still thinking between Busuu free vs premium options you should know that the Premium options allow you to practice with native speakers and learn an unlimited number of languages, which is something that very few of Busuu competitors offer. 

Here’s everything you get with the paid version: 

Plan Months Total Cost 

(Monthly Equivalent)

Features
The Premium plan includes:

1

12

24

€9.99/mth

€69.96 or (€5.83/mth)

€129.84 or (€5.41/mth)

Practice with native speakers 

Offline mode 

Grammar lessons 

Vocabulary training

The Premium Plus plan includes

1

12

24

€10.99/mth

€79.92 or (€6.66/mth)

€149.76 or (€6.42/mth)

All of the above 

Personalized study plan 

Allows you to learn up to 12 languages 

Official certificates 

Value for money is highlighted across several review platforms and Busuu user reviews, which mention that the service is “worth every penny” and “well worth buying”.

Subscription plans can be purchased through the Busuu website, mobile app, or other authorized service providers. Prices offered on different platforms may vary. For instance, a Busuu lifetime subscription for Premium Plus ($450) is offered by various providers, with up to a 64% discount available for a limited period.

Secure payment, in advance, can be done via credit/debit card or other accepted forms of payment, such as PayPal.

Busuu for Business

Busuu for Business currently serves over 250 organizations globally offering all languages together with 24/7 online tutors. To find the right language-learning solution, organizations can book an online demo.

The following Busuu Business cost gives an idea of the Business contract options, regardless of scale:

  • Essential (Basic; one language): from $82 per learner
  • Professional (Standard; all languages): from $94 per learner
  • Global (Comprehensive): tailored individual offer

Ease of Use

The Busuu language learning app is frequently praised for its ease of use by numerous users who left positive feedback on the Busuu language app review platforms.

Customer Support

Customer service and technical support are highly rated for their prompt, effective, and professional help. Busuu aims to respond to all emails within 24 hours and according to some user comments from Busuu Trustpilot reviews, Busuu support can be reached through direct messaging via the online request submission form or the ‘Help’ button on their website. You can sign in and seek assistance or choose to “Join the conversation” with Verbling or Busuu Live Communities.

Busuu Language Reviews

In this section, we wanted to provide more information on some of the courses you might take, so stay tuned if you want more information. And, in case you want to explore one-on-one lessons, look for Busuu live lessons review.

Busuu Japanese Review

Like some other language courses, the Japanese course has three different programs: Complete Japanese, Hiragana and Katakana, and Japanese for Travel.

While learning Japanese, three teaching methods are used:

  • Pictures – On the pictures, there will be an English translation.
  • Conversation with natives – Native speakers will use the words from your recent lesson and use them in example sentences to better understand the meaning.
  • Test – This is the part where you’ll recap what you learned. 

That is not all. You’ll have the opportunity to learn about Japanese writing systems, Hiragana and Katakana. 

Busuu Spanish Review

If you opt for learning Spanish, you will have two courses, Spanish for Traveling and Complete Spanish. 

Complete Spanish course consists of speaking, writing, listening, and reading. With this course, you’ll cover all necessary vocabulary and grammar points. While Spanish for Travel helps you master the basics of the language, so you can travel to Spanish-speaking countries without having the problem of communicating about everyday life.

Busuu French Review

Language learners who choose to learn French will have the option to pick one of three offered courses: French for Business, Complete French, and French for Travel.

French for Business is made for business people who want to learn a language through business vocabulary. Complete French is for the ones who want to learn the basics that include pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar) 

No matter what course you choose, you can record your voice and send writing notes and receive feedback from the natives with corrections. Upon finishing the course you chose, you’ll get a CEFT certification.

Busuu User Reviews and Testimonials

Busuu rates a 4.1/5 based on 8,197 Busuu Trustpilot reviews. Busuu receives excellent reviews on both Google Play (4.5 from 392.5k reviews) and App Store (4.7 from 60.7k ratings). In fact, the app is so good that it achieved an “Editor’s Choice” stamp on Google Play and is placed among the top 10 list of 2022’s best appsBusuu negative reviews generally complain about the limitations of the free version.

Busuu Alternatives

If you need some time to think about your option, that’s fine. To help you out, we compared two apps with Busuu so you can make a well-informed decision. 

 

Babbel vs Busuu

When it comes to prices and availability, both apps are almost identical. The difference is that Busuu has a bit richer free version. It offers more content for the ones who want to learn the basics. The other difference is that Babbel offers 14 languages for their learners, while Busuu offers 12. Also, Busuu uniquely offers Asian languages, while Babbel offers Dutch, Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish.

Read the full Babbel review here.

Duolingo vs Busuu

Both apps offer free versions, as well as premium ones. The difference is that with a premium account on Duolingo, you’ll be free of ads, while on Busuu, you’ll get the option of quizzes after each lesson and further grammar practice. The other difference is that on Busuu, language learners can practice with natives while on Duolingo, they can just practice grammar, vocabulary, and some common phrases, pronunciation, but not a conversation

Mondly vs Busuu 

When languages are compared, Mondly wins with the 33 language options, but it only has 50 million users while Busuu has over 100 million. Compared to Busuu price, Mondly comes cheaper with $47.99 per year for one language. Mondly is best for recall of words and phrases, for kids and companion study. 

Wrap Up

A key feature that makes Busuu so compelling is the opportunity to engage with native speakers across its vast community of language learners. Offline access, progress tracking, and short lessons, along with being able to use Busuu on as many devices as you want, all enable learning on-the-go. Finally, Busuu allows free members to start learning up to 2 languages, while premium members are given full access to all the available languages.

FAQ

Is Busuu Better than Duolingo?

As one reviewer observed, both have weaknesses as well as unique features and strengths, and both are well-designed, have fun components, and are easy to access and use. Busuu gets positive reviews that compare rather closely to those for Duolingo – although Trustpilot (4.1 vs 2.5) is a notable exception. Ultimately your learning style will determine which one is better for you.

What Is Busuu?

Busuu is a language learning platform that is web-based but also available on iOS and Android devices. They offer courses in 12 languages, while their interface is available in 15 languages. People who want to learn a language can practice vocabulary, grammar, and conversation with native speakers.

Is Busuu Worth It?

Both Busuu free vs premium options can be worth your time, depending on what you need. Namely, if you want to learn the basics, the free option is enough, but if you want to learn more than that, you should consider the premium version, especially if you want to talk to natives.

Can Busuu make you fluent?

While the immersion opportunities included with a Premium plan can advance you towards fluency, without the benefit of true (day-to-day, face-to-face) immersion, arguably no online language learning platform can make you fluent.

Which is the best language learning app?

Language learning is an individual experience and different apps would be identified as the best choice by different types of learners. What is definite from our Busuu review is that customer feedback identifies Busuu as one of the best available language learning apps. It is an affordable, well-rounded, on-the-go option that is most suited for classroom-style, collaborative learning and for goal-oriented users.

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