# Duolingo vs ASL Handshape Games

The clearest difference is price: Duolingo at Free against ASL Handshape Games's $2.99. Duolingo also leads on rating (4.7 vs 4.0) and update cadence (every 5 days vs every 32 months). ASL Handshape Games's advantage is review sentiment (100% vs 65%) and in-app purchases (none vs 28). On device support there is nothing between them.

Duolingo is free to download; ASL Handshape Games costs $2.99 up front. Duolingo sells 16 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. ASL Handshape Games asks for nothing beyond the download.

Duolingo holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.0. 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 complicate that: 65% of Duolingo's written reviews are positive against 100% of ASL Handshape Games's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Duolingo ships an update every 5 days, ASL Handshape Games every 32 months. The most recent releases landed on October 27, 2026 and October 6, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Duolingo | ASL Handshape Games |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | **Free** | $2.99 |
| Rating | **[4.7 (5.5M ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/duolingo-learn-languages/id570060128/reviews)** | [4.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/asl-handshape-games/id1502472565/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **5.5M** | 1 |
| Positive reviews | 64.7% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | **Every 5 days** | Every 32 months |
| Monetization | **Free with in-app purchases** | Paid |
| Best chart rank | **#1** | — |
| Size | 490 MB | 316 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | **15.6** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Duolingo, Inc](https://appshunter.io/developer/570060151) | [Sign2Read Literacy Initiatives, Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1501783146) |

## 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, #24 Top Grossing, #77 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


### ASL Handshape Games

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/asl-handshape-games/id1502472565)

Interactive penguin-themed games designed to enhance ASL handshape recognition and build sign and print vocabulary. These dual-language games are co-designed with Deaf children to foster early language and literacy skills.

**Highlights:** ASL handshape recognition, Sign and print vocabulary learning, Interactive penguin-themed games, Dual language (ASL-English), Progressive difficulty levels, Memory and matching challenges

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Duolingo free?

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

### Is ASL Handshape Games free?

ASL Handshape Games costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Duolingo or ASL Handshape Games?

Duolingo is rated higher. Duolingo averages 4.7 out of 5 from 5.5M ratings, while ASL Handshape Games averages 4.0 from 1 ratings.

### Do Duolingo or ASL Handshape Games have ads?

Duolingo shows ads; ASL Handshape Games does not.

### Which is updated more often, Duolingo or ASL Handshape Games?

Duolingo ships an update every 5 days, and ASL Handshape Games every 32 months. Most recently, Duolingo was updated on October 27, 2026 and ASL Handshape Games on October 6, 2026.

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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.*