Duolingo

Duolingo, Inc.
Duolingo home page visited while logged out in March 2024
Type of businessPublic
Available in
Traded as
Founded2011 (2011)
HeadquartersPittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Area servedWorldwide
Founder(s)
Key peopleLuis von Ahn (CEO)
Severin Hacker (CTO)
IndustryOnline education
Products
ServicesLanguage, 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)
URLduolingo.com
AdvertisingYes
RegistrationYes
Users130 million MAU (Q1 2025)
LaunchedNovember 27, 2011 (2011-11-27) (private beta)
June 19, 2012 (2012-06-19) (public release)
Current statusOnline
Native client(s) onAndroid, iOS, iPadOS

Duolingo, Inc. is an American educational technology company that produces learning apps and provides language certification. Duolingo offers courses on 43 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, with optional premium services like Super Duolingo and Duolingo Max, which are ad-free and provide additional features. Additionally, Duolingo runs Duo's Taqueria, a Mexican taco restaurant in Pittsburgh.

With over 97 million monthly active users as of 2024, Duolingo is the most popular educational app in the world. A systematic review of research on Duolingo from 2012 to 2020 found comparatively few studies on the platform's efficiency for language learning but identified several studies that reported relatively high user satisfaction, enjoyment, and positive perceptions of the app's effectiveness. The company has also been recognized for its successful marketing tactics and strong brand engagement.