# Duolingo vs WIS

The clearest difference is ads: WIS at none against Duolingo's shown. Duolingo's advantage is ratings volume (5.5M vs 277) and update cadence (weekly vs every 3 weeks). On price, review sentiment, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Duolingo sells 16 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month and WIS sells 12 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Duolingo holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Duolingo has 5.5M ratings behind it against 277, 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 59% of WIS's.

Duolingo ships an update weekly, WIS every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 9, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Duolingo | WIS |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.7 (5.5M ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/duolingo-language-lessons/id570060128/reviews)** | [4.5 (277 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/wis-all-languages-translator/id1634630959/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **5.5M** | 277 |
| Positive reviews | **64.6% of reviews** | 58.6% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | **Weekly** | Every 3 weeks |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Freemium |
| Best chart rank | **#1** | — |
| Size | 489 MB | 22 MB |
| Requires iOS | **17.0** | 26.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad** | iPhone |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Duolingo](https://appshunter.io/developer/570060151) | [Bushman, LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/901998837) |

## 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, #63 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


### WIS

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/wis-all-languages-translator/id1634630959)

Instantly translate text from images using your camera. Simply point, click, and get accurate translations. Save translated photos for later use or sharing.

**Highlights:** Camera translation, Translate image text, Save translated photos, Point and click translation, Share translated images

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (12)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| What it say? PRO - All Access | $4.99 | per month |
| What It Say - Club PRO | $4.99 | per 7 days |
| PRO - Unlimited Access | $4.99 | per 7 days |
| PRO - Unlimited Access | $4.99 | per month |
| Secret Discount - All Access | $9.99 | per year |
| Secret Discount - All Access | $19.99 | per year |
| PRO - Unlimited Access | $24.99 | per year |
| What it Say? PRO - All Access | $29.99 | per year |
| PRO - Unlimited Access | $29.99 | per year |
| What it Say? PRO - All Access | $39.99 | per year |
| 1 Month Pass - All Access | $19.99 | one-time |
| PRO - Unlimited Access | $99.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Accurate translations
- 👍 User-friendly interface
- 🚀 Fast response time
- 💡 Real-time translation
- 💡 Offline capabilities

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Fails to recognize Japanese menu
- 🐛 Rasterized text too small
- 🐛 Does not translate by hovering
- 🐛 Spanish stayed in Spanish
- 🐛 OCR is a jumbled mess

**Reported bugs**

- Does not recognize Japanese menu
- Rasterized text in shared images is too small
- Spanish text remains untranslated
- OCR output is a jumbled mess
- Misleading free trial/lifetime offers

**Requested features**

- Improve sharing of translated images
- Support tapping the back of the phone for instant translation


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Duolingo free?

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

### Is WIS free?

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

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

Duolingo is rated higher. Duolingo averages 4.7 out of 5 from 5.5M ratings, while WIS averages 4.5 from 277 ratings.

### Do Duolingo or WIS have ads?

Duolingo shows ads; WIS does not.

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

Duolingo ships an update weekly, and WIS every 3 weeks. Most recently, Duolingo was updated on September 24, 2026 and WIS on September 9, 2026.

---

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