Education · head to head
Busuu vs Elevate
Busuu
Education
Language learning app with a community correction feature, owned by Chegg since 2022
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
Elevate
Education
Cognitive skills training app from Elevate Labs covering reading, writing, maths and speaking games
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Busuu the free tier is limited enough that meaningful progress in most languages effectively requires the Premium subscription within a few weeks of use.; Elevate the free tier limits daily games enough that the personalised programme the app is designed around is effectively a paid-only feature.
- They diverge on capability: Busuu covers Structured course units, Elevate covers Daily game sets.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Busuu and Elevate actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Education).
What each one covers
Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.
Only in Busuu
- Structured course units
- Community correction
- Study plans and certification
- Offline lessons
- Grammar review units
- Live tutoring credits
Only in Elevate
- Daily game sets
- Personalised training plan
- Progress tracking
- Reading and comprehension drills
- Maths and estimation games
- Writing and proofreading games
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Busuu
- A self-directed adult learner who wants human correction on writing and speaking exercises rather than only algorithmic feedbacknot Elevate
- Someone working toward a specific proficiency level and wanting a structured study plan rather than a gamified drip of lessonsnot Elevate
- A learner who wants offline access for commuting or travel, which requires the Premium subscriptionnot Elevate
- A buyer comparing Busuu against Duolingo who values depth of grammar explanation over gamificationnot Elevate
Elevate
- An adult wanting short daily practice on workplace writing and proofreading skillsnot Busuu
- Someone preparing for a maths or verbal reasoning assessment who wants low-stakes daily drillsnot Busuu
- A user comparing Elevate against Lumosity on whether they want practical skills or abstract cognitive gamesnot Busuu
- A buyer wanting to sample the format on the limited free tier before committing to a subscriptionnot Busuu
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Busuu
- The free tier is limited enough that meaningful progress in most languages effectively requires the Premium subscription within a few weeks of use.
- Community correction quality depends on other users being active in your target language at the time you submit, so response speed and quality vary noticeably by language and time zone.
- Since the 2022 Chegg acquisition, Busuu sits inside a company built around subscription homework and study services, and Chegg has faced its own commercial pressure from AI tools reducing demand for its core products, which is a relevant roadmap risk.
- Course depth and language coverage are uneven; widely spoken languages such as Spanish and French have far more content than smaller language courses.
- The official Busuu certificate is not a recognised external qualification equivalent to something like an IELTS or DELF exam, so it carries limited weight outside informal use.
Elevate
- The free tier limits daily games enough that the personalised programme the app is designed around is effectively a paid-only feature.
- As with the brain training category generally, evidence that improved performance on Elevate specific games transfers to broader real-world cognitive or task performance is weaker than marketing framing implies.
- The annual subscription auto-renews and, as with most mobile subscriptions, must be cancelled through app store settings rather than inside the app itself.
- Game variety within each skill category is finite, and long-term daily users report the exercises becoming repetitive after extended use.
- It does not replace structured instruction for skills like reading comprehension or maths where a genuine foundational gap exists; it is practice and drilling rather than teaching from first principles.
Pricing, plan by plan
Busuu
Free- Busuu Premium$13.99/month
- Free tier gives limited vocabulary and grammar content per language, with ads
- Premium unlocks full course content, offline lessons and grammar review units
- Annual Premium plans typically run $69.99 to $99.99, cheaper per month than monthly billing
Elevate
Free- Elevate Pro$9.99/month
- Free tier gives a limited number of games per day
- Pro unlocks the full game library and personalised training plan
- Annual Pro plans typically run $44.99 to $59.99, cheaper per month than monthly billing
Which should you pick?
Choose Busuu if
- You need structured course units.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on iOS, Android, Web.
- You also want community correction.
Choose Elevate if
- You need daily game sets.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on iOS, Android.
- You also want personalised training plan.
Questions people ask
- Is Busuu or Elevate better?
- Neither clearly leads. Busuu starts at Free and Elevate at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Busuu or Elevate?
- Busuu starts at Free and Elevate at Free.
- Does Busuu or Elevate run on more platforms?
- Busuu runs on iOS, Android, Web. Elevate runs on iOS, Android.
- Can I use Busuu for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Busuu best used for?
- Busuu is most often used for a self-directed adult learner who wants human correction on writing and speaking exercises rather than only algorithmic feedback, someone working toward a specific proficiency level and wanting a structured study plan rather than a gamified drip of lessons, a learner who wants offline access for commuting or travel, which requires the premium subscription, a buyer comparing busuu against duolingo who values depth of grammar explanation over gamification. Of those, a self-directed adult learner who wants human correction on writing and speaking exercises rather than only algorithmic feedback and someone working toward a specific proficiency level and wanting a structured study plan rather than a gamified drip of lessons are not what Elevate is typically brought in for.
- What can Busuu do that Elevate cannot?
- Busuu covers Structured course units, Community correction, Study plans and certification, Offline lessons. Elevate covers Daily game sets, Personalised training plan, Progress tracking, Reading and comprehension drills.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Busuu: Is Busuu free?
A limited amount of vocabulary and grammar content per language is free with ads. Full course access, offline lessons and the certificate require Busuu Premium.
Elevate: Is Elevate free?
A limited number of games per day are free. The full library, personalised training plan and progress tracking require Elevate Pro.
Busuu: Who owns Busuu?
Chegg, the publicly traded US education technology company, acquired Busuu in 2022.
Elevate: Does Elevate improve real-world cognitive ability?
It reliably improves performance on the specific games practised. Evidence that this transfers broadly to real-world cognitive or task performance is limited, consistent with the brain training category generally.
Busuu: What is the community correction feature?
Writing and speaking exercises are submitted to other Busuu users who are native speakers of your target language, who correct them for free as part of the community exchange.
Elevate: How is Elevate different from Lumosity?
Elevate focuses on practical skills such as reading, writing and workplace maths, while Lumosity is built around broader abstract memory, attention and reasoning games.
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