Duolingo App Development Cost

eLearning mobile applications have made it simple for the audience worldwide to pick up and learn a new language. As per Statista, the global eLearning app market is expected to reach almost $400 billion by the year 2026.

Moreover, in February 2022, the leading language learning mobile apps generated almost $27 million in in-app purchase revenues from users worldwide, with market leader Duolingo accounting for half of the total, with $13.38 million in revenues generated during the examined month.

According to Statista, “Duolingo went public on Nasdaq with a valuation of nearly five billion U.S. dollars, becoming one of the few publicly traded digital language learning companies.”

These figures have ultimately convinced education businesses to work on eLearning applications which is why the most crucial question of the decade revolves around Duolingo app development cost.

The development cost of an app like Duolingo can range from $25,000-150,000, or more based on multiple factors and features.

Now, this article familiarizes you with the various factors contributing to the final cost of Duolingo application development, the whereabouts of how to make an app like Duolingo, and much more.

So without further ado, let’s begin with a quick overview:

About Duolingo- The App Ruling the Language Learning Domain

Duolingo is a language-learning platform offering over 95 courses in nearly 35 different languages. The platform, founded in 2011 by Luis von Ahn, has made a valuation of $88.3 million and gained 500M user acquisitions so far.

The application received the credit of being the first educational app to receive the fame of ‘iPhone App of the Year’ in 2013 and ‘Most Downloaded App’ on the Play Store for 2013 and 2014. It has also been rewarded with many other titles, including being announced as one of Forbes’s “Next Billion-Dollar Startups 2019”. What makes Duolingo superior to other language learning apps is its ability to solve user issues. Let’s take a look there:

Language Learning Issues that Duolingo App Solves

The digital language learning industry is changing at a fast pace since the globalization of the economy and the development of cost-effective innovation-based mobile applications. Worldwide, the Duolingo language learning app and website have made the learning process easier and easily accessible for users.

How? The below factors answer your question:

1. Boring learning process

Whether you pick a book or turn towards some mobile education platform, the learning process is hectic and uninteresting.

Duolingo added fun to learning and made users more excited to achieve their desired goals via Gamification.

2. Low credibility of app content

With most of such applications running on software and algorithms, it was a question for users to pick these apps over real tutors or not.

Duolingo solved this issue by ensuring that the content delivered to users is not just checked by AI-based algorithms, but also verified by users. For this, the app looks into the answer offered by users and validates the ones selected by the majority.

Not only this, but the application has also initiated a certification process, making you leverage the same perks as offline learning programs. Something that again adds to the benefits of language learning apps like Duolingo.

3. No customization

Above all, the existing web and mobile learning portals were not offering any personalized services. Users were compelled to go through the same journey as others, irrespective of Duolingo app development cost whether they had the same goal or not.

But, with the advent of Duolingo, the situation took a 180-degree turn. The application came loaded with personalization elements, making it easier for users to plan their own journeys and enjoy.

With this covered, Duolingo has crossed the revenue of $6 billion every year. Also, the number is estimated to grow by around $8.7 billion by the end of the year 2025.

Overview of the Duolingo App Development Cost

If you wish to develop it for a single platform like Android or iOS, the development cost of an app like Duolingo can range from $25,000- 100,000.

However, If you want to develop an app like Duolingo for a hybrid platform, then the app development cost might range from $80,000- $150,000.

Now, this is just a rough estimate of your Duolingo app cost. The range can relatively move higher or lower depending on the type of advanced tech stack, functionalities, and features used. Apart from that, there are distinctive factors that affect mobile app development costs, which is why you need to consider a breakdown of all factors.

Let’s begin with understanding the factors that contribute directly to the Duolingo app cost.

Factors that Contribute to Duolingo App Development Cost

The cost estimation of Duolingo like app development may vary from one education app development service to another. Moreover, the primary factors listed below also play a vital role:

1. App platform

The choice of building an application for Android, iOS, or both makes a difference in the cost value. This is because the required tech stack, app complexity, and other factors vary per the platform involved.

2. Frontend development

While some programming languages and frontend development environments are open-source and secure, others demand a higher fee to use. Also, a few of them do not offer customization in terms of tech stack. All these factors again create a significant difference in the language learning mobile app development cost.

3. Backend development

When it comes to developing education and mobile web platforms, backend development languages, frameworks, hosting servers, etc. add to the cost of the Duolingo app.

For example, when you choose microservices architecture over monolithic, you get better futuristic services but at a higher cost. Likewise, the use of Node.js costs less when compared to that of Java.

Likewise, when you do not ask your hired development team to pay for backend hosting services, you get an opportunity to reduce app development costs.

4. Design Process

Again, the cost to design a mobile app also affects the overall cost of creating an app. So, it is imperative to be familiar with the factor that influences the cost of the Duolingo app, which includes not having a clear vision of what design elements to use, what design tools to prefer, the use of animation content, and more.

Besides, various companies charge separately for user persona, UX research, and user journey mapping. In such a scenario, it is better to hire an e-learning app development company that does not charge separately for the research and guesswork.

5. Testing

Last but not least, the tools and efforts related to the quality assurance process also reflect the difference in the overall cost of creating an app.

Here’s an exhibit of the above factors;

Now, another Duolingo app development cost breakdown depends on the features you integrate into your eLearning app development.

Top Six Features to Include in Duolingo-Like App Development

To create an app like Duolingo, you need to implement an advanced set of features to ensure high engagement and scalability. These features are associated with up to 60% of the final cost of a Duolingo-like app.

Check out the top features required to build an educational app.

1. Profile and settings

The foremost feature to consider while developing a Duolingo-like education application is Profile and Settings.

Here, users can save their personal details and see all the activities they have performed so far. Also, they can make some changes to the shared content or its privacy, ultimately enjoying a safe and satisfying experience on the platform.

2. Course and levels

Here, users are offered an opportunity to pick from 100 courses related to 40 languages and decide the pace at which they wish to learn. This means that they can choose if they want to learn on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis.

3. Language practice and revision

This is the feature that defines the actual purpose of the application. Here, users come across different speaking and listening exercises, alongside those requiring choosing from multiple options or translating the displayed content.

4. Push notification

Push Notification is yet another feature that you must consider while creating an app like Duolingo. This feature reminds users to complete their course if they miss out on any. Also, it contributes in terms of motivating users to leave their laziness and focusing on achieving their targeted goal soon.

5. Gamification

Gamification is one of the core features of the Duolingo-clone app.

This feature deals with adding gaming elements to your application and is used in different forms in the application. Two of the prime areas of usage are:

• Experience and Levels – Gamified elements, like Animation and Sound effects, are used to make the screen super engaging.
• Achievement and Badges – Whenever you complete any course or task, you are awarded a badge and associated items. Also, there’s a leaderboard screen where you can see all of your achievements and feel motivated.

6. Social media integration

Last but not least, the Duolingo application offers users an opportunity to log in via their existing social media accounts.

While this feature impresses users looking to learn a new language or polish their skills in one they already know, what makes them pick Duolingo over Babbel or any other e-learning app is their UX strategy.

While we are done with the required features that affect the final Duolingo app development cost, you must take into account the steps to develop a successful Duolingo like education app.

Source: How Much Does Duolingo like App Development Cost?