Comparison

Duolingo vs Falou

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

Falou

This app offers a fast and practical method for learning new languages. It focuses on real-life conversations and AI-powered pronunciation practice to build confidence quickly. Ideal for those with limited time seeking conversational fluency.

Highlights
  • Speak from Lesson 1
  • Practical, real-life conversations
  • AI pronunciation mastery
  • Personalized review lessons
  • AI Live Tutor practice
  • Grammar and pronunciation tips
Features
Read full description

Wanna learn a language really fast? Don't have time for tedious language lessons or expensive language courses? Then you'll love Falou's fast language learning method! Join Millions of students who trust Falou's innovative language lessons to quickly learn Spanish, learn French, learn English and 20+ languages. • 1 Billion+ words learned with Falou® • 1M+ 5-Star Ratings • Apps We Love - Apple 2023 • 1st Class Apple Entrepreneur Camp Latin Founders 2022 ==================== Get ready to learn a language with practical lessons and improve your pronunciation in record time. With Falou, you'll quickly have the confidence to have real conversations in French, Spanish, German, Korean, Chinese, English, Russian and more. Wanna travel the world but need to learn Spanish? Study abroad but need to learn French? Or maybe get a better job and need to learn English? Falou will help you reach all your goals much faster. TRY FALOU® - DOWNLOAD THE APP AND TAKE A FREE LESSON ==================== HOW WILL FALOU HELP YOU LEARN A LANGUAGE FASTER? + Speak a new language from Lesson 1 + Lessons that teach you the most important words and phrases for your level + Learn with practical, real-life conversations (the only way to become fluent) + Artificial Intelligence to help you master your pronunciation and speak any language with confidence + Improve faster with personalized lessons focused on your weak spots + Customized review lessons to revisit what you've learned and improve long-term memory + Boost your confidence by practicing with our AI Live Tutor + Grammar and pronunciation tips for the phrases you're practicing ==================== LANGUAGES TO LEARN: • Learn English • Learn French • Learn Spanish • Learn Italian • Learn Japanese • Learn Chinese • Learn Korean • Learn German • Learn Russian • Learn Portuguese • Learn Turkish • Learn Dutch • Learn Polish • Learn Swedish • Learn Danish • Learn Croatian • Learn Norwegian • Learn Vietnamese • Learn Hindi • Learn Indonesian • Learn Greek • Learn Romanian • Learn British English • Learn Ukrainian • Learn Malay • Learn Hungarian • Learn Catalan • Learn Finnish • Learn Czech • Learn Slovak • ... more language courses and lessons coming soon! Even if you already have language lessons or use other language apps like Duolingo or Babbel, don't worry. Falou is the best complement to your language studies and will help you learn Spanish, French, German and many other languages much faster! Download Falou now to start speaking a new language TODAY! ==================== Terms and Conditions of the Falou subscription: By subscribing to Falou, you'll have unlimited access to all language lessons and new content published periodically. The subscription price starts at $9.99USD/month. Prices are in US dollars, may vary by country, can be converted to local currency depending on the country of residence and are subject to change without notice. Payment will be charged to the credit card connected to your iTunes account when you confirm the start of the subscription period. The subscription is automatically renewed, unless canceled, approximately 24 hours before the end of the current period. You can cancel the renewal anytime through the iTunes Store settings after purchase. Any unused portion of a free trial, if offered, will be forfeited upon purchasing a Falou subscription, where applicable. Terms and conditions below: Terms: https://falou.com/en/terms Privacy: https://falou.com/en/privacy

Screenshots

Duolingo4 screens
Falou4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ratings volume: Duolingo at 5.5M against Falou's 98K. Duolingo also leads on chart position (#1 vs #163). Falou's advantage is iOS requirement (15.6 vs 17.0). On price, rating, update cadence and ads 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. Duolingo sells 16 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month and Falou sells 15 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Duolingo against 4.8 for Falou. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Duolingo has 5.5M ratings behind it against 98K, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Duolingo ships an update weekly, Falou every 5 days. Both last shipped on October 19, 2026.

Scorecard3 real differences · 8 level
Duolingo versus Falou: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDuolingoFalou
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (5.5M ratings)4.8 (98K ratings) — better
Positive reviews—79.6% of reviews
Number of ratings5.5M — better98K
Update frequencyWeeklyEvery 5 days — better
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#1 — better#163
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.015.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size491 MB162 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDuolingoMoymer

Customer experience

Duolingo

All ratings5,515,541 ratings
Positive94.2%
Neutral2.5%
Negative3.4%

Falou

All ratings97,790 ratings
Positive94.2%
Neutral2.7%
Negative3.1%
Written reviews3,742 reviews
Positive79.6%
Neutral5.3%
Negative15.1%

User reviews

Duolingo

From 5.5M App Store ratings

What 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

Falou

From 98K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 🚀 Efficient learning process
  • 💡 Unique conversational approach
  • 👍 Helpful for pronunciation practice
  • 🚀 Engaging and fun learning experience

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Voice recognition issues
  • 💰 Aggressive premium upselling
  • 🔒 Limited free access
  • 🐛 Inconsistent lesson quality
  • 🔒 Expensive premium subscription

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

Falou

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Incorrect translations or word associations
  • Freezing or crashing during lessons
  • Microphone issues during speaking exercises
  • Inconsistent lesson difficulty progression

Requested features

5 requests
  • More grammar and sentence structure lessons
  • Ability to customize learning path
  • Offline mode for lessons
  • Better progress tracking and goal-setting
  • More language options beyond the current selection

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
15 purchases

Falou

Subscriptions14
  • Falou Premium AI$4.997 Days
  • Falou Premium3 Days trial$9.997 Days
  • Faloü PRO Weekly$9.997 Days
Show 11 more
  • Falou Premium2 variants$29.991 Month
  • Falou Premium$39.991 Year
  • Falou Premium2 variants$44.991 Year
  • Falou Premium7 Days trial$49.991 Year
  • Falou Premium$49.991 Year
  • Falou Premium$89.991 Year
  • Falou Premium3 Days trial$89.991 Year
  • Falou Premium AI$149.991 Year
  • Falou Premium$149.991 Year
  • Falou Premium3 Days trial$149.991 Year
  • Falou Premium7 Days trial$149.991 Year
One-time1
  • Falou Support Education$3.99

Questions

Is Duolingo free?
Duolingo is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Falou free?
Falou is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Duolingo or Falou?
Falou is rated higher. Duolingo averages 4.7 out of 5 from 5.5M ratings, while Falou averages 4.8 from 98K ratings.
Do Duolingo or Falou have ads?
Both Duolingo and Falou show ads.
Which is updated more often, Duolingo or Falou?
Duolingo ships an update weekly, and Falou every 5 days. Most recently, Duolingo was updated on October 19, 2026 and Falou on October 19, 2026.
Which is more popular, Duolingo or Falou?
Duolingo currently peaks at #1 in the App Store charts, and Falou at #163. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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