# Busuu vs Earworms

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.

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.

## The numbers

| Metric | Busuu | Earworms |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.7 (101K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/busuu-language-learning-app/id379968583/reviews) | **[4.8 (357 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/earworms-language-learning/id1214721881/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **101K** | 357 |
| Positive reviews | **85.4% of reviews** | 71.2% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | **Weekly** | Every 5 months |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | **#78** | — |
| Size | 267 MB | 48 MB |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | **12.4** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Busuu Limited](https://appshunter.io/developer/370806574) | [earworms Ltd](https://appshunter.io/developer/391784509) |

## What reviewers say

### Busuu

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/busuu-language-learning-app/id379968583)

**Currently charting:** #78 Top Grossing · Education, #139 Top Free · Education (US App Store)

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.

**Highlights:** 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

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (9)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly Subscription | $6.99 | per month |
| Monthly Subscription | $9.99 | per month |
| Monthly Premium Plan | $23.49 | per month |
| 12 Months Premium | $70.00 | per year |
| Annual Subscription | $79.99 | per year |
| 14 Day Trial - Premium Plus | $89.99 | per year |
| 12 Months' Premium | $138.99 | per year |
| 12 Months Premium | $138.99 | per year |
| 12 Months Premium Plus | $139.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 💯 Best resource for learning
- 🎓 Structured lessons and review
- 👥 Helpful community feedback
- 🎨 Engaging visuals and content
- 🗣️ Realistic native speaker audio

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🤖 Inconsistent AI-generated corrections
- 🔒 Limited access without premium
- 🔀 Difficulty navigating between lessons
- 📚 Lack of advanced content and review
- 🔊 Issues with audio and pronunciation

**Reported bugs**

- Incorrect or missing translations
- Inconsistent lesson progress tracking
- Bugs with voice recognition and feedback

**Requested features**

- 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

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/earworms-language-learning/id1214721881)

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.

**Highlights:** 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

**Features:** Family Sharing, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (16)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Try before you buy | Free | one-time |
| Essayez avant d’acheter | Free | one-time |
| Álbum de demostración | Free | one-time |
| French Vol. 1 | $11.99 | one-time |
| Italian Vol. 1 | $11.99 | one-time |
| Spanish Lat. Am. Vol. 1 | $11.99 | one-time |
| Portuguese Vol.1 | $11.99 | one-time |
| French Vol. 2 | $11.99 | one-time |
| Dutch Vol. 1-2 | $19.99 | one-time |
| Japanese Vol. 1-2 | $19.99 | one-time |
| Spanish Lat. Am. Vol. 1-3 | $27.99 | one-time |
| Bundle deals, French Vol. 1-3 | $28.99 | one-time |
| Bundle deals, German Vol. 1-3 | $28.99 | one-time |
| Bundle deals, Italian Vol. 1-3 | $28.99 | one-time |
| Bundle, Spanish Eu. Vol. 1-3 | $28.99 | one-time |
| Portuguese Vol.1-3 | $28.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🎵 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

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 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

**Reported bugs**

- 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

**Requested features**

- 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


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Busuu free?

Busuu is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Earworms free?

Earworms is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Busuu or Earworms?

Earworms is rated higher. Busuu averages 4.7 out of 5 from 101K ratings, while Earworms averages 4.8 from 357 ratings.

### Do Busuu or Earworms have ads?

Busuu shows ads; Earworms does not.

### Which is updated more often, Busuu or Earworms?

Busuu ships an update weekly, and Earworms every 5 months. Most recently, Busuu was updated on September 25, 2026 and Earworms on September 19, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*