Using Duolingo: energy and hearts, the Score, going back, and the end of a course

The short answers. The free version of Duolingo paces you with energy, which every exercise uses, or with hearts, which mistakes cost; Super is the paid way past it. Your Duolingo Score, out of 160, shows how far through the course's material you are, and Duolingo's biggest courses end at 129, the end of B2. Every lesson you have finished stays open to redo, free.

Out of energy or hearts

Free learners meet one of two limits. With hearts, mistakes cost you hearts. With energy, which Duolingo started rolling out on iPhone in 2025 to replace hearts for free learners, every exercise uses a unit of energy whether your answer is right or wrong, and several right answers in a row win some back. Duolingo has not said which accounts have which: your app shows either hearts or an energy battery.

When Duolingo explained energy on its blog in July 2025, it said you start each day with a full battery and that it refills completely in about a day, and that it was still testing the system, so the details may have moved since.

When it runs low	What it costs you
Wait: it refills fully in about a day	Nothing
Get several answers right in a row, or finish a perfect lesson	Nothing; each earns some energy back
Go over your mistakes at the end of a lesson	Nothing; it uses no energy
Watch an ad for some energy back	The time the ad takes
Buy a refill with gems	Gems, Duolingo's in-app currency
Subscribe to Super	The subscription; what Super costs

Duolingo's help page for Super lists no ads, Unlimited Hearts, practice built from your mistakes and unlimited tries at Legendary challenges, and says every learner gets the same lessons, paying or not. It also says a test may leave Unlimited Hearts out of Super on some accounts. Duolingo calls energy a pacing system for free learners, and its post on Max lists unlimited energy among the benefits of Super, though its Super pages themselves do not mention energy, so check what your Shop lists before you pay. These limits are among what unhappy reviewers mention most: 13 of the 102 one- and two-star reviews among the 500 most recent on Apple's US App Store name limits on free use (read 15 Oct 2026).

Next step. In the app, tap the gem icon at the top of the screen to open the Shop, then Get Super, to see the plans and the free week your account is offered. The trial charges you on day 7 unless you cancel at least 24 hours before; how to cancel Super where you bought it.

What your Duolingo Score means, and where your course ends

The Duolingo Score measures what you can do with the language you have learned so far, out of 160. It rises as you finish lessons and units, and it sits next to your course flag once you have finished Unit 1. It appears in courses built on the CEFR levels, and Duolingo matches each range of it to one:

Before April 2026 most learners in Duolingo's biggest courses could reach only A2, a Score of 59. Those courses now run to 129, the end of B2. Nothing on Duolingo teaches past it.

Score	Level	What you can do at that level, as Duolingo describes it
0 to 29	A1	Words and set phrases, introducing yourself, ordering a meal and small talk
30 to 59	A2	Simple conversations about everyday things: the weather, shopping, hobbies, holidays
60 to 99	B1	Getting around on a trip, giving opinions, telling a story, most everyday situations
100 to 129	B2	Longer talks on your interests, the news, films and jokes; most situations, work and study included
130 to 160	C1 and C2	Understanding nearly everything you hear or read, and putting subtle ideas well

In April 2026 Duolingo said its English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Japanese, Korean and Chinese courses now teach through B2, to a Score of 129, for most learners whatever language they learn from. Where its other courses end, Duolingo has not published. A Score counts how much of the course you have worked through; it is not a test of you, and finishing a B2 course is not a B2 certificate. What a course's level means, and what it does not.

Next step. Tap the coloured unit label at the top of your path to open the list of sections, then tap a section's Score to see the CEFR level that part of the course teaches.

Going back to an earlier lesson

Nothing you have finished is locked away. Tap the coloured unit label at the top of your path: the list shows the section you are in and every one you have finished. Tap a section to open that part of the course, and the X at the top left to come back to where you were.

For practice rather than a whole lesson, the Practice tab, the barbell icon in the bottom menu (inside the three-dot circle if you do not see it), has sessions for your mistakes, your words, speaking and listening, and the Stories, Radio and Adventures your course has. Duolingo made those sessions free for every learner in February 2026, in every course on iPhone and Android; it did not say whether the website has them. With Max you can also go back over your Video Call and Roleplay sessions.

To start a course again from the beginning, Duolingo has no reset button: you remove the course and add it back. That erases its progress and XP for good, though not your streak or your league rank, and you start at the first lesson or take the placement test again.

Next step. To reset, in the app go to your Profile, the gear icon for Settings, then Manage courses, and tap the course; on the website, your profile picture, Settings, then Manage courses. If you learn the same language from two languages, switch to the course you mean first, with the flag at the top of the home screen.

When you reach the end of your course

If you finished a course at A2 before April 2026, look again: Duolingo has since added B1 and B2 material to its biggest courses. When it changes a course, Duolingo says, it may also move you to a new place in your path to fit the new material.

At the true end, three things keep you going inside Duolingo: the Practice tab's sessions, to keep what you learned from fading; Legendary challenges for the units you have finished, with unlimited tries on Super; and another course, or the same language taught from another language you speak. No Duolingo course goes past B2.

Next step. To go past B2, the apps whose course in your language goes to C1 are listed language by language, and a tutor can take you on from where any course stops; the page for your language, such as Spanish or French, has tutor prices. To talk more inside Duolingo, Max adds AI conversation practice in some courses: what Max adds and what each tier costs.

Questions people ask

Does Super Duolingo get rid of the energy limit?

Yes, by Duolingo's own account: its post on Max lists unlimited energy among the benefits of Super, and it describes energy as a limit on free learners. Its help page for Super lists Unlimited Hearts and says a test may leave that out on some accounts, so check what the Shop in your app lists before you pay.

What is the highest Duolingo Score?

The scale runs to 160, but Duolingo's most advanced courses stop at 129, the end of B2. English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Japanese, Korean and Chinese reach it, by Duolingo's April 2026 count.

Is a Duolingo Score a CEFR level?

Duolingo matches each range of its Score to a CEFR level: 30 to 59 is A2, 60 to 99 is B1, 100 to 129 is B2. It shows how much of the course you have worked through, not the result of a test.

Can I go back and redo a lesson on Duolingo?

Yes, free. Tap the unit label at the top of your path to see the sections you have finished, and open any of them. The Practice tab has sessions for your mistakes, words, speaking and listening.

Does resetting a Duolingo course lose my streak?

No. To reset a course you remove it and add it back. That erases the course's progress and XP for good, but Duolingo says your streak and league rank stay as they are.

Where this comes from

Duolingo's own pages, each read 29 Oct 2026. Features and limits change, and Duolingo tests changes on some accounts, so your app may differ.