Busuu Review

Tuesday, January 21st

2025 Spanish Lesson Reviews

Busuu

• Basic: Free
• 1 month: $11 per month (equalling $132 annually)
• 6 months: $7.83 per month (equalling $46.99 annually)
• 12 months: $5.25 per month (equalling $62.99 annually
• Placement tests
• Set goals to keep motivated
• Written work corrected by native speakers
• Partnered with a reputable textbook company

We'll bet you didn't know that Busuu is named after an endangered language in Cameroon which is spoken by only a small group of people. Funny though, the Busuu language isn't one of the languages that's offered by this platform. Busuu was founded in 2008 and has since partnered with McGraw-Hill Education, a well-known textbook company. Spanish is one of 14 languages you can learn with Busuu, and when you complete a writing assignment, a native Spanish speaker will evaluate your work.

Tell Busuu your level of learning intensity

Before you even get your Busuu account, you'll communicate your reasons for learning and your study time availability. For example, are you learning Spanish to communicate with family/friends, do you plan to travel, are you wanting brain exercise, or something else? Then decide your study goal by letting them know how many minutes per day you'll be able to dedicate to your Spanish lessons.

Take a placement test

Rather than just starting out at the beginning, if you know some Spanish already, you can take a placement test. The test helps determine which CEFR level you're at. CEFR is the European method for determining placement. This is good because you'll know your level, basically internationally, and can transfer this information to most any language course. Busuu offers lessons from level A1, the most basic, to C1, the lower of the advanced levels. It's rare to find an online Spanish course that teaches up to C2, but that's fine.

Using inference and context

One of the features we like about Busuu Spanish is that they want you to use inference when trying to understand what they're saying. For example, you'll see a photo of people in a restaurant, hear the dialog, then you'll answer a question where you'll need to use context to answer. It's much more natural than studying flashcards and then putting flashcards into a dialog.

Remember the days of learning through dialog?

Old-school Spanish textbooks would teach language by showing application of the vocabulary in context of a dialog between two people. This is the case with Busuu, as the old is new again. Dialogs offer real-life situations and conversations. In a restaurant scene, for example, you'll learn how to order meals and how to converse with the server. Isn't that much more useful than how the Bird App tells you how to say "the turtle's pencil”?

Free version

You can sign up for free access to Busuu's Spanish lessons, but you really won't get more than just a taste, and you'll miss the grammar explanations. We suggest getting a paid subscription, keeping in mind the 14-day cancellation period that starts once your paid time starts.

Premium version

Pay for a subscription here because it's worth it. You can get feedback on your Spanish from the Busuu community, personalize your study plan, get the grammar review, receive official CEFR certification, and unlock all 14 languages to learn. Prices range from around $5-$11 per month, depending on how long you commit to using Busuu.

Free trial

When you subscribe to Busuu Premium, you'll have a 7-day free trial period to all the Spanish material now unlocked for you. It's a very short window of time, so if you want the free trial, make sure you'll have the time to use it.

Lesson structure is logical

Each of the Busuu lessons is broken down into three or four mini-lessons, all on the same topic. The first Spanish mini-lesson shows you the words that will be used, the second gives you practice using them, and it ends with an assessment, usually a mini-quiz or a writing prompt. Spanish lessons also introduce verbs in newer-to-you conjugations to build your proficiency. The lessons build on each other, bringing you gradually into the next CEFR level.

Native speakers evaluate your work

This is a novel concept. Native Spanish speakers can review the written and spoken work you submit to Busuu. You, too, can choose to evaluate the written and spoken work of Busuu's English learners. Try it, it's fun!

Busuu gets the job done but lacks in flair

When an online Spanish language platform partners with a well-known textbook company, you'll receive quality lessons that get the job done with a proven learning method. We love that Busuu is reasonably priced, uses context, doesn't overuse the flashcard method, and goes up to level C1 for Spanish proficiency. With Busuu's almost completely traditional teaching and quizzing methods, we would suggest more animation, competition, or other motivating features as an improvement, to help learners look forward to the next lesson. Beyond that, though, Busuu is a super-solid way to learn Spanish and we give these lessons an excellent rating.