Busuu Alternatives for English Learners: What to Use Instead
Most people leave Busuu for one reason: the ads, the price of speaking practice, or wanting a real teacher. Match the alternative to the reason.
On this page
- Choose Busuu if…
- Why people look for something else
- Seven alternatives at a glance
- If the ads or the review paywall bother you: Babbel
- If you want a planned course with help in your language: Fluentra
- If you want to speak more: Speak or ELSA Speak
- If you want real English to read and hear: LingQ
- If you want vocabulary with real voices: Memrise
- If you want a teacher: italki or Cambly
- How to decide
- What Fluentra costs
- Sources
The best Busuu alternative depends on why you're leaving. For ad-free lessons with strong review, try Babbel. For more speaking, try Speak, or ELSA Speak for pronunciation. For a structured A1 to C1 course with beginner help in 20 languages, try Fluentra. For reading and listening to real English, try LingQ, and for a real teacher, italki or Cambly. If you mainly want CEFR levels, certificates and community feedback, Busuu is hard to beat, and staying may be the right call.
A note on fairness: we make Fluentra, one of the options below, so we aren't neutral. Everything we say about other products comes from their own websites, help centres and app store listings, checked on 13 November 2026; the sources are listed at the end. Prices change and differ by country and platform, so check before you pay.
Choose Busuu if…
Busuu does a lot well for English learners, according to its own help centre:
- Clear levels. Its English course runs from A1 to C1, aligned with the CEFR, with a placement test of about five minutes.
- Certificates. On Premium you get a certificate for each level after passing its test, showing your CEFR level and grade. Busuu calls them official, but names no body that recognises them.
- Feedback from people. Other learners can correct your written and spoken answers, and that's free.
- AI conversations. Busuu Conversations are in every level of its English course. Free users get a few tries; after that they're part of Premium Plus.
- A refund window. Busuu offers a 14-day money-back guarantee on your first Premium payment made with Busuu.
For how Busuu compares with one alternative in detail, see Fluentra vs Busuu.
Why people look for something else
The reasons are usually about what each plan includes:
- Ads on the free plan. Busuu says free learners watch a short ad before each lesson.
- Review is paid. Vocabulary Review and Grammar Review are on Premium and Premium Plus, not the free plan.
- Speaking feedback costs more. Pronunciation feedback and unlimited AI conversations are Premium Plus features, in selected languages and on selected devices.
- No live teacher for individuals. Busuu's Live Lessons are for Busuu for Business customers.
Seven alternatives at a glance
| Option | Best for | Levels | Free access | Price we saw (13 Nov 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Babbel | Ad-free lessons and spaced review | "First steps" to advanced; no CEFR level stated for English | The first lesson of every course; no ads | $45.75 for 3 months, $107.40 for 12 months, $299.99 lifetime, all 14 languages |
| Fluentra | A planned A1 to C1 course, with beginner help in 20 languages | Five courses, A1 to C1. No C2 | Lessons 1 and 2 of every course, and the level test | $12 a month or $89 a year in the US, Canada and most of Europe; set by country |
| Speak | Talking with an AI tutor | Personalised; CEFR not stated | 7-day free trial | Varies by plan and region; US App Store lists Premium from $17.99 a month |
| ELSA Speak | Pronunciation | A speaking coach, not a full course | A free tier and a 7-day Premium trial | US App Store: $19.99 a month, or $99.99 a year |
| LingQ | Reading and listening to real English | Content near your level; no CEFR path | Free, limited to 20 saved words and 5 imported lessons | $14.99 a month or $119.99 a year (Premium) |
| Memrise | Vocabulary with videos of real speakers | Placement from A1 to C2 | A free plan with ads and limited lessons | Shown in the app for your country |
| A tutor (italki or Cambly) | Real conversation and correction | Depends on the teacher; italki's group classes run A2 to C2 | Cambly: a 30-minute trial for $1 | italki: featured teachers from $10 to $14 a lesson, group classes $7 to $20 |
If the ads or the review paywall bother you: Babbel
Babbel runs no ads, and its Vocab workout uses spaced repetition, bringing words back after 1, 4, 7, 14 and 60 days and then six months, with flashcard, writing, speaking and listening modes. Every subscription includes all 14 of its languages. The catch for English learners: its English courses appear only when the app is set to Ukrainian, Polish, German, French, Swedish, Italian, Spanish or Portuguese, there's no placement quiz for English, and it doesn't state a CEFR level for English. See Babbel alternatives if those are a problem.
If you want a planned course with help in your language: Fluentra
Fluentra is five English courses, from A1 to C1, each with 24 lessons in six modules; there's no C2. Each lesson moves through words and grammar, reading or listening, practice, speaking and a real-life task, and every course page lists its lessons before you start. In Beginner English (A1), instructions, explanations, word meanings and feedback come in your choice of 20 languages; from A2 they're in English. Saved words come back in a short daily practice. You can try part of a real A1 lesson or take the level test with no account.
What it doesn't have: a community that corrects your answers, an AI conversation partner, live teachers or a store app. It runs in the browser on a phone, tablet or computer.
If you want to speak more: Speak or ELSA Speak
Speak is a course built around conversation with an AI tutor, with real-time feedback on pronunciation and phrasing. Its help centre lists English courses for speakers of 15 languages, from Korean and Japanese to Spanish, Hindi and Turkish. There's a 7-day free trial.
ELSA Speak focuses on pronunciation: AI feedback on sounds, stress and fluency, plus role-play conversations. It's English only, has a free tier and a 7-day Premium trial. It's a coach rather than a course, so it works best alongside one. Our guide to apps to practise speaking English compares more options.
If you want real English to read and hear: LingQ
LingQ is a library of reading and listening lessons where you click unknown words and save them for spaced-repetition review; you can also import your own articles. It doesn't follow a CEFR path. The free plan is limited to 20 saved words and five imported lessons, and Premium is $14.99 a month or $119.99 a year. Note its own warning that cancelling deletes your account data. If listening is your weak point, see our English listening practice guide.
If you want vocabulary with real voices: Memrise
Memrise teaches American and British English with short videos of native speakers and an AI conversation partner, and its help centre spells out its spaced-repetition schedule, from four hours up to six months. Its placement assessment covers A1 to C2. The free plan has ads and limited lessons, and the price for your country is shown in the app.
If you want a teacher: italki or Cambly
A person notices mistakes no app does. On italki each teacher sets a price: featured English teachers start at about $10 to $14 a lesson, and English group classes run from A2 to C2 at $7 to $20 a class. Cambly is a subscription for live lessons with native English speakers, one-to-one or in small groups, with a 30-minute trial for $1. Many learners pair a tutor with a course; our guide to speaking more fluently explains how to use the time.
How to decide
| Your reason for leaving Busuu | Try |
|---|---|
| Ads, or paying for review | Babbel |
| You want beginner help in your own language, and a clear path to C1 | Fluentra |
| Speaking practice costs too much on Premium Plus | Speak, or ELSA Speak for pronunciation |
| You want to read and listen to real English | LingQ |
| You want more vocabulary practice | Memrise |
| You want a real teacher | italki or Cambly |
| You want certificates and community feedback | Stay with Busuu |
Not sure of your level? Our comparison of free English level tests helps you pick one. If a free app is enough for now, read Fluentra vs Duolingo, or see all the English learning apps we compared.
What Fluentra costs
Lessons 1 and 2 of every Fluentra course are free once you sign in, and the level test is free with no account. See every course and lesson, or read what Fluentra is.
Full Access is $12 a month or $89 a year in the US, Canada and most of Europe. Prices are set by country, and you see yours before you pay.
Sources
Checked on 13 November 2026. Prices on busuu.com and babbel.com were read in a browser, in USD; both say prices vary by location and platform.
- Busuu: Premium prices, what each plan includes, the free plan, levels, placement test, certificates, Busuu Conversations, Live Lessons and refunds
- Babbel: prices, Vocab workout, available languages and placement quiz
- Speak: speak.com, languages and US App Store listing
- ELSA Speak: elsaspeak.com, subscription and US App Store listing
- LingQ: plans and learn English
- Memrise: learn English and help centre
- italki: italki and group classes. Cambly: English lessons and trying Cambly
Questions people ask
What is the best alternative to Busuu for English?
There isn't one best option; it depends on why you're leaving. Babbel avoids ads and has strong review, Speak and ELSA Speak give you more speaking practice, Fluentra is a structured A1 to C1 course with beginner help in 20 languages, and italki or Cambly give you a real teacher.
Is Busuu free?
Busuu has a free plan with its courses and community feedback, but you watch a short ad before each lesson. Vocabulary and Grammar Review and certificates are on Premium, and pronunciation feedback and unlimited AI conversations are on Premium Plus.
Are Busuu certificates recognised?
Busuu gives a certificate for each level you pass on Premium and calls them official, but it doesn't name a body that recognises them. For a university or a visa, you'll usually need an exam such as IELTS, TOEFL or a Cambridge exam.
Is there a free app like Busuu without ads?
Babbel says it runs no ads and lets you try the first lesson of every course free, though full access is paid. With Fluentra, Lessons 1 and 2 of every course are free once you sign in, and the level test needs no account.
Does Fluentra have community feedback like Busuu?
No. Fluentra has no learner community. In Fluentra you record your answer, compare it with an example and can ask for a check. If corrections from other people matter to you, Busuu or a tutor is a better fit.
