Anki
Duolingo
| Feature | Anki | Duolingo |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free / from $24.99/mo | Free / from $9.99/mo |
| Free Plan | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Rating | 4.5 / 5 | 4.6 / 5 |
| Best For | medical-students, language-learners, researchers, lifelong-learners | language-learners, students, travelers, beginners |
| Founded | 2006 | 2011 |
| Spaced Repetition | ✓ | ✗ |
| Custom Cards | ✓ | ✗ |
| Add Ons | ✓ | ✗ |
| Shared Decks | ✓ | ✗ |
| Statistics | ✓ | ✗ |
| Sync | ✓ | ✗ |
| Lessons | ✗ | ✓ |
| Stories | ✗ | ✓ |
| Podcasts | ✗ | ✓ |
| Ai Chat | ✗ | ✓ |
| Leaderboards | ✗ | ✓ |
| Streaks | ✗ | ✓ |
| Placement Tests | ✗ | ✓ |
✓ Anki Pros
- Free desktop/Android
- Spaced repetition
- Highly customizable
- Huge shared deck library
✗ Anki Cons
- Steep learning curve
- Dated interface
- iOS app expensive
✓ Duolingo Pros
- Completely free core experience
- Gamification makes learning addictive
- AI conversation practice
- 40+ language courses
✗ Duolingo Cons
- Limited for advanced learners
- Ads on free tier
- Grammar explanations can be minimal
The Verdict
Anki is built for medical students and language learners, with a focus on spaced-repetition and custom-cards. Duolingo targets language learners and students and leads with lessons and stories.
On pricing, Duolingo is the clear winner for budget-conscious users — starting at $9.99/mo compared to $24.99/mo for Anki. That $14.999999999999998/mo difference adds up quickly for growing teams.
Both offer free plans, so you can test each with your real workflow before committing to a subscription.
Feature-wise, Duolingo offers broader built-in capabilities (7 features vs 6), while Anki takes a more focused approach — which can mean a simpler, faster onboarding experience.
Both tools are a solid fit for language learners — in those cases, the decision often comes down to workflow style and how your team prefers to organize work.
This is a genuinely close comparison. If you can, sign up for both free trials (where available) and run a one-week test with your actual team tasks before deciding.