# Duolingo vs Maiya Words &Language Notes

The clearest difference is rating: Duolingo at 4.7 against Maiya Words &Language Notes's 3.0. Duolingo also leads on ratings volume (5.6M vs 4) and review sentiment (65% vs 43%). Maiya Words &Language Notes's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and device support (4 vs 2). On price, update cadence, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Duolingo sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month and Maiya Words &Language Notes sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Duolingo holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Duolingo has 5.6M ratings behind it against 4, 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 43% of Maiya Words &Language Notes's.

Duolingo ships an update every 5 days, Maiya Words &Language Notes every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Duolingo | Maiya Words &Language Notes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.7 (5.6M ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/duolingo-learn-languages/id570060128/reviews)** | [3.0 (4 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/maiya-words-and-language-notes/id1590630235/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **5.6M** | 4 |
| Positive reviews | **64.7% of reviews** | 42.9% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | Every 5 days | **Every 3 days** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Best chart rank | **#1** | — |
| Size | 499 MB | 94 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | **15.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Duolingo, Inc](https://appshunter.io/developer/570060151) | [春鹏 崔](https://appshunter.io/developer/1547812943) |

## 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, #26 Top Grossing, #79 Top Free (US App Store)

This educational app offers fun, bite-sized lessons for learning over 40 languages, plus chess, math, and music. It uses a science-based methodology to build vocabulary and grammar skills, making learning effective and engaging for millions worldwide.

**Highlights:** Learn 40+ languages, Bite-sized lessons, Practice speaking, reading, listening, writing, Learn chess, Math courses, Music lessons, Track progress and achievements

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (10)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Super Duolingo | $9.99 | per month |
| Super Duolingo | $12.99 | per month |
| Super Duolingo | $83.99 | per year |
| Super Duolingo | $95.99 | 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 |
| 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


### Maiya Words &Language Notes

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/maiya-words-and-language-notes/id1590630235)

This app helps you learn new words and review them efficiently using spaced repetition. It also allows you to analyze and annotate essays, supporting multiple languages and rich text editing for a comprehensive language learning experience.

**Highlights:** Spaced repetition for word review, Real-time word scanning and recognition, Import and edit essays with rich text, Multi-language support (Chinese, English, Russian, German), Customizable pronunciation and spelling recall, Automatic daily word import

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Maiya Pro - Yearly Renew | $3.99 | per year |
| Maiya Pro - Yearly Renew | $7.99 | per year |
| Maiya Pro | $39.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Duolingo free?

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

### Is Maiya Words &Language Notes free?

Maiya Words &Language Notes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Duolingo or Maiya Words &Language Notes?

Duolingo is rated higher. Duolingo averages 4.7 out of 5 from 5.6M ratings, while Maiya Words &Language Notes averages 3.0 from 4 ratings.

### Do Duolingo or Maiya Words &Language Notes have ads?

Duolingo shows ads; Maiya Words &Language Notes does not.

### Which is updated more often, Duolingo or Maiya Words &Language Notes?

Duolingo ships an update every 5 days, and Maiya Words &Language Notes every 3 days. Most recently, Duolingo was updated on November 3, 2026 and Maiya Words &Language Notes on October 24, 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.*