Last updated: 27 September 2026; prices read on each company’s own site or app store listing that day. Written by Josh Hutcheson, OnlineCourseing editor. See our review methodology.
THE SHORT ANSWER
Bottom line: Use Duolingo as your main course: it is free, more structured and better at keeping you coming back. Add Memrise if your problem is understanding real people and sounding natural, because its native-speaker videos do that better than anything in Duolingo. If you can only pick one and want to pay for it, decide by whether listening or structure is your weak point.
- Pick Duolingo if: you are a beginner, want a free and complete course, or need the daily-habit mechanics
- Pick Memrise if: you understand the textbook but not real speakers, or want to sound less like you are reading
- Pick neither if: you want grammar explained in depth (Babbel) or real conversation (a tutor)
- Money: we earn nothing from Memrise or Duolingo
Some links on this page are affiliate links: if you buy through them we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. It never changes the verdict, and we name options we earn nothing from when they are the better fit.
Memrise and Duolingo started out as similar vocabulary apps, and they have grown in different directions. Duolingo became a complete, gamified course. Memrise rebuilt itself around video of native speakers, so that the words you learn come with the voices, accents and speed you will actually hear. That difference decides which one you should use.
We read both companies’ product and plan pages on 27 September 2026. Neither pays us anything.
Memrise vs Duolingo at a glance
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| Memrise | Duolingo | |
|---|---|---|
| Core idea | Learn from short videos of real native speakers | Gamified course: short drills, streaks, challenges |
| Free version | Limited | Full course, with ads and a mistake limit |
| Paid plan (27 Sep 2026) | PRO $24.99 a month; annual $61.99 and lifetime $99 shown as a timed sale | Super $83.99 a year (Google Play US) |
| Languages | Official courses in about 30, community content for many more | About 40 |
| Listening | Strongest feature: real accents and speed | Mostly recorded or synthetic audio in drills |
| Grammar | Grammar and verb drills on PRO | Built into the course, with short tips |
| Speaking | Record and compare; AI practice on PRO | Speech exercises; AI Roleplay and Video Call on Max |
| Motivation | Lighter game elements | Streaks, challenges, reminders |
| Best for | Listening and sounding natural | A complete free course and a daily habit |
How Memrise teaches
Memrise’s method has three steps, in its own words: hear it, learn it, copy it. You meet a word or phrase in a short clip of a real person saying it, practise recalling it, then record yourself and compare your version with theirs, paying attention to rhythm and stress rather than just the individual sounds. Memrise stresses that its phrases are checked by native speakers and that the aim is to sound natural rather than textbook.
The paid PRO plan adds AI conversation practice, grammar and verb drills and full access to its vocabulary, and removes ads. Community Word Lists and community-made courses extend it to many languages without an official course.
What Memrise is not is a complete grammar course. It will give you a lot of useful language and a good ear; it will not systematically take you through the structure of the language the way a full course does.
How Duolingo teaches
Duolingo is a complete beginner-to-intermediate course broken into short, game-like lessons: translate, match, tap the tiles, type what you hear, speak. It explains new structures briefly and relies on repetition for the rest. Its biggest strength is the habit: streaks, challenges and reminders are designed to get you back every day, and the full course is free.
Paying for Super removes ads and the limit on mistakes but does not add lessons; Max adds AI conversation features for five major languages. Our Super Duolingo cost guide covers each plan.
Listening and real-world speech
This is Memrise’s clear win. The most common complaint from people who have studied with apps is that they know plenty of words but cannot follow a real person speaking at normal speed. Memrise is built around that problem: every item comes with native speakers, often several, with different voices and accents. Duolingo’s audio does the job for drills but is not designed to train your ear for real conversation.
Structure and grammar
Duolingo wins here. It takes you through a planned sequence of units that build on each other, and grammar is part of the path. Memrise’s strength is vocabulary and phrases in context; PRO adds grammar and verb drills, but it is not a structured grammar course. If explanations are what you need, neither is ideal: Babbel explains the rules in English lesson by lesson (Babbel vs Duolingo).
Price
Duolingo’s full course is free. Duolingo publishes no price list and tests prices on users; the one labelled US price we found, on Google Play on 27 September 2026, was $83.99 a year for Super after a 14-day trial.
Memrise has a limited free version. Its plans page on 27 September 2026 listed PRO at $24.99 a month, with an annual plan at $61.99 and a lifetime plan at $99, both marked as a flash sale with a countdown timer (against reference prices of $299.88 and $329.99). We cannot tell from outside how often that sale runs, so treat the monthly price as the reliable one and any annual or lifetime price as an offer to check on the day. If the lifetime price is available when you buy, it is very good value for a tool you will keep using alongside other courses.
Using both together
Unlike most comparisons, this one has a good answer that includes both. Duolingo is a course and a habit; Memrise is an ear-training and vocabulary tool. A practical routine is ten minutes of Duolingo for structure and ten minutes of Memrise for listening, using the free tiers until you know which one you would miss. Pay for the one you would miss.
Which one for your goal?
| Your goal | Better pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Starting from zero, on a budget | Duolingo | A complete, free, structured course |
| A trip in the next two months | Memrise | Useful phrases heard from real people, the way you will hear them |
| Understanding films, podcasts, real conversations | Memrise | Real accents and natural speed are the whole point |
| A school or work exam | Neither alone | You need systematic grammar and reading; add Babbel or a course |
| Keeping a daily habit going | Duolingo | Streaks and reminders are its core design |
| Sounding less like a textbook | Memrise | Record-and-compare against native speakers |
| A less common language | Check both | Duolingo covers about 40; Memrise has community content for many more |
What each gets wrong
Memrise
- Not a full course. Excellent for phrases and listening, thin on systematic grammar.
- The free version is limited, and the best features (AI practice, grammar drills, all vocabulary) are on PRO.
- Pricing is promotion-driven. Countdown sales make it hard to know the real annual price in advance.
- Community content varies. Official courses are checked by native speakers; community lists are not held to the same standard.
Duolingo
- Weak ear training. You can finish units and still not follow a real conversation.
- The game can become the goal. Protecting a streak is not the same as learning.
- Thin explanations. Short tips, then repetition.
- Limits and prices are tested. What you see on the free tier, and what Super costs, can differ from other learners.
A 30-day routine using both free versions
- Days 1–10: one Duolingo lesson and one Memrise session a day, about ten minutes each.
- Days 11–20: keep both, and each time Memrise teaches a phrase you already met in Duolingo, say it aloud the way the Memrise speaker does.
- Days 21–30: notice which app you open first when you only have five minutes. That is the one to pay for, if you pay for either.
Who should choose Duolingo
- complete beginners who want a free, structured course
- anyone who needs streaks and reminders to keep studying
- learners who want one app that covers reading, writing, listening and speaking at a basic level
Who should choose Memrise
- learners who can read the language but struggle to understand real speakers
- anyone preparing for travel who wants to recognise and use real everyday phrases
- people who want to sound more natural, not just be understood
- Duolingo users looking for a second app that does something different
When neither is the answer
- You want the grammar explained: Babbel (Babbel review).
- You want to speak, and soon: a tutor on Preply or italki, or Pimsleur’s audio course (Pimsleur review).
- You want more options: our Duolingo alternatives guide sorts them by why you are looking.
Compare Babbel → Find a tutor on Preply →
Our verdict
Duolingo is the better main course for most people: free, structured and built to keep you going. Memrise is the better tool for the problem Duolingo leaves unsolved, which is understanding and sounding like real speakers. If you are choosing one, choose by your weak point: structure means Duolingo, listening means Memrise. If you can use both, use both, and pay only for the one you find you cannot do without.
Frequently asked questions
Is Memrise better than Duolingo?
They are good at different things. Memrise is better for listening and sounding natural: its lessons are built on short videos of real native speakers. Duolingo is better for structure, grammar coverage and keeping a daily habit, and its full course is free. Many learners get the most from using Duolingo as the main course and Memrise for listening and vocabulary.
Is Memrise free?
There is a limited free version. Memrise PRO adds AI conversation practice, grammar and verb drills, all vocabulary and no ads. On 27 September 2026 PRO was $24.99 a month; the plans page also showed an annual plan at $61.99 and a lifetime plan at $99 under a flash-sale countdown.
How much does Memrise cost compared with Duolingo?
Duolingo’s full course is free, and Super was $83.99 a year on the US Google Play store on 27 September 2026. Memrise PRO was $24.99 a month the same day, with annual ($61.99) and lifetime ($99) offers shown as a timed sale. Both companies change prices and promotions often, so check at checkout.
Which is better for speaking?
Memrise is the better listening and pronunciation tool: you hear real people and record yourself to compare. Its PRO plan and Duolingo’s Max tier both add AI conversation practice. Neither replaces talking to a person.
Can you use Memrise and Duolingo together?
Yes, and they complement each other better than most pairs: Duolingo for the structured course and daily habit, Memrise for real-world listening and vocabulary. Ten minutes of each a day is a reasonable combination.
Which has more languages?
Both cover a lot. Duolingo lists about 40 languages. Memrise has official courses in around 30 and community-made courses and word lists for many more; its homepage offers more than 145 additional languages.