In 2009, one teacher who had an ambitious vision was Luis von Ahn. He taught at Carnegie Mellon and sought to assist individuals in learning languages at no cost. So, Luis partnered with one of his students, Severin Hacker. Together, they made Duolingo. It started as a small project. But it quickly grew.
Duolingo made learning feel like a game. It added streaks, levels, and a fun owl mascot. This made people come back each day. Later, the app got smarter with AI tools and even went viral on TikTok. Now, more than 130 million people use it all over the world.
Still, not everyone sticks with Duolingo. Some users want more order. Others want different languages or a more serious way to learn. That’s where other apps come in. These apps do more than just drills. They teach you real talks, grammar tips, and culture facts. Some even use smart design tricks from e-learning apps to help you stay focused.
Learning a new language isn’t just about doing random lessons. You need to practice often. That’s why we made this list. These apps are like Duolingo but with more ways to keep you going. Some give you live tutors. Others let you make your own study plan. All of them use modern app tools to help you learn better and faster.
In this blog, we’ll share 10 top apps like Duolingo. Each one helps in a special way. Some send you daily alerts. Others show you real-world videos or fun tasks. Some are better for slow learners, while others move fast.
Behind these apps, smart tech makes everything work well. Most use e-learning tools to give you a smooth and fun time. You’ll learn how each app works. You’ll see what makes it different, what languages it covers, and how much it costs. Let’s check out these apps. They might be just what you need to stay on track with your language goals.
Top 10 Apps Like Duolingo
Duolingo is great for learning languages, especially with its fun style. But it’s not the best fit for everyone. Some people think the lessons repeat too much. Others want more help with grammar or lessons in certain languages, like Asian ones. Some users also want to practice speaking more or need different ways to stay motivated.
Learning a language takes time, and being consistent is very important. Apps with features like daily goals, streaks, and support from other learners can really help. In this list, we’ll show you apps that are fun, like Duolingo, but also help you stay on track. These apps can help you stick with your learning and keep moving forward.
1. Memrise
Memrise is a fun app that mixes science and real-life videos. It teaches using short lessons and clips of native speakers. This makes it easier to remember words and phrases. It’s often compared to Duolingo because of how fun and real the lessons feel.
Features
- Real-life videos from native speakers
- AI chatbot to practice talking
- Progress dashboard to see your learning
- User-made courses from the community
Unique Strengths
Memrise helps you build habits, not just keep streaks. You get weekly charts and badges to keep you going. This style is fresh and smart. It helps you stay engaged and remember what you learn.
Languages
You can learn over 35 languages like Spanish, French, German, Japanese, Korean, and more. It’s a great example of how apps today are built to handle many languages and users.
Pricing
- Free plan: Basic tools and community courses
- Pro: About $14.99/month, $89.99/year, or $199.99 one-time for life
Memrise is a great example of how app costs can change based on what features are included.
2. Busuu
Busuu is a top-rated app that mixes quick lessons with community help. It gives real grammar and word lessons. Then, native speakers will check your work, which will make it even better. It’s one of the most well-known apps like Duolingo and uses people power to help you learn.
Features
- Feedback from real native speakers
- Lessons built around real-life topics
- Fun systems like XP, streaks, and leaderboards
Unique Strengths
The best part of Busuu is the community help. Native speakers give you real feedback. That kind of support is super helpful. More and more apps now use this kind of social learning.
Languages
You can pick from 14 big languages like English, Spanish, French, German, and Japanese. The app is designed in a smart way that keeps users learning and coming back.
Pricing
- Free plan: Limited lessons
- Premium: About €9.99/month (with discounts for yearly plans)
Busuu shows how app prices can change when you add cool tools like community help.
3. LingoDeer
LingoDeer is perfect if you want to focus on grammar. It teaches in a way that feels like a textbook but is simpler. You get clear grammar tips and many question types. So, if you want a strong base in grammar, this is a great pick among apps like Duolingo.
Features
- Lessons that explain grammar and sentence structure
- Tools to track your learning, like charts and timers
- Spaced review to help you remember better
Unique Strengths
LingoDeer is best suited to learning Asian languages, including Japanese, Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese. It is extremely deep in its handling of the nature of grammar. It is very useful to advanced learners. Its careful construction of lessons makes the learning easy and understandable.
Languages
It offers approximately 12 languages, including Arabic, French, German, Japanese, and many more. The app is good and user-friendly. These are key features of good language learning applications..
Pricing
- Free plan: Intro lessons and phrasebooks
- Premium: About $14.99/month, $39.99 for 3 months, $79.99/year, or $159.99 for life
This app shows how prices can change based on how deep the lessons go and how they are designed.
4.Drops
Drops is an upbeat, engaging app that makes you learn new words. It just requires you to use it for five minutes a day. That is all! It teaches through games and images, so it is more engaging than listening or reading. Many people comment that it is similar to Duolingo but more game-like and visual.
Features
- Fun Games: Match the word to the picture, trace letters, and do other things.
• Short Sessions: You get 5 minutes to study each time.
• Picture Dictionary: You learn with images instead of only words.
Unique Strengths
What’s special about Drops is how it keeps lessons short. Because of the 5-minute limit, it’s easy to study every day. It feels like a game instead of a lesson. This idea shows a new way in which many language apps are being built now. People want fast, fun, and simple tools to learn something new.
Languages
Drops gives you over 50 languages to pick from. This includes big ones like Spanish, French, German, and Japanese. But you can also try smaller ones like Hawaiian and Yoruba. That means the app is flexible, and it fits many people’s needs. That’s something important when making language apps today.
Pricing
• Free Plan: 5 minutes every 10 hours.
• Premium Plan: About $8.49 a month, or $5.84/month if paid yearly. You can also pay $149.99 once for lifetime use.
Just like other apps, the cost to build Drops depends on things like the games, the number of languages, and how lessons are set up.
5.Mondly
Mondly is a fun app that mixes learning with cool tech. You don’t just read and listen—you can talk to it! It even has AR (augmented reality) and VR (virtual reality) lessons. That means you can feel like you’re talking to someone in real life. Among all the apps like Duolingo, Mondly is one of the most high-tech.
Features
• Voice Feedback: It listens and tells you how well you speak.
• AR/VR Lessons: Talk in a virtual world.
• Smart Review: It changes lessons based on how you’re doing.
Unique Strengths
The best part of Mondly is its AR and VR tools. They make learning feel real and fun. You can pretend to be in a cafe or airport and talk to a virtual person. This kind of tech is getting popular in learning apps. It keeps people excited and helps them stay focused.
Languages
Mondly gives you 41 languages to try. These include Spanish, English, French, German, Portuguese, and Japanese. That’s a wide mix! Mondly shows us how new learning apps should be made—with both fun and lots of choices.
Pricing
• Free Plan: Some daily lessons are free.
• Premium Plan: Around $11.99 a month or $69.99 a year. You can also get lifetime access for about $104.99.
Mondly shows us that adding cool tools like VR can raise app costs, but it also adds a lot of value.
Babbel
Babbel gives you real lessons made by experts. The focus is on how to talk in real life. It teaches you words and phrases you’ll actually use. Many people compare it to other apps like Duolingo, but Babbel is more serious and better for daily use.
Features
• Short Lessons: Just 10–15 minutes and based on real-life talks.
• Voice Practice: Helps you speak better.
• Offline Use: Download and learn without Wi-Fi.
Unique Strengths
What makes Babbel strong is how it teaches real-world language. You don’t just learn random words—you learn what you need for travel, work, and chats. That’s very helpful. It also shows that new apps are now focusing more on useful, real-life language.
Languages
Babbel teaches up to 14 languages. You can learn Spanish, French, German, Italian, and more. Even though it has fewer languages than some others, the lessons are very good. That shows the app was carefully made.
Pricing
• Lifetime Plan: $129.99 right now, down from $599 if you use the code LEARN40.
Babbel proves that when apps are built with expert content and smart lessons, the cost makes sense. It’s a top example of a strong language app today.
7. Clozemaster
Clozemaster is made for people who already know some basics. It helps you learn more words by filling in blanks in real sentences. This makes it one of the top apps, like Duolingo, for those who are moving past the beginner level.
Features
• Fill-in-the-blank games: Learn words through real sentences.
• Game style: Get points and move up on the leaderboard.
• Audio help: Listen and improve your hearing skills.
Unique Strengths
Clozemaster uses many real sentences, so you learn words in different ways. This helps you remember better. And what’s more, this style fits well with how new learning apps are built today. They often use real-life examples to help people learn faster.
Languages
You can learn over 50 languages. It even includes rare ones like Navajo and Yiddish. This shows how smart the app is. It takes a lot of planning and coding to make an app like this work for so many languages.
Pricing
• Free plan: Practice is limited.
• Pro plan: About $6.96 per month, $52.17 per year, or $121.72 for lifetime access.
Clozemaster is a good example of how game features and big libraries of content can raise mobile app development costs.
8. Speakly
Speakly teaches you the most useful words first. This helps you start talking in a new language fast. Because of this smart way of teaching, it’s one of the best Duolingo-like apps that focus on fluency.
Features
• Key vocabulary: Learn the 4,000 most-used words.
• Smart review system: Helps you remember more.
• AI speaking tasks: Practice speaking real conversations.
Unique Strengths
Speakly uses data to show you the words people really use. This makes your learning faster and more useful. And since it uses AI, it shows how today’s learning apps use smart tech to help people learn better.
Languages
You can learn English, Spanish, French, Italian, German, Finnish, and Russian. Its range of languages shows good planning. It takes a lot of work to build apps that teach many languages well.
Pricing
Prices are not fixed and can change. But its smart features and use of data show how AI tools and personal learning can raise app development costs.
9. LingQ
LingQ helps you learn by reading and listening to real stuff—like news, books, podcasts, and even YouTube. It also helps you save and review new words. It’s great for advanced users and stands strong among apps like Duolingo.
Features
• Real-world content: Read and listen to real stories and news.
• Word tracker: Keeps track of words you know and words you don’t.
• Add your own content: Turn your favorite text into a lesson.
• Read and listen: Hear the words as you read them.
Unique Strengths
LingQ is perfect if you want to learn through real content, not just simple lessons. It mixes learning with reading and watching real things. This is a smart way to build learning apps and shows how content and tech can come together.
Languages
You can learn 42 languages like Spanish, French, German, Korean, Arabic, Czech, Latin, and Ancient Greek. This wide choice shows the app’s strong design. It takes strong coding skills to make apps that teach many languages well.
Pricing
• Free Plan: Some limits on lessons and saved words.
• Paid Plans: $12.99/month, $71.99 for 6 months, $107.99/year, or $199 for lifetime access.
These flexible plans show how custom features and lots of content can affect how much it costs to build a good app.
10. Tandem
Tandem helps you learn a language by talking with real people. You chat, call, or video talk with native speakers from around the world. Out of all the apps like Duolingo, Tandem shines with its live chat feature.
Features
• Match with partners: Talk with people who speak the language.
• Fix each other’s text: Help and learn at the same time.
• Hire tutors: You can pay for lessons with expert teachers.
Unique Strengths
Tandem’s live talking makes learning fun and real. You learn straight from people who use the language every day. This real-time talk is part of the new wave in learning apps. It helps you learn by doing, not just reading.
Languages
You can match with speakers in over 300 language pairs, like Hindi, Swahili, and Catalan. Supporting this many languages takes strong design and tech work. That’s what makes Tandem a great example of smart mobile app development.
Pricing
• Free Plan: Send messages and chat as much as you want.
• Pro Plan: $6.99/month if paid yearly, $13.99/month if paid monthly, or $34.99 for 3 months.
The price is fair, especially for an app that lets you talk with real people in real time. Building those features costs more, but it’s worth it.
How to Choose the Right App?
Picking the best app depends on what you need and how you like to learn. There are so many language learning apps out there today. So, it helps to look at the features, price, and how they teach. Many of these apps, like Duolingo, are top choices. However, each one has something special to offer in the world of e-learning app development.
Learning Style
Do you like step-by-step lessons? If so, Babbel or Busuu may be right for you. These apps are good examples of mobile app development that guide you through the lessons. But if you like games, try Memrise or Drops. These apps make learning fun. They also show up on many lists of top apps like Duolingo.
Language Availability
Trying to learn Asian languages? Then Lingodeer is a great pick. It teaches grammar in a clear way. This style has shaped many trends in e-learning app development. Want to learn rare languages? Memrise or Clozemaster are great. They have large word lists. Their strong mobile app development helps support this.
Budget
Most apps give you some free lessons. But if you want more tools (like no ads, offline use, or smart AI tools), you’ll need to pay. These extra tools often cost more because they take more money to build. Things like voice tools or spaced review features come from big work in e-learning app development. So, knowing the mobile app development cost helps you understand why some apps charge more.
Goals
Need to speak better? Try Falou or Speakly. They help you talk and use real-life words. These apps are like Duolingo but focus more on speaking. Want to feel like you’re really in the country? LingQ may work best. It teaches with real things like podcasts and news. That’s made possible with smart mobile app development. These apps show why some mobile app development costs more when they offer advanced tools.
Trying out a few apps like Duolingo can help you see what works for you. Every app uses different mobile app development ideas. Each one adds something new to the world of e-learning. These language apps make learning easier and more fun than ever.
What are the Tips for Staying Consistent?
If you are curious about the price to develop an app such as Duolingo, you can find that features such as games, AI, and personal tools are the ones that increase the cost. Yet, they benefit the learner as well. Every app for learning one language or another has something unique. This is how clever app design and good learning tools combine to assist individuals in continuing to learn.
To see how Duolingo keeps people using the app, look at how it uses reminders, games, and voice tools. These are common in apps made with good mobile app development. These features come from careful e-learning design. They help people build good habits and stay on track.
To stay consistent, try these simple tips:
Set Realistic Goals
Start small. Try just 5 to 10 minutes a day. That’s what many language apps suggest. These short lessons help you build a habit fast.
Learn on the Go
Use your free time to study. Try learning while on the bus or during breaks. This is just like how Duolingo lets you learn anytime, anywhere.
Use Different Tools
Don’t use only one app. Try adding podcasts or flashcards, too. Mixing tools keeps things fun. This is common in many good learning apps.
Join a Community
Talk with other people who are learning. Go to places like Reddit or app forums. Duolingo also has social tools that help users stay connected.
Watch Your Progress
Celebrate small wins. Try to keep a 30-day streak. These reward systems are popular in top learning apps. They are made using smart designs that boost motivation.
Whether you use these apps or plan to build your own, it’s good to know what keeps people coming back. Just remember this: good design, strong goals, and smart features all work together. And yes, the cost of app development matters too. But if you plan it well, you can make an app people will love.
Conclusion
We just shared ten great apps like Duolingo—Memrise, Busuu, Lingodeer, Drops, Mondly, Babbel, Clozemaster, Speakly, Falou, and LingQ. These apps help people stay on track. They use fun tools like daily goals, streaks, and game-style practice. Whether you want to work on speaking, new words, or real-world skills, these apps have something for you.
Try the free versions. See which app works best for your learning style.
If you want to build your own language app, now is a great time to start. At Linkitsoft, we build mobile apps and e-learning apps. We know what makes apps like Duolingo work. And we know how to build apps that are fun and easy to use. With our help, you can turn your idea into a real app.
Before you get started, you should also know about the cost. The cost to build an app can vary greatly. It all depends on the number of features you desire, what the app looks like, and how complicated it is. Sophisticated features such as voice input or clever games are more expensive. Worry not—we are with you each step of the way.
Let’s create something incredible. Let’s develop an app that has users learning and returning daily, just as Duolingo has done. Contact Linkitsoft. We’ll take care of all the steps, starting with your initial thought and through to the actual functioning learning app.
