Duolingo
Language lessons played like a game, plus maths, music and chess
First principle
People have always wanted to learn a language and given up within a week. Duolingo cut learning into games of a few minutes and added a streak nobody wants to break.
The needs it meets
- ProgressCore
- Seeing yourself get better: a level cleared, a rank gained, a skill learnt.
- Entertainment
- Passing time and unwinding, carried off by stories, music and video.
Why it wins
- A lesson takes a few minutes, done in a queue or on the bus, a far lower bar than a class or a textbook.
- The streak, the leaderboards and the green owl that nags you make coming back today matter more than how much you learn.
- Every language course is free, with no tutor or course to pay for first, so anyone can start.
- It has spread from languages to maths, music and chess, carrying the same daily habit into more subjects.
What keeps it ahead
- Daily habit
- A reason to come back every day: streaks, check ins, energy.
- Easy start
- Anyone can use it at once, with a reward within seconds.
- Brand and IP
- People knew it already: the brand, the characters, the stars.
How it makes money
SubscriptionsAdsIn app purchases
Courses are free and most of the money comes from subscriptions: Super removes ads and the cap on practice, Max adds AI video calls for speaking practice, and ads and single item purchases are small.
What a small team can take from it
Duolingo made sticking with it the product: the streak, the reminder, the streak repair. Any small tool that needs regular use (budgeting, workouts, vocabulary) can design the reason to come back tomorrow before the content.
This week
- World: top grossing apps, number 6, in 10 of 10 countriesGermany App Store 6 · UK Google Play 9 · Germany Google Play 9 · France App Store 10 · UK App Store 13 · Japan App Store 14
- World: top free apps, number 28, in 6 of 10 countriesKorea App Store 23 · Germany Google Play 25 · France App Store 27 · Korea Google Play 28 · Germany App Store 29 · Brazil App Store 42
- China: top grossing apps, number 20
updated 29 October 2026
- Developer
- Duolingo
- Category
- App · Education
- Stores
- App Store, Google Play
- First in a list
- 29 October 2026
Sources
- Duolingo Q2 2026 shareholder letter 5 August 2026
This is our analysis and judgement, drafted by an AI agent from the store pages and public sources and read by a person before it went up. Every figure has a source; where there is none, we give no figure. Found a mistake? Write to [email protected].