Busuu vs Rosetta Stone: which to choose, and what each costs
Prices checked 6 Oct 2026 · How we check
Busuu if you want the smaller yearly bill.
Rosetta Stone if you want more speaking practice.
| Question | Busuu | Rosetta Stone |
|---|---|---|
| A year costs | $72.99 a year for all 14 languages | $159 a year for all 25 languages, or $19.99 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. | Pictures and audio with no translation at all, and your pronunciation scored. |
| Try it | A free account, then a 14-day money-back guarantee on your first Premium payment. | A 7-day free trial in the app, and a 14-day money-back guarantee when you buy on its site. |
| App Store rating, 10 Oct 2026 | 4.7 out of 5 from 101,167 ratings | 4.6 out of 5 from 1,918 ratings |
| Google Play rating, 12 Oct 2026 and 11 Oct 2026 | 4.7 out of 5 from 1.2 million ratings | 4.6 out of 5 from 406,024 ratings |
How a lesson works in each
Both are course apps, so a lesson has the same shape
Side by side
| Compare | Busuu | Rosetta Stone |
|---|---|---|
| CEFR levels | A1 to C1 (by course) | — |
| A year costs | $72.99 a year for all 14 languages | $159 a year for all 25 languages, or $19.99 month to month |
| What it is | Course app: corrections from native speakers and CEFR-labelled levels | Course app: Immersion-style lessons without translation, with speech scoring |
| Per month at annual billing | $6.08/mo ($72.99 a year) | $13.25/mo ($159 a year) |
| Monthly plan | — | $19.99 |
| 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 sample lessons on its site and a one-time 7-day free trial in the app; no lasting free plan. |
| Languages offered | 14 | 25 |
| Speech recognition | Yes | Yes |
| Live tutoring | No · Live Lessons are exclusive to Busuu for Business, outside the consumer subscription | Coaching sessions with a Rosetta Stone certified tutor. |
| 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. | A one-time 7-day free trial in the app. Bought from Rosetta Stone: a 14-day money-back guarantee, refunded by its Memberships team by email or phone. App Store purchases go through Apple; a retailer's follow that retailer's policy. |
| Platforms | iOS, Android, Web | iOS, Android |
| Company | Busuu Limited, United Kingdom | Rosetta Stone LLC (a division of IXL Learning) |
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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.
Rosetta Stone
Course app
In our comparison: strongest on trial and refund terms and the number of languages, weakest on the free tier.
$159 a year $13.25 a month, billed yearly$19.99 on the monthly plan
Immersion-style lessons without translation, with speech scoring. Live tutoring sold beside the app (Tutoring).
Busuu is a course app and Rosetta Stone is one too. Both teach French, Spanish, Chinese, German and 10 more languages.
Which to choose
You want the smaller yearly bill
Busuu
A year of Busuu costs $72.99 for all 14 languages; a year of Rosetta Stone, $159 for all 25 languages.
You want to learn without paying
Busuu
Busuu has a free account with limits; Rosetta Stone gives only its first lessons free. What each free route includes is in the table above.
You want to practise speaking
Rosetta Stone
Rosetta Stone: Live tutoring is sold beside the app, and speech recognition scores how you say words. Busuu: Speech recognition scores how you say words.
You want to know what level a course takes you to
Busuu
Busuu states CEFR levels A1 to C1 (by course: Spanish and English A1 to C1; French, German, Italian, Japanese, Chinese, Portuguese, Arabic, Dutch, Polish and Turkish A1 to B2; Korean A1 to A2). Rosetta Stone doesn't state CEFR levels for its courses. A stated level is what the lessons cover, not a level you are promised.
Where they really differ
- Price: Busuu: $72.99 a year for all 14 languages. Rosetta Stone: $159 a year for all 25 languages, or $19.99 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. Rosetta Stone: Pictures and audio with no translation at all, and your pronunciation scored.
- A real person: Busuu has no live tutors. Rosetta Stone sells live tutoring alongside the app.
- Levels: Busuu states a CEFR range for each course, up to C1. Rosetta Stone doesn't state CEFR levels.
- Trying it: Busuu: A free account, then a 14-day money-back guarantee on your first Premium payment. Rosetta Stone: A 7-day free trial in the app, and a 14-day money-back guarantee when you buy on its site.
- Both: Listen to you speak and 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 |
Rosetta Stone
| Plan | Billing | Price | Per month | Covers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| YearlyLabelled "Save 33%" against the monthly plan. | Annual | $159 | $13.25/mo | all languages |
| MonthlyAll 25 languages. | Monthly | $19.99 | $19.99/mo | all languages |
What will Rosetta Stone cost you for the months you study?
Total billed over 12 months
$80.88 less on annual billingOne yearly payment of $159.00.
What each plan covers. Monthly: all languages. Yearly: all languages.
Questions people ask
Is Busuu better than Rosetta Stone?
Neither is better for every learner. Choose Busuu if you want the smaller yearly bill, a free account to learn on and a course that states its CEFR levels. Choose Rosetta Stone if you want more speaking practice and a trial or money back. In our comparison, Busuu is strongest on teaching depth and price, weakest on the number of languages, and Rosetta Stone strongest on trial and refund terms and the number of languages, weakest on the free tier.
Which is cheaper, Busuu or Rosetta Stone?
Busuu costs less by the year: $72.99 for all 14 languages, where a year of Rosetta Stone is $159 for all 25 languages. Month to month, and with any lifetime plan, the plans tables above give both.
Do Busuu and Rosetta Stone teach the same languages?
Busuu lists 14 languages and Rosetta Stone 25, 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.