Verithiathe honest score on any app
Updated July 2026 · real, multi-region App Store reviews
Head-to-head

Falou vs Busuu

Falou 4.8★ · Free + IAP 65
Winner Busuu
Busuu 4.7★ · Free + IAP 75

Busuu offers a more structured learning experience with community interaction, while Falou excels in conversational practice but struggles with content quality and technical issues.

Full reviews: Falou · Busuu

Falou is praised for its conversational focus and ease of use, but users frequently report issues with inaccurate AI, nonsensical content, and bugs. Busuu provides a well-organized curriculum with native speaker corrections, though it faces criticism for excessive ads and paywalls in its free version.

Head to head

Features & Content Quality edge: BusuuR6R7R9R13
Falou Falou is appreciated for its focus on conversational practice and helping users form sentences quickly R29. However, many users criticize the content quality, citing unidiomatic, ungrammatical, and nonsensical sentences, especially in more advanced lessons R6R7R13. Some also feel it moves too fast or doesn't teach basic words effectively R9.
Busuu Busuu is generally seen as well-organized and comprehensive, with users appreciating its grammar rules and the ability to get corrections from native speakers . However, some users find the content at higher levels lacking, with untaught vocabulary or grammar . There are also complaints about limited content for certain languages like Korean or Arabic .
Ease of Use & User Experience tieR2R3R4R5
Falou Falou is often described as easy to use and interactive, with many finding it helpful for learning quickly R2R5. However, a significant number of users report bugs, slow performance, and issues with voice recognition, where the app either doesn't register speech or incorrectly marks wrong answers as correct R3R4R15. Some also find it frustrating that they can't review individual words or change their learning level easily .
Busuu Busuu is praised for its clear layout and easy-to-follow lessons . The community feedback feature, allowing native speakers to correct exercises, is a highlight for many . However, some users find the audio quality bad and the overall experience can be boring or lack sufficient repetition . Navigation issues like not being able to skip ads or review sections being broken are also mentioned .
Price & Value (Free vs. Paid) tieR12R14R16R29
Falou Falou offers a free tier, but many users quickly hit daily limits or paywalls, feeling forced to subscribe to continue learning R12R16R34. Some initially believe it's mostly free but then encounter these restrictions R14R29. There are also complaints about features that were part of an initial purchase becoming premium-only later .
Busuu Busuu also has a free tier, but users frequently complain about an overwhelming number of ads and features being locked behind a paywall, making the free experience frustrating R69R73R78. Some users, however, find the free version useful despite the limitations .
Reliability & Support tieR10R13R15R22
Falou Falou users report numerous bugs, including lessons not loading, progress being lost, and the app getting stuck R10R15. Customer support is described as unresponsive or unhelpful, with users receiving useless AI bot replies when reporting issues or requesting refunds R13R22.
Busuu Busuu also has reliability issues, with users reporting glitches, review sections not working, and problems with account management . Customer support is criticized for being unhelpful, refusing refunds, or deleting accounts without proper assistance .
Pick Falou if

you prioritize a strong focus on speaking and conversational practice, are looking for an app that feels interactive and fun, and are willing to overlook potential content inaccuracies or technical glitches R29.

Pick Busuu if

you prefer a more structured curriculum with clear grammar explanations and value the opportunity to receive feedback from native speakers . You should also pick Busuu if you are willing to pay for a premium subscription to avoid ads and access all features .

Evidence note: Both apps have a significant number of positive reviews, but recent negative reviews for Falou highlight serious issues with content quality and AI accuracy. Busuu's negative reviews are heavily skewed towards free-tier friction (ads, paywalls), which is common for freemium models.

Frequently asked

Does Falou offer a truly free experience?
While Falou offers free lessons initially, many users report hitting daily limits or encountering paywalls after a short period, requiring a subscription to continue learning R12R16R34R40.
Is Busuu's free version usable?
Busuu's free version is considered useful for learning basics, but it is heavily criticized for an overwhelming number of ads and many key features, like AI conversations, review sections, and full access, being locked behind a premium paywall R69R73R78R84.
Which app is better for pronunciation practice?
Falou aims to help with pronunciation and conversational speaking, but many users report significant issues with its voice recognition, where it either doesn't register speech or incorrectly marks wrong answers as correct R3R15R24R48. Busuu offers some pronunciation practice and allows for native speaker corrections, which users appreciate .

What reviewers actually said

Built only from these 120 real reviews (foreign ones translated). Superscripts jump to the quote here. Apple has no per-review links, so [ref] opens that app's reviews on the App Store.

  1. [R6] Falou 3/5 · US Good App, Bad Content: The interface this app is easy and the algorithm works well, but the content is a total mess. The transliteration of some of the Japanese words is in fact Chinese, and many of the sentences (and I mean many) are unidiomatic, ungrammatical, and outright nonsensical. It should not have been released before a rigorous quality assurance on content was made. I regret the purchase
  2. [R7] Falou 1/5 · US Uses AI to write nonsense: I have been studying korean and my wife is a native Korean speaker. The app seemed good at first but as the material got more complex the sentences became less intelligible. It started to have sentences which don’t have a sensible context and can’t be made with proper grammar. Don’t waste your time or money.
  3. [R9] Falou 3/5 · US Duolingo for Greek: This is the same as Duolingo. But Greek. So disappointed 10 chapters in still don’t know basic words like days of week numbers the only meal I can order is steak on a gyro or with bread and lemon or orange. I was hoping it would teach basics first . But I can say the big book is very good. I can’t say where is the bathroom or train station.
  4. [R13] Falou 1/5 · US AI Fail: I downloaded Falou because it had Slovak. The lessons were okay at first, but when I clicked on the grammar explanations they were wildly incorrect. I kept using it because the repetition was helpful. Then the sentences became more ridiculous and nonsensical, which is fine, until it started incorrect usage in the lessons. I emailed a few times with the screen shots and the replies were us
  5. [R2] Falou 5/5 · US Learning everyday: Great tool to learn basics of a new language
  6. [R3] Falou 3/5 · US Started good, got worse: There is nothing more frustrating than trying to use an app that refuses to understand what you’re saying. When I first got this app, it was absolutely terrific. I was learning a lot of words, and I was correcting my pronunciation as I went along. Now as I go back over words, I already know, I am no longer getting the same results from the AI that’s judging my pronunciatio
  7. [R4] Falou 1/5 · US Extremely bad app: Your app is a total mess and doesn't work at all.
  8. [R5] Falou 5/5 · US Muy buena: Muy buena
  9. [R12] Falou 3/5 · US One drawback: Hello, dear creators of this app! I want to let you know that your app is quite excellent, but there's one drawback: the paid subscription. I can give you an idea: you could continue free lessons, but limit them to one per day. I think many users would like this, and I'd be very happy if you did it! For now, goodbye! · translated
  10. [R14] Falou 5/5 · US The best!: it’s really similar to Duolingo, but it’s a little better than Duolingo as well. I learned so much already. This was recommended to me a lot on my TikTok FYP. I recommend this app. This is a really good app. Does it have any ads? You don’t really have to pay for anything? It’s pretty free. five stars!!
  11. [R16] Falou 1/5 · US Makes you pay in the middle of the session: It won’t tell you but it will give you free lessons at first then when you are in the middle of learning your class and starting to learn Spanish it will make you pay or you can’t learn Spanish and it makes you feel like if you don’t pay and download another app you lose all your progress and you will feel like you need to pay even though you can just do
  12. [R29] Falou 5/5 · US The best app ever: This app is so good I’ve only used it for five minutes and I am already speaking sentences like it’s nothing. This app is awesome because you can use it as much as you want Duolingo you buy or you can only do it a certain amount of time.
  13. [R10] Falou 1/5 · US Lost the (my words): After installing the chats, couldn’t connect it with my Falou account and the ( my word) turned gray
  14. [R15] Falou 3/5 · US needs improvement: has a ton of bugs and when i say the wrong word, it says that’s correct and after you buy your subscription, they’ll make you buy your a different subscription just use drops
  15. [R22] Falou 1/5 · US Zero customer support: I have reached out to support with email and have not received a response in regard to my purchase and what is included.
  16. [R34] Falou 1/5 · US Don't fall for it: Bro so I was just having fun at first then after you get to like 20 minutes of practicing it say "Oh you reached your daily limit" and I had to wait 10 hours so at like 11pm I can start practicing you think I'm going to start practicing at 11pm NO I get tired at that time and you have to pay money to learn more Spanish you think I'm going to pay that NO! Fix this don't fall for
  17. [R40] Falou 1/5 · US 😒: Sin solo tener un día te pide que pagues el modo premiun y ósea yo solo vengo a aprender no a pagar.
  18. [R69] Busuu 3/5 · US Avis: Belle application mais trop limité pour la version gratuite
  19. [R73] Busuu 1/5 · US Too many adds for premium: Have been using it for a while now and haven’t been keeping up the practice because of how many ads they have or how often they want you to go to premium
  20. [R78] Busuu 3/5 · US worth it for learning: its great for learning a new language and it allows you to help others through their journey in learning a new language, but when you do not have premium in the app you have endless ads and you cant use the review section.
  21. [R84] Busuu 3/5 · US This is very good app: The only nit pick I have is that you can’t do the AI conversations or the AI listening without premium. And unfortunately, for kids trying to learn languages, premium really gets in the way with that. It would be nice to have access to the AI stuff even without premium, as for me, I found that’s the best way I learn German. Side note: they already have adds, why do they need
  22. [R24] Falou 3/5 · US Listening: Great idea and generally is ok. But it definitely cannot hear you many times. Regardless of near or far, fast or slow you speak into the mic. If it listened better, it would be great. Being that basis of the program is to hear you speak, it is a frustrating weakness.
  23. [R48] Falou 3/5 · GB Disappointing: Purchased this as an alternative to the other owl brand language app. It’s slightly better in the sense you don’t feel that your just playing a game to earn a daily streak, but the most frustrating thing is the voice recognition hardly picks up your response and sits spinning trying to figure out if you’ve said anything despite repeating yourself several times. TBH wished I hadn’t b

Synthesized from 120 recent App Store reviews · updated July 2026 · View on the App Store