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Liguastic vs Duolingo (2026)

Duolingo teaches English in short, free, game-like lessons, and it does not mark an essay on the four IELTS criteria. Its own guide to writing, published in July 2026, describes typing a translation and typing what you hear, and suggests a diary outside the app for anything longer (how Duolingo teaches writing). If you have a test date, that means Duolingo never marks the essay you will be judged on and never names the criterion costing you marks.

Liguastic measures first, then marks what you produce: a placement first, a plan written from it, essays that come back with up to six corrections quoting your own words and a score on four criteria, and spoken answers scored from the recording. The interface is in Arabic; lessons, questions, cue cards and essay prompts are in English.

Last updated September 2026

Start learningPricing
AreaLiguasticDuolingo
Writing marked on exam criteriaFree-text essays scored per criterion with correctionsDuolingo's July 2026 writing guide lists typing, dictation and word-order exercises; no essay task and no rubricYesNo
Speaking scored from a recordingPronunciation, fluency, vocabulary, grammar from audioDuolingo's speaking guide describes repeating words, translating aloud and short dialogues; neither it nor the Video Call post reports a score for how you said themYesLimited
Exam-format tasksIELTS Task 2, a Part 2 cue card, timed readingThe app has no IELTS tasks; the Duolingo English Test is a separate exam on its own 10 to 160 scaleYesNo
Plan from a placementA measured level, a plan, spaced reviewA placement test skips units on a fixed course path; the Practice tab reviews mistakes without a stated scheduleYesLimited
Arabic interfaceChrome in Arabic, lessons in EnglishAn English course taught from Arabic with 20.5M learners on Duolingo's list, and an Arabic version of its siteYesYes
Listening practicePractised at your level after placement, not only measuredLiguastic draws an approved clip at your listening level and marks your answers on the server, but teaches no lesson and its clip bank can run out; Duolingo has audio exercises in every unit and a Listen section in its free Practice tabLimitedYes

Quick comparison (TLDR)

Duolingo is a free language app that teaches through short game-like lessons, streaks and leaderboards, and it offers an English course for Arabic speakers (courses for Arabic speakers, checked 4 September 2026). The app costs nothing to use; Super Duolingo removes ads and the Energy limit and is sold in the app and on the web; the App Store lists Super Duolingo at amounts from $9.99 to $119.99 without saying which is monthly and which is yearly (App Store listing, checked 4 September 2026). Its strengths are real: a habit that is easy to keep, audio exercises in every unit, and a course taught from Arabic. The limit that matters here is that nothing you write or say is marked on exam criteria: writing is typed translation and dictation, and the Video Call feature says plainly that mistakes are not penalised (Video Call with Lily).

Liguastic is an AI English platform built for Arabic speakers. It measures your level in a placement, with a level per skill. It marks essays on four criteria, in half bands on IELTS and as a CEFR level on General English, with up to six corrections that quote your own words, and it scores a recorded answer for pronunciation, fluency, vocabulary and grammar. Around that it builds a plan, one step open at a time, and brings every lesson mistake back at 1, 3, 7 and 21 days.

Key differences at a glance

  • Who marks an essay: on Liguastic, our grader returns a score on each of four criteria and corrections in your own sentences (writing feedback); on Duolingo, writing is typed translation and typing what you hear, and its July 2026 writing guide names no essay task and no rubric.
  • What happens to a recording: Liguastic reads pronunciation, fluency, vocabulary and grammar from the audio and quotes the phrases that cost you (speaking practice); Duolingo's speaking exercises ask you to repeat words, translate sentences aloud or take part in short dialogues, and neither its speaking guide nor the Video Call post reports a score for how you said them; its Video Call is a conversation in which, in Duolingo's words, you will not be penalised for mistakes.
  • Exam format: Liguastic puts you in Task 2, a Part 2 cue card and a timed reading mock, runs Exam Day under the clock, and tracks an estimated band out of 9 (IELTS preparation); the Duolingo app has no IELTS tasks, and the Duolingo English Test is a separate exam on its own scale.
  • Placement and plan: Liguastic writes the plan from a measured level per skill; Duolingo's placement test lets you skip units on a fixed course path (Duolingo 101).
  • Listening: Duolingo has audio exercises in every unit and a Listen section in its free Practice tab; Liguastic measures listening at placement and practises it from a bank of approved clips at your level, with no listening lesson and no listening step in the plan.
  • Price and terms: Duolingo's app is free with ads, and Super Duolingo is sold in the app and on the web; Liguastic General English from 15.00 JOD a month and IELTS at 80.00 JOD a month with every finished add-on included, 15% less paid yearly, a free placement check with no card, a 14-day refund on an unused first payment, cancel in two clicks.

Choose Duolingo if you want a free daily habit in an app, with audio exercises, taught from Arabic. Choose Liguastic if you have to produce English for a score or a job and want it marked, with the interface in Arabic.

Placement and level: where you start and how you move

You open the app on Monday not knowing whether you are A2 or B1. What does each tool do with that?

Duolingo

Duolingo places you on a fixed course path and lets you skip the units it thinks you already know. When you start a course you can begin at the beginning or take a placement test to skip some units (Duolingo 101). The test is adaptive and unlocks skills within the course rather than reporting a level per skill (how the placement test works). Learners in the Spanish, French and English courses also see a Duolingo Score out of 160, which Duolingo maps to CEFR ranges, for example 60 to 79 as early B1 (the Duolingo Score).

  • A placement test at the start of a course, adaptive
  • A Duolingo Score out of 160 with published CEFR ranges, in the English course
  • The Score is one number for what you can do with the language so far, not a level per skill
  • No separate level for reading, writing, speaking and listening
  • The placement unlocks units in a fixed path; it does not write a plan around a target band

Liguastic

Liguastic measures you first, with a level per skill. The placement returns a CEFR level for each skill it graded, on a ladder from A1 to C2. The skills it could not grade are named on the result screen rather than left blank. Listening is measured here, and practised afterwards from a bank of approved clips at your level. Your level is set by the placement and does not change because you finished a lesson; only the Advanced Speaking add-on has a level test, and it moves that ladder's own speaking level. See General English and how it works.

  • A placement with a level per skill
  • A CEFR ladder from A1 to C2; the Advanced Speaking add-on climbs its own ladder with plus levels such as B1+
  • The plan is written from the placement and, on IELTS, from your target band and any test date you gave
  • Finishing lessons never moves your level
  • Speaking is two recorded turns scored from the audio; if your microphone cannot record, speaking is printed as not measured. Listening is measured in the placement and practised from an approved clip bank afterwards, and neither of them moves your CEFR level

Writing: what comes back when you hand in an essay

You have a Task 2 essay and a test in six weeks. What happens when you hand it in?

Duolingo

Duolingo teaches writing as typed translation and dictation inside its lessons. Its writing guide, published on 2 July 2026, lists typing what you hear, typing a translation, ordering words, choosing the word that fits and writing full sentences about what happened in a Story, and it suggests a shopping list or a language diary for longer writing outside the app (how Duolingo teaches writing). Explain My Answer, free since January 2026, gives a personalised explanation of a mistake in an exercise, and Duolingo lists it for its Spanish, French, German, Japanese, Portuguese, Italian and Korean courses (Explain My Answer is now free). Neither post describes an essay task or a rubric.

  • Typed translation, dictation, word-order exercises and full sentences about a Story
  • Explain My Answer: a grammar note on an exercise you got wrong, at no charge
  • Explain My Answer is listed for seven courses, and the English courses are not among them, with more courses promised
  • No free-text essay is accepted, so nothing is marked on Task 1 or Task 2 criteria
  • No correction that quotes a sentence you composed yourself

Liguastic

Liguastic marks the essay you actually wrote, in place, on four criteria. You write a Task 2 answer (Task 1 is set once, in the placement) and it comes back with up to six corrections, each quoting your exact words, setting a better version beside them and giving a one-line reason. Each of the four criteria gets a score, in half bands on IELTS and as a CEFR level on General English. You are given one next focus, and you can rewrite and compare the two versions. Every correction goes into a mistake notebook to re-read; lesson mistakes return in review at 1, 3, 7 and 21 days. See writing feedback.

  • Up to six corrections quoting your own words, with a better version and the reason
  • A score on each of four criteria, in half bands on IELTS and as a CEFR level on General English
  • One next focus, then rewrite and compare
  • Exam Day mode: a timed reading mock and a timed essay, no pausing, with one combined estimate
  • Every band is an estimate from our grader, not an official score, and the format is IELTS; TOEFL is not open to new learners

Speaking: whether a recording is scored or only recognised

You record a Part 2 answer about a place you remember. Does anything read the audio for a band?

Duolingo

Duolingo checks that you said the sentence; it does not band your pronunciation or fluency. Its speaking guide, published in February 2026, says you repeat words, translate sentences out loud, take part in bite-sized dialogues, and can speak an answer instead of typing it (how Duolingo teaches speaking). Duolingo Max adds Video Call, a spoken conversation with an AI character called Lily, and the launch post says you will not be penalised for mistakes and that Lily will not correct your grammar (Video Call with Lily). Neither post describes a pronunciation or fluency score.

  • Speak-the-sentence exercises in ordinary lessons, and a Speak section in the free Practice tab
  • Video Call with Lily: an unscripted conversation, on Duolingo Max, on iOS and Android
  • Neither the speaking guide nor the Video Call post reports a score for how you said it
  • No band for pronunciation, fluency, vocabulary or grammar read from a recording
  • No IELTS Part 1, 2 or 3 format, and no correction quoting what you said

Liguastic

Liguastic scores a real recording and quotes the phrases that cost you. You get a fresh cue card at your level and for your exam, record in the browser, and pronunciation, fluency, vocabulary and grammar come back as bands read from the audio, with corrections that quote phrases from your own answer. Your ten most recent recordings are kept with their bands, so you can hear the difference between two attempts; older takes keep the band and lose the audio. The Advanced Speaking add-on climbs a nine-rung ladder from single words to academic and professional speech. See speaking practice.

  • A Part 2 cue card, scored from the recording on four bands
  • The phrases that cost you, quoted from your own answer
  • The ten most recent recordings kept with their bands
  • Advanced Speaking: nine rungs and a word ledger with five gates, an add-on on General English and included in IELTS
  • If your browser will not open the microphone the page says so and suggests Chrome or Edge on a desktop; speaking is also recorded in the placement

Exam format: IELTS tasks, or a different test altogether

Your visa office or your university wants an IELTS band. Which tool puts you in that exam's own format?

Duolingo

Duolingo's app has no IELTS tasks; Duolingo's exam is its own test. The Duolingo English Test is a separate product: an online test taken at home in about an hour, with results in two days, accepted by more than 6,500 institutions according to its own site (Duolingo English Test, checked 4 September 2026). Its guide for test takers, updated in February 2026, puts the fee at $70 (how to prepare for the Duolingo English Test). It is scored from 10 to 160 and publishes a table comparing that scale with IELTS bands, for example 140 beside 6.5 (Duolingo English Test scores). A comparison table is not an IELTS result; if a body asks for IELTS, check with it which tests it accepts before you book.

  • A separate exam, the Duolingo English Test, taken online at home
  • A published table comparing its 10 to 160 scale with IELTS bands
  • The app's English course does not prepare for Task 1, Task 2 or Parts 1 to 3; its own test is a different format
  • No IELTS Writing, Speaking or timed Reading task in the app
  • No estimated IELTS band tracked over time

Liguastic

Liguastic puts you in the IELTS format and tracks an estimated band beside your CEFR level. Writing is Task 2 in the writing coach, and Task 1 once in the placement, both on the four criteria in half bands. Speaking is a Part 2 cue card, scored from the recording. Reading is a timed mock of one passage, up to ten questions and fifteen minutes, scored off a fixed ratio ladder that every track shares, which makes it a reading-accuracy estimate rather than an IELTS score. Exam Day runs the reading mock and a timed essay with no pausing. See IELTS preparation and how scoring works.

  • Task 2, a Part 2 cue card, a timed reading mock, Exam Day
  • A plan written with your target band and test date, and a schedule that says whether it finishes before your exam
  • An estimated band out of 9 tracked beside your CEFR level
  • Every band is our estimate; no examining body has reviewed a number and nothing can be submitted anywhere
  • TOEFL is not open to new learners, and listening is practised from an approved clip bank rather than taught as a course

Plan and review: a path to follow, or a plan written for you

It is Thursday, you have forty minutes, and you got the same tense wrong on Monday. What does each tool put in front of you?

Duolingo

Duolingo gives you a path of units and a set of reasons to come back every day. Each course is made of units built around communication goals, your streak counts the days in a row you have studied, and each week your XP puts you in a leaderboard against other learners (Duolingo 101). Since February 2026 the Practice tab, including a Mistakes section that reviews earlier errors, is free for everyone (the Practice tab is free). Free learners spend Energy on each lesson; it recharges in about a day, and a rewarded ad earns some back (why Duolingo switched to Energy).

  • A fixed path of units, a streak and weekly leaderboards
  • A Mistakes section in the free Practice tab
  • The Practice tab pages describe no fixed return schedule; you open Mistakes when you choose to
  • On the free plan, Energy limits how many lessons you can do before it recharges
  • No plan written from a measured level and a test date

Liguastic

Liguastic writes the plan from the placement and brings each mistake back on a schedule. The plan is an order, not a menu: one step is open at a time, and the next opens when you finish it, so the day's work is always at your level. Any lesson question you get wrong returns at 1, 3, 7 and 21 days, as a fresh question on the same point, until you stop missing it. Extra practice on what the plan is working on sits beside the schedule, optional and as often as you like. See how it works.

  • A plan written from the placement and, on IELTS, from your target band and any test date you gave
  • One step open at a time, so you cannot skip the step you need
  • Every lesson mistake back at 1, 3, 7 and 21 days
  • Progress tracked as per-skill accuracy, with a level trajectory on General English and a band trajectory on IELTS
  • There is no way to jump ahead of the plan; if you want to browse a library of lessons, this will feel narrow

The tutor: Liguastic's AI tutor against Duolingo Max

You want to ask why your answer was wrong and get an exercise on exactly that, now. What does each paid tier give you?

Duolingo

Duolingo Max is Super Duolingo plus two AI conversation features, on the phone only. Duolingo's help centre says Max includes all the benefits of Super along with Roleplay, a scenario with a character such as ordering a coffee with Lin, and Video Call with Lily; it is available on iOS and Android and cannot be bought on the web (What is Duolingo Max?, checked 4 September 2026). The same article lists Roleplay for English courses taught from Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, German and French; the English course for Arabic speakers is not on that list. The help centre does not state a price for Max.

  • Roleplay: conversation scenarios with the app's characters
  • Video Call with Lily: an open conversation that, by Duolingo's description, does not penalise mistakes
  • Roleplay is not listed for the English course taught from Arabic
  • Not available on the web, and no price published in the help centre
  • Neither feature is described as knowing your plan or setting an exercise on the mistake you just made

Liguastic

Liguastic's AI tutor knows your level, your goal, the next step in your plan and the points you keep missing, and sets exercises inside the chat. It is asked to keep replies short and at your level. When you ask about a rule, it can hand you word tiles, a gap fill or a choice and mark it on the spot. It can say why the next step is next; it cannot change the plan. It is an add-on on General English at 10.00 JOD a month, and it is included in IELTS at no extra cost. See the AI tutor.

  • Knows your level, goal, next plan step and the points you keep missing
  • Sets word tiles, gap fills and choices in the chat and marks them at once
  • Included in IELTS; an add-on on General English
  • It is a text chat, not a video call, and it is AI: there is no person behind it

Arabic interface: what is in Arabic and what stays in English

You read Arabic fluently and English slowly. Which parts of each product are in a language you can already read?

Duolingo

Duolingo teaches English from Arabic, and its site is available in Arabic. Its course list for Arabic speakers shows an English course with 20.5M learners, ahead of French, German and Spanish (courses for Arabic speakers, checked 4 September 2026), and its Arabic site carries the headings and buttons in Arabic (ar.duolingo.com). Two of its AI features are narrower for this course: Roleplay is listed for English courses taught from five other languages, not Arabic (What is Duolingo Max?), and Explain My Answer is listed for seven courses that do not include English, with more courses promised (Explain My Answer).

  • An English course taught from Arabic, the most popular course on its Arabic list
  • Nine other languages taught from Arabic, from French to Swedish
  • Roleplay and Explain My Answer are not listed for the English course taught from Arabic
  • No IELTS-format work in any course, including this one

Liguastic

Liguastic's interface is in Arabic, and lessons, questions, cue cards and essay prompts are in English, on purpose. Headlines, buttons, settings and the plan are in Arabic, so a learner at A1 always knows what the product is asking. The lesson, the question, the cue card and the essay prompt stay in English, because that exposure is the point. The platform teaches English only, and it was built for Arabic speakers from the placement to the IELTS course. See about Liguastic.

  • Arabic interface: navigation, settings and the plan
  • English material: lessons, prompts, cue cards and essays
  • Built for Arabic speakers, from the placement to the IELTS course
  • English only; if you also want French or Korean, Duolingo has courses from Arabic for both

Listening: the area where Duolingo is ahead

Your weakest section is listening. Be clear about which tool actually works on it.

Duolingo

Duolingo teaches listening early in each unit and keeps audio in the lessons after that. Its listening guide, published in May 2026, describes tapping matching pairs from audio, listening for a missing word, typing what you hear at normal or slowed speed, and audio exercises that lose their written support as you level up; the free Practice tab has a Listen section (how Duolingo teaches listening). DuoRadio, its podcast-style audio lessons, is listed for eight languages, and English is not among them.

  • Audio exercises in every unit, with the text removed as you progress
  • A Listen section in the free Practice tab
  • DuoRadio is not listed for the English course
  • No listening score in the IELTS format

Liguastic

Liguastic measures listening at placement, then practises it from a bank of approved clips at your level. In the practice navigation, Listen to a clip deals a recorded conversation at your listening level. Play it as many times as you like, answer the questions, and the answers are marked on our side against a key your browser never sees; the script is released afterwards, never before. The attempt is recorded, so listening counts towards your per-skill accuracy, and a run of strong results lifts the level the clips are drawn at. It is not a taught course: there are no listening lessons, no listening step in the plan, and it does not move your CEFR level. Because every clip is approved by a person rather than generated, the bank can run out, and when it does the page says so instead of replaying a clip you have already answered. On volume Duolingo is ahead, and an Advanced Listening add-on is listed as coming soon and cannot be bought. See how scoring works.

  • A listening level at placement, and clips drawn at that level afterwards
  • Replay as often as you want, answers marked on the server, the script afterwards
  • Attempts count towards your listening accuracy, and a strong run lifts the level clips are drawn at
  • The clips are approved by a person rather than generated, so the bank can run out
  • No listening lessons, no listening step in the plan, and listening does not move your level
  • The Advanced Listening add-on is coming soon and cannot be bought yet

A week of study: Duolingo vs Liguastic

Take one learner, roughly B1, with a target of band 6.5 and a test in eight weeks; Monday looks very different in each tool. She reads Arabic fluently, writes English slowly, and her last practice essay came back from a friend with the note “good, but improve grammar”.

With Duolingo:

  1. Monday she opens the English course for Arabic speakers, takes the placement test and skips the early units. The lessons are quick and the streak starts; this part works, and it keeps working all week (Duolingo 101).
  2. Tuesday she wants to know whether she is B1 or B2 for writing. The Duolingo Score gives one number out of 160 for the course as a whole, not a level per skill (the Duolingo Score), so she guesses.
  3. Wednesday she writes a Task 2 essay. There is nowhere in the app to hand it in; the writing exercises are typed translations and dictation (how Duolingo teaches writing). She has to find somewhere else to hand it in.
  4. Thursday she records herself answering a Part 2 card. The speaking exercises ask her to repeat words, translate sentences aloud or take part in short dialogues; neither the speaking guide nor the Video Call post reports a score for how she said them. The Mistakes section in the Practice tab is there when she opens it, but nothing schedules a return of Wednesday's error.
  5. Friday she has kept a five-day streak and done real listening work every day. She still does not know what her essay would score, or why.

With Liguastic:

  1. Monday she takes the placement and gets a level per skill: grammar, vocabulary, reading, writing, listening and two recorded speaking turns, each graded on its own.
  2. Tuesday the plan is waiting, written from that placement and from band 6.5 in eight weeks, with one step open at a time.
  3. Wednesday she hands in the Task 2 essay. It comes back with a handful of corrections, each quoting her own sentence, a score on each of four criteria in half bands, and one next focus. She records the Part 2 card and gets four bands read from the audio, with the phrases that cost her quoted back.
  4. Thursday, any lesson question she has missed is back in front of her when she opens Review, and will return again after 3, 7 and 21 days; Wednesday's corrections wait in her notebook to re-read.
  5. Friday she has an estimated band. She has worked on listening from the approved clip bank rather than been taught it as a course, and the estimate is ours, not a result she can submit.

Duolingo handles the habit and the volume of listening. Liguastic measures, marks and schedules the return of the lesson questions you got wrong.

Where the difference is verifiable

These are differences you can check, not opinions.

1. Who marks an essay, and on what

Duolingo: writing inside the app is typed translation, dictation, word ordering and single sentences about a Story. The July 2026 writing guide names no essay task and no rubric, and points learners to a diary outside the app for longer writing.

Liguastic: an essay comes back with up to six corrections quoting your words, a score on each of four criteria, in half bands on IELTS and as a CEFR level on General English, one next focus and a rewrite step; see how scoring works for what runs on it.

The proof: Duolingo's own guide to writing lists every writing exercise type, and none of them is an essay.

2. Whether a recording is scored

Duolingo: its speaking exercises ask you to repeat words, translate sentences aloud or take part in short dialogues, and no score for how you said them is reported; Video Call, its most advanced speaking feature, is described as not penalising mistakes and not correcting grammar.

Liguastic: pronunciation, fluency, vocabulary and grammar come back as bands read from the audio, with the phrases that cost you quoted; see speaking practice.

The proof: Duolingo's Video Call announcement says in its own words that you will not be penalised for any mistakes.

3. Whether the exam format is IELTS

Duolingo: the app has no IELTS tasks. The Duolingo English Test is a separate exam scored from 10 to 160, taken at home in about an hour, and it publishes a table comparing its scale with IELTS bands.

Liguastic: Task 2, a Part 2 cue card, a timed reading mock and Exam Day under the clock, with an estimated band out of 9; see IELTS preparation.

The proof: the Duolingo English Test scores page shows the 10 to 160 scale and its comparison table, which is not an IELTS result.

4. Interface language

Duolingo: an English course taught from Arabic with 20.5M learners on its list, and an Arabic version of its site.

Liguastic: the interface in Arabic and lessons, questions, cue cards and essay prompts in English.

The proof: Duolingo's course list for Arabic speakers, checked 4 September 2026. Both products meet an Arabic reader where they are; the difference is what happens after the first lesson.

The gap is not the interface or the habit. Liguastic marks the essay and the recording; Duolingo checks the sentence in the exercise.

When Duolingo is the better choice

No tool fits everyone. Duolingo is the better choice if:

  • You want to pay nothing. Duolingo's own homepage describes it as “free. fun. effective.”, with Super Duolingo and Max as optional upgrades rather than a gate (duolingo.com).
  • You want listening taught, and plenty of it. Duolingo has audio exercises in every unit and a Listen section in its free Practice tab (how Duolingo teaches listening). Liguastic measures listening at placement and practises it from a bank of approved clips at your level, but it teaches no lesson, puts no listening step in the plan, and the bank is finite.
  • You want a daily habit that is easy to keep. Streaks, leaderboards and lessons that fit in a coffee break are what Duolingo is built around, and a rating of 4.7 from 5.4M ratings on the App Store says a lot of people keep it up (App Store, checked 4 September 2026).
  • You want more than English. Duolingo lists ten courses taught from Arabic: English and nine others, from French to Swedish. Its App Store description says forty-plus languages overall. Liguastic teaches English only.
  • You want a course taught from Arabic in an app on your phone. Duolingo's English course for Arabic speakers is its most popular course from Arabic, with 20.5M learners on its list (courses for Arabic speakers, checked 4 September 2026).

But if you have to hand in an essay and a recording for a score, and want them marked on the criteria the exam uses, Liguastic is built for exactly that.

What Liguastic does not do

Before the verdict, the limits.

  • Listening is practised from a fixed bank, not taught. It is measured at placement, and afterwards you are dealt clips a person approved, at your level: play each as often as you like, your answers are marked on our side and the script comes afterwards. There are no listening lessons, it does not move your CEFR level, and because the clips are approved rather than generated, the bank can run out.
  • Nothing here is an official score. Every band is an estimate from our own grader, and there is nowhere you can submit one. No examining body has reviewed a single number. See how scoring works.
  • TOEFL is not open to new learners. The IELTS course is; General English carries no band at all.

Everything the site says it never does is on the about page, at the same size as the offer.

Verdict

Duolingo and Liguastic were built for different jobs: one to make a language habit stick for anyone, the other to mark what an Arabic speaker produces in English.

Duolingo does its job well. It is rated 4.7 from 5.4M ratings on the App Store and 4.7 from 49.1M reviews on Google Play (App Store, Google Play, both checked 4 September 2026). It is free, it teaches English from Arabic, it works on listening in every unit, and its Practice tab with a Mistakes section is free for everyone. Super Duolingo is sold in the app and on the web; the App Store lists Super Duolingo at amounts from $9.99 to $119.99 without saying which is monthly and which is yearly, and its landing page offers a week at no charge before the first payment on day seven (Super Duolingo, checked 4 September 2026); its App Store description says fourteen days, so the length depends on where you buy.

Its limits for this reader are specific. Writing is typed translation and dictation with no essay task and no rubric (writing guide). Speaking is recognised, not banded, and Video Call says it does not penalise mistakes (Video Call). The app has no IELTS tasks, and the Duolingo English Test is a different exam on a different scale (Duolingo English Test scores). Roleplay and Explain My Answer are not listed for the English course taught from Arabic. If a speaking score is the thing you are missing, our comparison with ELSA Speak covers an app that scores speaking against IELTS and CEFR scales.

Liguastic marks the essay you wrote on four criteria with corrections in your own sentences, scores a recording for pronunciation, fluency, vocabulary and grammar, writes the plan from a placement, and keeps the interface in Arabic while lessons, questions, cue cards and essay prompts stay in English. General English from 15.00 JOD a month, IELTS at 80.00 JOD a month with every finished add-on included, 15% less paid yearly; a free placement check with no card, a 14-day refund on an unused first payment, cancel in two clicks, access to the end of the period paid for. See pricing and the refund terms.

The bottom line: Choose Duolingo if you want a free daily habit with listening work, taught from Arabic. Choose Liguastic if you have to write and speak for a band and want every attempt marked, in an interface you can read.

Moving from Duolingo to Liguastic

There is nothing to migrate. Liguastic does not import anything from Duolingo, and it does not need to: the first thing it does is measure you.

Step 1: Take the placement. A level per skill, and the skills it could not grade are named on the result screen rather than left blank.

Step 2: Read the plan it wrote. One step open at a time, built from the placement and, if you chose IELTS, from your target band and any test date you gave. See how it works.

Step 3: Hand in the first essay and the first recording. The essay comes back with up to six corrections quoting your words, a score on each of four criteria, in half bands on IELTS and as a CEFR level on General English, and one next focus; the recording comes back with four bands read from the audio and the phrases that cost you.

Step 4: Keep Duolingo for what it does better. Its audio exercises and its free daily habit run happily beside Liguastic; nothing syncs between the two, and nothing needs to. Your streak there is not affected by anything you do here.

The switch costs a placement and a first essay, not a data export.

Research and sources

The Duolingo claims on this page were read from Duolingo's own published pages on 4 September 2026. The Liguastic pages behind the claims here are listed below. Nothing here is a rating we made up: Liguastic publishes no ratings, review counts or testimonials of its own.

Duolingo sources

What the Google Play reviews say

Quotes come from the Google Play listing, where they are still shown. They are copied as written, with the rating the reviewer gave, and are here so you can weigh them, not as our verdict.

Recurring complaints, one and two stars:

  • Two stars, Google Play, 8 March 2026: “Now, many mistakes leave you confused and with no explanation or way to figure out what you did wrong.”
  • One star, Google Play, 7 November 2024: “The app has become extremely buggy. I constantly have to close and reopen it to update my progress after finishing a lesson.”

Liguastic sources

Method

  1. Read Duolingo's own product and help pages, not third-party summaries.
  2. Check the store listings for the rating, the review count and the recurring complaints, and quote them as they appear.
  3. Check every claim about Liguastic against the product itself, not only against its own pages.
  4. Re-check prices on every refresh and bump dateModified.

If anything here is wrong or out of date, write to hello@liguastic.com and we will check it and correct the page.

IELTS® and TOEFL® are registered trademarks of their respective owners. Liguastic is not affiliated with or endorsed by them.

Pricing

Start learning by choosing the plan that suits you.

One core plan with everything you need to start. Add advanced modules only if you want them.

Plans and pricing

General English

The base you build on

15.00 JODper month

  • Adaptive placement test
  • A plan built on your result
  • Daily lessons in the core skills
  • Progress tracking
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IELTS

Everything switched on

80.00 JODper month

  • Full IELTS placement
  • Practice in the exam's own format
  • Writing and speaking, graded
  • Timed mock tests
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Liguastic vs Duolingo: feature comparison for 2026

Placement, writing, speaking, exam format, plan and review, the tutor, the interface, listening, and the terms.

FeatureLiguasticDuolingo
Placement test with a level per skillThe skills it cannot grade are namedsource for this row (opens in a new tab)YesLimited
Essays marked on four criteriaHalf bands on IELTS, a CEFR level on General English; corrections quote your own wordssource for this row (opens in a new tab)YesNo
Speaking scored from a recordingPronunciation, fluency, vocabulary, grammarsource for this row (opens in a new tab)YesLimited
IELTS-format tasksTask 2, a Part 2 cue card, timed reading, Exam Daysource for this row (opens in a new tab)YesNo
Plan built from the placementOne step open at a timesource for this row (opens in a new tab)YesLimited
Spaced review of your own lesson mistakesAt 1, 3, 7 and 21 dayssource for this row (opens in a new tab)YesLimited
AI tutor that knows your level and your next plan stepAdd-on on General English; included in IELTSsource for this row (opens in a new tab)YesLimited
Arabic interfaceLessons and prompts stay in Englishsource for this row (opens in a new tab)YesYes
Listening practiceLiguastic measures listening at placement and practises it from an approved clip bank at your level; there are no listening lessons and no listening step in the plansource for this row (opens in a new tab)LimitedYes
Children's programmeLiguastic: ages 4–12, a child seat on the Family plansource for this row (opens in a new tab)YesDuolingo ABC, a separate reading app for children, is listed under More by Duolingo on Google Play; it was not reviewed for this page
Monthly priceLiguastic prices in JOD, charged in USDsource for this row (opens in a new tab)General English 15.00 JOD; IELTS 80.00 JODFree with ads and Energy; Super Duolingo in-app purchases listed at $9.99 to $119.99 on the App Store, billing period not shown
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QUESTIONS

Liguastic vs Duolingo: common questions

Is Liguastic better than Duolingo?

Not for every purpose. Both teach English to Arabic speakers in an interface you can read, and both are AI, not people. The differences that matter: Liguastic marks essays on four criteria and scores recordings for pronunciation and fluency, puts you in the IELTS format, and writes the plan from a placement; Duolingo marks neither, has no IELTS format, and its placement skips units on a fixed path rather than writing a plan; it is free, teaches listening and is easy to keep up daily. Choose Duolingo if you want a free habit with listening work. Choose Liguastic if you need an essay or a recording marked on exam criteria, with the interface in Arabic.

Can Liguastic replace Duolingo?

Partly. Liguastic covers grammar, vocabulary, reading and writing at your level, and it marks the writing and speaking that Duolingo does not. It does not replace three things: Duolingo's listening exercises, which Liguastic does not match, since it practises listening from a finite bank of approved clips rather than teaching it; Duolingo's free plan; and its other languages. Neither product has a person on the other end. Nothing is imported from Duolingo; the placement measures you fresh.

Does Duolingo mark essays on the IELTS criteria?

No. Duolingo's writing guide from July 2026 lists typing what you hear, typing a translation, ordering words and choosing the word that fits, and suggests a diary outside the app for longer writing; it names no essay task and no rubric (how Duolingo teaches writing). On Liguastic an essay returns with up to six corrections quoting your words, a score on each of four criteria, in half bands on IELTS and as a CEFR level on General English, one next focus and a rewrite-and-compare step.

Does Duolingo score your speaking from a recording?

It does not band the recording. Its speaking guide describes repeating words, translating aloud and short dialogues, and neither it nor the Video Call post reports a score for how you said them; that post says you will not be penalised for mistakes and that Lily will not correct your grammar (Video Call with Lily). On Liguastic you record an answer to a cue card in the browser and pronunciation, fluency, vocabulary and grammar come back as bands read from the audio, with the phrases that cost you quoted back. If your browser will not open the microphone the page says so and suggests Chrome or Edge on a desktop.

How much does Liguastic cost compared to Duolingo?

Duolingo's app is free; Super Duolingo is sold in the app and on the web, and the App Store lists it at amounts from $9.99 to $119.99 without saying which is monthly and which is yearly (App Store listing, checked September 2026). Liguastic's General English course starts at 15.00 JOD a month, IELTS is 80.00 JOD a month with every finished add-on included, and paying yearly is 15% less. Prices are in Jordanian dinars and your card is charged the US-dollar equivalent. See pricing. A new account starts with a free placement check and no card, and an unused first payment is refundable within 14 days, cancelling is two clicks in Settings, and access runs to the end of the period you paid for. See the refund terms.

Is Liguastic available in Arabic?

Yes, the interface is. Headlines, buttons, settings and the plan are in Arabic so an A1 learner always knows what the product is asking them to do. Lessons, questions, cue cards and essay prompts stay in English on purpose — they are the exposure you are paying for. Duolingo also teaches English from Arabic: its course list for Arabic speakers shows an English course with 20.5M learners, and its site has an Arabic version (courses for Arabic speakers, checked 4 September 2026).

Which is better for IELTS, Duolingo or Liguastic?

Liguastic, because it is the only one of the two that puts you in the exam's own format. Duolingo's app has no Task 1, Task 2 or Parts 1 to 3, and its own exam, the Duolingo English Test, is a separate test scored from 10 to 160 (Duolingo English Test scores). Liguastic marks Task 2 on the four criteria, scores a Part 2 cue card from the recording, runs a timed reading mock and Exam Day under the clock, returns an estimated band out of 9, and tracks it beside your CEFR level. Every band on Liguastic is an estimate from our own grader, never an official score.

Can I use Duolingo and Liguastic together?

Yes, and for many learners that is the sensible split. Use Duolingo for the daily habit and for the volume of listening, which Liguastic does not teach as a course, and Liguastic for the marked writing and speaking, the exam format and the plan written from your placement. Nothing syncs between them; nothing needs to. Each keeps its own record, and your Duolingo streak is not affected by anything you do on Liguastic.

Does Liguastic teach listening?

Not as a course, but you can practise it. Listening is measured in the placement, and after that Listen to a clip, in the practice navigation, draws a recorded conversation approved at your listening level, you play it as many times as you like, your answers are marked on our side against a key your browser never sees, and the script is released afterwards. Those attempts count towards your listening accuracy, and a strong run lifts the level the clips are drawn at. What it does not do: there are no listening lessons, no listening step in the plan, it does not move your CEFR level, and because every clip is approved by a person rather than generated, the bank can run out. On volume Duolingo is ahead: it teaches listening in every unit and has a Listen section in its free Practice tab (how Duolingo teaches listening). Everything Liguastic does and does not measure is on how scoring works.

Are Liguastic's bands official IELTS scores?

No. Every band, score and level on Liguastic is an estimate produced by our own grader. No examining body has reviewed or approved a single number, and there is nowhere you can submit one. Liguastic has no affiliation with IELTS, TOEFL, Cambridge or ETS. Several attempts in a row tell you more than any one of them.

Who marks my work on Liguastic?

Our AI does, and we say so rather than implying a staff room. Our AI writes the coaching and marks essays, and our speech assessment scores pronunciation and fluency from a real recording. Every correction quotes the words you wrote and shows a better version beside them, with a one-line reason.

Does Liguastic have a children's programme?

Yes. The children's section is live for ages 4 to 12 on the Family plan: each child has their own seat at 13.00 JOD a month and their own profile, set to an age band from their date of birth, and the lessons are narrated by an AI voice. Duolingo's main app is for everyone; Duolingo ABC, a separate reading app for children, was not reviewed for this page. See English for children.

How do I cancel Liguastic?

Settings → Billing, two clicks. No email, no retention call, no form asking why. Cancelling stops the next renewal and you keep access to the end of the period you already paid for. If a renewal went through that you did not mean and you have not used the service since, tell us within 7 days and it is refunded. On Duolingo you cancel through the store you subscribed on, or in Settings on the web; the subscription stays active to the end of the billing period, and its help centre says charges for in-app purchases are generally non-refundable (how to cancel, refunds, checked 4 September 2026).

Why do people move from Duolingo to Liguastic?

Three reasons, each a fact about what Duolingo does not do rather than a quote from a learner, because Liguastic publishes no testimonials. First, nothing you write in Duolingo is marked on exam criteria (writing guide). Second, no recording is banded for pronunciation or fluency, and Video Call says mistakes are not penalised (Video Call). Third, there is no IELTS format in the app; the Duolingo English Test is a separate exam (its scores page). What Liguastic does not do: it does not teach listening as a course, though you can practise it from an approved clip bank; it has no free plan, and its bands are estimates, so the reader can decide.

Is the Duolingo English Test the same as IELTS?

No. The Duolingo English Test is Duolingo's own exam: taken online at home in about an hour, results in two days, accepted by more than 6,500 institutions by its own count, scored from 10 to 160, and priced at $70 in its guide for test takers (Duolingo English Test, its test guide, checked 4 September 2026). It publishes a table comparing its scores with IELTS bands, but a comparison is not an IELTS result. If a visa office or a university asks for IELTS, confirm with them which tests they accept before you book either. Liguastic prepares for the IELTS format; it does not prepare for the Duolingo English Test.

What is Duolingo Max, and do I need it?

Duolingo Max is the tier above Super Duolingo. Its help centre says it includes everything in Super plus Roleplay, scenarios with the app's characters, and Video Call with Lily, an open conversation; it is sold on iOS and Android only and cannot be bought on the web (What is Duolingo Max?, checked 4 September 2026). Roleplay is listed for English courses taught from Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, German and French, not Arabic. Whether you need it depends on what you want: Max gives you conversation without a mark; Liguastic's AI tutor knows your next plan step, sets exercises in the chat and marks them (the AI tutor).

Does Duolingo have a placement test?

Yes. When you start a course you can begin at the first unit or take a placement test to skip units you already know (Duolingo 101). It is adaptive and places you within the course path rather than giving a level for each skill; the Duolingo Score, out of 160, then tracks progress through the course and is mapped to CEFR ranges (the Duolingo Score). Liguastic's placement returns a CEFR level per skill, names the skills it could not grade, and writes the plan from the result.

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The first thing it does is measure you.

A placement test, then a plan written from what it measured — and every essay and recording after that comes back marked.

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