Duolingo vs Busuu vs Babbel: which to choose, and what a year costs
Prices checked 7 Oct 2026; Babbel's on 6 Sept 2026, Busuu's on 6 Oct 2026 · How we check
Duolingo if you want a free daily habit in any of its 40 languages.
Busuu if you want native speakers to correct what you say and write.
Babbel if you want each grammar point explained in English as you meet it.
| Question | Duolingo | Busuu | Babbel |
|---|---|---|---|
| A year costs | Free. Super's yearly price is not published; its US App Store purchases run $9.99 to $119.99 | $72.99 a year | $107.40 a year, or $17.99 month to month |
| A lesson is | A few minutes of game-like exercises (translate, match, listen, speak), with English throughout. | Short lessons with dialogues, grammar tips and exercises; you can send spoken or written answers for the community, native speakers included, to correct. | 10 to 15-minute lessons built on short dialogues, with grammar notes in English and speaking exercises. |
| Try it | Free for good; Super has a 1-week free trial. | A free account, then a 14-day money-back guarantee on your first Premium payment. | The first lesson of every course is free. |
| App Store rating, 10 Oct 2026 | 4.7 out of 5 from 5.5 million ratings | 4.7 out of 5 from 101,167 ratings | 4.7 out of 5 from 755,567 ratings |
| Google Play rating, 11 Oct 2026 and 12 Oct 2026 | 4.7 out of 5 from 50.8 million ratings | 4.7 out of 5 from 1.2 million ratings | 4.6 out of 5 from 1.1 million ratings |
How a lesson works in each
All three are course apps, so a lesson has the same shape
Side by side
| Compare | Duolingo | Busuu | Babbel |
|---|---|---|---|
| CEFR levels | A1 to B2 | A1 to C1 (by course) | A1 to C1 |
| A year costs | Free. Super's yearly price is not published; its US App Store purchases run $9.99 to $119.99 | $72.99 a year | $107.40 a year, or $17.99 month to month |
| What it is | Course app: Game-shaped lessons for every course; paid tiers remove the ads and the daily limits, and Max adds AI practice | Course app: corrections from native speakers and CEFR-labelled levels | Course app: Short structured lessons with grammar notes and review sessions |
| Per month at annual billing | — | $6.08/mo ($72.99 a year) | $8.95/mo ($107.40 a year) |
| Monthly plan | — | — | $17.99 |
| US in-app purchases | Super in the US App Store: $9.99 to $119.99, depending on the plan. | — | — |
| Lifetime plan | No lifetime plan | No lifetime plan | $299.99 once, all languages |
| Free tier | Full free tier with ads and limits; Super removes the ads and limits, and Max adds AI practice (Video Call and Roleplay). | 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; the first lesson of every course is free, and up to 80 free lessons depending on the language. |
| Languages offered | 40 | 14 | 14 |
| Speech recognition | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Live tutoring | No | No · Live Lessons are exclusive to Busuu for Business, outside the consumer subscription | No · Babbel Live is no longer available to individual consumers |
| Offline mode | Yes · Limited lessons available offline; progress syncs when connected | Yes | Yes · Downloaded lessons, vocabulary review and podcasts in the mobile app |
| Placement test | Yes | Yes · Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese and Spanish | Yes · Spanish, French, Italian and German |
| Refund or trial | 1 week free trial on Super | 14-day money-back guarantee on the initial Premium payment; no renewal refunds. Apple and mobile-operator purchases require a refund from that provider. | Bought from Babbel in the US: no refund promised if you cancel early. Outside the US: 14 days to change your mind, less what you have used. App store purchases: the store's rules. |
| Platforms | iOS, Android, Web | iOS, Android, Web | iOS, Android, Web |
| Company | Duolingo, Inc | Busuu Limited, United Kingdom | Babbel GmbH (Lesson Nine GmbH), Germany |
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Duolingo
Course app
In our comparison: strongest on the free tier and teaching depth, weakest on speaking practice.
Free Super removes the ads and limits: $9.99 to $119.99 in Apple's US App Store, depending on the plan, after a 1-week free trial.
Short, game-like lessons make it easy to practise a little every day. You can follow the whole course free, with ads and limits.
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.
$107.40 a year $8.95 a month, billed yearly$17.99 on the monthly plan
Short dialogues and grammar notes help you understand why a sentence works. Speaking exercises let you practise saying it aloud before you need it in conversation.
All three are course apps for your phone, and all three are free to start. They differ in who corrects you and how much they explain. Duolingo's few-minute exercises are free with ads. Busuu's lessons let you send spoken or written answers for its community, native speakers included, to correct. Babbel's dialogues come with grammar notes in English. A paid year costs $72.99 at Busuu and $107.40 at Babbel, each for all its languages.
Which to choose
You want a person to correct what you say and write
Busuu
Busuu lets you send spoken or written answers to its community, native speakers included, to be corrected, and its free account already includes the course in each language with that feedback. Premium is $72.99 for 12 months, for all 14 of its languages, and its 14-day money-back guarantee covers your first payment.
You want the grammar explained in English
Babbel
Babbel explains each grammar point in English as you meet it, in 10 to 15-minute lessons built on short dialogues. The 12-month plan is $107.40 ($8.95 a month) for all 14 of its languages, and the first lesson of every course is free.
You want a free daily habit
Duolingo
Duolingo is free for good, with ads and daily limits, and its streaks are built to bring you back every day. Super removes the ads and limits; Apple's US App Store sells it for $9.99 to $119.99, depending on the plan.
You are learning a less common language
Check Duolingo first
Duolingo teaches 40 languages; Busuu and Babbel teach 14 each. Find yours on the list of every language, which says which apps teach it.
You wonder whether to use more than one
Duolingo free, beside Busuu or Babbel
Keep Duolingo's free tier for the streak and pay for one of the other two: Busuu if you want corrections from people, Babbel if you want the grammar explained. Busuu's and Babbel's courses cover much of the same beginner ground, so paying for both adds less than it costs.
Plans and prices
Duolingo
| Plan | Billing | Price | Per month | Covers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Super Duolingo, in the app (US)Apple's listing doesn't say which price is monthly, yearly or Family; the app shows yours at checkout. | Shown at checkout | $9.99, $12.99, $79.99, $83.99, $95.99, $119.99 | — | No ads or limits; 1-week free trial |
| FreeEvery course, with ads and daily limits. | Other | $0 | $0/mo | all languages |
| Super DuolingoSuper | Other | — | — | all languages |
| Super Family | Family | — | — | family up to 6 |
| Duolingo MaxMaxFor English speakers, Max has Video Call and Roleplay in Spanish, French, German, Italian and Portuguese, and Video Call in Japanese, Korean and Chinese (blog.duolingo.com/duolingo-max, read 13 Oct 2026: 'English speakers learning Spanish, French, German, Italian, and Portuguese have access to both Video Call and Roleplay, and those learning Japanese, Korean, and Chinese can use the new Video Call feature'). | Other | — | — | every course; its AI only in some (see the note) |
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 |
Babbel
| Plan | Billing | Price | Per month | Covers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 monthsSold as "Save 50%" against $215.40, which is twelve months at the monthly price. Apple's US App Store sells the same plan for $107.99. | Annual | $107.40 | $8.95/mo | all languages |
| 3-month plan (iOS in-app purchase)Apple's US App Store price for one language. | Every 3 months | $45.99 | $15.33/mo | one language |
| 1-month plan (iOS in-app purchase)Apple's US App Store price for one language. | Monthly | $17.99 | $17.99/mo | one language |
| LifetimeBabbel sells Lifetime for less during sales: a Labor Day sale offered it for $199. | Lifetime | $299.99 | one-time | all languages |
What will Babbel cost you for the months you study?
Total billed over 12 months
$108.48 less on annual billingOne yearly payment of $107.40.
What each plan covers. Monthly: one language. Yearly: all languages.
Questions people ask
Which is better: Duolingo, Busuu or Babbel?
Each suits a different learner. Duolingo suits a free daily habit, Busuu a learner who wants native speakers to correct them, and Babbel one who wants grammar explained in English. The table above sets out what each app states about itself.
Which is cheapest?
Duolingo, which is free with ads; Busuu's free account also gives you its course. Of the paid years, Busuu Premium is $72.99 and Babbel's 12-month plan $107.40. Duolingo's Super is priced in the app; Apple's US App Store lists it at $9.99 to $119.99.
Which one corrects your mistakes?
All three mark your exercises as you go. Busuu adds corrections from its community, native speakers included; Babbel's speech recognition checks what you say; and Duolingo Max adds AI feedback in some courses.
Do Busuu and Babbel have placement tests?
Yes, in their main languages: Babbel's placement quiz covers Spanish, French, Italian and German, and Busuu's covers eight languages, Spanish, French, German and Japanese among them. Duolingo has one too. Each starts you at your level if you are not a beginner.