Comparison

Learn French (Hello vs Duolingo

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Learn French (Hello

This app offers a comprehensive French language course with 30 conversational lessons developed with effective, research-based methodology. Learn vocabulary, practice pronunciation with native speakers, and study offline anytime, anywhere.

Highlights
  • 30 conversational lessons
  • Native speaker audio
  • Offline access
  • Flashcards for vocabulary
  • Personal notes feature
  • Full app localization
Features
Read full description

Learn French (Hello-Hello) is the FUN way to learn a Language on the Go! French – Learn French (Hello-Hello) "for iPhone" is a full-fledged language course with 30 LESSONS developed in collaboration with the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL), so you can be assured that these lessons follow an effective research-based methodology. All lessons are conversational based on realistic dialogues and situations, rather than a collection of out-of-context words and phrases. All the content is stored in the app so that you have great responsiveness when you are ready to learn a language. You do not need to be connected to Wi-Fi or 3G networks to run the app. With Hello-Hello French you will be able to do the lessons and practice vocabulary anytime, anywhere developing all the skills you need to communicate in a foreign language. All lessons were recorded by native speakers so you can learn the correct pronunciation. With French – Learn French (Hello-Hello) "for iPhone" you can also: -Practice vocabulary with more than 300 words and phrases using our FLASHCARDS feature! (Please note that we will be adding more words and phrases in upcoming updates.) -Save your own NOTES form any lesson. -Full localization: You can see the entire app, including the translations of the lessons and words lists in your native language! Languages available: English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Chinese and Portuguese. Note about our methodology: At first, our lessons might seem advanced for some people but there is a purpose behind it. Our lessons are structured to give learners the ability to communicate effectively with others. If the learner is new to the language, it will be necessary to spend more time learning the basic phrases in order to begin to gain proficiency in the language. For those who already know other related languages, the time factor may not be as great to learn the basics. Beginners need to go slowly and may need to do the activities several times before they gain a comfort level in using them. And remember: The more time you spend doing the exercises, the more proficient you will become! CONTACT US: We are constantly trying to improve the app and take feedback from our users very seriously. The app has a “Contact Us” icon so that you can contact us easily, so please do not hesitate and send us an email if you have any questions, comments, complaints or suggestions. -- Try before you buy You can check out our content for free first and buy the rest later if you like it. Make sure to also check Hello-Hello Kids, our language learning app for children! ABOUT US Hello-Hello is an innovative language learning company that offers state-of-the-art online and mobile courses. Hello-Hello.com’s website couples social networking with language learning which allows users to interact with native speakers around the world. Hello-Hello’s iPad apps are among the top language learning apps on the iPad. Our conversational courses were developed in collaboration with The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL), which is the largest association of teachers and administrators of all languages at all levels, serving more than 12,000 educators. For more information, please visit their website at www.actfl.org.

About

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.

Highlights
  • Bite-sized language lessons
  • Speaking, reading, listening, writing practice
  • Math skills development
  • Music reading and playing
  • Chess strategy and gameplay
  • Progress tracking and rewards
Features
Read full description

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

Learn French (Hello4 screens
Duolingo4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Duolingo at 4.7 against Learn French (Hello's 4.1. Duolingo also leads on update cadence (every 5 days vs every 2 months) and ratings volume (5.6M vs 22). Learn French (Hello's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 17.0). On price, review sentiment, in-app purchases and monetization model 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Learn French (Hello sells 10 one-off in-app purchases 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.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Duolingo holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Duolingo has 5.6M ratings behind it against 22, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 60% of Learn French (Hello's written reviews are positive against 65% of Duolingo's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Learn French (Hello ships an update every 2 months, Duolingo every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Learn French (Hello versus Duolingo: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLearn French (HelloDuolingo
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.1 (22 ratings)4.7 (5.6M ratings) — better
Positive reviews59.7% of reviews64.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings225.6M — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 5 days — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank—#1 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS12.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size124 MB499 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperHello-Hello LLCDuolingo, Inc

Customer experience

Learn French (Hello

All ratings19 ratings
Positive78.9%
Neutral5.3%
Negative15.8%
Written reviews62 reviews
Positive59.7%
Neutral6.5%
Negative33.9%

Duolingo

All ratings5,540,071 ratings
Positive94.2%
Neutral2.5%
Negative3.4%
Written reviews30,718 reviews
Positive64.7%
Neutral9.6%
Negative25.6%

Bugs and requests

Learn French (Hello

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

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

10 purchases

Learn French (Hello

One-time10
  • Lesson 2$1.99
  • Lesson 3$1.99
  • Lesson 4$1.99
Show 7 more
  • Lesson 5$1.99
  • Lesson 6$1.99
  • Lesson 7$1.99
  • Lesson 9$1.99
  • Lesson 10$1.99
  • Lesson 11$1.99
  • Complete Course$19.99
16 purchases

Duolingo

Subscriptions10
  • Super Duolingo7 Days trial$9.991 Month
  • Super Duolingo7 Days trial$12.991 Month
  • Super Duolingo14 Days trial$12.991 Month
Show 7 more
  • 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
One-time6
  • Chest of Gems$0.99
  • Barrel of Gems (1200)$4.99
  • Chest of Gems (1200)$4.99
Show 3 more
  • Cart of Gems (3000)$9.99
  • Barrel of Gems (3000)$9.99
  • Cart of Gems (6500)$19.99

Questions

Is Learn French (Hello free?
Learn French (Hello is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Duolingo free?
Duolingo is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Learn French (Hello or Duolingo?
Duolingo is rated higher. Learn French (Hello averages 4.1 out of 5 from 22 ratings, while Duolingo averages 4.7 from 5.6M ratings.
Do Learn French (Hello or Duolingo have ads?
Duolingo shows ads; Learn French (Hello does not.
Which is updated more often, Learn French (Hello or Duolingo?
Learn French (Hello ships an update every 2 months, and Duolingo every 5 days. Most recently, Learn French (Hello was updated on October 23, 2026 and Duolingo on November 2, 2026.

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