I have used Duolingo for years without paying a single krone. Every few days the app reminds me of that. A pink battery runs low, a Super banner slides up offering a free trial, and I close it and keep going. This page is what I wish someone had told me before I spent my first afternoon wondering if I was missing something.
Yes. Duolingo is free, and every lesson in every course is in the free version. The free app has ads and an energy bar of 25 that slows you down if you do long sessions. The paid plans (Lite, Super, Family and Max) take away ads, give more or unlimited energy and add extras like AI video calls. None of them unlocks more Spanish.
In shortThe money side, briefly5 points
- Free has every lesson, with ads and a 25 point energy bar that refills in about a day.
- Lite is a cheaper test plan: ads stay, energy doubles to 50.
- Super costs about $12.99 a month or $83.99 to $95.99 a year in the US. Family is about $119.99 a year for 6 people.
- Max may be on its way out. Video calls are moving into Super.
- About 9 percent of monthly users pay. Most people learn on the free plan, me included.
Is Duolingo free? Yes, every lesson
Duolingo's own App Store listing says it in four words: every course is free. Its help pages say the same in a longer sentence: all learners get the same lesson content. That has been true since the start, and it is the reason Duolingo became the default first app for half the planet.
So what is the catch? Two things, both designed to nudge you toward paying. Ads after lessons, and a limit on how much you can do in one sitting. Since January 2026 even Explain My Answer, the feature that tells you why your sentence was wrong, is free for most Spanish learners. The free tier has been getting better, not worse.
- every lesson, every course
- Free
- Duolingo's App Store listing
- people pay
- 12.7M
- Q2 2026
- monthly users
- 140.6M
- Q2 2026
- of monthly users pay
- 9%
- my calculation
What the free plan limits: energy and ads
The energy bar is the real limit. You start with 25 energy, every exercise uses some, and a run of correct answers wins a little back. Duolingo says a full bar refills in about a day. For a ten minute session you will barely notice it. For an hour on a Sunday, you will hit the bottom.
This is what you see when you tap the battery. Super sits at the top with its free trial, obviously. Below it are the three ways to keep going without paying money: a full recharge for 600 gems, 5 energy for watching an ad, and 5 energy for free.
I have 2,289 gems sitting in my account from quests and chests. That is 3 full recharges, earned by using the app, not by buying anything.
Energy vs hearts: what changed in 2025
If you used Duolingo a few years ago you remember hearts. In 2025 Duolingo started replacing them with energy for free learners. The difference matters, because hearts punished mistakes and energy mostly measures time.
| Criterion | HeartsThe old systemWins 0 of 6 | EnergySince 2025Wins 3 of 6 |
|---|---|---|
| How much you get | 5 hearts | 25 energy |
| What costs you | Each mistake | Exercises, and mistakes |
| Winning some back | Practice old lessons | Winner: Runs of correct answers, perfect lessons |
| Full refill | About a day | About a day |
| Reviewing mistakes after a lesson | Cost hearts | Winner: Free |
| Feels like | Getting punished for being a beginner | Winner: A daily allowance |
Duolingo rolled energy out gradually from mid 2025, so a few accounts may still see hearts.
How to get more energy without paying
Answer several in a row correctly
Streaks of right answers inside a lesson give energy back. Slow down and read the sentence twice.
Take the free +5
The energy screen offers a small free top up. Check it before you reach for an ad.
Watch one ad for +5
Thirty seconds of an ad for a few more exercises. Annoying, cheap, effective.
Spend gems on a full recharge600 gems on my screen
Quests and chests pay gems constantly. If you never buy streak freezes, you will have plenty.
Stop for the day
Seriously. An empty bar after a long session is a good sign. The next hour is better spent with Spanish that was not made for learners.
Duolingo plans in 2026: Free, Lite, Super, Family and Max
Duolingo sells more plans than it used to, and the names shift between countries and test groups. Here is how they line up. US prices are what the App Store shows, October 2026.
| Free | Lite | Super | Max | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $0 | About half of Super | $12.99/mo or $83.99 to $95.99/yr | About $29.99/mo or $167.99/yr |
| All lessons | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Energy | 25 | 50 | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Mistakes practice, unlimited Legendary | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| AI Video Call | No | No | Most new subscribers | Yes |
| AI Roleplay | No | No | No | Yes |
| My verdict | Use it | Skip | Skip | Skip |
Lite has no confirmed US price yet. Duolingo's CEO described it as about half the price of Super. The Max prices are the launch prices, still reported in 2026, and Max is mobile only.
Lite: the new cheap plan that keeps the ads
Lite showed up on my app this autumn, labelled "lowest price". It keeps the ads and doubles the energy to 50 a day with a faster recharge. On the August earnings call Duolingo's CEO said only a small share of subscribers are on it and that he did not know yet what would happen to it in the end.
If the energy bar is the only thing that bugs you, Lite is the cheapest fix. I would still try the free tricks above first.
Super and Family: what the Individual plan gives you
In my app Super is simply called Individual, and it now includes unlimited Video Call, the AI conversation feature that used to be Max only. Family gives the same to you and five others, and on my Norwegian screen it costs only kr 42 a month more.
Notice what the list does not say. No extra lessons, no extra Spanish. Energy, video calls, no ads. Comfort.
Is Duolingo Max still a thing?
For now. Max is Super plus AI Roleplay and Video Call with Lily, sold on mobile only. But in August 2026 Duolingo said most new Super subscribers already get video calls, and its CEO said Max might be retired, with a decision in the next couple of quarters. If you were tempted by Max for the video calls, check whether your Super offer includes them first. On my screen, it does.
What Duolingo Super costs over a year
Paying monthly for a year comes to $155.88. The yearly plan costs $83.99 to $95.99, so if you are going to pay, never pay monthly for long. Family works out to about $20 a person a year if all 6 seats are used, which is the only Duolingo price that makes me pause. Play with your own timeline below.
Calculator
Monthly or yearly: which plan is cheaper for Super Duolingo?
The monthly plan saves you
$18.05
- Monthly, 6 months
- $77.94
- Yearly, 1 year
- $95.99
- Yearly works out per month
- $16
The yearly plan pays for itself once you use Super Duolingo for 8 months or more. Be honest with yourself about that number.
- Pay monthly$77.94
- Pay yearly$95.99
A yearly plan is paid up front and covers 12 months. Prices change, so check the current price on the checkout page. Taxes are not included.
Is Duolingo Super worth it?
For most Spanish learners, no. It does not teach you more. It removes friction. Whether that is worth money depends on how you use the app, so here is the question I would ask in your position.
Should you pay for Duolingo?
Do you regularly run out of energy in the middle of a session?
Free trials, cancelling and gift subscriptions
- Free trial length depends on where you look. 7 days on duolingo.com, 14 days in the App Store listing, and in August 2026 Duolingo said most trials are moving to a full month. Ads and energy limits switch off during the trial.
- Cancel where you subscribed. In the app through the Super settings, on the web in your account settings, or through Apple or Google. Deleting the app does not cancel anything, and you keep Super until the paid period ends.
- Refunds are rare. Duolingo says in-app purchases are generally not refundable. On iPhone, refunds go through Apple.
- Gifting Super buys one year of the Individual plan with no auto renewal, and the code does not expire. There is no Family gift.
- Student discount? I could not find an official one. Sites that promise one are usually coupon pages.
What I would do with the money instead
A year of Super costs about the same as a year of Lingopie on its current sale ($83.88). One makes the same course a bit smoother. The other puts Spanish series from Spain and Latin America in front of you with subtitles you can click, which is the part of Spanish Duolingo never plays you. I explain how I use it in my Lingopie review.
Prices change often and differ by country, store and test group. Check the checkout screen in your own app before you pay. More in the disclaimer.
Sources
- Duolingo on the US App Store: "every course is free", in-app prices and the 14 day trial, checked October 2026.
- duolingo.com/super: the 7 day free trial
- Duolingo blog, July 3, 2025: energy replaces hearts
- Duolingo blog, January 1, 2026: Explain My Answer is free
- Duolingo help: what Max includes, and the Q2 2026 shareholder letter (August 5, 2026): 12.7 million paid subscribers, 140.6 million monthly users, video calls for most new Super subscribers.
- Q2 2026 earnings call transcript: Super Lite at about half the price of Super, the possible end of Max, and month long free trials.
- TechCrunch, March 2023: Max launch prices
- Duolingo help: cancelling Super, refunds and gift subscriptions.
- Lingopie pricing page, checked October 14, 2026.
- Energy, gems, plan screens and Norwegian prices are from my own Duolingo account, screenshots taken October 17, 2026.
