I’ve Had Duolingo Max for 2 Years. Here Are My Honest Thoughts.
In 2023, when Duolingo Max came out, I was quick to jump on it. I already had Super Duolingo, which gave me unlimited lives and ad-free learning.
Over the previous two years, I had finished an entire course on the app. It was a helpful piece in helping me become fluent in Catalan.
When I started learning French, Duolingo launched its “Max” offer, which now has several advantages over Super. But the main one is the ability to do “video calls” with an AI chatbot, Lily.
In this article, I want to share my honest thoughts on using Duolingo Max over the past two years to help me learn French.
Why I Use Duolingo Max Every Day, and How It Has Helped My French
Listen, I know that Duolingo gets a lot of flack. People say it’s inferior to other language learning programs. A lot of these critiques are valid, for sure. But that’s not why I do Duolingo. Look, if I were serious about learning French, I would spend more time with in-person French groups, not with any program.
I’ve never felt that Duolingo alone would get me to fluency, but Duolingo helps me practice every day and learn little by little.
Duolingo is famous for its gamification.
It hooks you with daily streaks, leaderboards, XP points, leagues, and quests so that opening the app feels like a game. It literally feels like checking TikTok, for better or worse. The app constantly rewards you for showing up, so your consistency builds naturally.
This is one of the biggest reasons I’ve stuck with Duolingo Max for two years. I haven’t missed a single day.
But why Max? Well, the video call feature helps a lot.
The Video Call Feature Has Helped Me Have Real Conversations
I like the regular lessons that you can get with the free version or with SuperFor sure, it’s helpful.
But with the video call feature, I’ve been able to have real conversations and to test out the vocab that I’m learning.
The way the app works is you have lesson after lesson, with many of them being different styles. So every 3-4 lessons, it will suggest (but not require) you to do a video call. Let’s say I just learned a bunch of vocab words related to the beach, well when I do a video call, often the questions will be related to that set of vocab.
Multipliers and Quests Incentivize You to Do Video Calls
Again, to Duolingo’s strength: making practice languages a game. Often, there are “daily quests” where if you do one video call, you’ll get a 2x multiplier. Or if you do two video calls, you’ll get a 3x multiplier. I’m a sucker for this, and it means I practice more.
The Video Call Feature Has Problems, But It Has Improved a Lot: Problems It H
At first, it was very clunky. When it first launched, I thought it was just okay. But two years later, it’s improved.
Sometimes Lily Asks You The Same Questions Over and Over
I had a glitch for several weeks where every video call Lily asked me the same questions about what I eat for breakfast. I stopped doing video calls for a bit, and I’m sure Duolingo lost subscribers over this.
The way around this is to go to the video call options that are in the section with the other quests.
Sometimes The Chat Bot Cut Me Off, Sometimes It Wouldn’t Register What I Was Saying
Sometimes it wouldn’t register what I said, or it would cut me off. I think they’ve fixed this now because you have to press a button to start and stop talking, so you can take your time formulating your sentences.
They’ve Added the Ability to Review Your Video Chats
A few months ago, they also added a feature where it reviews the transcript of your conversation and tells you what you said correctly and how you can sound more natural.
This is a really nice feature. It’s way more helpful now.
You can see what it looks like in these screenshots.
I Never Know How Long the Chat Will Be, and That’s Annoying
Sometimes they’ll be less than two minutes. Sometimes Lily will keep asking me questions for over 5 minutes.
If you’re new to a course, the video chats are a lot shorter. I briefly started doing Portuguese (before they extended the Spanish to French course), and those were less than one minute.
But once you start getting up there, they get longer. Often over three minutes.
Yes, You Could Just Use ChatGPT for Free. But I Just Won’t.
I’ve had the thought that I could do the same video call practice that I do on Duolingo Max with ChatGPT for free.
This takes me back to the reason to use Duolingo in the first place: it makes learning a game which helps you stay consistent.
Could I practice speaking French with ChatGPT? Is that the logical thing to do? Would I learn just as much? The answer to all of these things is yes.
But I’m a human being. I have a monkey brain. I like streaks and bright colors and gems and friend quests and diamond division tournaments. I pay for and use Duolingo Max because I know I will practice it every day.
Use the Sunk Cost Fallacy to My Advantage
There’s also something to be said for paying for something.
When I pay for something, I’m far more likely to use it. It’s using the sunk cost fallacy to your advantage. If I’ve spent money on Duolingo Max, I’m not going to let my subscription go to waste.
The Quality of Duolingo Max Depends on What Course You’re Taking
Beware: depending on your course, you may get more or fewer features.
For example, I have my main language set to Spanish. That’s because from Spanish, it’s much easier to learn other Romance languages, like French.
My girlfriend, whose account is in English and does Spanish lessons, got access to Duolingo Max first, and to this day has more features than me.
For the Spanish Speakers Learning French Course, I Still Don’t Get All of the Features
Not every course even has Duolingo Max. If you have your base language set to something that’s not English, you’re less likely to have it.
I Have a Family Plan, and It’s a Decent Price
As for pricing, I have the family plan, which costs $240 per year. That’s split between four people: myself, my sister, my girlfriend, and my exchange student brother in Spain (who’s learning Japanese). You can add up to five.
That means for just five bucks per month on average, I get access to Duolingo Max. Definitely worth it.
Duolingo’s pricing does seem a bit hidden. Here’s what it is, at least on my app.
- Super: $13/month or $84/year for an individual. $120/year for a family plan (up to five people)
- Max: $30/month or $168/year for an individual plan, and $240/year for a family plan.
I will say, $30/month for an individual definitely sounds like a lot. I’m not sure if I would pay it for that, but if you get it for a year, it’s a much better price.
How’s My French? It’s Not Bad, But I Need Real-World Practice Too
As I wrote about in my article on the Catalan Duolingo course, I view Duolingo the way I view nutritional supplements. They’re helpful. They give you that push to stay consistent. But no app or video call with an AI chatbot is a substitute for real conversations with speakers.
My flaw with French is that, unlike when I learned Spanish and Catalan, I haven’t gone out of my way to get real-world practice.
Duolingo, with all the upgrades in the world, will never be enough to learn a language. And that’s okay. Learning our native language was one of the most fundamental parts of who we are, how we think, and the lens through which we view the world. It’s ridiculous to expect a chatbot on your phone to replicate this intimacy that’s such a fundamental part of being human.
So if you have the budget for it and you want to practice every day, I recommend getting Duolingo Max.
Great article.