Busuu vs LingQ: which to choose, and what each costs
Prices checked 6 Oct 2026 · How we check
Busuu if you want a course with lessons in order.
LingQ if you want to learn from real videos and text.
| Question | Busuu | LingQ |
|---|---|---|
| A year costs | $72.99 a year for all 14 languages | $119.99 a year for all 52 languages, or $14.99 month to month |
| A lesson is | Short lessons with dialogues, grammar tips and exercises; you can send spoken or written answers for the community, native speakers included, to correct. | Read and listen to a text or podcast, tapping unknown words to save and review them. |
| Try it | A free account, then a 14-day money-back guarantee on your first Premium payment. | Free account capped at 20 saved words and phrases, 5 lessons created from imported content, and 1 audio playlist. |
| App Store rating, 10 Oct 2026 | 4.7 out of 5 from 101,167 ratings | 4.7 out of 5 from 10,317 ratings |
| Google Play rating, 12 Oct 2026 and 11 Oct 2026 | 4.7 out of 5 from 1.2 million ratings | 4.5 out of 5 from 50,821 ratings |
How a lesson works in each
Busuu: course app
LingQ: immersion app
Side by side
| Compare | Busuu | LingQ |
|---|---|---|
| CEFR levels | A1 to C1 (by course) | — |
| A year costs | $72.99 a year for all 14 languages | $119.99 a year for all 52 languages, or $14.99 month to month |
| What it is | Course app: corrections from native speakers and CEFR-labelled levels | Immersion (video, reading): Read and listen to real content, save words, review them |
| Per month at annual billing | $6.08/mo ($72.99 a year) | $10/mo ($119.99 a year) |
| Monthly plan | — | $14.99 |
| Lifetime plan | No lifetime plan | No lifetime plan |
| Free tier | Free account with the complete course in each language, community feedback and basic progress tracking; Premium adds review tools, offline mode and no ads. | Free account capped at 20 saved words and phrases, 5 lessons created from imported content, and 1 audio playlist |
| Languages offered | 14 | 52 |
| Speech recognition | Yes | — |
| Live tutoring | No · Live Lessons are exclusive to Busuu for Business, outside the consumer subscription | — |
| Offline mode | Yes | Yes |
| Placement test | Yes · Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese and Spanish | — |
| Refund or trial | 14-day money-back guarantee on the initial Premium payment; no renewal refunds. Apple and mobile-operator purchases require a refund from that provider. | Full refund during the first 30 days of an initial Premium subscription; no partial-month or unused-month refunds afterward. |
| Platforms | iOS, Android, Web | iOS, Android, Web |
| Company | Busuu Limited, United Kingdom | LingQ Languages Ltd., Canada |
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Busuu
Course app
In our comparison: strongest on teaching depth and price, weakest on the number of languages.
$72.99 a year $6.08 a month, billed yearly · Premium
A structured course gives you a path through lessons, with corrections from native speakers. You can start with a free account before deciding whether the paid extras are useful.
LingQ
Immersion (video, reading)
In our comparison: strongest on the number of languages and offline use, weakest on speaking practice.
$119.99 a year $10 a month, billed yearly$14.99 on the monthly plan
Read and listen to material that interests you, then save unfamiliar words to practise later. It suits learners who want more real content alongside a structured course.
Busuu is a course app and LingQ is an app for real video and text. Both teach French, Spanish, Chinese, German and 10 more languages.
Which to choose
You want a course with lessons in order
Busuu
Busuu is a course app: short lessons with dialogues, grammar tips and exercises; you can send spoken or written answers for the community, native speakers included, to correct.
You want to learn from real videos and text
LingQ
LingQ is an app for real video and text: read and listen to a text or podcast, tapping unknown words to save and review them.
You want the smaller yearly bill
Busuu
A year of Busuu costs $72.99 for all 14 languages; a year of LingQ, $119.99 for all 52 languages.
You want to practise speaking
Busuu
Busuu: Speech recognition scores how you say words. LingQ: Its pages don't say whether it listens to you speak.
Where they really differ
- Price: Busuu: $72.99 a year for all 14 languages. LingQ: $119.99 a year for all 52 languages, or $14.99 month to month.
- A lesson: Busuu: Short lessons with dialogues, grammar tips and exercises; you can send spoken or written answers for the community, native speakers included, to correct. LingQ: Read and listen to a text or podcast, tapping unknown words to save and review them.
- A real person: Busuu has no live tutors. LingQ doesn't mention live tutors.
- Levels: Busuu states a CEFR range for each course, up to C1. LingQ doesn't state CEFR levels.
- Speaking: Busuu listens to you speak. LingQ doesn't say whether it listens to you speak.
- Trying it: Busuu: A free account, then a 14-day money-back guarantee on your first Premium payment. LingQ: Free account capped at 20 saved words and phrases, 5 lessons created from imported content, and 1 audio playlist.
- Both: Work offline.
Plans and prices
Busuu
| Plan | Billing | Price | Per month | Covers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Premium, 12 monthsPremiumA sale price; the crossed-out $149.88 is twelve months at the monthly rate. | Annual | $72.99 | $6.08/mo | all languages |
| Premium Plus, 12 monthsPremium PlusA sale price, against a crossed-out $178.80. Adds AI conversations, pronunciation practice and extra content to Premium. | Annual | $87.90 | $7.33/mo | all languages |
| 1 monthPremiumBusuu's site doesn't show its monthly price. Apple's US App Store lists a "Monthly Premium Plan" at $23.49. | Monthly | — | — | all languages |
LingQ
| Plan | Billing | Price | Per month | Covers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 MonthsPremiumMarked "Best Value", 40% off. | 24 months | $215.76 | $8.99/mo | all languages |
| 12 MonthsPremiumMarked "Most Popular", 33% off. | Annual | $119.99 | $10/mo | all languages |
| 1 MonthPremiumLingQ also runs sales of up to 45% off; these are the prices on its pricing page. | Monthly | $14.99 | $14.99/mo | all languages |
| 12 MonthsPremium PlusMarked "Most Popular", 25% off. | Annual | $269.99 | $22.50/mo | all languages |
| 1 MonthPremium PlusPremium Plus adds more audio transcription, AI voices, advanced Lynx chat and AI-simplified lessons. | Monthly | $29.99 | $29.99/mo | all languages |
What will LingQ cost you for the months you study?
Total billed over 12 months
$59.89 less on annual billingOne yearly payment of $119.99.
What each plan covers. Monthly: all languages. Yearly: all languages.
Questions people ask
Is Busuu better than LingQ?
Neither is better for every learner. Choose Busuu if you want a course with lessons in order, the smaller yearly bill, more speaking practice, a course that states its CEFR levels and a trial or money back. Choose LingQ if you want to learn from real videos and text and more languages to choose from. In our comparison, Busuu is strongest on teaching depth and price, weakest on the number of languages, and LingQ strongest on the number of languages and offline use, weakest on speaking practice.
Which is cheaper, Busuu or LingQ?
Busuu costs less by the year: $72.99 for all 14 languages, where a year of LingQ is $119.99 for all 52 languages. Month to month, and with any lifetime plan, the plans tables above give both.
Do Busuu and LingQ teach the same languages?
Busuu lists 14 languages and LingQ 52, each counting varieties its own way; 14 languages are taught by both. Each app's page here lists its languages, with a page for each language two or more apps teach.