Busuu vs Duolingo: Which Language App Fits Your Teen?

Busuu vs Duolingo: the short answer

Busuu and Duolingo both teach languages through short app lessons with a free starting point. The differences are age, structure and community.

Duolingo is free with ads, game-like, and offers more than 40 languages. It suits readers from about second or third grade. Under-13s get a child account set up with a parent's email, with leaderboards and friends turned off.

Busuu is for ages 13 and up under its terms, and the App Store rates it 13+. It covers 14 languages, with courses organized from A1 (beginner) to C1 (advanced) in its main languages. Learners can submit writing and speaking exercises for feedback from fluent speakers in the Busuu Community. The free plan is limited; Premium unlocks the full course.

For kids under 13, Duolingo is the only one of the two that fits. For a teen who wants a course that feels more like a class, Busuu is worth a trial.

Teaching approach

Duolingo keeps lessons tiny and rewards streaks. It's strong on vocabulary and reading; grammar is mostly learned by example.

Busuu is organized more like a course. Lessons mix vocabulary, video flashcards with real people, grammar review and short dialogues, and Smart Review brings back weak words. Its signature feature is the community: learners write or record answers, and other users who speak the language correct them, while learners help others in return. That gives real human feedback but also means messages from strangers.

What a lesson looks like

Duolingo: A few minutes of tapping, matching, translating and listening, then points and a streak. Five to fifteen minutes a day is typical.

Busuu: Your teen works through a lesson on a topic like introducing themselves, studies new words and a grammar point, then writes a few sentences or records a short answer. Later, they check corrections from fluent speakers and can correct someone learning English.

Price and value

Duolingo is free with ads. As of October 2026, US App Store prices for Super Duolingo run from $9.99 to $119.99 depending on term and plan, with a 14-day free trial.

Busuu has a free plan with limited lessons and flashcards. Paid Premium and Premium Plus prices vary by platform, currency and offer. As of October 2026, the US App Store lists Busuu plans from about $6.99 to $23.49 a month and $70 to $139.99 a year. Check the price in your account before subscribing.

Duolingo is the better value for younger kids. Busuu's paid plan can be good value for a teen using it as a structured course.

Who should choose Busuu

• Teens 13 and up who want structure by level
• Students who want their writing and speaking corrected
• Learners aiming for a specific level, such as B1
• Homeschoolers who want certificates to document progress

Who should choose Duolingo

• Kids under 13 who read well
• Families who want a free option
• Learners motivated by streaks and leagues
• Students who want a less common language

Alternatives to both

• Babbel: grammar explained in dialogues for ages 13+; see Babbel vs Duolingo.
• Pimsleur: 30-minute audio lessons for speaking; see Duolingo vs Pimsleur.
• Rosetta Stone: immersion with speech feedback; see Duolingo vs Rosetta Stone.
• Homeschool Spanish Academy: live one-on-one Spanish for ages 5 to 18.

See all picks in the best language learning apps, the best apps to learn Spanish, and the best language learning apps for kids.

Can you use a scholarship for either?

Sometimes. Duolingo is free, so there's usually nothing to fund. A paid Busuu plan may be an allowable curriculum expense in education savings account programs such as the Arizona ESA, but each program decides which subscriptions qualify. Save your pick to your wishlist and apply once to the scholarships your family may qualify for.