Duolingo

Duolingo is a language-learning app that turns studying into short, game-like lessons. You pick a language, work through a path of units, and earn points, streaks and leaderboard places as you go. It's the most downloaded language app in the world, and the full course content is free.

Its strength is habit. Five-minute lessons, daily streaks and friendly reminders make it easy to practise every day, which is what language learning needs most. Courses cover dozens of languages, plus maths, music and chess, and lessons mix reading, listening, writing and — increasingly — speaking.

Duolingo has leaned heavily into AI. Roleplay lets you practise real-world conversations with in-app characters, Video Call lets you hold spoken conversations with characters such as Lily and Falstaff, and AI generates personalised practice based on your mistakes. In its latest shareholder letter, Duolingo said it would move Video Call into the Super Duolingo tier, give all learners more AI speaking practice, and experiment with its top tier, Duolingo Max.

How Duolingo works

A typical learning routine is:

1. Choose a language and take a placement test, or start from the beginning.
2. Complete a short lesson each day to keep your streak going.
3. Work through units on the learning path, mixing reading, listening, writing and speaking.
4. Use the Practice Hub to review mistakes and practise speaking and listening.
5. Practise conversation with Roleplay and Video Call if your plan and course include them.
6. Compete in leagues and with friends to stay motivated.

Key capabilities

Bite-sized lessons — Short, game-like lessons in dozens of languages.

Learning path — Structured units that build from basics to more advanced content.

Streaks, XP and leagues — Motivation built in to help you practise daily.

Practice Hub — Review mistakes and practise listening and speaking; Duolingo says the Practice tab is now free for all learners.

Personalised practice (Super) — Lessons built around the mistakes you make.

Roleplay — AI-powered conversations with in-app characters in real-world scenarios, with feedback; available on supported courses including French, Spanish, German, Portuguese and Italian for English speakers.

Video Call — Spoken conversations with characters like Lily and Falstaff, with transcripts to review; being moved into Super Duolingo.

Speaking practice — More voice answers and AI speaking lessons for all learners, according to Duolingo.

Other courses — Maths, music and chess alongside languages.

Duolingo plans explained

Free — the full course content in every language, with ads and a limited daily allowance of energy (Duolingo has been replacing hearts with energy on mobile). When you run out, you wait for it to recharge, watch an ad or spend gems.

Super Duolingo — no ads, unlimited hearts or energy, personalised practice and unlimited attempts at Legendary challenges. Duolingo is moving Video Call into Super. Available on mobile and the web.

Duolingo Max — everything in Super plus AI-powered Roleplay and Video Call. Max is mobile-only and can't be bought on the web; some AI features aren't available on every course. Duolingo has said it is experimenting with changes to Max.

Family plans — Super or Max shared with up to 5 other users (6 accounts in total), billed annually.

Duolingo doesn't publish a single public price list, and prices vary by country, app store and account. Independent checks in late 2026 reported Super at around £5–£9 a month in the UK (often around £48–£60 a year on annual plans) and around $119.99 a year in the US, with family plans offering the lowest price per person. Some accounts also see a cheaper ad-supported "Lite" option or no longer see Max at all. Duolingo often offers a free trial on Super. Subscriptions renew automatically, and you can cancel at any time from the platform where you subscribed.

Who Duolingo is for

Beginners — an easy, free and fun way to start a new language.

Daily habit-builders — streaks and short lessons make practice stick.

Travellers — quick, practical vocabulary and phrases.

Families — one family plan for up to 6 learners.

Who should look elsewhere

Advanced learners and anyone needing a formal qualification — Duolingo's strength is the early and intermediate levels; pair it with a tutor, classes or immersion.

Getting the most out of Duolingo

Treat the streak as a minimum, not the goal — add listening, reading and speaking outside the app.

Use speaking exercises and conversation practice as often as you can; tapping answers alone won't make you fluent.

Check the price on your own account before subscribing, and compare monthly with annual and family plans.

If you're learning with others, a family plan is usually the cheapest way to go ad-free.