# Duolingo vs Sign BSL

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Sign BSL at none against Duolingo's 10. Sign BSL also leads on iOS requirement (13.0 vs 17.0). Duolingo's advantage is update cadence (every 5 days vs every 55 months) and ratings volume (5.6M vs 7). On price, rating, review sentiment and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Duolingo sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Sign BSL asks for nothing beyond the download.

Duolingo holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.6. 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 point the same way: 65% of Duolingo's written reviews are positive against 63% of Sign BSL's.

Duolingo ships an update every 5 days, Sign BSL every 55 months. The most recent releases landed on November 12, 2026 and November 11, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Duolingo | Sign BSL |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.7 (5.6M ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/duolingo-learn-languages/id570060128/reviews)** | [4.6 (7 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sign-bsl/id998361466/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **5.6M** | 7 |
| Positive reviews | **64.8% of reviews** | 62.5% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| Update frequency | **Every 5 days** | Every 55 months |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Ad-supported** |
| Best chart rank | **#1** | — |
| Size | 499 MB | 3 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | **13.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | [Duolingo, Inc](https://appshunter.io/developer/570060151) | [Daniel Mitchell](https://appshunter.io/developer/998361465) |

## What reviewers say

### Duolingo

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

**Currently charting:** #1 Top Free · Education, #1 Top Grossing · Education, #27 Top Grossing, #73 Top Free (US App Store)

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

**Highlights:** Bite-sized language lessons, Learn chess strategy and play matches, 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 | $79.99 | per year |
| 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 |
| 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


### Sign BSL

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sign-bsl/id998361466)

Explore a vast video dictionary of British Sign Language. Search and compare thousands of words and phrases, with over 20,000 videos available on your mobile device.

**Highlights:** Searchable BSL video dictionary, Thousands of words and phrases, Over 20,000 video demonstrations, Mobile accessibility, Compare signs

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🌟 Excellent free resource
- 👍 Very helpful for learning BSL
- ✅ Great for quick word lookups
- 📚 Useful for all BSL levels
- 📹 Clear sign videos

**What reviewers complain about**

- ❌ Missing some words
- 🤔 Regional dialects not specified
- 🤷‍♀️ Some signs don't match words
- 📉 Outdated signs mentioned

**Reported bugs**

- 🐛 App crashes after playing videos
- 🐛 App crashes on iPhone X
- 🐛 App crashes after iOS update
- 🐛 App crashes when trying to watch another video of the same word
- 🐛 App force closes after one video

**Requested features**

- Specify regional dialects for signs
- Add missing words
- Include key sentences/phrases
- Add a 'save' or 'favourites' button
- Allow 'suggest add' for new words


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Duolingo free?

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

### Is Sign BSL free?

Sign BSL is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Duolingo or Sign BSL?

Duolingo is rated higher. Duolingo averages 4.7 out of 5 from 5.6M ratings, while Sign BSL averages 4.6 from 7 ratings.

### Do Duolingo or Sign BSL have ads?

Both Duolingo and Sign BSL show ads.

### Which is updated more often, Duolingo or Sign BSL?

Duolingo ships an update every 5 days, and Sign BSL every 55 months. Most recently, Duolingo was updated on November 12, 2026 and Sign BSL on November 11, 2026.

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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.*