The question is also what features are desired to be offered in the free version. The paid version offers targeted practice opportunities, including, for example, a useful “Review mistakes” section. You can re-attempt the words or exercises where you made mistakes. It’s a tightrope walk, how much to annoy basic version users and try to steer them towards becoming paid subscribers. I myself have only tested the pro version through free trials and haven’t gotten hooked as a subscriber.
From a shareholder’s perspective, it’s worth trying out the paid version for free now and then. I don’t own shares myself, nor do I use the app anymore. Previously, I had a four-year streak jumping between different languages, but now I’ve been dry for over a year.
Edit: the user interface is, at least to my taste, a bit too cluttered, so subscribers might not even get to utilize all the goodies.
I have almost a 5-year streak with one language, and I’ve already played through the whole (free) thing a long time ago. Still, I do it every morning for 10 minutes. In the beginning, the same things annoyed me as others, but it gets better once you reach a bit more advanced levels. Now it’s annoying because there’s nothing new anymore, and Temu’s ads are also incredibly annoying.
Do I know the language? I’d say yes, to some extent; I understand song lyrics fluently, and following videos/series is easier with subtitles. My own language use is somewhat clumsy and hesitant; writing is easier than speaking, but that’s acceptable too - I can express myself in conversation in ways other than just small talk phrases. I can use all sorts of conjugations and construct nice conditional sentences etc. if I think a bit. And say that insects want to study English with Duolingo
Why do I still play? I don’t want to lose what I’ve learned, because in everyday life there are few opportunities to use that language. And I’m perhaps autistic enough that I like these slightly odd routines
My frustration has specifically occurred with the paid version. Reviewing mistakes is fine, though. What I’d rather have is learning new words.
It doesn’t teach grammar. In my opinion, it’s mostly fine. However, it’s quite frustrating that, for example, at no point in the Russian studies was it even explained that verbs are conjugated according to masculine/feminine nouns. They just put options in front of you from which you’re supposed to guess. If I hadn’t taken a basic grammar course back then, I wouldn’t have understood anything.
The app also has other infuriating problems. For example, tasks where the user is asked to write a Russian word written in Cyrillic script, transliterated into Roman script. However, the transliteration uses a character set that deviates from the ISO standard. For example, й transliterates to ĭ. However, this character is almost never found among the special characters of the ‘i’ key on English Android or iPhone keyboards. Keyboards usually have Ì, í, î, ī, į, ị, ï, but all of them produce the wrong answer. However, you cannot pass the lesson unless you enter the correct answer. The only way to proceed without quitting the lesson midway and losing the work done is to search online for what on earth that character is called and copy-paste it into the app. Feedback on this has been given ages ago, but they aren’t interested in fixing it.
Duolingo exceeded expectations in the second quarter, with revenue growing by 41 percent to $252 million. User numbers increased, and subscription revenues also grew by 46 percent. The company apparently achieved record profitability and raised its full-year revenue forecast to over a billion dollars.
A slight weakening of results is expected in the second half of the year, but growth continues nonetheless. New features have reportedly been well received, and the company also strengthened its music expertise with the acquisition of NextBeat.
In the course discussion thread, there were a few different views on the company and the stock’s valuation, which could well be in the company thread as well:
The tweet below states, among other things, that Duolingo is not just a language app, but is evolving into a broad learning platform that offers many diverse courses and is constantly expanding into new areas.
The tweet also notes that the company heavily utilizes artificial intelligence in developing its service and improving the learning experience. User numbers and revenue are growing rapidly, and furthermore, the brand is very strong and recognizable.
The tweeter believes that Duolingo has the potential to become the leading self-study platform in the world.
Here’s an interesting discussion from Duolingo. Some consider the business strong and versatile, while others question its sustainability, because a large part of it is based on streaks and “don’t break the chain” things, etc. There’s also some contemplation about competition, e.g., from Google’s direction.
Duolingo is an interesting stock because it has been hit with a bucketful of uncertainty. The company’s growth is strong, and soon 40+% of every euro in revenue will remain as free cash flow below the line
In my opinion, the sentiment is already overshooting and could offer a buying opportunity for those going against the current.
Perhaps Duolingo’s real killer is that travelers will stop studying languages when they have a real-time interpreter in their pocket that can handle every dialect in real-time?
It occurred to me that, for example, the stock rocket Hims & Hers emerged from an industry that was predicted to be a mouthful for big giants just 5 years ago.
If the decline continues, I’ll probably have to grab it, similar to my Alphabet purchases in April. Even there, AI fear temporarily took over
The tweeter reports that at the Duocon 2025 event, Duolingo presented new developments that further strengthen its position as a learning platform. The company is particularly investing in AI, which supports, among other things, speech practice and makes learning even more interactive and realistic.
At the same time, Duolingo is expanding its offerings beyond languages, for example, with Duolingo Chess. According to the tweeter, this indicates that the company is genuinely experimenting with new things and seeking growth opportunities in a broader learning field.
Many of the innovations are related to paid services, which increases potential revenue. The tweeter also says that although the stock has fallen significantly from its peak, the direction of development shows the company strengthening its position in the long term.
The tweet below highlights that Duolingo uses OpenAI’s AI more than any other company. Some fear that OpenAI could create a similar application itself, but the tweeter believes that is not realistic.
According to him, the most important thing is that Duolingo is fully committed to AI and is developing its service faster and smarter, which is good news for investors.
Here’s an interesting tweet about why Duolingo is not just a language learning app, but perhaps the next generation learning platform or… at least that’s what the tweeter thinks. They “debunk” the most common critical claims and try to show how, in their opinion, Duolingo is building a global, personalized education system alongside AI, not against it.
Duolingo continued its growth momentum, revenue rose significantly, and the number of paying users and bookings also grew at a good pace. Daily and monthly users continued to increase, but, but, but… market expectations were not met, and the stock didn’t like that. Earnings rose exceptionally high due to a one-time tax benefit, but profitability remained quite strong otherwise.
The company continues to emphasize user growth before more aggressive monetization, which is reflected in the focus on product development and A/B testing.
The guidance for the rest of the year is cautiously positive – revenue will continue to grow, but a slightly more moderate approach will be taken to profitability. These cautious and moderate comments about the future were probably the main reasons why Duolingo’s stock fell sharply in after-hours trading.
The CEO’s justified “long view” is not acceptable to the market. I personally agree that user experience must be prioritized over monetization. If the product is excellent, monetization will follow. Duolingo’s decline has gained momentum whenever OpenAI introduces new features for ChatGPT; it is feared that the disruptor itself will be disrupted . A peculiar situation, when on one hand, there are warnings about an AI bubble and the valuations of AI companies, and on the other hand, AI is still taken as a very serious threat. I personally bet on Duolingo being a winner in the development where gamified mobile applications are increasingly used to complement basic (language) education. Users like it, and it saves resources needed for human-to-human teaching.
I currently have a 450-day streak with the free version. I have completed two languages, and a third is underway. (German, Swedish, Italian.) I have been quite disappointed with how short the language studies are and how negligible the grammar instruction is. Since I also dabble in music, math, and chess, I tried those too, but they didn’t ignite my interest.
The quality of language instruction and the length of the courses are so low that I don’t think I will ever pay for the app. It provides a useful superficial scratch of a language, but nothing more, in my opinion. The free version has become so annoying that I’m starting to get fed up, and the current Italian course is definitely the last language I’ll play, or I might even leave it unfinished. I’ve started using Gemini AI as my grammar teacher alongside it, and the quality of its instruction is much, much better than Duolingo’s.
Duolingo’s strength is encouraging regularity by gamifying it quite addictively.
I have often considered the company as an investment and followed its financial figures, but now that I’ve structured my thoughts on using the app into text, I’ve simultaneously decided that I’ll let the rest of you handle investments in this company.
Thank you for your good writing, I fully agree. I had exactly a 700-day streak when I quit. Duolingo’s grammar teaching is terrible and indeed teaches short courses and strange sentences and words, could AI have done it? Could it be aimed at children and teenagers?
I found free quality teaching on Busuu, a completely different level, I recommend checking it out.
This week, I made a video about Duolingo. Quite an interesting company, which is a market leader in its field. AI is a big bogeyman in this investment story.
On TikTok, they currently have fewer viewers due to a previous controversy.
. A peculiar situation, when on one hand, there are warnings about an AI bubble and the valuations of AI companies, and on the other hand, AI is still taken as a very serious threat. I personally bet on Duolingo being a winner in the development where gamified mobile applications are increasingly used to complement basic (language) education. Users like it, and it saves resources needed for human-to-human teaching.
