Comparison

Duolingo vs Learn Chinese

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

Learn Chinese

Master Mandarin Chinese with engaging stories and news articles tailored to your HSK level. Improve vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation through interactive tools and daily quizzes. Designed for learners from HSK1 to HSK4, it offers an immersive approach to fluency.

Highlights
  • Real-world news and stories
  • Vocabulary and flashcards
  • Pinyin and pronunciation helper
  • Instant dictionary and translation
  • Grammar explanations
  • Daily quizzes
  • Graded lessons
Features
Read full description

Master Chinese with Readle, the top-rated language-learning app offering real-world Mandarin Chinese news and stories to help you boost your skills from HSK1 beginner to HSK6 advanced levels. In just 10 minutes a day, you can learn Chinese vocabulary, pinyin, grammar, and more. Whether you want to expand your Mandarin Chinese skills for conversation, exams, or living in China, Readle makes it easy! Why Choose Readle? - Real-world news and stories tailored to your level (from HSK1 to HSK4) by Mandarin Chinese language experts. - Learn Chinese grammar and expand your vocabulary with our flashcards, quizzes, and interactive learning tools. - Achieve Chinese fluency quickly and effectively with our graded lessons, designed for ultimate language immersion. Download Readle FREE and start learning Chinese today! ============== Learn Mandarin Chinese with stories and news: Readle revolutionizes how you learn Chinese with engaging stories covering topics like travel, culture, food, and more. Our daily lessons and exercises will help you improve your reading, listening, grammar, and speaking abilities. Key Features: ► Learn Mandarin Through Immersion: Our scientifically-backed immersion method helps you learn Chinese faster. Dive into real-world news and stories that align with your HSK level, from HSK1 to HSK4. ► Chinese Pinyin Helper: Boost your reading comprehension with our pinyin support for Chinese characters. Learn to read and pronounce Chinese effectively with guidance on pinyin pronunciation. ► Perfect Pronunciation: With native speaker recordings, you’ll improve your pronunciation and fluency. Repeat after native Mandarin Chinese speakers to master Chinese tones and intonation. ► Instant Dictionary & Translation: Tap on any word to get instant translations and grammar explanations, eliminating the need for external tools like Pleco or Google Translate. This feature saves time and enhances your learning experience. ► Chinese Grammar Helper: Each story offers grammar tips that help you understand and apply Chinese grammar in context. Learn how grammar works by seeing it in action in various stories. ► Vocabulary & Flashcards: Create custom flashcards from words in the stories you read. Use our spaced repetition system to lock new words into long-term memory and expand your Chinese vocabulary. ► Daily Quizzes: Test your knowledge with quizzes that cover Chinese vocabulary, grammar, and reading comprehension. Prepare for HSK exams with quizzes that simulate real test questions. ► Story Library with Daily Updates: Our library includes over 2000 stories across various topics, adding new content daily. Immerse yourself in Chinese through stories about: - Travel and Culture - Food and Restaurants - Science and Technology - Daily News and Entertainment …and more! Readle is the ultimate Chinese learning app for self-study, preparation for the HSK exam, or planning to live or visit China. Start your journey to mastering Chinese with Readle today! Do you have questions or feedback while learning Chinese with Readle? Contact us at support@readle-app.com. We are here to help! Privacy policy: https://readle-app.com/privacy-policy/ Terms of use: https://readle-app.com/term-of-use/

Screenshots

Duolingo4 screens
Learn Chinese4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Duolingo at every 5 days against Learn Chinese's every 4 months. Duolingo also leads on ratings volume (5.6M vs 7) and review sentiment (65% vs 50%). Learn Chinese's advantage is iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases 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 Learn Chinese sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $12.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Learn Chinese holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Duolingo has 5.6M ratings behind it against 7, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 65% of Duolingo's written reviews are positive against 50% of Learn Chinese's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Duolingo ships an update every 5 days, Learn Chinese every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Duolingo versus Learn Chinese: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDuolingoLearn Chinese
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (5.6M ratings)4.9 (7 ratings) — better
Positive reviews64.7% of reviews — better50.0% of reviews
Number of ratings5.6M — better7
Update frequencyEvery 5 days — betterEvery 4 months
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#1 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size499 MB141 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperDuolingoA-Type Technologies

Customer experience

Duolingo

All ratings5,554,423 ratings
Positive94.2%
Neutral2.5%
Negative3.4%
Written reviews30,718 reviews
Positive64.7%
Neutral9.6%
Negative25.6%

Learn Chinese

All ratings6 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

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

Learn Chinese

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

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

Learn Chinese

Subscriptions3
  • Learn Chinese: Premium$12.991 Month
  • Readle Quarterly Subscription$44.993 Months
  • Learn Chinese: Premium7 Days trial$69.991 Year
One-time1
  • Readle Premium Lifetime$249.99

Questions

Is Duolingo free?
Duolingo is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Learn Chinese free?
Learn Chinese is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Duolingo or Learn Chinese?
Learn Chinese is rated higher. Duolingo averages 4.7 out of 5 from 5.6M ratings, while Learn Chinese averages 4.9 from 7 ratings.
Do Duolingo or Learn Chinese have ads?
Both Duolingo and Learn Chinese show ads.
Which is updated more often, Duolingo or Learn Chinese?
Duolingo ships an update every 5 days, and Learn Chinese every 4 months. Most recently, Duolingo was updated on November 2, 2026 and Learn Chinese on October 24, 2026.

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