Busuu

Busuu is a language learning app and website operated by Busuu Ltd, with a London address in its privacy supplement and Chegg Inc. named there as its parent company. The service teaches 14 languages from its home page selector, among them English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese and Dutch, with courses the vendor says span 2,500 hours from A1 to C1 on the Common European Framework. It says more than 120 million people have registered.

Lessons are short, and the distinctive part is the community: learners submit written or spoken exercises and fluent speakers correct them, then correct others in return. A free account opens the basic course. Paid Premium plans add more, and a business edition offers workplace language training with live teachers. Busuu is aimed at individuals who want structure more than a pure game.

• Structured courses. The course path runs from beginner to upper-intermediate levels, with vocabulary, grammar and cultural notes in each unit. A free account covers the essential course, and registration is required before any lesson begins.
• Community Corrections. A learner writes or records an answer, and a proficient speaker of that language gives feedback. In turn the learner corrects submissions from people studying their own language. Voice recordings are kept to provide the service and keep it safe.
• Speaking Practice. This AI feature records your voice and returns feedback on pronunciation. The privacy supplement says some portions are powered by Azure AI Speech services and that recordings are retained to improve the service.
• AI Coach and conversations. An AI Coach adapts lesson content to your level, gives feedback on speaking and writing and tracks progress across sessions. Conversation scenarios are described as partly powered by OpenAI and other providers.
• Grammar units and certificates. The terms describe Premium access to grammar units and certificates, and checkout copy mentions end-of-level certificates. The catalogue links them to the Common European Framework, which helps learners who need proof of level.
• Live Lessons for teams. The business site describes a platform that combines language and communication skills, personalised goals, AI speaking practice and Live Lessons with qualified teachers. Corporate English, French, Spanish and German programmes are listed.
• Premium extras. The checkout copy lists ad-free learning, offline mode, end-of-level certificates, grammar and vocabulary review and specialised courses under Premium. Premium Plus adds AI conversations and speaking practice tools, marked as mobile only in selected languages.

• A beginner learning Spanish for travel. A self-starter follows the free beginner units, submits short writing exercises, and gets corrections from Spanish speakers. When the free allowance runs out, they compare a Premium trial against the cost of a weekly tutor.
• A student needing proof of level. A learner preparing for study abroad wants a certificate tied to the Common European Framework. Certificates sit in Premium per the terms, so they price a yearly plan against the exam fee they would otherwise pay.
• An HR team abroad. A multinational wants staff to speak English in unscripted meetings. It requests a demo of Busuu for Business, which pairs AI speaking practice with live lessons, instead of buying individual consumer subscriptions.

The vendor says to learn for free: choose a language on the home page, register an account and start the basic course. Registration is needed to reach the courses. Premium is bought on the website or in the app, and web checkout accepts Visa, MasterCard and American Express.

A free trial is offered only on some plan lengths and its duration is shown at checkout. Cancellation on the site is under Settings, then Subscription, while app store purchases are cancelled in the store. The terms give a 14-day cancellation right. Account deletion is also in Settings. The business edition starts with a demo booking.

Busuu pairs bite-sized lessons with feedback from native speakers in its community and certificates tied to the Common European Framework. A free account covers the essential course, while ad-free study, offline mode and certificates need Premium. AI conversations, speaking practice and specialty courses are limited to Premium Plus, and the vendor says they run on mobile in selected languages only.

Busuu is entry #4 of 17 in the language learning apps list: it follows Lingoda and comes before Memrise. Challengers hold places 1 to 3 where a category has them; the number here is a place in the order, not a mark out of ten.

By headquarters, 5 of the 17 are established in Europe, as Busuu is in the United Kingdom.

Purchases made through an app store must be cancelled there.

Charging model: Free plan; Premium and Premium Plus subscriptions, auto-renewing.

The static pages we read do not print prices; amounts load at checkout, so check live figures there. The structure is stated. The basic version is free. Premium and Premium Plus are subscriptions that renew automatically for the same period unless cancelled, sold as 1-month through 12-month or longer plans, with percentage savings and a most popular tag. A free trial is offered only on some plan lengths, and the checkout notes it can be cancelled any time and that you are notified before it ends. Premium Plus adds AI conversations and speaking practice tools. Fees may change.

Source: the pricing material on busuu.com, as read for Best Language Learning Apps in 2026 and last reviewed on 7 November 2026.

The privacy supplement names Chegg as the data controller for personal data collected through Busuu and gives a London contact address and privacy@busuu.com. Voice recordings for speaking features are retained and used to improve services.

It lists Azure AI Speech and OpenAI among providers. A section covers EEA, United Kingdom and Swiss residents, and the minimum age in the EEA is 16. Hosting region and security certifications are not stated on the pages we read.

Integrations the vendor names (5):

• Apple App Store
• Google Play
• Azure AI Speech (speech feedback provider)
• OpenAI (conversation provider)
• Busuu for Business platform

The choice below rests on shared catalogue tags, price model, free plan and region, with rank distance as the tie-break.

• Rocket Languages (#1 of 17): Buy a course once and keep it, with a long refund window. Suits: Self-paced learners who want to buy one language outright and keep it.
• Lingoda (#3 of 17): Live online classes with certified teachers on a four-weekly plan. (Germany)
• Babbel (#6 of 17): Structured dialogue lessons in 14 languages with a lifetime option. (Germany)
• Duolingo (#12 of 17): Gamified free courses funded by ads and paid tiers. Suits: Casual beginners who want a free daily habit across many subjects.
• Drops (#13 of 17): Language app whose paid tier adds offline learning and unlimited learning time. Watch out: the pages read never state what the free version allows, so the upgrade point is unclear until you hit it.

Read from the vendor’s own pages on 5 November 2026.

• busuu.com/en: languages, user figures, community description
• busuu.com/en/terms: free basic version, Premium renewal, cancellation and 14-day right
• busuu.com/en/privacy: Chegg controller, voice recordings, AI providers, EEA section
• busuu.com/en/premium: checkout copy: Premium and Premium Plus features, trial rules, payment cards
• busuu.com/en/business: Busuu for Business platform description

We rank on what separates products after the demo: time to useful, the real price, the exit and who the product is for. Here that gives Busuu the #4 position in a list of 17. Method and commercial relationships are in our editorial process.