Comparison

Duolingo vs Lingard

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

Lingard

Enhance your language skills by reading and learning from your favorite content. This app allows you to import books and web pages, offering instant translation and pronunciation guides. It also includes audiobooks and grammar exercises to accelerate your vocabulary acquisition and fluency.

Highlights
  • Import EPUB, PDF, and web content
  • Instant translation and pronunciation
  • Audiobook integration
  • Grammar lessons and tests
  • Spaced repetition vocabulary memorization
  • Progress tracking
Features
Read full description

Lingard helps you learn English, Spanish, German, and French through reading, audio, and real context. Read books in the original language, translate words and phrases in one tap, save vocabulary, and review it when it actually helps you remember. Learn with materials that truly interest you: * Built-in library with 1000+ books, podcasts, dialogues, and summaries. * Import your own texts and books in ePub, PDF, DOCX, and other formats. * Read with fast translation without losing context. * Audiobooks and synchronized reading for listening practice. * Smart dictionary with AI, context-aware translation, examples, and pronunciation. * Flashcards, SRS spaced repetition, vocabulary, spelling, and pronunciation exercises. * Grammar, tests, and progress tracking. * Sync books, vocabulary, progress, and subscriptions across platforms. Lingard is for learners who want more than memorizing isolated words. Read what you enjoy, listen, translate difficult parts, build your personal vocabulary, and gradually turn new words into active knowledge. Start reading in the original language today. Privacy Policy: https://lingard.app/privacy.html Terms of Use: https://lingard.app/terms.html Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Duolingo4 screens
Lingard4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ratings volume: Duolingo at 5.5M against Lingard's 838. Duolingo also leads on chart position (#1 vs unranked). On price, rating, review sentiment and update cadence 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 Lingard sells 7 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 4.7 for Lingard. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Duolingo has 5.5M ratings behind it against 838, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 65% and 65% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Duolingo ships an update weekly, Lingard every 6 days. Both last shipped on September 24, 2026.

Scorecard2 real differences · 9 level
Duolingo versus Lingard: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDuolingoLingard
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (5.5M ratings)4.7 (838 ratings)
Positive reviews64.6% of reviews65.4% of reviews — better
Number of ratings5.5M — better838
Update frequencyWeeklyEvery 6 days — better
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#1 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Mac — better
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details — not scored
Size489 MB164 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperDuolingoDmitry Schavlik

Customer experience

Duolingo

All ratings5,464,639 ratings
Positive94.2%
Neutral2.4%
Negative3.4%
Written reviews29,453 reviews
Positive64.6%
Neutral9.6%
Negative25.7%

Lingard

All ratings838 ratings
Positive93.3%
Neutral1.4%
Negative5.3%
Written reviews214 reviews
Positive65.4%
Neutral6.1%
Negative28.5%

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

Lingard

From 838 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Great app for learning English
  • 👍 Beautiful and easy-to-use app
  • 👍 Helpful for reading and learning vocabulary
  • 👍 Enjoyable and effective way to learn languages
  • 👍 Useful for improving reading and listening skills

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Recognition issues with pronunciation
  • 🐛 Inaccurate AI voice and pronunciation
  • 💰 Expensive subscription plans
  • 🔒 Unauthorized subscription charges
  • 🔒 Misleading free trial information

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

Lingard

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Incorrect grammar and translation errors
  • App freezing and crashing issues
  • Subscription and billing problems

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add more advanced learning levels
  • Improve word definition accuracy
  • Provide offline mode for reading
  • Add more language options (e.g., Chinese, Russian)
  • Improve progress tracking and syncing across devices

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
7 purchases

Lingard

Subscriptions6
  • Lingard Pro$4.997 Days
  • Lingard Pro$17.991 Month
  • Lingard Pro3 Days trial$17.991 Month
Show 3 more
  • Lingard Pro7 Days trial$45.993 Months
  • Lingard Plus2 variants$89.991 Year
  • Lingard Pro7 Days trial$89.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lingard Plus$179.99

Questions

Is Duolingo free?
Duolingo is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Lingard free?
Lingard is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Duolingo or Lingard?
Duolingo and Lingard are both rated 4.7 out of 5 on the App Store, from 5.5M and 838 ratings respectively.
Do Duolingo or Lingard have ads?
Both Duolingo and Lingard show ads.
Which is updated more often, Duolingo or Lingard?
Duolingo ships an update weekly, and Lingard every 6 days. Most recently, Duolingo was updated on September 24, 2026 and Lingard on September 24, 2026.

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