Comparison

Duolingo vs First Words

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

Head to head
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

About

First Words

This app offers a ten-week program to support your baby's language development from infancy to toddlerhood. It provides weekly videos, baby sign language, and engaging activities to help nurture first words and communication skills.

Highlights
  • Ten-week language development program
  • Weekly video tutorials
  • Baby sign language (40 key signs)
  • Interactive book-sharing sessions
  • Hands-on, playful activities
  • Book recommendations for language learning
  • Progress tracking for first words
Features
Read full description

Talkable is a Speech Therapy app to help you support your baby’s first words through weekly videos and baby sign language. Give your little one the best start to life and maximise your baby or toddler’s learning. The Talkable speech therapy app offers a comprehensive ten-week program designed to enrich your baby’s language development journey from infancy through toddlerhood (0 to 3 years). Every week, you'll discover new strategies to nurture your little one's first words through easy-to-understand video tutorials, interactive book-sharing sessions, baby sign language, and engaging activities. With the Talkable speech therapy app, you can expect to: - Access a diverse toolkit tailored to support first words for your baby or toddler. - Embrace the world of baby sign language, with an introduction to 40 key signs that help first words for babies and toddlers. - Explore the joy of reading and bonding with your child, while also fostering first words for your baby or toddler. - Engage in a variety of hands-on, playful activities that captivate your little one's interest and curiosity. - Discover a range of books ideal for encouraging your baby or toddler’s first words. - Keep track of your baby’s first words effortlessly. - Learn ways to support your little one with autism or speech delay. Whether you're a parent, caregiver, or childcare worker, the Talkable speech therapy app caters to your needs in nurturing the language skills of babies and toddlers - particularly in the development of their first words. It's also a valuable resource if your toddler is experiencing delays and needs speech therapy. The Talkable speech therapy app has been developed by Karen Nitsche, a Speech Therapist and child development researcher with over 20 years’ experience. Baby Sign Language Learning baby sign language with your little one is a great way to communicate with them before first words. Baby sign language also helps reduce your toddler’s frustration. It can even stop toddler tantrums because your little one can communicate with you in a way that you understand. This speech therapy app is also great when starting baby led weaning with your little one. Use baby sign language to help your baby communicate what foods they like and when they are “all done”. Best Books for Babies and Toddlers Through this speech therapy app you will discover weekly book ideas that will help your baby learn their first words. Research tells us that babies and toddlers who are read to learn first words quicker. Little ones who are read to also develop phonics and literacy skills and learn to read quicker. Speech Therapy We know that early intervention speech therapy is the best way to help when: - your baby is not babbling at 6 months - your toddler is not saying first words at 1 year - your little one is not speaking sentences at 3 Early intervention speech therapy helps because in the first 5 years of life your child’s brain is developing and growing rapidly. Speech Therapy at Home The Talkable speech therapy app is great for all parents because it shows you what to do every day with your little one to support the development of their first words. Training for Childcare Workers This speech therapy app is perfect for childcare workers because: - childcare workers can learn in their own time - videos show you exactly what to do - baby sign language can be used at your childcare centre Who else will benefit from this speech therapy app? If you have: - A child with Down Syndrome who is late to talk - A child with autism not saying any words yet - A child with global developmental delay who is not talking Talkable is the best speech therapy app for you.

Screenshots

Duolingo4 screens
First Words4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Duolingo at Free against First Words's $19.00. Duolingo also leads on update cadence (weekly vs every 8 months) and ratings volume (5.5M vs 1). First Words's advantage is review sentiment (100% vs 65%) and in-app purchases (none vs 28). On device support 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

Duolingo is free to download; First Words costs $19.00 up front. Duolingo sells 16 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. First Words asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

First Words holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Duolingo has 5.5M ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 65% of Duolingo's written reviews are positive against 100% of First Words's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Duolingo ships an update weekly, First Words every 8 months. The most recent releases landed on September 27, 2026 and September 16, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard10 real differences · 1 level
Duolingo versus First Words: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDuolingoFirst Words
PriceFree — better$19.00
Rating4.7 (5.5M ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews64.7% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings5.5M — better1
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 8 months
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
Best chart rank#1 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size489 MB25 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDuolingo, IncKaren Nitsche

Customer experience

Duolingo

All ratings5,464,639 ratings
Positive94.2%
Neutral2.4%
Negative3.4%
Written reviews29,503 reviews
Positive64.7%
Neutral9.6%
Negative25.7%

First Words

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and 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

First Words

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

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
None

First Words

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Duolingo free?
Duolingo is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is First Words free?
First Words costs $19.00, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Duolingo or First Words?
First Words is rated higher. Duolingo averages 4.7 out of 5 from 5.5M ratings, while First Words averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Duolingo or First Words have ads?
Duolingo shows ads; First Words does not.
Which is updated more often, Duolingo or First Words?
Duolingo ships an update weekly, and First Words every 8 months. Most recently, Duolingo was updated on September 27, 2026 and First Words on September 16, 2026.

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