See what Duolingo offers: 40+ language courses, gamified lessons, Super Duolingo pricing, and AI-powered Duolingo Max, plus real pros, cons, and FAQs.
Category
Online Learning
Pricing
Freemium: the core app is free (ad-supported), with a paid Super Duolingo subscription (removes ads, unlimited hearts) and a higher AI-powered Duolingo Max tier, in-app prices observed from about $9.99 up to $119.99/year depending on plan and region, plus a 14-day free trial.
Duolingo is a mobile and web app that teaches languages through short, game-like lessons combining reading, listening, speaking, and writing practice. Founded in 2011 by Luis von Ahn and Severin Hacker and headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the company is publicly traded on NASDAQ under the ticker DUOL and reported roughly 130 million monthly active users as of Q1 2025. Beyond its core catalog of 40+ languages, Duolingo also offers courses in math, music, and chess, plus the Duolingo English Test for proficiency certification and Duolingo ABC for early childhood literacy. The core app is free to use, supported by ads and optional in-app purchases, with a Super Duolingo subscription and an AI-powered Duolingo Max tier available for an ad-free, more personalized experience.
Key Features
40+ language courses — Structured courses in 40+ languages, from Spanish and Japanese to less common and constructed languages.
Gamified daily lessons — Short, game-like lessons combining reading, listening, speaking, and writing practice, reinforced by streaks, leagues, and badges.
Non-language courses — Additional courses in math, music, and chess beyond the core language catalog.
Duolingo English Test — A separate proficiency certification test accepted by many institutions as an alternative to traditional English exams.
Cross-platform sync — Available natively on iOS, Android, and the web, with progress synced to a user account.
Super Duolingo & Duolingo Max — Paid subscription tiers that remove ads and add features like unlimited hearts and, for Max, AI-powered roleplay conversation practice.
Pros & Cons
Pros
Free tier gives full access to core lessons across 40+ languages with no paywall required to start learning
Gamified structure (streaks, leagues, badges) makes daily practice easy to stick with
Available natively on iOS, Android, and web with progress synced to a user account
Backed by a large, publicly traded company (NASDAQ: DUOL) with ~130M monthly active users, suggesting long-term product stability
Cons
Free version is ad-supported and limits retries via a hearts/energy system, which can interrupt lessons
Short, gamified lesson format is better suited to building basic familiarity than achieving fluency or exam-level proficiency
Super Duolingo and Duolingo Max subscriptions add recurring cost on top of the free base app