Duolingo vs Speak
November 05, 2025
Duolingo and Speak are both American online language learning platforms. They are available as mobile apps, allowing you to study at your convenient time without the need to attend physical classes. Both platforms support multiple languages and are aimed at a broad international audience.
But Duolingo (launched in 2011) supports significantly more languages – over 40. Learning is structured as a series of short lessons with game elements (such as points, levels and "streaks") and adaptive algorithm. Basic levels are available for free. Duolingo is gradually expanding its course topics beyond languages - to music and mathematics.
Speak (2016) focuses primarily on speaking practice: users are taught to speak out loud. The creators call this method "microfluency" which suggests learning a new language by quickly starting with speaking rather than passively listening/memorizing. The app uses artificial intelligence and speech recognition to assess pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary. Speak offers a free trial, followed by paid plans.
But Duolingo (launched in 2011) supports significantly more languages – over 40. Learning is structured as a series of short lessons with game elements (such as points, levels and "streaks") and adaptive algorithm. Basic levels are available for free. Duolingo is gradually expanding its course topics beyond languages - to music and mathematics.
Speak (2016) focuses primarily on speaking practice: users are taught to speak out loud. The creators call this method "microfluency" which suggests learning a new language by quickly starting with speaking rather than passively listening/memorizing. The app uses artificial intelligence and speech recognition to assess pronunciation, grammar and vocabulary. Speak offers a free trial, followed by paid plans.
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