The iOS version of Duolingo will get paid plans in the future. It is a new way for the app to make money.
Duolingo subscription
Duolingo, the popular app that lets you learn a new language, has introduced subscriptions. They can already be found in the Android app, but are also coming to iOS. A monthly subscription costs 9.99 euros and it has two advantages. Firstly, all ads disappear in the app and secondly, you can download lessons so that you can also learn offline. In addition, Duolingo emphasizes that subscribers to Duolingo Plus, as the service is called, with their contribution ‘help millions of people around the world to learn’.
Lessons remain free
A spokesperson for Duolingo shows TechCrunch know that the subscriptions are completely optional. “The lessons are always free.” However, it is an opportunity for the company to earn money and (almost) get out of the costs this year.
There are considerable costs involved in developing the app and keeping it live. A year ago, CEO Luis von Ahn said the company would start advertising and in-app purchases. At the time, Duolingo spent about $ 42,000 a day maintaining servers, paying employees, and more operational activities. That amount will not have shrunk since then.
Subscriptions required
Von Ahn wrote that he doesn’t like advertisements either, but that it is necessary to keep the service running. Duolingo’s mission is to ‘provide free language lessons to the whole world’ and the company is not abandoning that. In addition to the fact that users buy away advertisements and receive offline lessons, the subscription is primarily an expression of support for this initiative. In addition, investors in the app (from 2011, this is an amount of about 84 million in total) probably also want to see money back.
It is not yet known when the subscription option for Duolingo for the iOS app will come. The app can be downloaded for free via the link below.