# Duolingo vs The Great Courses

The clearest difference is ads: The Great Courses at none against Duolingo's shown. The Great Courses also leads on device support (4 vs 2) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). Duolingo's advantage is review sentiment (65% vs 40%) and ratings volume (5.5M vs 17K). On price, rating, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Duolingo sells 16 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month and The Great Courses sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $19.99 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 Duolingo against 4.8 for The Great Courses. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Duolingo has 5.5M ratings behind it against 17K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 65% of Duolingo's written reviews are positive against 40% of The Great Courses's.

Duolingo ships an update every 5 days, The Great Courses fortnightly. Both last shipped on October 29, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | Duolingo | The Great Courses |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.7 (5.5M ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/duolingo-learn-languages/id570060128/reviews) | **[4.8 (17K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-great-courses/id1017813651/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **5.5M** | 17K |
| Positive reviews | **64.7% of reviews** | 39.6% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | **Every 5 days** | Fortnightly |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | **#1** | #95 |
| Size | 490 MB | 120 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | **15.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Duolingo, Inc](https://appshunter.io/developer/570060151) | [The Great Courses](https://appshunter.io/developer/636818508) |

## What reviewers say

### Duolingo

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/duolingo-learn-languages/id570060128)

**Currently charting:** #1 Top Free · Education, #1 Top Grossing · Education, #29 Top Grossing, #73 Top Free (US App Store)

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:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (16)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Super Duolingo | $9.99 | per month |
| Super Duolingo | $12.99 | per month |
| Super Duolingo | $12.99 | per month |
| Super Duolingo | $59.99 | per year |
| Super Duolingo | $79.99 | per year |
| Super Duolingo | $83.99 | per year |
| Super Duolingo | $83.99 | per year |
| Super Duolingo | $95.99 | per year |
| Super Duolingo | $119.99 | per year |
| Super Duolingo | $119.99 | per year |
| Chest of Gems | $0.99 | one-time |
| Barrel of Gems (1200) | $4.99 | one-time |
| Chest of Gems (1200) | $4.99 | one-time |
| Cart of Gems (3000) | $9.99 | one-time |
| Barrel of Gems (3000) | $9.99 | one-time |
| Cart of Gems (6500) | $19.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🤩 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

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🤖 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

**Reported bugs**

- Freezing or crashing during lessons
- Incorrect translations or answers marked wrong
- Inconsistent behavior of certain features like leagues

**Requested features**

- 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


### The Great Courses

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-great-courses/id1017813651)

**Currently charting:** #95 Top Grossing · Education (US App Store)

Access thousands of educational videos from world-renowned professors and experts. Explore a vast range of subjects, from history and science to personal development, with flexible learning options available online and offline. Start your learning journey with a free trial.

**Highlights:** Thousands of educational videos, Courses by world-class professors, Diverse subject matter, Online and offline access, Flexible learning pace, Free trial available

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| TGCPlus Monthly Subscription | $19.99 | per month |
| Quarterly Subscription | $44.99 | per 3 months |
| TGCPlus Annual Subscription | $149.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Fantastic, use it all the time
- 👍 Excellent content and Outstanding Educators
- 👍 best app you'll ever subscribe to
- 👍 Math courses are phenomenal!
- 👍 Loving the content in the app!

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Ok content, weak app
- 🐛 Broken
- 🐛 Technical problems trying to cast
- 🐛 Great content, poor streaming
- 🐛 Far fewer courses than before? App VERY buggy

**Reported bugs**

- Login screen freezes
- Incompatible with older devices
- Audio goes out of sync with video
- App constantly logs users out
- Downloading content doesn't work offline

**Requested features**

- Can we get a ton of courses on AI please, it's a mite urgent
- Dark mode option
- Advanced analytics dashboard
- Allow audio-only downloads
- Ability to download an entire course in one go


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Duolingo free?

Duolingo is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is The Great Courses free?

The Great Courses is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Duolingo or The Great Courses?

The Great Courses is rated higher. Duolingo averages 4.7 out of 5 from 5.5M ratings, while The Great Courses averages 4.8 from 17K ratings.

### Do Duolingo or The Great Courses have ads?

Duolingo shows ads; The Great Courses does not.

### Which is updated more often, Duolingo or The Great Courses?

Duolingo ships an update every 5 days, and The Great Courses fortnightly. Most recently, Duolingo was updated on October 29, 2026 and The Great Courses on October 29, 2026.

### Which is more popular, Duolingo or The Great Courses?

Duolingo currently peaks at #1 in the App Store charts, and The Great Courses at #95. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*