Busuu for German: A Fair Review of Features, Plans and Limits
Busuu is a good choice for German if you want a structured, CEFR-based course from A1 to B2 with short lessons and feedback on your writing and speaking from native speakers in its community. It is weaker for speaking: AI conversations and pronunciation feedback sit in the top plan, and no app alone makes you B2 exam-ready.
This Busuu German review is based on Busuu’s own website and help centre as of October 2026. Busuu notes that some features exist only “in selected languages, levels, and on certain devices”, so check what you see in the app before you pay.
What Busuu offers for German (verified, October 2026)
| Feature | What Busuu says |
|---|---|
| Levels | German course from A1 to B2 (beginner, intermediate, upper intermediate) |
| Course size | 420+ lessons in the complete German course |
| Lesson style | short lessons with video and audio of real people, vocabulary, grammar, dialogues |
| Community | feedback on your written and spoken exercises from German speakers |
| Speaking | speaking exercises in lessons; AI Conversations and pronunciation feedback in Premium Plus |
| Review | Grammar Review and Vocabulary Review (Premium) |
| Certificates | Busuu certificates for German A1–B2, Premium only |
| Offline | Offline Mode (Premium) |
The three plans
Busuu’s help centre currently describes three tiers:
| Plan | What it adds |
|---|---|
| Free | access to the essential course, community feedback, basic progress tracking |
| Premium | Grammar Review, Vocabulary Review, no ads, Offline Mode, skipping lessons, Busuu certificates |
| Premium Plus | everything in Premium, plus AI Conversations, pronunciation feedback, Mistake Repair, exclusive courses, streak protection |
Prices vary by country, platform and current offers. Check the price inside the app or on busuu.com before you subscribe. Busuu’s premium page mentions a seven-day money-back guarantee for purchases on its website; App Store and Google Play purchases follow the store’s refund rules.
What Busuu does well
1. A real course structure
Busuu is organised by CEFR level. Each level is a sequence of units with a clear grammar point, vocabulary and a short dialogue. If you are a beginner who needs to know what to learn next, this is more useful than an app that mixes random sentences. Compared with a game-style app, you notice the grammar progression: articles, cases, separable verbs and the Perfekt come in a logical order.
2. Feedback from native speakers
The community feature is what makes Busuu different. You write a few sentences or record a short answer, and other users who speak German correct it. For learners preparing for written tasks, such as the emails in the B1 exams, this is valuable practice that few apps offer for free. The quality varies, because the correctors are volunteers, not teachers. Some corrections are excellent, some are just “Gut gemacht!”.
3. Review tools
Grammar Review and Vocabulary Review bring back what you got wrong. This is helpful, though not as powerful as a dedicated spaced-repetition tool. If vocabulary is your main goal, see our guide to using Anki for German vocabulary.
4. Certificates (with a caveat)
Premium users get a Busuu certificate for each completed level, with the CEFR level, a grade and a summary of skills. These certificates are not official language exams. Visa offices, employers and universities ask for exams such as Goethe, telc, ÖSD or TestDaF. Read our guide on which German certificate is best before relying on any app certificate.
Where Busuu falls short
Speaking is still the weak spot
In the regular course, speaking means recording short answers or repeating sentences. That trains pronunciation of prepared phrases, not spontaneous conversation. AI Conversations exist, but only in Premium Plus, and availability depends on language, level and device. If your goal is the speaking part of an exam or talking at work, you will need extra practice.
Community feedback is slow and uneven
Corrections can take hours or days, and you can’t ask follow-up questions in a real dialogue. For a B1 or B2 exam you also need feedback on structure and task completion, which volunteers rarely give.
B2 in the app is not B2 in the exam
Completing the B2 course is not the same as passing a B2 exam. Exams test listening to fast natural speech, long reading texts, formal writing and an oral exam with a partner. Busuu covers parts of this. Plan to add official model tests (Modellsätze) from the exam provider and real speaking practice.
Paywall structure
The most useful extras are split across two paid tiers. If you only want the course and the community, the free plan or Premium may be enough. If you mainly want speaking practice, Premium Plus is the tier that covers it, and that is where you should compare prices with alternatives.
Practise your German out loud with SipLingo, free to try on iPhone and Android:
Busuu vs Duolingo vs Babbel (briefly)
| Busuu | Duolingo | Babbel | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Structure | CEFR-based course, A1–B2 for German | game-style path with streaks and short exercises | lesson-based course with grammar explanations |
| Feedback from humans | yes, community corrections | no | no |
| Best for | structured self-study with writing practice | daily habit, beginners | learners who want clear grammar explanations |
For the full comparisons, see Duolingo vs Babbel for German, our review of whether Babbel is worth it, and the wider list of Duolingo alternatives for German.
Where SipLingo fits (our app)
SipLingo (our app) is not a replacement for a structured course like Busuu. It is a speaking-practice tool: you have voice conversations with an AI partner in 200+ everyday scenarios from A1 to B2, and you get instant corrections of grammar, word order and vocabulary, explained in your own language (English, Spanish, European Portuguese, Russian, Italian or French). You also get a score on four skills: word accuracy, grammar, fluency and intonation. Try a free speaking session.
Its limits, to be fair: SipLingo has no full grammar curriculum, no writing or reading course, no native-speaker community and no certificates. It launched in July 2026, so it has far fewer reviews than Busuu. Many learners will get the most from combining a course (Busuu, a class or a textbook) with a dedicated speaking tool.
| Busuu | SipLingo (our app) | |
|---|---|---|
| Main strength | structured course A1–B2 + community corrections | spontaneous voice conversations with instant corrections |
| Speaking practice | exercises; AI Conversations in Premium Plus | the core of the app at every level |
| Writing practice | yes, via community | no |
| Certificates | Busuu certificates (not official exams) | none |
| Price | varies by country; free plan available | 7.99 USD/month (3-day trial) or 49.99 USD/year (7-day trial); check the store for your local price |
Who should use Busuu for German?
Good fit:
– Beginners who want a clear A1 → B2 path without a class
– Learners who need writing practice and like getting corrections from people
– People who study in 10–15 minute blocks on the phone
Not the best fit:
– Learners whose main goal is speaking fluently soon, unless they take Premium Plus or add a speaking tool
– Exam candidates who need official exam format practice; use the exam provider’s model tests
– Advanced learners above B2, since the German course ends at B2
A realistic plan with Busuu
- Daily: one Busuu lesson (10–15 minutes).
- Three times a week: submit one writing or speaking exercise to the community. If you have time, correct learners of your own language too; an active profile tends to get more replies.
- Weekly: 20–30 minutes of free speaking practice, using the words from that week’s units.
- Every level: do one official model test before moving on, to see how the app level compares with exam level.
At about 30 minutes a day, expect months per CEFR level, not weeks; our guide on how long it takes to learn German gives hour estimates.
Official sources
For the official details and the latest updates, see:
- Busuu: Busuu: how the courses work – Busuu’s CEFR A1–B2 course structure and native-speaker feedback
- Council of Europe: The CEFR levels (Council of Europe) – Official background on the six CEFR levels A1–C2 and how they are described
Frequently asked questions
Is Busuu good for learning German?
Yes, for structured self-study from A1 to B2. Its strengths are the CEFR-based course and community corrections; its weak spot is spontaneous speaking unless you use Premium Plus.
Is Busuu better than Duolingo for German?
For a clear grammar progression and human feedback on your writing, Busuu is generally the stronger choice. Duolingo is better at building a daily habit through game mechanics.
Is Busuu free?
There is a free plan with the essential course, community feedback and basic progress tracking. Review tools, offline mode and certificates need Premium, and AI Conversations need Premium Plus.
Can Busuu get you to B2?
Busuu’s German course goes up to B2, but finishing it does not equal passing a B2 exam. Add official model tests, listening to native speech and regular speaking practice.
Does Busuu have speaking practice?
Yes: speaking exercises in lessons and community feedback on recordings. AI Conversations and pronunciation feedback are part of Premium Plus and are not available in every language or on every device.
Add real conversation practice to your course. SipLingo lets you speak German with an AI partner and corrects you in your own language, from A1 to B2.
