Duolingo vs Pimsleur: which to choose, and what each costs
Prices checked 6 Sept to 7 Oct 2026 · How we check
Duolingo if you want a free daily habit that also teaches reading and writing.
Pimsleur if you want to speak first and will pay $164.95 a year for half-hour audio lessons.
| Question | Duolingo | Pimsleur |
|---|---|---|
| A year costs | Free. Super's yearly price is not published; its US App Store purchases run $9.99 to $119.99 | $164.95 a year, or $20.95 month to month |
| A lesson is | A few minutes of game-like exercises (translate, match, listen, speak), with English throughout. | A 30-minute audio lesson: you hear a prompt, answer aloud, then hear the right answer. |
| Try it | Free for good; Super has a 1-week free trial. | A 7-day free trial on subscriptions, and 30 days' money back on purchases. |
How a lesson works in each
Duolingo: course app
Pimsleur: audio course
Side by side, as published
| Compare | Duolingo | Pimsleur |
|---|---|---|
| CEFR levels stated | A1 to B2 | — |
| A year costs | Free. Super's yearly price is not published; its US App Store purchases run $9.99 to $119.99 | $164.95 a year, or $20.95 month to month |
| What it is | Course app: Game-shaped lessons for every course, with paid tiers that remove the ads and the daily limits | Audio course: Half-hour audio lessons built on spoken recall, made for commutes |
| Per month at annual billing | — | $13.75/mo ($164.95 a year) |
| Monthly plan | — | $19.95 for one language, $20.95 for all its languages |
| US in-app purchases | Super in the US App Store: $9.99 to $119.99, depending on the plan. | — |
| Lifetime plan | none | $798 once, all languages. Also sold: the complete course for one language, owned for good, $575; one level of one language, owned for good, $150 |
| Free tier | Full free tier with ads and limits; paid tiers remove ads and limits. | None |
| Languages offered | 40 | 51 |
| Speech recognition | Yes | Yes |
| Live tutoring | No | — |
| Offline mode | Yes · Limited lessons available offline; progress syncs when connected | Yes |
| Placement test | Yes | — |
| Refund or trial | 1 week free trial on Super | 7-day free trial on subscriptions; 30 Day money back guarantee on purchases |
| Platforms | iOS, Android, Web | iOS, Android, Web |
| Company | Duolingo, Inc | Simon & Schuster, LLC (Pimsleur is an imprint of Simon & Schuster Audio) |
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Duolingo
Course app
In our comparison: strongest on the free tier and teaching depth, weakest on speaking practice.
Free Super removes the ads and limits: $9.99 to $119.99 in Apple's US App Store, depending on the plan, after a 1-week free trial.
Short, game-like lessons make it easy to practise a little every day. You can follow the whole course free, with ads and limits.
- Free tier
- Full free tier with ads and limits; paid tiers remove ads and limits.
- Languages
- 40
- Speech recognition
- Yes
- Live tutoring
- No
- Offline mode
- Yes · Limited lessons available offline; progress syncs when connected
- CEFR levels
- A1 to B2
- Refund or trial
- 1 week free trial on Super
Pimsleur
Audio course
In our comparison: strongest on the number of languages and trial and refund terms, weakest on the free tier.
$164.95 a year $13.75 a month, billed yearly · All AccessMonthly plans: $19.95 for one language, $20.95 for all its languages
Half-hour audio lessons get you answering aloud, which suits a commute or a walk. Download lessons before you leave and you can practise without a connection.
- Free tier
- None
- Languages
- 51
- Speech recognition
- Yes
- Live tutoring
- —
- Offline mode
- Yes
- CEFR levels
- —
- Refund or trial
- 7-day free trial on subscriptions; 30 Day money back guarantee on purchases
These two teach in opposite ways. Pimsleur is an audio course: you hear a prompt, answer aloud, and hear the right answer, for half an hour at a time, with no screen needed. Duolingo is a short game-like course on a screen, free with ads and daily limits. Many learners use both: Duolingo for reading and vocabulary, Pimsleur for the speaking.
Which one, for whom
You want to hold a conversation on a trip
Pimsleur
Pimsleur makes you answer aloud from the first lesson, which is the practice a trip needs. All Access is $164.95 a year ($13.75 a month) for all 51 languages, or $19.95 month to month for one; subscriptions start with a 7-day free trial, and lessons work offline.
You want to learn without paying
Duolingo
Duolingo is free for good, with ads and daily limits; Pimsleur has no free plan. Duolingo's biggest courses, such as Spanish and French for English speakers, are stated to teach through B2.
You commute by car or train
Pimsleur for the commute, Duolingo for the evening
A 30-minute audio lesson fits a drive, and Duolingo's few-minute lessons fit a queue. If you can only pay for one, the question is whether speaking or reading matters more to you this year.
Where they really differ
- Price: Duolingo: Free. Super's yearly price is not published; its US App Store purchases run $9.99 to $119.99. Pimsleur: $164.95 a year, or $20.95 month to month.
- A lesson: Duolingo: A few minutes of game-like exercises (translate, match, listen, speak), with English throughout. Pimsleur: A 30-minute audio lesson: you hear a prompt, answer aloud, then hear the right answer.
- A real person: Duolingo has no tutors; the Video Call in Duolingo Max is an AI character. Pimsleur doesn't mention live tutors.
- Levels: Duolingo states CEFR levels A1 to B2. Pimsleur doesn't state CEFR levels.
- Trying it: Duolingo: Free for good; Super has a 1-week free trial. Pimsleur: A 7-day free trial on subscriptions, and 30 days' money back on purchases.
- Both: Listen to you speak and work offline.
Every published plan
Duolingo
| Plan | Billing | Price | Per month | Covers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Super Duolingo, in the app (US)Apple's listing doesn't say which price is monthly, yearly or Family; the app shows yours at checkout. | Shown at checkout | $9.99, $12.99, $79.99, $83.99, $95.99, $119.99 | — | No ads or limits; 1-week free trial |
| FreeEvery course, with ads and daily limits. | Other | $0 | $0/mo | all languages |
| Super DuolingoSuper | Other | — | — | all languages |
| Super Family | Family | — | — | family up to 6 |
| Duolingo MaxMax | Other | — | — | all languages |
Pimsleur
| Plan | Billing | Price | Per month | Covers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All Access AnnualAll AccessA sale took 20% off the first year, charging $131.96. | Annual | $164.95 | $13.75/mo | all languages |
| Premium MonthlyPremiumAs shown on Pimsleur's Latin American Spanish course page. | Monthly | $19.95 | $19.95/mo | one language |
| All Access MonthlyAll Access | Monthly | $20.95 | $20.95/mo | all languages |
| Individual level (one language)PremiumOne level of one language; the price varies by language and level. A sale offered Level 1 for $105. | Lifetime | $150 | one-time | one language |
| Complete course, Levels 1-5 (one language)PremiumOne language's complete course; the price varies by language. A sale offered the Latin American Spanish course for $402.50. | Lifetime | $575 | one-time | one language |
| All Access LifetimeAll AccessA Labor Day sale offered it for $399. | Lifetime | $798 | one-time | all languages |
What will Pimsleur cost you for the months you study?
Total billed over 12 months
$74.45 less on annual billing1 full annual payment · $164.95 at the start of each year.
Check coverage. Monthly: one language. Annual: all languages. Features and language coverage may differ.
Questions people ask
Is Pimsleur better than Duolingo?
For speaking, Pimsleur's lessons make you answer aloud for 30 minutes at a time, which Duolingo's short exercises do not. For reading, writing and price, Duolingo is free and covers all four skills. Pimsleur costs $164.95 a year for all its languages when checked.
Can you use Pimsleur and Duolingo together?
Yes, and they suit each other: Pimsleur for listening and speaking, Duolingo's free tier for reading, writing and vocabulary. Together they cost what Pimsleur costs.
Does Pimsleur have a free version like Duolingo?
No. Pimsleur has no free plan; its subscriptions start with a 7-day free trial, and purchases have a 30-day money-back guarantee.