Correction (10 Oct 2026): an earlier section on this page showed unsourced figures; it has been removed.
How we source: figures on this page come from the company’s own filings (SEC 10-K, 10-Q and earnings releases, or its annual report), with the period stated next to each number. Last refreshed October 2026. Our methodology.
In short
Duolingo makes most of its money from subscriptions. Its free app draws more than 130 million monthly users, and it converts some of them to Super Duolingo or Duolingo Max. In fiscal 2025 subscriptions brought in $873.4M of $1,037.6Mrevenue, and paid subscribers reached 12.2M. Advertising, the Duolingo English Test and in-app purchases make up the rest.
Duolingo showed strong growth driven primarily by subscriptionrevenue increases and user base expansion. The company continued its transition toward a subscription-focused model with advertising representing a smaller portion of total revenue.
Duolingo runs a freemium model. Most of its courses are free. The company earns money when free users upgrade to Super Duolingo or to Duolingo Max, which adds AI features such as Video Call. Subscriptions brought in $873.4M in fiscal 2025, 84% of revenue. Duolingo says the 44% rise came mainly from a higher average number of paid subscribers.
Duolingo revenue by fiscal year, FY2021 to FY2025, from the company's filings. Chart: The Business Engineer.
Users who never pay still earn the company money through ads sold by programmatic ad networks: $79.7M in 2025. The Duolingo English Test, an online proficiency exam with a one-time fee, earned $42.0M. In-app purchases such as Streak Freezes earned $40.5M. Apple’s App Store handled 62% of revenue.
How Duolingo compares
Against its own history, revenue has roughly quadrupled in four years, from $250.8M in fiscal 2021 to $1,037.6M in fiscal 2025. Subscriptions have taken a larger share along the way.
Among its revenue lines, advertising grew fastest in 2025, up 45% to $79.7M. The English Test was the only line to shrink, falling 8% to $42.0M. The company reports a single operating segment, so it does not disclose profit for each line.
Revenue passed $1B for the first time. Operating income more than doubled to $135.6M, a 13% margin. Net income rose to $414.1M, but that figure includes a one-time tax benefit of $256.7M from releasing a valuation allowance on deferred tax assets.
Duolingo revenue by line, prior year against FY2025, as reported. Chart: The Business Engineer.
Gross margin slipped to 72.2% from 72.8%. Duolingo attributes this to AI costs for features like Video Call and to more of its revenue coming from advertising, which has lower margins. Engagement rose: the DAU/MAU ratio reached 39.6%, up from 34.7%.
What to watch
Distribution costs: apps are sold almost entirely through Apple and Google, which take generally 15-30% of in-app payments.
Brand and user growth: Duolingo says its April 2025 memo on AI may have contributed to unfavourable publicity and slower user growth. The English Test is exposed to limits on international student immigration. The board has authorised a buyback of up to $400M.
Frequently asked questions
How does Duolingo make money?
Mainly from subscriptions. In fiscal 2025, Super Duolingo and Duolingo Max produced $873.4M of $1,037.6M revenue. The rest came from advertising ($79.7M), the Duolingo English Test ($42.0M), in-app purchases ($40.5M) and other ($1.9M).
How many people pay for Duolingo?
About 12.2 million paid subscribers as of 31 December 2025, up 28% from 9.5 million. Duolingo says subscribers made up 9.2% of its average monthly active users over 2025.
How many people use Duolingo?
It averaged 133.1 million monthly active users and 52.7 million daily active users in the three months to 31 December 2025, up 14% and 30% respectively.
Is Duolingo profitable?
Yes. Operating income was $135.6M in fiscal 2025 and net income was $414.1M. The net income figure includes a one-time $256.7M tax benefit.
Duolingo is an EdTech platform leveraging gamification to enable millions of users to learn languages. Duolingo leverages a hybrid between ad-supported and freemium models. Indeed, the free app makes money through advertising. Free users are also channeled into premium subscriptions with an ad-free experience and more features.
Key numbersAs stated in this article
$1.5 billionValued at close to $1.5 billion, Duolingo employs a gamification process across 40 different languageโฆThis article
$6.99At $6.99/month, users can also upgrade to the ad-free Duolingo Plus which delivers several other perks: TheโฆThis article
$84 millionIn 2019, projected revenue for Duolingo Plus alone was $84 million spread across 1 million-plus users.This article
$49For those learning English as a second language or wanting to enter a U.S. college, the app also offersโฆThis article
In one lineDuolingo showed strong growth driven primarily by subscription revenue increases and user base expansion.
Origin Story
Duolingo is a language education platform that has become one of the most popular ways to learn a language online.
It was created by Luis von Ahn, who also developed CAPTCHA, reCAPTCHA, and the Google Image Labeller.
Indeed, it is the reCAPTCHA model that provides the basis for Duolingo.
The model is used to digitize books through CAPTCHA forms and crowdsourcing to translate key words or phrases not understood by compute โ as explored in the economics of AI compute infrastructure โ rs.
Duolingo works similarly. While learning a new language, its users are in fact translating actual website content.
When multiple users give the same translation for a particular sentence, Duolingo considers it to be a legitimate translation and saves it accordingly.
Valued at close to $1.5 billion, Duolingo employs a gamification process across 40 different language courses to increase learner engagement.
It boasts a registered user base of 500 million people, with 42 million of those using the application on a regular monthly basis.
Duolingo’s Value Proposition:
Language Variety: Duolingo offers courses in 40 different languages, catering to a wide range of learners interested in acquiring new language skills.
Gamified Learning: The platform uses gamification techniques to make learning fun and interactive, motivating users to continue their language learning journey.
Freemium Model: Duolingo offers a free language learning experience, allowing users to get started without any cost. Premium subscriptions provide additional benefits for a fee.
Translation Contribution: Users actively contribute to translations of real-world content, providing practical language practice while assisting in content translation.
Certification: Duolingo offers English language certification, which can be valuable for individuals aiming to demonstrate their English proficiency for various purposes.
Customer Segments:
Individual Learners: People of all ages and backgrounds who want to learn a new language for personal or professional reasons.
Students: Students of all levels, from primary school to university, who use Duolingo for language classes or to supplement their language studies.
Language Enthusiasts: Individuals passionate about languages and culture who use Duolingo to explore and learn multiple languages.
Educational Institutions: Schools, universities, and language learning centers that integrate Duolingo into their curriculum to enhance language education.
Businesses: Companies that use Duolingo to provide language learning resources to employees for improving language skills in international business settings.
Distribution Strategy:
Mobile Apps: Duolingo offers mobile apps for iOS and Android devices, allowing users to learn languages on the go.
Website: The Duolingo website provides a web-based platform for users to access language courses and track their progress.
App Stores: The Duolingo mobile apps are available for download on Apple’s App Store and Google Play Store, making it easily discoverable for users.
Partnerships: Duolingo partners with educational institutions and organizations to expand its reach and provide language learning solutions to students and employees.
Social Media: Duolingo maintains a presence on social media platforms to engage with its user community and promote language learning.
Marketing Strategy:
Freemium Model: Duolingo’s free language learning app serves as a primary acquisition channel, allowing users to start learning without cost.
In-App Advertising: The company generates revenue through advertising within the free app, targeting a wide user base.
Premium Subscription: Duolingo offers Duolingo Plus, a subscription plan that provides an ad-free experience, offline access, and additional features. Marketing efforts promote the benefits of Duolingo Plus to users.
Educational Partnerships: Collaborations with educational institutions and schools introduce Duolingo to students and educators, promoting its use in language education.
Word-of-Mouth: Duolingo encourages users to share their language learning achievements and experiences with friends and family, leveraging word-of-mouth marketing.
Certification Promotion: The company promotes its English language certification as a cost-effective and accessible alternative to traditional proficiency tests.
Duolingo revenue generation
During the initial years of the company, Duolingo sold language translation services to customers such as CNN and BuzzFeed.
In 2017, the app pivoted toward a freemium model with revenue generated exclusively by advertisement impressions.
At $6.99/month, users can also upgrade to the ad-free Duolingo Plus which delivers several other perks:
The ability to download lessons and access them offline.
Unlimited hearts and skill tests.
Access to progress quizzes.
A monthly streak repair.
In 2019, projected revenue for Duolingo Plus alone was $84 million spread across 1 million-plus users.
For those learning English as a second language or wanting to enter a U.S. college, the app also offers English certification for a one-time fee of $49.
The Duolingo exam is substantially cheaper than other proficiency tests that can cost as much as $200.
This type of documented English-language proficiency has become particularly popular in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, as many countries have been forced to close their learning institutions.
The scheme has enjoyed a 1500% year-over-year growth since it was introduced.
Future monetization strategies
von Ahn recognizes the difficulties associated with monetizing content that is given away for free.
This has skewed Duolingo’s revenue generation model, with 80% of earnings coming from just 4% of its users (its power users).
To that end, Duolingo hopes to be able to replicate the Spotify model of subscriber monetization.
The company will look to increase the number of downloads of its app and convert more customers onto paid plans by adding new features.
While the free version is important to schools, universities, and the poor, von Ahn argues that it has a bigger role to play.
He makes comparisons between Duolingo and a younger Spotify, where the latter used its free version to increase word-of-mouth advertising and get more people engaged with the paid offering.
Duolingo is mostly owned and controlled by its co-founders and top executives Luis von Ahn, and Severin Hacker, who have a majority stake in the company which also gives them wide control of it. Other top institutional investors comprise CapitalG, Durable, Baillie Gifford & Co, Vanguard, and Blackrock.
Duolingo was profitable in 2023, as it reported a net income of $16.07 million in 2023, compared to a net loss of $59.57 million in 2022 and $60.13 million net loss in 2021.
Duolingo generated $737,651 per employee in 2023, compared to $615,825 in 2022, and $501,544 in 2021.
How AI Is Changing This
Duolingo has strategically integrated AI to transform its revenue model by creating more personalized and engaging experiences that drive user retention and subscription conversions. The company’s AI-powered “Birdbrain” algorithm analyzes individual learning patterns, mistakes, and progress to deliver customized lesson difficulty and content recommendations. This personalization keeps users engaged longer, reducing churn rates and increasing the likelihood of converting free users to Duolingo Plus subscribers. A concrete example is how AI identifies when a user consistently struggles with verb conjugations in Spanish and automatically adjusts future lessons to provide additional practice in that area, while also spacing out review sessions optimally for memory retention. This targeted approach has helped Duolingo achieve higher completion rates and user satisfaction, directly translating to increased subscription revenue as users see tangible progress and remain motivated to continue their language learning journey through paid premium features.
Gennaro Cuofano is a CRO and tech executive who has worked in AI since late 2015, starting with bringing NLP, natural-language generation, voice and chatbot products to the marketing industry. His background is in law and finance: he holds a Master's degree in Law and an International MBA with an emphasis on corporate finance (LUISS Business School and the University of San Diego, 2012), and worked as a financial analyst at a real-estate investment firm in San Diego and as an assistant controller. His work focuses on business model strategy, business engineering and, more broadly, structural analysis: how companies make money, read from their own filings. He created FourWeekMBA and leads research there and at The Business Engineer, his newsletter on AI and business strategy, with over 95,000 subscribers and more than 1,000 published analyses. His writing has also appeared on Entrepreneur, HackerNoon and Search Engine People. Find him on LinkedIn and Substack. See how we source.
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