# Duolingo vs LingoLooper

The clearest difference is ratings volume: Duolingo at 5.6M against LingoLooper's 1.3K. Duolingo also leads on update cadence (every 5 days vs fortnightly) and chart position (#1 vs #22). LingoLooper's advantage is review sentiment (80% vs 65%) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Duolingo sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month and LingoLooper sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Duolingo against 4.8 for LingoLooper. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Duolingo has 5.6M ratings behind it against 1.3K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 65% of Duolingo's written reviews are positive against 80% of LingoLooper's.

Duolingo ships an update every 5 days, LingoLooper fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on November 8, 2026 and November 7, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Duolingo | LingoLooper |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.7 (5.6M ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/duolingo-learn-languages/id570060128/reviews) | **[4.8 (1.3K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/lingolooper-ai-language-game/id1670913076/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **5.6M** | 1.3K |
| Positive reviews | 64.8% of reviews | **79.7% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| Update frequency | **Every 5 days** | Fortnightly |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | **#1** | #22 |
| Size | 499 MB | 249 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | **15.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | [Duolingo, Inc](https://appshunter.io/developer/570060151) | [Lumi Labs AB](https://appshunter.io/developer/1670913078) |

## What reviewers say

### Duolingo

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/duolingo-learn-languages/id570060128)

**Currently charting:** #1 Top Grossing · Education, #2 Top Free · Education, #30 Top Grossing, #74 Top Free (US App Store)

Master new languages, chess, and math with fun, bite-sized lessons. This educational app uses a game-like approach to build vocabulary, grammar, and strategic skills. Track your progress and compete with a global community.

**Highlights:** Bite-sized language lessons, Chess learning and play, Interactive math courses, Music reading and playing, Progress tracking and achievements, Competitive leaderboards

**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


### LingoLooper

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/lingolooper-ai-language-game/id1670913076)

**Currently charting:** #22 Top Free · Education (US App Store)

Master real-world conversations with AI avatars in immersive 3D worlds. Practice speaking and listening in over 30 languages through gamified role-play and interactive chat sessions. Get personalized feedback to improve fluency and overcome speaking anxiety.

**Highlights:** AI avatars for conversation practice, Immersive 3D worlds to explore, Personalized AI feedback on grammar and vocabulary, Save new words and track progress, Bite-sized learning sessions, Over 1000 unique AI characters

**Features:** Family Sharing

**In-app purchases (6)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Early Access | $5.99 | per 7 days |
| Premium Monthly | $14.99 | per month |
| Early Access | $14.99 | per month |
| Early Access | $14.99 | per month |
| Premium Annual | $99.99 | per year |
| Early Access | $99.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Great resource for speaking and listening
- 👍 Allows for conversational freedom
- 👍 Useful for giving feedback
- 👍 Continually improving
- 👍 Allows for daily conversation practice

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🔒 Requires a paid subscription
- 🐛 Occasional speech recognition errors
- 🐛 Slow response times from avatars
- 🐛 Occasional loading issues

**Reported bugs**

- Speech recognition errors
- Slow response times
- Loading issues
- Compatibility problems on older devices

**Requested features**

- Add formal language options
- Expand to more languages like Croatian
- Add vocabulary and phrase review tools
- Allow users to change their name
- Add instructions and tutorial screens


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Duolingo free?

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

### Is LingoLooper free?

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

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

LingoLooper is rated higher. Duolingo averages 4.7 out of 5 from 5.6M ratings, while LingoLooper averages 4.8 from 1.3K ratings.

### Do Duolingo or LingoLooper have ads?

Both Duolingo and LingoLooper show ads.

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

Duolingo ships an update every 5 days, and LingoLooper fortnightly. Most recently, Duolingo was updated on November 8, 2026 and LingoLooper on November 7, 2026.

### Which is more popular, Duolingo or LingoLooper?

Duolingo currently peaks at #1 in the App Store charts, and LingoLooper at #22. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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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.*
