Duolingovs
Babbel
Babbel: Well-rounded language app with 10-15 minute lessons, native speaker audio, speech recognition, and AI-powered speaking trainer launched in 2025. Offers 13 languages.
Duolingo
Learn a language for free, forever
As of 30 August 2026, Duolingo has a free plan and paid plans start at $12.99/month. Duolingo is a gamified language learning platform making language education fun, engaging, and accessible to millions of learners worldwide. Softwr lists it under Education. Duolingo is made by Duolingo Inc, launched in 2011, available on iOS, Android, Web.
Overview
What Duolingo does
Duolingo is a gamified language learning platform making language education fun, engaging, and accessible to millions of learners worldwide. With bite-sized lessons, interactive exercises, and a supportive community, Duolingo helps users learn 30+ languages including Spanish, French, German, Japanese, and more in just 5 minutes a day.
What people use it for
- Language learning
- Travel preparation
- Career development
- Cultural exploration
Related searches
The honest half
Where it falls short
Concrete and checkable, so you can decide whether any of them matter to you. This is the half of a review a vendor will not write about Duolingo.
- Free tier includes ads and energy-based hearts system limiting daily practice without paying
- Gamification focus may appeal to casual learners but lacks depth for serious language study beyond conversational basics
- Limited to short, bite-sized lessons without extensive grammar explanations or cultural context
Cross-shopped
What people choose instead of Duolingo
Each pairing was judged by two reviewers asking whether a buyer would genuinely weigh the two against each other. The ones that failed were deleted rather than published.
- DuolingovsRosetta Stone
Rosetta Stone: Immersion-based platform with Dynamic Immersion method, TruAccent speech recognition, live tutoring from native speakers, and 30+ languages available.
Pricing
What Duolingo costs
Taken from the vendor's own pricing page. Prices move, so check before you buy.
Free
Free
- All language courses
- Ad-supported
- Limited hearts (5-heart system)
Super
$12.99 /mo
- Ad-free
- Unlimited hearts
- Extra practice tools
Super Family
$119.99 /yr
- Up to 6 users
- All Super features
- Family group
Max
On request
- All Super features
- Video Call with Lily
- Roleplay scenarios
- Explain My Answer
Capabilities
Features
40+ languages
Gamification
Streaks
Leaderboards
Stories
Podcasts
Speaking exercises
AI tutor
Google Classroom
Integration with Google Classroom
Schools dashboard
Integration with Schools dashboard
API
Integration with API
Web support
Available on Web
Answered, with sources
Questions people ask
Each answer names the page it came from, so you can check it rather than take our word for it.
What is Duolingo's pricing model?
Duolingo offers free tier with ads and limited features, Super Duolingo at $12.99/month (ad-free, unlimited hearts, extra practice), Super Family at ~$119.99/year for up to 6 users, and Duolingo Max with AI features like Video Call and Roleplay.
SourceIs Duolingo effective for language learning?
Duolingo has 135+ million monthly active users as of Q3 2025, making it the world's most widely used language-learning app. Its gamified approach and free tier have driven massive adoption.
SourceWhat AI features does Duolingo Max include?
Duolingo Max includes Video Call for conversation practice with AI character Lily and Roleplay for scenario-based speaking practice. As of January 2026, Explain My Answer became free for all users.
SourceDoes Duolingo work offline?
Duolingo is primarily online, though it may offer limited offline lesson downloads on some platforms. Full features require internet connection.
SourceBehind it
Who makes Duolingo
- Company
- Duolingo Inc
- Based in
- Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Founders
- Luis von Ahn, Severin Hacker
Timeline
Duolingo over time
- Launch2021-07-28$520.8m
Duolingo IPO on Nasdaq (ticker DUOL) raising $520.8 million at $3.7 billion valuation
Source - Funding2015-06-01$45m
Series D funding of $45 million raised
Source - Funding2014-02-01$20m
Series C funding of $20 million raised
Source - Launch2012-06-19
Duolingo public release launched
Source - Launch2011-11-01
Duolingo private beta launched
Source - Founded2011-01-01
Duolingo founded by Luis von Ahn and Severin Hacker inspired by expensive English learning in Guatemala
Source
Keep looking
Where to go from Duolingo
- Duolingo alternativesEvery product people weigh against it
- Duolingo pricingPlans, floors and what the tiers exclude
- Duolingo badgesWhich rules it meets, and the figure behind each
- All Education softwareThe full category
- Best Education softwareThe shortlist, and how it was cut
Best Education software for
Compare Duolingo with
- Babbel
- Busuu
- Rosetta Stone
- Memrise
- Quizizz
- Codecademy
- Khan Academy
- Merlin Bird ID
- Seek by iNaturalist
- Stellarium
- Replit AI Agent
- 360Learning
- MasterClass
- Miro Education
- Panorama Education
- ParentSquare
- Skoolur
- Veracross
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Softwr does not host reviews and shows no star rating for Duolingo, because a rating we did not collect is not ours to publish. What is here is the pricing and platform detail from the vendor’s own pages, limitations we could state concretely, and alternatives a reviewer confirmed people weigh against it. Tell us if any of it is wrong.
More on Duolingo
Duolingo alternatives
What people switch to, and what they give up
Duolingo pricing
Every tier, and where the cost actually lands
Compare Duolingo
Put it head to head with anything we hold
Duolingo badge
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