Busuu vs Earworms
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Busuu
Learn new languages through bite-sized lessons and interactive exercises. Connect with native speakers for feedback and practice, and track your progress with personalized study plans and official certificates.
- Learn up to 14 languages
- Connect with native speakers
- Expert-designed courses
- Personalized study plans
- Smart review for vocabulary and grammar
- Official language certificates
- Specialized courses
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Busuu helps you communicate with confidence from day one. Combine expertly designed language lessons with feedback and tips from our global community of native speakers and harness the power of learning together. Looking for the best way to learn a new language on your phone? You’ve just discovered it, with Busuu, a Chegg service – we’re the app that makes learning new languages easier, more fun and more effective for all. Whether you’re learning to get confident having new conversations, for a higher grade, a career boost, or for mind-blowing travel experiences, Busuu’s got your back. We’re already helping millions of people overcome their learning struggles, from lack of time and motivation to problems with grammar and vocab. We help our learners achieve their goals, one milestone at a time – and we want to do the same for you. DOWNLOAD THE APP NOW FOR FREE LANGUAGE LEARNING ================ How are we doing this? We’re glad you asked. Whether you’re learning on your iPad or iPhone, Busuu helps you… – Learn up to 14 languages That’s right, 14! We’ve got complete courses in English, French, Spanish, Italian, German, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Portuguese (Brazilian), Polish, Russian, Arabic, Dutch or Turkish with Busuu. – Master languages with real people You want to learn the relevant language, right? You’re in luck: we’ll connect you with our community of native speakers so you can get localized language knowledge and support. Feel even better when you help other learners in return. – Learn from the experts Busuu’s online courses are created by our ingenious language experts. Learn step-by-step with bite-sized lessons, plenty of practice and lots of opportunities to test your progress. – Say hello to useful language skills Learn the language that will really take you places! With regularly updated content, video flashcards featuring real people and useful cultural tips, you’ll be fully immersed in no time. – Kiss goodbye to stressful timetabling We’re serious. We organize your learning time for you with a personalized Study Plan. Simply tell us when you want to study and for how long, and we’ll send you notifications to keep you on track. – Revise with ease There’ll be no forgetting on our watch. Smart Review cleverly saves all the grammar and vocab you learn in lessons and stores them in one handy place, so you can make those tricky words and rules stick. – Show off achievements with official certificates With our Busuu language certificates, you’ll have actual proof of your language capabilities. – Access specialized courses for language lovers You’ve learned the basics, and now you’re hungry for more. Learn about manga, advance your pronunciation or add travel-specific phrases to your skillset, plus much more. ================ DON’T JUST TAKE OUR WORD FOR IT. See what others have to say about Busuu: ● EDITOR RATING: EXCELLENT - PC MAG ● Named 'Best Buy' language learning app by the Independent in 2021 ● Language Learning App of the Year at the EdTech Breakthrough Awards 2020 ================ PLEASE NOTE A lot of the features are free, but you will need a subscription in order to get access to all features of this app. Your subscription will automatically renew unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current payment period. Your iTunes account will be automatically charged at the same price for renewal within the 24-hour period prior to the end of the current payment period unless you change your subscription preferences in your Account Settings. You can manage your subscriptions through your Account Settings after purchase. Privacy policy: https://www.busuu.com/en/privacy/ Terms of Service: https://www.busuu.com/en/terms/
Earworms
Learn languages effectively using the "earworm effect" with catchy music and lyrics. This method anchors foreign language words and phrases into your long-term memory through engaging, brain-based audio-visual lessons. Improve vocabulary and grammar with bite-sized tracks and native speaker pronunciation.
- Learn languages with music and lyrics
- Brain-based learning technique
- Audio-visual experience with karaoke lyrics
- 6-9 minute learning tracks
- Content-rich language based on CEF
- Native speaker pronunciation
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Do you know what “earworm effect” is? Experience it while you learn languages with catchy music and lyrics that you just can't get out of your head. This highly effective award-winning learning technique uses music as the medium to transport words and phrases of a foreign language into your long-term memory. Start your language learning now! Learn Spanish, French, Portuguese, German, Italian, Mandarin, Japanese, Brazilian Portuguese, Maltese, Dutch, Greek, Russian, Arabic, or Turkish and improve your vocabulary and grammar using the power of music. Earworms plant the words of a foreign language into your head with easy language courses. Try our language learning with music lyrics demo for free. THE EARWOMS METHOD 1. Brain-based: The Earworms method not only provides the words, phrases and grammar that you need for language learning, it also actively anchors them into the auditory cortex of your brain! It’s much more than language courses, it's language learning! Learn French, Spanish, English, Italian, German or Dutch listening to music lyrics. 2. Music is the key: Using music as the medium to learn languages is not only fun, it is also effective. Firstly, music puts the learner into the optimum state of consciousness for learning different languages. Secondly, music lyrics learning allows repetition (a prerequisite for language learning). On top of that, music engages and stimulates both hemispheres of the brain, unleashing more learning potential. 3. Chunking: Instead of language learning in terms of individual words and grammar, the Earworms approach immerses the learner in real-life dialogues and expressions with lyrics. These are broken down into bite-size chunks, practiced rhythmically with music and then reconstructed into full sentences. This gives the learner a strong sense of how real language courses are constructed and learning French, Spanish, German, Italian, English and other different languages and their vocabulary becomes easy. IMPORTANT FEATURES * Developed by language teaching experts. * Convenient. 6-9 minute tracks. Listen and learn track by track, any time, anywhere. * Audio-visual experience with 'karaoke-like' live lyrics feature. * Specific unambiguous goals. 200+ optimally selected sets of words and phrases for language learning. * Measurable. Easy tracking of progress of your language courses. * Target language spoken by native speakers - so correct pronunciation is acquired automatically. * Relevant. Carefully chosen content-rich language. Based on the CEF (Common European Framework) and immediately useful to the learner. * Time-bound. The musical memory method enables real rapid progress. E.g. you can learn to count up to 999 in Mandarin in an hour (!) or retain and recall words, phrases and structures in one language level within a couple of weeks. * Educational discounts are available. Visit https://www.earwormslearning.com/edu LANGUAGES CURRENTLY AVAILABLE French + German + Italian + Spanish (European) + Spanish (Lat. American) + Mandarin + Cantonese + Japanese + Arabic + Portuguese (European) + Portuguese (Brazilian) + Russian + Greek + Turkish + Polish + English + Dutch LEVELS There are 3 learning levels available, which will take you up to intermediate level (CEF level A2). * Volume 1. Within a few hours of listening to this volume, you'll have enough vocabulary knowledge of a language to be able to deal with real-life situations like taking a taxi, at the hotel, at the restaurant, requesting, polite phrases, finding your way, numbers, dealing with problems and so on. * Volume 2. This language course will soon have you talking about yourself, chatting and even flirting! * Volume 3. Here you learn more useful everyday situations while going more into the structure, the grammatical rules of the language while improving your vocabulary. NB. The app includes a demo album, full tracks of all languages available – and is free to download. You can then in-app purchase full courses.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: Earworms at none against Busuu's shown. Earworms also leads on iOS requirement (12.4 vs 18.0). Busuu's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 5 months) and ratings volume (101K vs 357). On price, rating, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Busuu sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per month and Earworms sells 16 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Busuu against 4.8 for Earworms. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Busuu has 101K ratings behind it against 357, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 85% of Busuu's written reviews are positive against 71% of Earworms's.
Busuu ships an update weekly, Earworms every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 19, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Busuu | Earworms |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (101K ratings) | 4.8 (357 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 85.4% of reviews — better | 71.2% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 101K — better | 357 |
| Update frequency | Weekly — better | Every 5 months |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #78 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 12.4 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 267 MB | 48 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Busuu Limited | earworms Ltd |
Customer experience
Busuu
Earworms
User reviews
Busuu
From 101K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 💯 Best resource for learning
- 🎓 Structured lessons and review
- 👥 Helpful community feedback
- 🎨 Engaging visuals and content
- 🗣️ Realistic native speaker audio
Room to improve
- 🤖 Inconsistent AI-generated corrections
- 🔒 Limited access without premium
- 🔀 Difficulty navigating between lessons
- 📚 Lack of advanced content and review
- 🔊 Issues with audio and pronunciation
Earworms
From 357 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🎵 Music-based learning method effectively reinforces memory
- 👍 Easy and intuitive to use
- ⭐ Excellent customer support team
- 🎯 Practical, conversational phrases for real-world use
- 🧠 Words and phrases stick in memory effortlessly
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent app crashes and freezing issues
- 📱 Poor booklet formatting on mobile devices
- 💸 Pricing considered expensive by some users
- ❌ Limited number of lessons per language
- 🔧 App lacks autoplay/continuous playback feature
Bugs and requests
Busuu
Reported bugs
3 issues- Incorrect or missing translations
- Inconsistent lesson progress tracking
- Bugs with voice recognition and feedback
Requested features
5 requests- Ability to learn multiple languages simultaneously
- More detailed grammar explanations and practice
- Customizable review and flashcard features
- Improved community features and messaging
- Offline access to downloaded lessons
Earworms
Reported bugs
11 issues- App crashes every few minutes on iPhone
- Network error on startup despite internet connection
- Infinite loop on initial setup screen
- App closes unexpectedly during playback
- Restore purchases feature not functioning
Show 6 moreShow fewer
- Activation code cannot be claimed in app
- Tracks download corrupted or fail to load
- Text display shows English instead of native script
- Phrase book download button subscribes to email instead
- App no longer works after OS updates
- Category selection feature removed in newer version
Requested features
11 requests- Additional volume levels for existing languages
- More lessons and expanded content library
- Autoplay feature for continuous listening
- Repeat single track functionality
- Ability to select specific lesson categories
Show 6 moreShow fewer
- Business-focused lesson modules
- Emergency/medical/police interaction lessons
- Grocery shopping and tradesperson lessons
- More Cantonese, Maltese, Hindi, and Finnish content
- Improved booklet formatting and accessibility
- Direct email contact option for support
In-app purchases
Busuu
- Monthly Subscription$6.991 Month
- Monthly Subscription$9.991 Month
- Monthly Premium Plan$23.491 Month
Show 6 moreShow fewer
- 12 Months Premium$70.001 Year
- Annual Subscription7 Days trial$79.991 Year
- 14 Day Trial - Premium Plus14 Days trial$89.991 Year
- 12 Months' Premium7 Days trial$138.991 Year
- 12 Months Premium7 Days trial2 variants$138.991 Year
- 12 Months Premium Plus7 Days trial2 variants$139.991 Year
Earworms
- Try before you buyFree
- Essayez avant d’acheterFree
- Álbum de demostraciónFree
Show 13 moreShow fewer
- French Vol. 1$11.99
- Italian Vol. 1$11.99
- Spanish Lat. Am. Vol. 1$11.99
- Portuguese Vol.1$11.99
- French Vol. 2$11.99
- Dutch Vol. 1-2$19.99
- Japanese Vol. 1-2$19.99
- Spanish Lat. Am. Vol. 1-3$27.99
- Bundle deals, French Vol. 1-3$28.99
- Bundle deals, German Vol. 1-3$28.99
- Bundle deals, Italian Vol. 1-3$28.99
- Bundle, Spanish Eu. Vol. 1-3$28.99
- Portuguese Vol.1-3$28.99







