Head to head
Duolingo vs Rosetta Stone: a comparison from the price lists
The oldest brand in the category against the biggest app in it. Rosetta Stone sells immersion-style lessons with no translation, speech scoring, offline mode and optional tutoring, at a published $19.99 a month or $159 a year for all 25 of its languages. Duolingo is free with ads and sells its paid tiers only inside the app. They are not competing for the same learner, which is what makes the comparison useful.
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Side by side
| As published | Duolingo | Rosetta Stone |
|---|---|---|
| CEFR levels stated | A1 to B2 | not stated |
| What it is | Course app: Gamified free lessons; paid tiers remove ads and add practice features | Course app: Immersion-style lessons without translation, with speech scoring |
| Per month at annual billing | not published | $13.25/mo ($159 a year) |
| Monthly plan | not published | $19.99 |
| Lifetime plan | none | none |
| Free tier | Full free tier with ads and limits; paid tiers remove ads and limits. | Free sample lessons from the site (TRY A LESSON); no ongoing free plan is described on the pricing page. |
| Languages offered | 40 | 25 |
| Speech recognition | Not stated | Yes |
| Live tutoring | No | Tutoring |
| Offline mode | Not stated | Yes |
| Placement test | Not stated | Not stated |
| Refund or trial | 1 week free trial on Super | 14-day money-back guarantee |
| Platforms | iOS, Android, Web | iOS, Android |
| Company | Duolingo, Inc | Rosetta Stone LLC (a division of IXL Learning) |
Which one, for whom
You want a serious course you will pay for
Rosetta Stone on the yearly plan
Rosetta Stone's yearly plan was $159 on the read date, which is $13.25 a month, and covers all 25 languages. It states speech recognition, offline mode, a tutoring product and a 14-day money-back guarantee, which is more than most course apps state. The method is immersion without translation; if you want grammar explained in English, that is not what this app does, and its page does not claim otherwise.
You are not sure you will stick with it
Duolingo free first
Rosetta Stone offers sample lessons rather than an ongoing free plan, so the cheap way to find out whether you will keep going is Duolingo's free tier, which is the full course set with ads. If a month later you are still opening the app, you know enough to spend $159 on the year somewhere.
You learn on a plane, a train or a shift with no signal
Rosetta Stone
Rosetta Stone states offline mode. Duolingo's page does not state one either way, so this site records it as not stated rather than guessing. If offline matters, pick the app that says it works offline.
You want a human at some point
Rosetta Stone's tutoring, or a marketplace
Rosetta Stone states a tutoring product; Duolingo's Video Call with Lily is an AI character inside Duolingo Max, not a person, and Max is sold only in-app with no published web price. If live conversation is the point, compare Rosetta Stone's tutoring against a marketplace such as Preply or italki, where you pay per lesson.
Every published plan
Duolingo
| Plan | Billing | Price | Per month | Covers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FreeThe comparison table lists the free tier alongside Super and Super Family; the row markers for which features each tier includes are images, not text. | Other | $0 | $0/mo | all languages |
| Super DuolingoSuperApple's US App Store listing shows Super Duolingo in-app purchases at $9.99, $12.99, $79.99, $83.99, $95.99 and $119.99, but does not say which figure is monthly, annual or Family, so no price is recorded here. | Other | not published | not published | all languagesDuolingo publishes no price on its website; the Super page shows only a 'Start my 1 week free' call to action and prices appear at checkout or in the app |
| Super FamilyTier and seat count are published; the price is not. | Family | not published | not published | family up to 6no price for the Family plan is shown anywhere on duolingo.com; the plan page shows only a free-trial call to action |
| Duolingo MaxMaxMax is sold only inside the iOS and Android apps, so no web price exists to read; Apple's US listing did not show a Max in-app purchase in the ten entries it displays. | Other | not published | not published | all languagesDuolingo Max is only purchasable in the mobile apps and no price is published on duolingo.com |
Rosetta Stone
| Plan | Billing | Price | Per month | Covers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| YearlyPage labels this SAVE 33% against the monthly plan; no separate regular annual price is shown. | Annual | $159 | $13.25/mo | all languages |
| MonthlySubscription includes access to all 25 languages. | Monthly | $19.99 | $19.99/mo | all languages |
Questions people ask
Is Rosetta Stone worth it compared with Duolingo?
It depends on the learner. Rosetta Stone publishes a price ($19.99 a month, $159 a year on the read date), speech scoring, offline mode, tutoring and a 14-day money-back guarantee. Duolingo is free with ads and does not publish its paid prices on the web. Someone who has decided to pay for a structured course gets more stated features from Rosetta Stone; someone unsure whether they will keep going loses nothing starting with Duolingo.
How much does Rosetta Stone cost per month?
On the read date, $19.99 on the monthly plan and $13.25 a month on the yearly plan ($159 a year), for all 25 languages, from rosettastone.com.
Does Duolingo have a free version and does Rosetta Stone?
Duolingo's free tier is the full set of courses with ads and daily limits. Rosetta Stone offers free sample lessons rather than an ongoing free plan, as its pricing page describes.
Which is better for speaking?
Rosetta Stone states speech recognition and a tutoring product. Duolingo's page does not state speech recognition and its only conversation feature is an AI character in the paid Max tier. On what the vendors publish, Rosetta Stone states more for speaking.