# Duolingo vs Ling

The clearest difference is ratings volume: Duolingo at 5.5M against Ling's 15K. Duolingo also leads on chart position (#1 vs #61). Ling's advantage is iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.0). On price, rating, review sentiment and update cadence there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Duolingo sells 16 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month and Ling sells 20 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 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 4.6 for Ling. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Duolingo has 5.5M ratings behind it against 15K, 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 61% of Ling's.

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly weekly. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Duolingo | Ling |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.7 (5.5M ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/duolingo-language-lessons/id570060128/reviews)** | [4.6 (15K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ling-learn-languages-easily/id1403783779/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **5.5M** | 15K |
| Positive reviews | **64.6% of reviews** | 60.8% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| Update frequency | Weekly | Weekly |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | **#1** | #61 |
| Size | 489 MB | 176 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | **15.1** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Duolingo, Inc](https://appshunter.io/developer/570060151) | [SIMYA LABS COMPANY LIMITED](https://appshunter.io/developer/1298485730) |

## What reviewers say

### Duolingo

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

**Currently charting:** #1 Top Free · Education, #1 Top Grossing · Education, #25 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


### Ling

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ling-learn-languages-easily/id1403783779)

**Currently charting:** #61 Top Grossing · Education, #168 Top Free · Education (US App Store)

Master over 70 languages with fun, bite-sized lessons. Develop speaking, reading, listening, and writing skills with native speaker audio and cultural insights. Science-backed methods ensure retention, making even difficult languages accessible.

**Highlights:** 70+ languages available, Bite-sized lessons, Native speaker audio, Cultural insights, Speaking, reading, listening, writing skills, Science-backed learning methodology

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

**In-app purchases (20)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Ling Monthly Subscription | $7.99 | per month |
| Monthly Language Learning Plan | $10.99 | per month |
| Ling Monthly Subscription | $14.99 | per month |
| Ling Pro 1 Month Subscription | $16.99 | per month |
| Ling Half Yearly Subscription | $39.99 | per 6 months |
| Ling 3 Month Subscription | $39.99 | per 3 months |
| Learn Language Pro Yearly 7 | $48.99 | per year |
| Ling Pro Yearly Subscription | $54.99 | per year |
| Ling Yearly Subscription | $59.99 | per year |
| Ling Yearly Subscription | $59.99 | per year |
| Black Friday Offer | $59.99 | per year |
| Ling Yearly Subscription | $69.99 | per year |
| Ling Yearly Subscription | $79.99 | per year |
| Ling Yearly Subscription | $79.99 | per year |
| Ling Yearly Subscription | $79.99 | per year |
| Ling Yearly Subscription | $79.99 | per year |
| Ling Pro 12 Month Subscription | $89.99 | per year |
| Ling Yearly Subscription | $99.99 | per year |
| Ling Yearly Subscription | $119.99 | per year |
| Ling Pro Lifetime Plan | $199.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Easy to use
- 🚀 Bite-sized lessons
- 🎮 Gamified learning
- 📚 Offers rare languages
- 🗣️ Good pronunciation

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Buggy, glitchy
- 💰 Expensive, pay to learn
- 🤖 Robotic voices
- 🧠 Lessons not in logical order
- 🔍 Lack of basic vocabulary and grammar

**Reported bugs**

- Progress resets to zero
- Incorrect translations and pronunciations
- Lessons skipping ahead unexpectedly
- Microphone issues, can't record properly
- Sync issues across devices

**Requested features**

- Allow retry/go back in lessons
- Improve speech recognition
- Add grammar explanations
- Provide more review and practice options
- Introduce alphabet/writing system first


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Duolingo free?

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

### Is Ling free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Duolingo or Ling?

Duolingo is rated higher. Duolingo averages 4.7 out of 5 from 5.5M ratings, while Ling averages 4.6 from 15K ratings.

### Do Duolingo or Ling have ads?

Both Duolingo and Ling show ads.

### Which is updated more often, Duolingo or Ling?

Duolingo ships an update weekly, and Ling weekly. Most recently, Duolingo was updated on September 25, 2026 and Ling on September 24, 2026.

### Which is more popular, Duolingo or Ling?

Duolingo currently peaks at #1 in the App Store charts, and Ling at #61. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

---

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