Bonjour!
Without realizing it, I’ve reached day 30 of learning French on Duolingo — and I’ve studied every single day!
I’ve been using this app for a month, and I’ve started to notice its good points and drawbacks. Here’s my honest review — I hope it will help anyone who’s still on the fence about starting Duolingo.
What plans are available? (Free, Super, Max)
Duolingo offers three main plans, not including the Family options for sharing: Free, Super, and Max.
| Function | Free User | Super | Max |
| Ads | Yes | No | No |
| Fee | Free | Monthly: $12.99 Yearly: $84.00 | Monthly : $24.99 Yearly : $168.00 |
| AI-powered Video Chat | No | No | Yes |
For now, I’m struggling along as a free user! (Meanwhile, my wife didn’t notice her free trial had ended and ended up becoming a paid Super user…!)
The lessons are surprisingly fun, but the pronunciation check is super forgiving… almost too forgiving!
I was surprised by how much variety Duolingo’s lessons have — the game-like format really keeps things from getting boring. Besides fill-in-the-blank, translation, and listening exercises, you also get fun tasks like picking the right word from pictures — it really feels like a game.
Sometimes, I came across sentences that made me go, “Wait… when would I ever say this?!” like “Do you have a plane?” — but honestly, that’s all part of the fun. There are also speaking exercises with pronunciation checks, but to be honest, they’re extremely lenient. Even if you pronounce words with a Japanese accent, it often counts as correct, so I don’t think it’s very effective for serious pronunciation practice.
The Biggest Hurdles for Free Users: Ads and Energy Limits
As a free user, you’re stuck with ads and energy restrictions. After every lesson, a 5–10 second ad pops up, asking you to upgrade to Super (literally every single time!). You can watch ads to regain energy, but those ads are longer — around 30 seconds to a minute — which breaks your focus. It’s pretty clear what the app is saying: “Annoyed by ads? Then pay up!” (which is understandable).
Energy is also limited: you spend energy to do lessons, and it only recovers at one point per hour. Even if you complete lessons perfectly, each lesson consumes about 6–8 energy points. Starting from a full energy bar (25 points), you can only do about 4 lessons in a row at most. So realistically, you can manage only 5–6 lessons per day. If you make mistakes in beginner lessons, you might only get through 2. If your goal is practical French, free users might be thinking, “How many years will this even take…?”
My Honest Thoughts After 30 Days
What I Like (Learning Benefits)
- Fun, game-like experience
It’s the perfect tool for building a daily habit of opening the app. - Strong vocabulary and grammar retention
Problems in the same category are repeated in different formats, which really helps reinforce vocabulary and grammar. Some people complain about seeing similar questions over and over, but I appreciate that this method ensures solid mastery of each area. - Optimal mix of implicit and explicit learning
Duolingo combines implicit learning, like a child picking up their first language, with explicit grammar study, which makes the process efficient.
What’s Less Ideal (for Free Users)
- Too many ads
As mentioned, an ad every couple of minutes can break concentration. - Energy limits restrict progress
Only about 6 lessons per day are feasible, which might feel insufficient for serious learners. - Not great for listening or speaking practice
Pronunciation checks are lenient, and listening exercises don’t allow you to see the script. That makes it hard to review later by reading aloud or memorizing. I feel this limits improvement in speaking and listening skills.
Can You Really Become Fluent in French with Duolingo?
If you’re asking, “Will this make me fluent in French?”, honestly, I’m not sure yet. But it’s definitely effective for learning, and it’s an excellent tool for building a daily study habit. YouTuber Evan Edinger mentioned in a video that he reached CEFR B2 in Spanish using only Duolingo over five years (probably not just as a free user). Considering that, I do believe the app can have real results.
I’ll keep exploring the world of French little by little.
Au revoir!
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