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Duolingo

Updated: 12/10/2025, 5:13:00 PM Wikipedia source

Duolingo, Inc. is an American educational technology company that produces learning apps and provides language certification. Duolingo offers courses on 42 languages, ranging from English, French, and Spanish to less commonly studied languages such as Welsh, Irish, and Navajo, and even constructed languages such as Klingon. It also offers courses on music, math, and chess. The learning method incorporates gamification to motivate users with points, rewards and interactive lessons featuring spaced repetition. The app promotes short, daily lessons for consistent, phased practice. Duolingo also offers the Duolingo English Test, an online language assessment, and Duolingo ABC, a literacy app designed for children. The company follows a freemium model, where some content is provided for free with advertising, and users can pay for ad-free services which provide additional features.

Infobox

Type of business
Public
Available in
Multilingual Arabic Bengali Chinese (Mandarin) Czech Dutch English French German Greek Hindi Hungarian Indonesian Italian Japanese Korean Polish Portuguese Romanian Russian Spanish Swedish Tagalog Tamil Telugu Thai Turkish Ukrainian Vietnamese
Traded as
mw- Nasdaq: DUOL (Class A)S&P 400 component
Founded
2011; 14 years ago (2011)
Headquarters
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Area served
Worldwide
Founders
Luis von AhnSeverin Hacker
Key people
Luis von Ahn (CEO)Severin Hacker (CTO)
Industry
Online education
Products
Duolingo Duolingo ABC Duolingo English Test
Services
Language, music, chess, and math courses and language assessment.
Revenue
US$748 million (2024)
Operating income
US$63 million (2024)
Profit
US$88.6 million (2024)
Total assets
US$1.3 billion (2024)
Total equity
US$825 million (2024)
Employees
≈ 830 (December 2024)
URL
duolingo.com
Advertising
Yes
Registration
Yes[a]
Users
130 million MAU (Q1 2025)
Launched
November 27, 2011; 14 years ago (2011-11-27) (private beta)June 19, 2012; 13 years ago (2012-06-19) (public release)
Current status
Online
Native client(s) on
Android, iOS, iPadOS

Tables

· Learning model › Duolingo Score
0–9
0–9
Duolingo Score
0–9
CEFR level
very early A1
Student can...
use simple words and phrases in some common scenarios
10–19
10–19
Duolingo Score
10–19
CEFR level
early A1
Student can...
talk about themselves and where they live and ask and answer simple questions
20–29
20–29
Duolingo Score
20–29
CEFR level
high A1
Student can...
discuss their daily routine, order food at a restaurant, and chat a little
30–59
30–59
Duolingo Score
30–59
CEFR level
A2
Student can...
have basic conversations about familiar topics, including weather, shopping, hobbies, and holiday plans
60–79
60–79
Duolingo Score
60–79
CEFR level
early B1
Student can...
handle common situations while traveling, ask for directions, and make reservations
80–99
80–99
Duolingo Score
80–99
CEFR level
high B1
Student can...
share their opinion, tell stories, and navigate most daily situations
100–114
100–114
Duolingo Score
100–114
CEFR level
early B2
Student can...
have deep discussions about their interests and understand news, movies, and jokes
115–129
115–129
Duolingo Score
115–129
CEFR level
high B2
Student can...
express themselves in most situations and uses the language in professional and academic scenarios
130–160
130–160
Duolingo Score
130–160
CEFR level
C1 and C2
Student can...
easily understand all that they hear or read and expresses nuanced thoughts in sophisticated language
Duolingo Score
CEFR level
Student can...
0–9
very early A1
use simple words and phrases in some common scenarios
10–19
early A1
talk about themselves and where they live and ask and answer simple questions
20–29
high A1
discuss their daily routine, order food at a restaurant, and chat a little
30–59
A2
have basic conversations about familiar topics, including weather, shopping, hobbies, and holiday plans
60–79
early B1
handle common situations while traveling, ask for directions, and make reservations
80–99
high B1
share their opinion, tell stories, and navigate most daily situations
100–114
early B2
have deep discussions about their interests and understand news, movies, and jokes
115–129
high B2
express themselves in most situations and uses the language in professional and academic scenarios
130–160
C1 and C2
easily understand all that they hear or read and expresses nuanced thoughts in sophisticated language

References

  1. One can use Duolingo for a few lessons before requiring an account to progress.
  2. Pronunciation: /ˌdjuːoʊˈlɪŋɡoʊ/ (DEW-oh-LING-goh)
  3. "Duolingo, Inc. 2024 Annual Report (Form 10-K)"
    https://www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/0001562088/000156208825000042/duol-20241231.htm
  4. blog.duolingo.com
    https://blog.duolingo.com/migrating-duolingos-android-app-to-100-kotlin
  5. making.duolingo.com
    http://making.duolingo.com/real-world-swift
  6. making.duolingo.com
    http://making.duolingo.com/rewriting-duolingos-engine-in-scala
  7. Duoplanet
    https://duoplanet.com/duolingo-languages-list/
  8. CNBC
    https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/14/game-of-thrones-fans-this-app-teaches-you-to-speak-in-high-valyrian.html
  9. ZDNET
    https://www.zdnet.com/article/duolingo-opens-waitlist-for-its-new-free-music-course-heres-how-to-sign-up/
  10. Duolingo
    https://blog.duolingo.com/duolingo-launches-math-app/
  11. Duolingo Blog
    https://blog.duolingo.com/spaced-repetition-for-learning/
  12. TechCrunch
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  13. VatorNews
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  14. "Luis Von Ahn's answer to What made Luis Von Ahn start Duolingo?"
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  15. Bloomberg Businessweek
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  16. Mintlounge
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  17. Forbes
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  18. NBC News
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  19. The Verge
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  22. New Scientist
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  23. TechCrunch
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  24. "Duolingo shareholder letter 2022"
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  25. The Wall Street Journal
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  26. The Verge
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  27. Fast Company
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  28. Carnegie Mellon University
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  29. TechCrunch
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  30. TechCrunch
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  31. TechCrunch
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  32. "Duolingo brings free language courses to the iPad"
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  33. TechCrunch
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  34. VentureBeat
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  35. Amazon Web Services, Inc
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  36. Duolingo Stores 31 Billion Items on Amazon DynamoDB and Uses AWS to Deliver Language Lessons
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhnAvn2YxZA
  37. TechCrunch
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  38. www.prnewswire.com
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  39. Forbes
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  40. TechCrunch
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  41. VentureBeat
    https://venturebeat.com/2019/12/04/duolingo-raises-30-million-from-alphabets-capitalg-at-1-5-billion-valuation/
  42. triblive.com
    https://triblive.com/local/pittsburgh-allegheny/duolingo-touts-1-5b-valuation-language-company-to-hire-100-more-people-mostly-in-pittsburgh/
  43. CNN
    https://www.cnn.com/2013/10/15/tech/mobile/duolingo-incubator-language-teaching/index.html
  44. Duolingo Blog
    https://blog.duolingo.com/ending-honoring-our-volunteer-contributor-program-2/
  45. MarketWatch
    https://www.marketwatch.com/story/duolingo-the-fast-growing-language-learning-app-files-for-ipo-11624921568
  46. TechCrunch
    https://web.archive.org/web/20220610220221/https://techcrunch.com/2022/06/09/duolingo-back-in-china/
  47. NBC News
    https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/duolingos-update-redesign-luis-von-ahn-interview-rcna44655
  48. Duolingo Blog
    https://blog.duolingo.com/duolingo-max/
  49. Cartoon Brew
    https://web.archive.org/web/20230323013228/https://www.cartoonbrew.com/studios/duolingo-acquires-gunner-animation-studio-221889.html
  50. Duolingo Blog
    https://blog.duolingo.com/new-subjects/
  51. CNN
    https://edition.cnn.com/2024/01/09/tech/duolingo-layoffs-due-to-ai/index.html
  52. Business Insider
    https://www.businessinsider.com/duolingo-lays-off-workers-ai-tools-2024-1
  53. TechCrunch
    https://techcrunch.com/2024/07/09/duolingo-acquires-detroit-based-design-studio-hobbes/
  54. Marketbrief
    https://marketbrief.edweek.org/strategy-operations/duolingo-to-expand-in-music-education-after-uk-acquisition-german-ed-tech-startup-raises-1m-in-pre-seed-round/2025/08
  55. duolingodata.com
    https://duolingodata.com/
  56. Duolingo Help Center
    https://support.duolingo.com/hc/en-us/articles/115004068043-What-is-Super-Duolingo-
  57. Super Duolingo homepage
    https://duolingo.com/super
  58. OpenAI
    https://openai.com/customer-stories/duolingo
  59. schools.duolingo.com
    https://schools.duolingo.com/
  60. Duolingo's Path to Math! • Sammi Siegel • Duocon 2022
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejr7g6riodk&ab_channel=Duolingo
  61. TechCrunch
    https://techcrunch.com/2023/09/06/duolingo-confirms-its-app-will-soon-include-both-math-and-music-lessons/
  62. TechRadar
    https://www.techradar.com/computing/software/duolingos-new-music-platform-will-teach-you-the-basics-of-playing-tunes
  63. USA TODAY
    https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2025/04/22/duolingos-adds-new-chess-course/83209588007/
  64. Absolute Geeks
    https://web.archive.org/web/20250415081151/https://www.absolutegeeks.com/article/tech-news/duolingo-adds-chess-lessons-to-iphone-app-heres-what-to-expect/?feed_id=13792&_unique_id=67fe0aed22ce2
  65. Axios
    https://www.axios.com/local/pittsburgh/2025/04/22/duolingo-chess-learning-app-launch
  66. Duolingo Blog
    https://blog.duolingo.com/duolingo-abc-unlocking-the-magic-of-reading/
  67. Introducing The Duolingo Method - How does Duolingo teach new subjects?
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVTSGL4BdDU
  68. Duolingo Blog
    https://blog.duolingo.com/how-weve-improved-the-duolingo-learning-experience-this-year-and-a-sneak-peek-toward-2020/
  69. TESL-EJ
    http://www.tesl-ej.org/pdf/ej73/m1.pdf
  70. Happily Ever Travels
    https://happilyevertravels.com/duolingo-stories/
  71. Esperanto Revolutionaries and Geeks: Language Politics, Digital Media and the Making of an International Community
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  72. Games and Learning Alliance
    https://doi.org/10.1007%2F978-3-319-50182-6_24
  73. Duolingo Clash
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0YT9VQh4FY
  74. Duolingo Blog
    https://blog.duolingo.com/avatar-creator/
  75. Duolingo Blog
    https://blog.duolingo.com/friend-streak/
  76. Proceedings of the 26th ACM SIGKDD International Conference on Knowledge Discovery & Data Mining
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  77. Duolingo Blog
    https://blog.duolingo.com/duolingo-score/
  78. Pittsburgh Business Times
    https://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/news/2020/04/08/duolingo-passes-one-million-paid-users-expands.html
  79. "Duolingo Announces Record Bookings in First Quarter 2022 and Raises Full Year Guidance"
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  80. "Duolingo Reports 62% DAU Growth, 42% Revenue Growth, and Increased Profitability in First Quarter 2023; Raises Full Year Guidance"
    https://investors.duolingo.com/static-files/3c5dd359-4936-452a-9d9f-9a8c853c06c0
  81. Statista
    https://www.statista.com/statistics/1248132/duolingo-quarterly-paid-subscribers/
  82. China Daily
    https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/201912/13/WS5df2ebe7a310cf3e3557de46.html
  83. Forbes
    https://www.forbes.com/sites/susanadams/2019/07/16/game-of-tongues-how-duolingo-built-a-700-million-business-with-its-addictive-language-learning-app/
  84. Yahoo! Finance
    https://finance.yahoo.com/video/duolingo-ceo-talks-earnings-paid-144115465.html
  85. The Washington Post
    https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/01/10/duolingo-ai-layoffs/
  86. PCMAG
    https://www.pcmag.com/news/amid-backlash-duolingo-backtracks-on-plans-for-ai-pivot
  87. The 74
    https://www.the74million.org/article/as-duolingo-turns-to-ai-some-users-say-language-app-has-joined-the-dark-side/
  88. CBC News
    https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/duolingo-ai-teachers-1.7539838
  89. USA TODAY
    https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/news/2025/04/30/duolingo-ai-first-contract-workers-replaced/83366078007/
  90. www.msn.com
    https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/duolingo-flooded-by-pledges-to-quit-the-app-following-decision-to-replace-contractors-with-ai-that-owl-is-dead-to-me/ar-AA1DZt7f
  91. Cybernews
    https://cybernews.com/entertainment/duolingo-artificial-intelligence-backlash-tiktok/
  92. Wired
    https://www.wired.com/story/generative-ai-backlash/
  93. Fast Company
    https://www.fastcompany.com/91338068/duolingo-deletes-tiktok-ai-backlash-returns-with-strange-message
  94. Futurism
    https://futurism.com/duolingo-ceo-ai-reaction
  95. Bloomberg News
    https://archive.today/20250916113719/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-09-16/ai-translation-risks-put-spotlight-on-duolingo-s-pricey-multiple
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  97. Slate
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  98. PLOS ONE
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  99. Speech Communication
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  100. Foreign Language Annals
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  101. E-Bangi: Journal of Social Sciences & Humanities
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  103. Duolingo
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  104. Amazon Web Services
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  105. Amazon Web Services
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  106. The Cut
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  107. Kotaku
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  109. Duolingo
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  110. The Record
    https://therecord.media/duolingo-investigating-dark-web-post-offering-data-from-2-6-million-accounts
  111. Infosecurity Magazine
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  112. Cybernews
    https://cybernews.com/security/hackers-exposed-duolingo-users-more-available-scraping/
  113. "Welsh course to be 'paused' on language app Duolingo"
    https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-67197462
  114. BBC News
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  115. A Grammar of Paraguayan Guarani
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  117. "shareholder letter Q3 2023"
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  118. "Duolingo kicks contractors out the door while chasing the shadow of AI"
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  119. "Duolingo CEO tries to walk back AI-first comments, fails"
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  120. "Duolingo snags iPhone App of the Year"
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  121. "Duolingo turns two today!"
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  122. TechCrunch
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  123. "Google Play reveals the most downloaded apps, games and entertainment content from 2014"
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  124. theindexproject.org
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  125. Duolingo Blog
    https://blog.duolingo.com/building-character/
  126. Creating Our Duolingo Characters • Greg Hartman • Duocon 2020
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-3-D7S0piw
  127. Duolingo Blog
    https://web.archive.org/web/20240311163848/https://blog.duolingo.com/duolingo-female-character-origin-stories/
  128. CBS News
    https://www.cbsnews.com/pittsburgh/news/duolingo-owl-dead/
  129. The Independent
    https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/duolingo-owl-mascot-death-duo-tribute-dua-lipa-b2697349.html
  130. Forbes
    https://www.forbes.com/sites/callumbooth/2025/02/12/duolingo-owl-dies-but-the-dead-internet-theory-lives-on/
  131. NBC News
    https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/duolingo-death-owl-duo-cybertruck-social-media-what-happened-rcna191939
  132. USA TODAY
    https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2025/02/12/duolingo-duo-owl-dead-cybertruck/78457365007/
  133. CNET
    https://www.cnet.com/culture/internet/duo-the-duolingo-owl-cruelly-murdered-by-a-tesla-cybertruck-now-sold-in-coffin-shaped-box/
  134. The News Journal
    https://www.delawareonline.com/story/tech/2025/02/24/duolingo-duo-owl-mascot-faked-death/80059015007/
  135. www.designrush.com
    https://www.designrush.com/news/duolingo-resurrects-its-mascot-after-viral-cybertruck-death
  136. USA TODAY
    https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2025/02/11/duolingo-duo-owl-death/78425853007/
  137. New York Post
    https://nypost.com/2025/02/12/lifestyle/duolingo-announces-the-death-of-its-beloved-owl-mascot-duo/
  138. design.duolingo.com
    https://design.duolingo.com/writing/duo#duos-and-duonts
  139. Mashable
    https://mashable.com/article/duolingo-owl-memes/
  140. Newsweek
    https://www.newsweek.com/threatening-note-duolingo-owl-internet-stitches-1849686
  141. Contagious
    https://www.contagious.com/news-and-views/duolingo-social-media-marketing
  142. Introducing Duolingo Push
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wc83qX6oNM
  143. rypl.io
    https://web.archive.org/web/20190607075051/https://www.rypl.io/post/what-is-the-duolingo-meme-craze-and-what-marketers-can-learn-from-it
  144. "Lawyer Fights Duolingo Owl for $2,700,000"
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ga3ttnz3nXI
  145. "Spanish or Vanish (full song) from Duolingo On Ice"
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWXuz95uBQo
  146. Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
    https://triblive.com/local/pittsburgh-allegheny/pittsburgh-based-duolingo-a-fan-of-snls-talk-to-kids-skit/
  147. Technical.ly
    https://technical.ly/startups/duolingo-restaurant-duos-taqueria-700k-success/
  148. Fast Company
    https://www.fastcompany.com/91183352/duolingo-office-nyc-employees-choices-about-how-they-want-to-work
  149. Duolingo Opens New Office in NYC
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJJKA1JVY1s
  150. careers.duolingo.com
    https://careers.duolingo.com/#locations
  151. The Verge
    https://www.theverge.com/24267841/luis-von-ahn-duolingo-owl-language-learning-gamification-generative-ai-android-decoder
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