Duolingo is the better app overall, scoring 9.0 to 8.6. Duolingo wins on 4 of the 5 scores, Brilliant on 1.
Beginners who want a fun, low-pressure daily habit in a new language
Curious adults and teens who want to understand math and science by solving problems
Score by score
The details
| Feature | Duolingo | Brilliant |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Learning | Learning |
| Category rank | #2 of 8 | #4 of 8 |
| Developer | Duolingo | Brilliant.org |
| Pricing | Free + paid plans | Free + paid plans |
| Usable for free | Yes | Yes |
| iPhone & iPad | ✓ | ✓ |
| Android | ✓ | ✓ |
| Web | ✓ | ✓ |
Strengths and weaknesses
Duolingo
- Free tier covers full courses, not just a sample
- Short lessons fit into any spare five minutes
- Habit features really do keep you practicing daily
- Limited open-ended speaking practice outside the Max plan
- Free version has ads and caps how much you can practice
Duolingo is the easiest way to build a daily language habit. Lessons take a few minutes, streaks and leagues keep you coming back, and the free tier covers whole courses. It now teaches math, music and chess too. The catch: it is better at recognition than real conversation, and free users see ads. Start here, then add a speaking app or tutor when you want fluency.
Full Duolingo review
Brilliant
- Learn-by-doing lessons build intuition, not rote memory
- Beautiful design makes hard topics approachable
- Lessons are short enough for a daily habit
- Free plan is capped at a couple of lessons a day
- No certificates and little help for school exams
Brilliant teaches math, science, data and coding by making you solve things, not watch things. Each lesson is a short run of interactive puzzles that build real intuition, and the design is excellent. The free plan caps you at a couple of lessons a day with ads, so Premium is where it makes sense. Get it if you learn by doing. Skip it if you need exam prep or credentials.
Full Brilliant review
