LingQ | Learn Languages vs Duolingo
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
LingQ | Learn Languages
Learn languages naturally by reading and listening to real content. Expand your vocabulary and improve comprehension with interactive tools and AI-powered features. Supports over 50 languages and offers a global community for support.
- Massive content library
- Import your own content
- Interactive reader with word definitions
- AI-powered learning tools
- Progress tracking
- Offline learning
- Community support and tutoring
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Experience Language Learning with LingQ — the natural and effective way to learn a new language. LingQ is a language learning app that lets you grow your vocabulary and improve comprehension through meaningful exposure to the language with real content. Follow your interests and enjoy an immersive learning experience in over 50 languages. Learn Spanish, English, Japanese, Korean, Italian, German, Portuguese, French, Chinese, Arabic, and other languages. Trusted by Learners Worldwide: ◆4.7 star rating from over 45000 reviews. ◆Featured in CBC, Men’s Health, La Vanguardia, El País. Designed for Real Language Learning LingQ uses an input-based approach: you learn languages by reading and listening to real, interesting content at your level. ◆ Massive Content Library: Thousands of lessons from podcasts, books, interviews, videos, articles, and more — all with matching text for easy listening and reading. ◆ Follow Topics You Enjoy: Choose content you love and progress naturally through immersion, not drills. ◆ Import Your Favorite Content: Turn Netflix, YouTube, podcasts, books, and articles into personalized lessons. ◆ Powerful Reader: An effective, optimized reader that tracks every word you encounter to boost your vocabulary. ◆ Interactive Learning: Listen, read along, tap words for instant definitions, and learn naturally as you go. ◆ Advanced Progress Tracking: Monitor your listening, reading, study time, and vocabulary growth. ◆ Learn Anytime, Anywhere: Study offline and sync your progress automatically. Learn whenever you want. AI Language Learning Tools • AI Audio Transcription: Turn podcasts and audiobooks into interactive lessons. • AI Voices: Make your lessons, reviews and chats more immersive with natural sounding text-to-speech voices. • Advanced Chatbot: Get detailed tutor responses and real-time web search with our advanced Lynx AI Chatbot. • AI-Simplified Lesson: Take advantage of more interesting content earlier on in your learning journey by generating simplified versions of lessons. Read and Listen with Interactive Tools • SRS vocabulary review for long-term retention; • Mini Stories that build a strong foundation at any level; • Grammar guides with clear, accessible explanations; • Audio playlists for hands-free listening; • Karaoke Mode to follow the text while listening; A Global Community to Support You • Writing Exchange for real corrections from native speakers; • Tutoring sessions tailored to your goals; • Community forum for questions, guidance, and motivation; • Challenges that help you stay consistent and build strong habits; Built by Language Learners LingQ was co-founded by Steve Kaufmann, a polyglot who learned more than 20 languages using this same natural approach. Learn Multiple Languages LingQ supports more than 50 languages, including Spanish, English, Japanese, Korean, Italian, German, Portuguese, French, Chinese, Arabic and more. Get LingQ Premium and Accelerate Your Learning • Unlimited vocabulary lookup and SRS review; • Comprehensive word tracking to boost your progress; • Unlimited content imports; • Access to AI features; Start learning from real content. Download LingQ and begin today. Feedback? Let us know. Send suggestions and feedback to iosapp@lingq.com. Terms of Service - https://www.lingq.com/terms/
Duolingo
Learn languages, math, music, and chess through fun, bite-sized lessons. Build vocabulary, grammar, and real-world skills with a science-based methodology. Track progress and stay motivated with a global community.
- Bite-sized language lessons
- Speaking, reading, listening, writing practice
- Math skills development
- Music reading and playing
- Chess strategy and gameplay
- Progress tracking and rewards
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Learn a new language, chess & more with the world's most downloaded education app! Duolingo is the fun, free app for learning 40+ languages through quick, bite-sized lessons. Practice speaking, reading, listening & writing to build your vocabulary & grammar skills. Designed by learning experts & loved by hundreds of millions worldwide, our lessons make learning effective & fun and help you prepare for real conversations in Spanish, French, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Italian, German, English and more. And now, you can learn CHESS on Duolingo! Whether you're a total beginner or looking to level up your game, you'll love learning chess the Duolingo way. Play matches and fun chess lessons for all levels, no matter the language - chess, ajedrez, xadrez, schach, Шахматы, الشطرنج. • Chess: Learn the moves, level up your game & play matches in our Chess course. Learn the basics, solve fun chess puzzles & improve your strategy with guided lessons. Whether you're new to chess or already play, our course is designed to help you have fun and build real skills. Checkmate! • Math: Forget lectures and math worksheets! Built by learning experts, our Math course makes math feel like a game. Boost learning and fight the summer slide with standards-aligned math lessons for elementary school, middle school, and high school students. • Music: Learn how to read music & play songs in our Music course, no instrument needed! Using an on-screen keyboard, you'll learn bit-by-bit. Whether you're learning a language for travel, school, career or your brain health, you'll love learning with Duolingo. Why Duolingo? • Duolingo is fun & effective. Game-like language lessons & fun characters help you build speaking, reading, listening, & writing skills, plus enjoy fun chess & competitive online chess in one app. • Duolingo works. Designed by learning experts, Duolingo has a science-based teaching methodology proven to foster long-term knowledge retention across language lessons & chess lessons alike. • Track your progress. Work toward your learning goals with playful rewards & achievements when you make practicing language lessons or chess online part of your daily habit. • Join millions of learners. Stay motivated with competitive Leaderboards as you learn languages & play chess online alongside our global community. • Every course is free. Learn Spanish, French, German, Italian, Russian, Portuguese, Turkish, Dutch, Irish, Danish, Swedish, Ukrainian, Esperanto, Polish, Greek, Hungarian, Norwegian, Hebrew, Welsh, Arabic, Latin, Hawaiian, Scottish Gaelic, Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese, English, & even High Valyrian! And now, learn Math, Music & improve your Chess skills with fun, bite-sized lessons. What the world is saying about Duolingo: "Far & away the best language-learning app." - The Wall Street Journal "This free app & website is among the most effective language-learning methods I've tried… lessons come in the form of brief challenges, speaking, translating, answering multiple-choice questions, that keep me coming back for more." - The New York Times "Duolingo may hold the secret to the future of education." - TIME Magazine "Duolingo is cheerful, lighthearted & fun." - Forbes "I Can't Stop Playing Duolingo Chess." - Wired If you like Duolingo, try Super Duolingo for 14 days free! Learn a language fast with no ads & get fun perks like Unlimited Energy & Monthly Streak Repair. If you choose to purchase Super Duolingo, payment will be charged to your Apple account, and your account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period. Auto-renewal may be turned off at any time by going to your settings in the App Store after purchase. Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription to that publication, where applicable. Privacy Policy: https://www.duolingo.com/privacy Terms of Service: https://www.duolingo.com/terms
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: LingQ | Learn Languages at none against Duolingo's shown. LingQ | Learn Languages also leads on review sentiment (80% vs 65%). Duolingo's advantage is ratings volume (5.5M vs 10K) and chart position (#1 vs #102). On price, rating, update cadence and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. LingQ | Learn Languages sells 12 in-app purchases, starting at $14.99 per month and Duolingo sells 16 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for LingQ | Learn Languages against 4.7 for Duolingo. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Duolingo has 5.5M ratings behind it against 10K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 80% of LingQ | Learn Languages's written reviews are positive against 65% of Duolingo's.
LingQ | Learn Languages ships an update every 5 days, Duolingo weekly. Both last shipped on September 24, 2026.
| Parameter | LingQ | Learn Languages | Duolingo |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (10K ratings) | 4.7 (5.5M ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 80.2% of reviews — better | 64.6% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 10K | 5.5M — better |
| Update frequency | Every 5 days — better | Weekly |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #102 | #1 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 345 MB | 489 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | LingQ Languages Ltd | Duolingo |
Customer experience
LingQ | Learn Languages
Duolingo
User reviews
LingQ | Learn Languages
From 10K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Excellent for reading and listening practice
- 👍 Customizable content and learning experience
- 🚀 Efficient vocabulary acquisition
- 👍 Helpful for improving comprehension and fluency
- 👍 Engaging and enjoyable way to learn
Room to improve
- 🐛 Buggy app with sync and performance issues
- 💰 Expensive subscription model
- 🤔 Limited free version functionality
- 🤔 Confusing user interface and navigation
- 🤔 Inconsistent quality of translations and definitions
Duolingo
From 5.5M App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🤩 Fun and entertaining learning experience
- 🎉 Motivating streak and league features
- 🎨 Cute and engaging animations
- 📚 Effective for learning vocabulary and basics
- 🤖 Useful AI-powered features like voice lessons
Room to improve
- 🤖 Issues with voice recognition and pronunciation feedback
- 🤑 Aggressive monetization tactics and paywall for key features
- 🤯 Frustrating heart/health system that penalizes mistakes
- 🤔 Lack of grammar explanations and focus on just memorizing phrases
- 🤷♀️ Inconsistent app experience across platforms
Bugs and requests
LingQ | Learn Languages
Reported bugs
4 issues- App crashes and freezes
- Sync issues between app and web version
- Incorrect translations and definitions
- Unreliable streak tracking and progress reporting
Requested features
5 requests- Improved user interface and navigation
- Better sync and performance across devices
- More content and language options
- Enhanced vocabulary management and review tools
- Affordable subscription plans
Duolingo
Reported bugs
3 issues- Freezing or crashing during lessons
- Incorrect translations or answers marked wrong
- Inconsistent behavior of certain features like leagues
Requested features
5 requests- Add more languages, especially less common ones
- Improve grammar lessons and explanations
- Allow more flexibility in navigating the course content
- Provide better feedback and corrections for mistakes
- Sync progress and features consistently across app and web
In-app purchases
LingQ | Learn Languages
- LingQ Premium (Monthly)7 Days trial$14.991 Month
- LingQ Premium (Monthly)$14.991 Month
- Premium Plus Monthly$29.991 Month
Show 9 moreShow fewer
- LingQ Premium (6 Months)7 Days trial$80.996 Months
- LingQ Premium (6 Months)$80.996 Months
- LingQ Premium$89.991 Year
- LingQ Premium$99.991 Year
- LingQ Premium$101.991 Year
- LingQ Premium2 variants$109.991 Year
- LingQ Premium (12 Months)7 Days trial$119.991 Year
- LingQ Premium (12 Months)$119.991 Year
- Premium Plus Yearly7 Days trial$269.991 Year
Duolingo
- Super Duolingo7 Days trial$9.991 Month
- Super Duolingo7 Days trial$12.991 Month
- Super Duolingo14 Days trial$12.991 Month
Show 7 moreShow fewer
- Super Duolingo2 variants$59.991 Year
- Super Duolingo14 Days trial2 variants$79.991 Year
- Super Duolingo14 Days trial4 variants$83.991 Year
- Super Duolingo7 Days trial$83.991 Year
- Super Duolingo7 Days trial4 variants$95.991 Year
- Super Duolingo1 Month trial$119.991 Year
- Super Duolingo7 Days trial$119.991 Year
- Chest of Gems$0.99
- Barrel of Gems (1200)$4.99
- Chest of Gems (1200)$4.99
Show 3 moreShow fewer
- Cart of Gems (3000)$9.99
- Barrel of Gems (3000)$9.99
- Cart of Gems (6500)$19.99
Questions
Is LingQ | Learn Languages free?
Is Duolingo free?
Which has better reviews, LingQ | Learn Languages or Duolingo?
Do LingQ | Learn Languages or Duolingo have ads?
Which is updated more often, LingQ | Learn Languages or Duolingo?
Which is more popular, LingQ | Learn Languages or Duolingo?
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