Alternative to Duolingo

A free Duolingo alternativeno ads, no energy bar

Parla keeps the five-minute loop that makes a language stick: a path of short lessons, quick exercises with tiles, pairs and listening, a daily streak and XP. Turn on unlimited hearts in Settings and a mistake never stops your lesson. There are no ads and no account. It is a small course, honestly, and we say how small below.

ParlaLearn a language in five-minute bite-sized lessons, free.

Get Parla free Choose its name and colour

Free, with no account. Pick its name and colour first if you like.

Free forever
No account
Works offline
Interface in English
Spanish, French, German

Parla

Compare

Duolingo and Parlaside by side

What you need	Duolingo	Parla
Short lessons on a path, streak and XP	Yes	Yes
Tap tiles, match pairs, listen and type	Yes	Yes
Mistakes that stop you	Hearts or energy on the free plan	Optional: unlimited hearts in Settings
Ads between lessons	Yes, on the free plan	None
Leagues	Yeswith real learners	Partlya weekly league with simulated rivals
Languages	40+	3: Spanish, French, German, for English speakers
Course length	Years of content per language	4 units and 16 lessons per language
Native-speaker audio	Yes	Partlyyour device's built-in voices
Speaking exercises	Yes	No
Video calls and AI explanations	Partlypaid plans	No
Account needed	To keep your progress	None
Price	Free with ads; Super about $12.99 a month	$0, forever

What Parla does not do

Parla is a starter course: four units per language, for English speakers. It will not take you to fluency on its own.
Only Spanish, French and German today.
Audio uses your phone's or computer's own voices; if none is installed for a language, listening exercises are replaced by translation.
No speaking exercises, no stories, no real-player leagues, no AI features.
Progress stays on one device.

Price

What Duolingo costsand what Parla costs

Every Duolingo course is free, with ads and a limit on mistakes. Super removes both.

Plan	Price	What you get
Free	$0	All courses, with ads; hearts or energy limit how much you can practise
Super	About $12.99 a month or $83.99 a year	No ads, unlimited energy
Family	About $119.99 a year	Super for up to 6 people

Source: apps.apple.com · dealnews.com · blog.duolingo.com, checked on 16 October 2026. Duolingo does not publish fixed prices on its website, and the amount shown varies by account and country; some users see Super at $16.99 a month. The Max plan appears closed to new subscribers.

$0No plan, no trial, no card, nothing to cancel.

Parla has no plan to upgrade to.

Why people switch

Why people leave Duolingo

The energy bar
Since 2025 Duolingo has been replacing hearts with energy: every exercise costs a unit, and you wait, watch an ad or pay to refill. Many learners call it a cash grab.
Source: blog.duolingo.com · androidauthority.com
Ads between lessons
The free plan shows ads after lessons; removing them takes Super.
Source: dealnews.com
Data used to track you
Duolingo's App Store privacy label lists data used to track you across other companies' apps and websites.
Source: apps.apple.com

Questions

Before you switch

Is Duolingo really free?

Yes, every course is free, but with ads and a limit on mistakes (hearts, or energy on newer versions). Super, from about $12.99 a month, removes both.