What does it cost to build an app like Duolingo?
Sample range · freelance
$31k–$69k
An agency would be $55k–$153k for the same scope. This is a pre-computed sample, not your estimate. Your version is probably smaller.
Where the money goes
Why this kind of app is expensive
A lesson engine has to grade open-ended answers, not just multiple choice, and adapt difficulty per learner without feeling punitive.
Speech recognition for pronunciation is a real machine-learning integration, not a checkbox feature.
Gamification — streaks, leagues, hearts — is what brings people back daily, so it is retention infrastructure, not decoration, and content has to exist for every language pair before the app is useful at all.
The cheapest honest version of this idea is text-only exercises, no speech recognition, no leaderboards at launch. That lands nearer $21k–$47k.
Your app is not Duolingo. Get the range for what you are actually building.
Not open yet
Launching this weekend.
The free range, the $79 spec and the $199 execution pack all open then. Nothing to sign up for — come back and paste your idea.
Same maths, other archetypes