Comparison

Duolingo vs Speak AI

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

Speak AI

Practice English speaking anytime with an AI partner. Receive pronunciation feedback, engage in AI video calls, and choose from various topics and roles for an immersive and affordable learning experience. Accelerate your language acquisition with comprehensive tools.

Highlights
  • 24/7 AI speaking partner
  • Pronunciation scoring
  • AI video calls
  • Customizable topics and roles
  • Intelligent example responses
  • Progress tracking
Features
Read full description

Struggle to express yourself fluently in a foreign language despite a clear mind? Professional courses with native speakers too expensive? Learning a foreign language opens up infinite possibilities! Try Speak AI for high-quality, low-cost English speaking skills: Practice anytime with a 24/7 online AI partner, comfortably without human interaction. Receive detailed guidance on usage and pronunciation, with visual progress tracking. Engage in immersive one-on-one language chat through AI video calls. Choose from or customize a wide range of topics, with fun roles and tasks for an engaging learning experience. Benefit from intelligent example responses and Chinese-to-English repetition assistance. [Chat in English Anytime, Anywhere] Practice conversations with an AI partner at any time. AI instructors offer professional training and a comfortable environment when you're nervous about mistakes. [Precise Pronunciation Scoring] Master English pronunciation easily with immediate, accurate feedback from our AI, using advanced speech recognition to assess and suggest improvements. [AI Video Calls] AI video calls provide a realistic learning experience, enhancing your skills through real-time interaction and personalized feedback. [Wide Range of Scenarios] Choose from a vast array of topics or customize your learning with scenarios that suit your interests. Flexibility and variety make learning exciting and practical. [Fun Character Voices] Explore diverse AI character voices and tasks, adding fun to your learning journey. Learn various English accents through interactive character conversations. [Multi-Functional Teaching] Accelerate learning with tools for vocabulary, grammar, and conversation practice, including real-time correction and progress tracking. By using Speak AI, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use: Privacy Policy: [https://reurl.cc/Xm7nMj] Terms of Service: [https://reurl.cc/K3NgWe] It's not just learning a language; it's embracing a lifestyle.

Screenshots

Duolingo4 screens
Speak AI4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Speak AI at 99% against Duolingo's 65%. Speak AI also leads on rating (4.9 vs 4.7) and iOS requirement (14.0 vs 17.0). Duolingo's advantage is ratings volume (5.5M vs 414) and update cadence (weekly vs every 3 weeks). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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 Speak AI sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Speak AI holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Duolingo has 5.5M ratings behind it against 414, 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 99% of Speak AI's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Duolingo ships an update weekly, Speak AI every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Duolingo versus Speak AI: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDuolingoSpeak AI
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (5.5M ratings)4.9 (414 ratings) — better
Positive reviews64.6% of reviews99.4% of reviews — better
Number of ratings5.5M — better414
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#1 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.014.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size489 MB73 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDuolingo, IncMeta Innovation

Customer experience

Duolingo

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

Speak AI

All ratings414 ratings
Positive98.6%
Neutral0.2%
Negative1.2%
Written reviews311 reviews
Positive99.4%
Neutral0.3%
Negative0.3%

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

Speak AI

From 414 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 🚀 Smooth and fast performance
  • 🔒 Reliable and secure
  • 💡 Unique and innovative features
  • 🤩 Highly recommended by users

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional crashes or bugs
  • 🕰️ Slow updates or content refreshes
  • 💰 Concerns about pricing or affordability

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

Speak AI

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Login issues or screen freezes
  • Compatibility problems with certain devices

Requested features

3 requests
  • Expanded functionality and more customization options
  • Improved content organization and search
  • Better integration with other apps and services

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
4 purchases

Speak AI

Subscriptions3
  • SpeakAI Month$9.991 Month
  • SpeakAI Quarter$29.993 Months
  • SpeakAI Year$39.991 Year
One-time1
  • SpeakAI Lifetime$89.99

Questions

Is Duolingo free?
Duolingo is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Speak AI free?
Speak AI is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Duolingo or Speak AI?
Speak AI is rated higher. Duolingo averages 4.7 out of 5 from 5.5M ratings, while Speak AI averages 4.9 from 414 ratings.
Do Duolingo or Speak AI have ads?
Both Duolingo and Speak AI show ads.
Which is updated more often, Duolingo or Speak AI?
Duolingo ships an update weekly, and Speak AI every 3 weeks. Most recently, Duolingo was updated on September 25, 2026 and Speak AI on September 24, 2026.

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