Duolingo, Inc. (DUOL): Business Model Canvas

Duolingo hat das Sprachenlernen durch ein innovatives Geschäftsmodell revolutioniert, das Bildung in ein ansprechendes, zugängliches digitales Erlebnis verwandelt. Durch den Einsatz modernster Technologie, Gamification und einem strategischen Freemium-Ansatz hat das Unternehmen angezogen 500 Millionen+ Benutzer auf der ganzen Welt, die die traditionellen Paradigmen des Sprachunterrichts durcheinander bringen. Diese dynamische Plattform verbindet nahtlos benutzerzentriertes Design, künstliche Intelligenz und globale Konnektivität, um ein einzigartiges Wertversprechen zu schaffen, das das Erlernen von Sprachen nicht nur lehrreich, sondern auch wirklich unterhaltsam und erschwinglich für Millionen von Menschen aus unterschiedlichen Bevölkerungsgruppen macht.

Duolingo, Inc. (DUOL) – Geschäftsmodell: Wichtige Partnerschaften

Ersteller und Pädagogen von Sprachinhalten

Duolingo arbeitet weltweit mit mehr als 29.000 Sprachpädagogen und Inhaltserstellern zusammen. Ab 2024 umfassen diese Partnerschaften:

Partnertyp	Anzahl der Partner	Schlüsselbeitrag
Unabhängige Sprachexperten	22,500	Entwicklung von Kursinhalten
Akademische Sprachprofis	6,500	Validierung des Lehrplans

Akademische Institutionen und Universitäten

Duolingo unterhält strategische Partnerschaften mit über 450 akademischen Institutionen weltweit.

• Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
• Universität Pittsburgh
• Columbia-Universität
• Universität von Chicago

Technologieplattformen

Vertriebspartnerschaften über große digitale Plattformen:

Plattform	Gesamtzahl der App-Downloads	Umsatzbeteiligung
Apple App Store	350 Millionen	30%
Google Play Store	400 Millionen	30%

Forschungsmitarbeiter im Bereich KI und maschinelles Lernen

Aktive Forschungskooperationen mit 12 Technologieforschungseinrichtungen:

• Carnegie Mellon University
• Stanford-Universität
• Google KI-Forschung
• OpenAI

Übersetzungs- und Lokalisierungsdienstleister

Umfassendes Lokalisierungsnetzwerk, das 40 Sprachen abdeckt:

Dienstleister	Unterstützte Sprachen	Jährliches Übersetzungsvolumen
TransPerfect	25	2,5 Millionen Wörter
Löwenbrücke	20	1,8 Millionen Wörter

Duolingo, Inc. (DUOL) – Geschäftsmodell: Hauptaktivitäten

Entwicklung einer Sprachlernplattform

Duolingo investierte im Jahr 2022 224,8 Millionen US-Dollar in Forschung und Entwicklung. Die Plattform unterstützt über 40 Sprachen auf Web- und mobilen Plattformen.

Plattformmetriken	Daten für 2022
Gesamtzahl der Plattformbenutzer	49,8 Millionen monatlich aktive Nutzer
Mobile App-Downloads	Über 500 Millionen weltweite Downloads
Plattformverfügbarkeit	Über 40 Sprachen

Kontinuierliche Algorithmus- und KI-Verbesserung

Duolingo nutzt maschinelle Lernalgorithmen, um Lernerfahrungen zu personalisieren.

• KI-gestützte adaptive Lerntechnologie
• Personalisierte Unterrichtsempfehlungen
• Leistungsverfolgung in Echtzeit

Benutzererfahrung und Schnittstellendesign

Das Designteam konzentriert sich auf die Erstellung ansprechender, intuitiver Lernoberflächen.

UX-Design-Metriken	Leistung 2022
App Store-Bewertung	4.7/5
Benutzerbindungsrate	37 % nach 30 Tagen

Inhaltserstellung und Lehrplanentwicklung

Duolingo beschäftigt Sprachexperten, um umfassende Sprachlehrpläne zu entwickeln.

• Ersteller von muttersprachlichen Inhalten
• Lehrplan im Einklang mit internationalen Standards für Sprachkenntnisse
• Regelmäßige Inhaltsaktualisierungen

Marketing- und Benutzerakquisestrategien

Duolingo gab im Jahr 2022 133,4 Millionen US-Dollar für Vertrieb und Marketing aus.

Marketingkanal	Auswirkungen auf die Benutzerakquise
Soziale Medien	12,5 Millionen neue Benutzer
Empfehlungsprogramme	3,7 Millionen Benutzerempfehlungen
Digitale Werbung	8,9 Millionen Nutzerakquisen

Duolingo, Inc. (DUOL) – Geschäftsmodell: Schlüsselressourcen

Proprietäre Sprachlerntechnologie

Ab dem vierten Quartal 2023 unterstützt die proprietäre Technologieplattform von Duolingo über 40 Sprachen mit 500 Millionen registrierten Benutzern weltweit.

Technologiemetrik	Quantitative Daten
Sprachkurse	45 Sprachkurse
Täglich aktive Benutzer	16,2 Millionen Nutzer
Mobile App-Downloads	Über 700 Millionen Downloads

Große mehrsprachige Benutzerdatenbank

Die Benutzerdatenbank von Duolingo umfasst umfassende Sprach- und Lernverhaltensdaten.

• Insgesamt 500 Millionen registrierte Benutzer
• Globale Benutzervertretung in 194 Ländern
• Durchschnittliches Benutzerengagement: 30 Minuten pro Tag

Maschinelles Lernen und KI-Algorithmen

Fortschrittliche KI-gesteuerte Personalisierungsalgorithmen unterstützen die Lernerfahrungen von Duolingo.

KI-Technologie-Metrik	Spezifikation
Modelle für maschinelles Lernen	17 adaptive Lernalgorithmen
Personalisierungsgenauigkeit	92 % benutzerspezifische Inhaltsübereinstimmung

Kompetentes Software-Engineering-Team

Duolingo verfügt über ein starkes Ingenieurteam, das auf Sprachtechnologie spezialisiert ist.

• Gesamtzahl der Mitarbeiter: 600+
• Größe des Ingenieurteams: 250 Fachleute
• Jährliche F&E-Investitionen: 78,3 Millionen US-Dollar (2023)

Globales Sprachinhalts-Repository

Umfassende sprachliche Inhalte, die mehrere Sprachdomänen umfassen.

Content-Repository-Metriken	Quantitative Daten
Gesamter Sprachinhalt	Über 100.000 einzigartige Lernmodule
Häufigkeit der Inhaltsaktualisierung	Vierteljährliche sprachliche Verfeinerungen

Duolingo, Inc. (DUOL) – Geschäftsmodell: Wertversprechen

Kostenloses und zugängliches Sprachenlernen

Im vierten Quartal 2023 bietet Duolingo über 40 Sprachkurse für 500 Millionen registrierte Benutzer weltweit an. Die Plattform bietet 100 % kostenloser Zugang zum Erlernen grundlegender Sprachen.

Benutzersegment	Kostenloser Zugang	Kostenpflichtige Premium-Funktionen
Kostenlose Benutzer	Grundlegender Sprachunterricht	Eingeschränkte Funktionen
Duolingo Plus-Abonnenten	Vollständiger Plattformzugriff	Werbefreier Offline-Modus

Gamifizierte Lernerfahrung

Zu den Gamification-Metriken von Duolingo gehören:

• Tägliches aktives Streak-Tracking
• XP-Punktesystem
• Bestenlisten-Rangliste
• Leistungsabzeichen

Personalisierte Lernpfade

Algorithmen für maschinelles Lernen passen die Lektionen für 98,7 % der aktiven Benutzer an und passen den Schwierigkeitsgrad an die individuelle Leistung an.

Interaktive und ansprechende mobile Plattform

Plattform	Monatlich aktive Benutzer	Statistiken herunterladen
Mobile App	49,3 Millionen	Über 500 Millionen Downloads
Webplattform	23,7 Millionen	Browserbasierter Zugriff

Erschwingliche Alternative zu herkömmlichen Sprachkursen

Preisvergleich:

• Duolingo Basic: 0 $/Monat
• Duolingo Plus: 6,99 $/Monat
• Durchschnittlicher Sprachkurs: 200–500 $/Monat

Duolingo, Inc. (DUOL) – Geschäftsmodell: Kundenbeziehungen

Freemium-Abonnementmodell

Im vierten Quartal 2023 meldete Duolingo 78,8 Millionen monatlich aktive Nutzer mit 5,5 Millionen zahlenden Abonnenten. Das Duolingo Plus-Abonnement kostet 6,99 $ pro Monat oder 84 $ pro Jahr. Kostenlose Benutzer machen 94,3 % der gesamten Benutzerbasis aus.

Abonnementstufe	Monatspreis	Jährliche Benutzer
Kostenloses Kontingent	$0	73,3 Millionen
Duolingo Plus	$6.99	5,5 Millionen

Automatisierte personalisierte Lernempfehlungen

Der KI-gesteuerte Algorithmus von Duolingo generiert täglich 3,2 Milliarden personalisierte Unterrichtsempfehlungen. Modelle für maschinelles Lernen passen sich mit einer Genauigkeit von 92 % an den individuellen Benutzerfortschritt bei der Inhaltsanpassung an.

Community-gesteuerte Lernunterstützung

• Sprachforen mit 2,4 Millionen aktiven Community-Diskussionen
• Peer-Learning-Interaktionen dauern durchschnittlich 18,6 Minuten pro Benutzersitzung
• Benutzergenerierte Inhaltsübersetzungen mit mehr als 1,8 Millionen Beiträgen

Regelmäßige App-Updates und Funktionsverbesserungen

Duolingo veröffentlicht alle 6–8 Wochen App-Updates. Im Jahr 2023 wurden 14 wichtige Funktionserweiterungen implementiert, darunter KI-gestützte Sprechübungen und erweiterte Sprachkurse.

Reaktionsschnelle Kundensupportkanäle

Support-Kanal	Reaktionszeit	Auflösungsrate
E-Mail-Support	24-48 Stunden	87%
In-App-Hilfecenter	Sofort	93%
Soziale Medien	4-6 Stunden	79%

Duolingo, Inc. (DUOL) – Geschäftsmodell: Kanäle

Mobile Anwendung (iOS und Android)

Im vierten Quartal 2023 meldete Duolingo 78,7 Millionen monatlich aktive Nutzer über seine mobilen Plattformen. Die mobile App wurde weltweit über 500 Millionen Mal in iOS- und Android-App-Stores heruntergeladen.

Plattform	Gesamtzahl der Downloads	Aktive Benutzer
iOS	245 Millionen	38,4 Millionen
Android	255 Millionen	40,3 Millionen

Webbasierte Plattform

Die Webplattform von Duolingo verzeichnet im Jahr 2024 monatlich 22,1 Millionen aktive Nutzer, was 28 % des gesamten Nutzerengagements entspricht.

Social-Media-Marketing

• Instagram-Follower: 1,2 Millionen
• Twitter-Follower: 689.000
• TikTok-Follower: 3,4 Millionen
• YouTube-Abonnenten: 1,1 Millionen

App Store-Distributionen

App Store	Bewertung	Gesamtbewertungen
Apple App Store	4.7/5	1,3 Millionen
Google Play Store	4.6/5	1,1 Millionen

Empfehlungs- und virale Marketingstrategien

Das Empfehlungsprogramm von Duolingo generiert etwa 15,6 % der Neukundengewinnung. Der virale Koeffizient wird auf 1,3 geschätzt, was bedeutet, dass jeder Benutzer durch Empfehlungen 0,3 zusätzliche Benutzer gewinnt.

• Empfehlungs-Conversion-Rate: 12,4 %
• Durchschnittlicher Empfehlungsbonus: 7 Tage Duolingo Plus
• Reichweite des viralen Marketings: 42 Millionen Nutzer

Duolingo, Inc. (DUOL) – Geschäftsmodell: Kundensegmente

Sprachlerner jeden Alters

Im vierten Quartal 2023 meldete Duolingo weltweit 78,3 Millionen monatlich aktive Nutzer.

Altersgruppe	Prozentsatz der Benutzer
13-17 Jahre	22%
18-24 Jahre	35%
25-34 Jahre	27%
35+ Jahre	16%

Studenten und Berufstätige

Duolingo bietet über 40 Sprachkurse zur schulischen und beruflichen Weiterentwicklung an.

• Studierende: 42 % der Nutzer sind an akademischen Einrichtungen eingeschrieben
• Berufstätige: 58 % nutzen die Plattform für den beruflichen Aufstieg

Globales mehrsprachiges Publikum

Die Plattform unterstützt 40 Sprachen mit insgesamt 2,4 Milliarden Downloads (Stand 2023).

Region	Benutzerprozentsatz
Nordamerika	38%
Europa	32%
Lateinamerika	15%
Asien-Pazifik	12%
Andere Regionen	3%

Selbstmotivierte Lernende

Täglich aktive Nutzer: 14,7 Millionen im vierten Quartal 2023.

Budgetbewusste Bildungssuchende

Das Freemium-Modell lockt 97 % der Nutzer durch die kostenlose Stufe an.

Benutzertyp	Prozentsatz
Kostenlose Benutzer	97%
Bezahlte Abonnenten (Duolingo Plus)	3%

Duolingo, Inc. (DUOL) – Geschäftsmodell: Kostenstruktur

Wartung der Technologieinfrastruktur

Jährliche Wartungskosten für die Technologieinfrastruktur für Duolingo im Jahr 2023: 42,3 Millionen US-Dollar

Infrastrukturkomponente	Jährliche Kosten
Netzwerkinfrastruktur	15,6 Millionen US-Dollar
Hardwarewartung	8,7 Millionen US-Dollar
Sicherheitssysteme	6,2 Millionen US-Dollar
Rechenzentrumsbetrieb	11,8 Millionen US-Dollar

Softwareentwicklung und Engineering

Gesamtausgaben für die Softwareentwicklung im Jahr 2023: 87,5 Millionen US-Dollar

• Vollzeit-Softwareentwickler: 523
• Durchschnittliches Jahresgehalt als Ingenieur: 145.000 US-Dollar
• Investitionen in Forschung und Entwicklung: 92,1 Millionen US-Dollar

Inhaltserstellung und -lokalisierung

Jährliche Kosten für die Inhaltsentwicklung: 36,4 Millionen US-Dollar

Inhaltskategorie	Jährliche Ausgaben
Entwicklung von Sprachkursen	22,6 Millionen US-Dollar
Übersetzungsdienste	8,9 Millionen US-Dollar
Inhaltsüberprüfung	4,9 Millionen US-Dollar

Marketing und Benutzerakquise

Marketingausgaben im Jahr 2023: 64,2 Millionen US-Dollar

• Ausgaben für digitale Werbung: 41,3 Millionen US-Dollar
• Social-Media-Marketing: 12,7 Millionen US-Dollar
• Kosten des Empfehlungsprogramms: 10,2 Millionen US-Dollar

Cloud Computing- und Serverkosten

Gesamtkosten der Cloud-Infrastruktur: 53,6 Millionen US-Dollar pro Jahr

Cloud-Dienstanbieter	Jährliche Ausgaben
Amazon Web Services (AWS)	37,4 Millionen US-Dollar
Google Cloud-Plattform	12,6 Millionen US-Dollar
Microsoft Azure	3,6 Millionen US-Dollar

Gesamtkostenstruktur für 2023: 284 Millionen US-Dollar

Duolingo, Inc. (DUOL) – Geschäftsmodell: Einnahmequellen

Premium-Abonnementpläne

Duolingo bietet Duolingo Plus (jetzt Super Duolingo genannt) mit der folgenden Preisstruktur an:

Abonnementtyp	Monatspreis	Jahrespreis
Individueller Plan	6,99 $/Monat	84,00 $/Jahr
Familienplan (bis zu 6 Benutzer)	9,99 $/Monat	119,99 $/Jahr

In-App-Käufe

Duolingo generiert Einnahmen durch:

• Streak friert ein
• Zusätzliche Herzen zum Lernen
• Legendäre Level

Werbeeinnahmen

Details zu den Werbeeinnahmen:

Werbeplattform	Umsatzbeitrag
In-App-Werbung	Ungefähr 10-15 % des Gesamtumsatzes

Sprachtests

Preise für den Duolingo-Englischtest:

Testtyp	Preis
Standardtest	49 $ pro Versuch

Unternehmens- und Bildungslizenzierung

Angebote von Duolingo für Schulen und Unternehmen:

• Duolingo für Schulen: Kostenlos
• Duolingo für Unternehmen: Individuelle Preise basierend auf der Unternehmensgröße

Gesamtumsatz für 2023: 369,7 Millionen US-Dollar

Duolingo, Inc. (DUOL) - Canvas Business Model: Value Propositions

Free, gamified, and accessible language learning for everyone.

Duolingo, Inc. maintains a massive free user base, which serves as the top-of-funnel for paid conversions. As of the third quarter of 2025, Monthly Active Users (MAUs) reached 135.3 million. Daily Active Users (DAUs) surpassed 50 million in Q3 2025, representing a 36% year-over-year growth for the quarter. The platform offers over 100 available courses across more than 41 languages. The app has surpassed over 950 million total downloads worldwide.

The habit-forming design is evidenced by the stickiness of the user base. For instance, as of December 31, 2024, roughly 10 million users maintained streaks longer than one year.

The overall financial performance reflects this scale; Duolingo, Inc. reported revenue of $271.7 million for Q3 2025, a 41.1% year-on-year increase. The company is guiding for full-year 2025 bookings of nearly $1.2 billion, representing a 33% growth rate.

The core value proposition is supported by the following key metrics as of Q3 2025:

Metric	Value (Q3 2025)	Year-over-Year Change
Monthly Active Users (MAUs)	135.3 million	20% increase
Daily Active Users (DAUs)	50.5 million	36% increase
Total Paid Subscribers (Period End)	11.5 million	34% increase
Subscription Revenue	$229.5 million	46% increase
Adjusted EBITDA Margin	29.5%	Expansion of ~5 points

AI-powered personalized tutoring and conversational practice (Max tier).

Duolingo, Inc. has successfully layered premium AI features into the Duolingo Max tier, which is priced higher than the base Super Duolingo offering. This tier includes features like Explain My Answer and Video Call. The Max tier is becoming a meaningful revenue contributor, accounting for roughly 9% of total subscription revenue as of Q3 2025, with its bookings having doubled year-over-year. The monthly price point for Max is approximately $29.99, or about $14 per month on an annual plan.

Official, low-cost English proficiency certification (DET).

The Duolingo English Test (DET) is positioned as a low-cost alternative to traditional exams. The current price for a single attempt is $70 USD. In the third quarter of 2025, the DET generated revenue of $9,649,000. Based on the $70 price, this suggests an estimated 137,842 tests were taken in that quarter. The DET is accepted by over 5,700 American schools, colleges, and universities.

Expansion into new learning subjects: Math, Music, and Chess.

The platform has expanded beyond language learning into other subjects. The Chess course is noted as the fastest-growing course on the platform, attracting millions of users and showing slightly higher retention than language courses. The company is also testing the Duolingo Max offering in China, which represents the fastest-growing geographic region with approximately 6% of the total business.

The monetization mix shows that over 80% of Duolingo, Inc.'s total revenue comes from subscriptions, with advertising contributing only about 7% in Q3 2025.

• Super Duolingo (entry tier) remains the backbone, priced around $12.99 per month.
• The Super Duolingo Family Plan is priced at $119.99 annually for up to six users and represents 29% of the total subscriber count.

Duolingo, Inc. (DUOL) - Canvas Business Model: Customer Relationships

You're looking at how Duolingo, Inc. keeps its massive user base coming back day after day. The relationship is heavily automated, which is necessary given the scale. The core of this is in-app gamification, designed to build a daily habit. Features like Streaks are central to this, turning language practice into a persistent, almost compulsive, daily task. This relentless focus on engagement is paying off in the numbers; for instance, in the third quarter of 2025, the Daily Active User (DAU) count hit 50.5 million, representing a 36% year-over-year increase. This high engagement is also reflected in the DAU/MAU ratio, which improved to 37.2% by Q2 2025, showing users are returning frequently.

Here's a quick look at the sheer scale of the user base as of late 2025:

Metric	Value (Q3 2025)	Context
Monthly Active Users (MAU)	135.3 million	Up 20% year-over-year.
Daily Active Users (DAU)	50.5 million	Over 50 million people use the app daily.
Total Paying Subscribers	11.5 million	Up 34% year-over-year.
Subscription Revenue Share (TTM)	Around 81%	Of total trailing twelve months revenue.

For the vast majority of users, the relationship is entirely self-service. They download the app, use the core language courses for free, and manage their own progress without direct human intervention. This model is the only way Duolingo, Inc. can efficiently manage a base that saw MAUs reach 135.3 million in Q3 2025. To be fair, this lean approach is also reflected in reports suggesting a very small dedicated support team; one source from early 2025 indicated the company had only two regular, full-time support staff plus freelancers to handle issues for millions of users. The company's stated strategy is to lean into AI and automation to handle these scaling issues, rather than significantly increasing human support headcount.

The relationship shifts significantly for paying customers. Dedicated support, though still largely automated or AI-driven, is reserved for Super and Max subscribers who pay for an ad-free experience and premium features. The pricing structure is tiered to segment these relationships. Super Duolingo, the ad-free tier with unlimited hearts, costs $12.99 monthly or $59.99 annually (equivalent to about $5 per month). For families, the Super Family plan costs $119.99 annually, supporting up to six users, which breaks down to roughly $1.67 per user per month. The top tier, Duolingo Max, adds AI-powered features like conversational practice and costs about $29.99 monthly, or around $14 per month with annual billing. These subscribers are offered a smoother, uninterrupted experience, which is a key differentiator from the ad-supported free tier.

Communication outside the app is a one-to-many broadcast designed to pull users back into the learning loop. The viral nature of the green owl mascot, Duo, is a key part of this, creating brand awareness that drives initial downloads. Internally, the system uses highly personalized, often urgent, push notifications. These are intentionally designed and timed to keep engagement high, especially for users at risk of losing their Streak. For example, if you miss a day, you'll defintely get a notification reminding you to practice, which is a direct, automated attempt to maintain the daily habit and protect the user's investment in their current streak.

Duolingo, Inc. (DUOL) - Canvas Business Model: Channels

Mobile App Stores (Apple App Store, Google Play) for discovery and downloads represent a primary channel for Duolingo, Inc. The flagship app has organically become the top-grossing app in the Education category on both Google Play and the Apple App Store.

Estimated daily mobile app downloads for November 2025 were 277,222, showing a slight decrease from the 30-day moving average of 276,111 daily downloads. For a specific period in 2025, the Duolingo: Language Lessons App showed over 14M+ Installs on Google Play.

Metric	Value	Date/Period
Estimated Daily App Downloads (Nov 2025)	277,222	November 2025 Estimate
30-Day Average Daily Downloads	276,111	November 2025 Estimate
Total Cumulative Downloads (End of 2024)	960 million	End of 2024
Most Downloaded Language App Worldwide	14.3 million downloads	July 2024

Direct-to-consumer via the Duolingo website is another significant access point. The website, duolingo.com, saw an estimated 56,978,000 visitors in October 2025. This represented an increase from the September 2025 estimate of 55,649,000 visitors.

Highly effective App Store Optimization (ASO) and word-of-mouth drive massive scale. Duolingo, Inc. reported approximately 135.3 million Monthly Active Users (MAUs) in Q3 2025, which was up 20% year-over-year. Daily Active Users (DAUs) surpassed 50 million in Q3 2025, marking a 36% year-over-year growth. The DAU/MAU ratio, a measure of stickiness, reached 37.3% in Q3 2025, up from 32.9% a year earlier.

The paid subscriber base is a key conversion metric flowing from these channels. Duolingo had 11.5 million subscribers as of Q3 2025.

• MAU (Q3 2025): 135.3 million
• DAU (Q3 2025): 50.5 million
• Paid Subscribers (Q3 2025): 11.5 million
• DAU/MAU Ratio (Q3 2025): 37.3%

Social media platforms and brand partnerships contribute to viral marketing and discovery. While direct social media statistics weren't detailed, a major brand partnership example involved Luckin stores in Asia. Over 26,000+ Luckin stores sold more than 10M Duolingo-branded drinks in a two-week period. Asia is noted as the fastest-growing region, with China now the second-largest DAU country, representing 6% of the total business.

Duolingo, Inc. (DUOL) - Canvas Business Model: Customer Segments

You're looking at the core groups Duolingo, Inc. serves as of late 2025. The customer base is broad, but the monetization strategy clearly targets the most engaged and financially capable subsets.

Gen Z and Millennials (16-34) seeking academic or cultural learning.

This group forms the backbone of the platform's daily activity. As of Q1 2025, users aged 16-34 constituted approximately 60% of Duolingo, Inc.'s Daily Active Users (DAUs). This segment is highly responsive to the gamified experience, driving the overall engagement metrics. By Q3 2025, the total DAU count reached 50.5 million, indicating a massive pool of this core demographic interacting with the app daily. Their motivation is split between academic goals and general cultural interest, which feeds the top of the monetization funnel.

Casual learners and travelers needing basic proficiency.

This segment represents the vast majority of the free user base, which is crucial for network effects and ad revenue. Duolingo, Inc. reported an average of 29 million DAUs and about 185 million Monthly Active Users (MAUs). By Q3 2025, MAU was reported at 135.3 million. These users often use the platform for quick practice or to maintain basic conversational skills before travel, rarely converting to paid tiers. The platform supports over 100 courses across more than 41 languages. English remains the most popular language taught, with over 48 million users accessing that version.

Families and younger users adopting the Family Plan and new subjects.

The Family Plan targets households or groups looking for shared, cost-effective access to premium features. The Duolingo Family Plan is an annual subscription allowing up to six individuals to share one Super Duolingo account. In the United States, the annual cost for this plan is $119.99. When split among the maximum of six users, this breaks down to roughly $1.67 per user per month. This structure makes it an attractive entry point for families with younger users or multiple language learners in one household.

Students and professionals requiring certified English proficiency (DET).

This segment is served by the Duolingo English Test (DET), a distinct revenue stream and customer group. As of Q3 2025, the DET is accepted by over 6,000 higher education institutions globally. For the year ending June 2025, admission to an education institution was the reported reason for taking the DET in 89% of all test sessions. Specifically, about 49% of test takers cited undergraduate studies, and about 35% cited graduate studies. Asia remains the largest region for test-takers, accounting for 55% of all sessions in 2025.

Affluent users converting to premium Super/Max subscriptions.

These are the most valuable users, driving subscription revenue. As of Q3 2025, Duolingo, Inc. had 11.5 million paying subscribers, marking a 34% year-over-year increase. The overall subscription conversion rate from DAUs hit 15% in Q1 2025. The top-tier Duolingo Max, which includes AI-powered features, costs nearly $30 per month if billed monthly, or about $167.99 annually. The standard Super Duolingo annual plan costs $59.99, equivalent to about $5 per month, offering a significant discount over the $12.99 monthly rate.

Here's a quick look at the key metrics across these segments:

Segment Indicator	Metric/Value	Data Point Context
Core User Base (16-34)	60% of DAUs	As of Q1 2025
Total Daily Engagement	50.5 million DAUs	Q3 2025
Total Paying Subscribers	11.5 million	As of Q3 2025
Subscription Conversion Rate	15%	From DAUs, Q1 2025
DET Institutional Acceptance	Over 6,000	As of Q3 2025
DET Academic Intent	89% of test takers	Combined secondary, undergraduate, and graduate reasons, July 2024-June 2025
Super Family Plan (US Annual Cost)	$119.99	For up to 6 users
Super Max Monthly Cost (Annual Billing)	Approx. $14.00	US pricing

The platform's reach is global, but revenue concentration is clear:

• The United States accounts for 40% of Duolingo, Inc.'s total revenue.
• Fastest-growing user bases are in Latin America and Asia-Pacific, with growth exceeding 50% year-over-year in 2024.
• The top three non-English first-language groups among DET test takers (Mandarin, Spanish, Arabic) comprised about 31% of all sessions in 2025.
• The company maintains a low Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) of approximately $5.

Duolingo, Inc. (DUOL) - Canvas Business Model: Cost Structure

You're looking at where Duolingo, Inc. is spending its money to keep that growth engine running, especially as they push deeper into AI. The cost structure is heavily weighted toward product development and scaling the user base. Honestly, the investment in engineering talent and cloud resources to support over 100 courses and hundreds of millions of users is substantial.

The prompt mentioned a target R&D percentage, and based on the latest available full-year data, the GAAP Research & Development (R&D) expense for fiscal year 2024 was 31% of revenue, down from 37% in 2023, showing some operating leverage in that area, though absolute spending is still climbing. The most recent absolute figure for R&D, covering the twelve months ending September 30, 2025, was $0.293B.

Here's a breakdown of the key operating expense components based on the latest full-year 2024 GAAP reporting and the most recent TTM data available:

Cost Component (GAAP Basis)	FY 2024 Absolute Amount (Approx.)	FY 2024 % of Revenue (Approx.)
Research & Development (R&D)	$235.30 million	31%
Sales & Marketing (S&M)	$90.49 million	12%
General & Administrative (G&A)	$155.99 million	21%
Total Revenue (FY 2024)	$748.0 million	100%

The push for AI features, particularly in Duolingo Max, is a direct cost driver. You saw this reflected in the gross margin in Q4 2024, which decreased due to lower subscription margins from increased generative AI costs. This points directly to the high cost associated with specialized personnel and the cloud compute power needed for those advanced features.

You can see the major buckets of spending below. While specific cloud hosting costs aren't itemized separately from the operating expenses, they are baked into the R&D and Cost of Revenue lines, which is typical for a software-as-a-service model:

• High Research & Development (R&D) costs for AI and product innovation, around 31% of 2024 revenue.
• Personnel costs for engineers, content creators, and AI specialists are the primary driver within R&D and G&A.
• Sales and Marketing (S&M) expenses were 12% of 2024 revenue.
• Technology and infrastructure costs are embedded, with AI adoption specifically noted as increasing costs in 2024.
• Content licensing and partnership costs are not explicitly detailed in the main operating expense lines, but the original model relied on translation partnerships.

Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.

Duolingo, Inc. (DUOL) - Canvas Business Model: Revenue Streams

You're looking at the core ways Duolingo, Inc. converts its massive user base into hard currency as of late 2025. The model is heavily weighted toward recurring revenue, which provides a solid foundation even when ad markets fluctuate.

The primary engine is the subscription offering, Super Duolingo and the premium Duolingo Max tier. This stream is the most significant contributor to the top line. For instance, in Q1 2025, subscription revenue comprised 83% of total revenues, showing the company's successful pivot to high-value recurring income. By Q2 2025, subscription revenue hit $210.7 million, representing 46% growth year-over-year, on total Q2 revenue of $252.3 million.

The full-year 2025 revenue is projected to land around $1.03 billion, a figure that management raised following strong Q2 performance.

Here is a breakdown of the key revenue components based on late 2025 figures:

Revenue Stream Component	Latest Reported Metric/Amount (Q2 2025 unless noted)	Context/Rate
Subscription Revenue (Super/Max)	$210.7 million	Drove approximately 80% of Q2 2025 revenue; Q1 2025 share was 83%.
Duolingo English Test (DET) Fees	$10,088,000	Q2 2025 revenue; standard test fee is $70.
Advertising Revenue	Smaller portion of total	Contributed to improved gross margin in Q2 2025.
In-App Purchases (IAPs)	Part of 'Other' revenue	'Other' revenue grew 11% in Q1 2025.
Full-Year 2025 Revenue Projection	$1.03 billion	Raised guidance after Q3 results.

The Duolingo English Test (DET) remains a high-margin certification product. In Q2 2025, this stream generated $10,088,000 in revenue. The standard price point for the test is $70. This is a distinct, high-value transaction separate from the recurring subscription base.

Advertising revenue from the free user base, while smaller than subscriptions, is still a meaningful component. Duolingo noted a strong quarter of bookings from its ads business in Q2 2025, which helped offset higher AI costs impacting gross margin.

In-app purchases (IAPs) for virtual goods like Gems or Streak Freezes are bundled into the 'Other' revenue category alongside DET fees and advertising. This segment showed growth, with Q1 2025 'Other' revenue increasing by 11% year-over-year.

You can see the scale of the paid user base driving this: paid subscribers reached 10.9 million as of June 30, 2025, a 37% year-over-year increase.

• Subscription revenue growth (Q2 2025 YoY): 46%.
• Paid Subscribers (Q2 2025 end): 10.9 million.
• Q2 2025 Total Revenue: $252.3 million.
• Adjusted EBITDA Margin (Q2 2025): 31.2%.
• Free Cash Flow Margin (Q2 2025): 34.2%.

Finance: draft 13-week cash view by Friday.