Can a school or tutor build a Duolingo-style app?

Yes. A practice app for one subject with your own exercises, streaks and progress fits the MVP here. Skip AI speaking practice until learners are using the basics.

Does the estimate include course content?

No. It covers the app, exercise engine and admin tools. Writing and recording lessons is a separate content budget.

Is this what Duolingo spent to build its app?

No. It is Eltherion's estimate for building a comparable first version today. It says nothing about what Duolingo spent, and Eltherion is not affiliated with Duolingo. A product at that company's scale has years of work and teams behind it that no MVP includes.

How can I lower the cost?

Launch with fewer integrations, one market and one platform, and leave the full-platform features until users ask for them. The adjustable calculator shows how each choice moves the range.

Learning and AI apps

How much does it cost to build an app like Duolingo?

By Nick McCandless, founder of EltherionUpdated October 30, 2026

Short answer

Eltherion prices an MVP of an app like Duolingo, a gamified language learning app, at $36k to $105k. A full platform with the features listed below runs $72k to $212k. These are Eltherion's own estimate ranges for building a comparable product, not what Duolingo spent; your fixed price comes after a free scoping call, and small, tightly scoped work starts as low as $1,000.

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An app like Duolingo breaks lessons into short exercises with instant feedback, streaks, points and reminders that bring learners back daily. The course content and exercise engine matter as much as the game layer.

What an MVP of an app like Duolingo costs, feature by feature

The first version below is the smallest product people could actually use. Core features are covered by the base price for an iPhone and Android app; each outside service the app connects to, and each add-on, adds its own line.

Eltherion estimate for an app like Duolingo, MVP (updated October 30, 2026)
Line item	What it covers	Estimate
Core iPhone and Android app (MVP)	Lesson and exercise engine, Course path, Streaks, points and reminders, Content admin	$30k to $90k
Text-to-speech audio	Spoken prompts through a speech service	$2k to $5k
Push notifications	Daily practice reminders	$2k to $5k
Subscriptions	Premium features through app store billing	$2k to $5k
Total		$36k to $105k

Lesson and exercise engine: Multiple choice, matching, typing and listening exercises.
Course path: Units and progress.
Streaks, points and reminders: The habit loop.
Content admin: Write and publish lessons.

What drives the cost of an app like Duolingo

Writing courses is a content project on its own.
Speech recognition and AI conversation practice add per-use model costs.
Gamification needs careful design to motivate without frustrating.

Full platform: $72k to $212k

The full-platform tier prices the same app at full-platform scope ($54k to $162k for the core) plus these additions:

Speaking practice and AI feedback: Speech recognition and conversational practice ($10k to $30k).
Leagues and friends: Social competition (part of the full-platform core).
Analytics: Learning and retention analytics ($2k to $5k).

Most products should not build this tier up front. Ship the MVP, see what users actually do, and add the pieces that earn their place. Open the full-platform estimate in the calculator.

Running costs after launch

Maintenance and small improvements: $6k to $19k a year for the MVP (18% of the build, a planning assumption).
Hosting: about $4k a year (a planning estimate; heavy usage costs more).
Three-year total for the MVP, build included: $66k to $173k.
App store accounts: the Apple Developer Program is $99 a year and Google Play has a $25 one-time registration fee (checked October 30, 2026).
Card payments: Stripe's standard US rate is 2.9% + 30¢ per successful domestic card transaction (checked October 30, 2026); other providers price differently.

Each integration also has its provider's own usage fees (maps, messaging, video, AI models), which depend on how much the app is used.

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Frequently asked questions

How much does it cost to build an app like Duolingo?: Eltherion prices an MVP of an app like Duolingo, a gamified language learning app, at $36k to $105k, and a full platform at $72k to $212k. These are Eltherion's estimate ranges from its published pricing model; your fixed price comes after a free scoping call. Small, tightly scoped work starts as low as $1,000.
Can a school or tutor build a Duolingo-style app?: Yes. A practice app for one subject with your own exercises, streaks and progress fits the MVP here. Skip AI speaking practice until learners are using the basics.
Does the estimate include course content?: No. It covers the app, exercise engine and admin tools. Writing and recording lessons is a separate content budget.
Is this what Duolingo spent to build its app?: No. It is Eltherion's estimate for building a comparable first version today. It says nothing about what Duolingo spent, and Eltherion is not affiliated with Duolingo. A product at that company's scale has years of work and teams behind it that no MVP includes.
How can I lower the cost?: Launch with fewer integrations, one market and one platform, and leave the full-platform features until users ask for them. The adjustable calculator shows how each choice moves the range.

How we priced this

Every number on this page comes from Eltherion's software development cost calculator: a base range for the product type, multiplied by scope, plus a fixed range for each integration and add-on. The method is published on the cost methodology page. The feature list describes a typical comparable product; Eltherion is not affiliated with Duolingo.