Memrise vs Duolingo: Which One Should you Choose?

When you are learning the language it is very important for you to understand which platform to choose. Whether you are learning French, Arabic, or Latin, it is very important to choose the right platform. When you are choosing the platform the first thing that you must understand is why you are learning the language. After that, you must decide which platform to choose. The two most important platforms in the language learning journey are Duolingo and Memrise. To help you decide which platform you should choose, here I have given a complete guide on Memrise vs Duolingo.

Quick Takeaways

• Duolingo is a platform on which you can learn various languages to learn while sitting at your home.
• Memrise is a similar platform that helps you to learn the language with extra grammar explanations and videos.
• If you are a person who loves to get grammar explanations then you would enjoy Memrise rather than Duolingo.
• If your main goal is to have a simple conversation with a native speaker, you can definitely give it a try on the Duolingo platform.
• There is a paid subscription plan for both platforms and if you want to use it you can always go for the Memrise platform. It will help you to get new lessons and also more videos of native speakers.
• Duolingo is a platform that has more than a hundred languages. Whereas if we talk about the Memrise platform, you can get around 30 languages.

However, you must read till the end so that you get a better understanding of the difference between Memrise vs Duolingo.

What is Duolingo?

Duolingo is a platform on which you can learn any language like French or Arabic, easily without paying any single penny. On this platform, you get a lot of different exercises that help you to learn the language in a more fun manner. The courses on this platform are developed in a way that you can get fluency at an intermediate level. 

What is the Memrise platform?

Memrise is again a language learning app that majorly focuses on increasing your vocabulary knowledge. This is a platform that will provide you with various flashcards that will help you in boosting up your language knowledge. In general, this platform will help you to increase your vocabulary knowledge and help you with little grammar explanations.

Although there are many platforms like iTalki, Preply, etc, further we will help you to understand the difference between Duolingo and Memrise better.

Memrise vs Duolingo: What is the Difference?

The following points show the main difference between the platforms-

1. Lesson plans

Whenever you are learning a new language you must know what the lessons look like on both of the platforms. The lessons on both of the platforms are short and you usually get about 5 to 10 minutes of lessons. If we talk about Duolingo, you must remember that there are a lot of exercises like hit drill, listening, reading, writing, etc. All these lessons are easy to understand and it will help you to learn the language properly. All these exercises are at different levels and help you to boost your language knowledge.

On the other hand, if we talk about memrise lessons, they typically start with short videos that feature local speaking in the targeted language. It means that you will get short videos of native speakers speaking in the language you are learning. In these videos you will be getting an introduction to new version faces in de target language that will help you to boost your language knowledge.

On this Memrise, you can also adjust your preferences which will help you to decide how many long lessons you want. If you are interested in keeping the lesson short then you can keep the review session at 10. However, if you want to increase the session then you can increase the settings to 50 words or phrases per session.

2. Pricing

Both platforms have free versions as well as the paid version. When you use the free version of Duolingo on the mobile app, you will see that there is a heart system in which you only get five chances to make up a mistake while practicing. Additionally, you will also see a lot of ads that come while you are using the platform. However, when you take up the subscription plan of Duolingo you get rid of these unnecessary features. The subscription plan on this platform is known as Super Duolingo. The cost for it starts from $6.99 per month when taking an annual subscription to 12.99 per month.

On the other hand, if we talk about Memrise platform, the subscription plan starts from $14.99 per month. If you take the annual or lifetime subscription plan, the cost for it is $89.99 and $1999.99 respectively. One of the major points that you must remember is that both the apps have free content in them and you main not necessarily need to pay the subscription plan. Also if you really want to spend money then go for Memrise platform and not for Duolingo.

The main reason behind it is that when you take up the pet subscription on the Duolingo platform it does not give you any extra learning benefit. Whereas when you buy the subscription plan on the Memrise platform, it will help you to unlock new lessons and also offer you more to learn. Also if you are not satisfied with the features that you get on the paid version, you may get your money back from the platform.

3. Number of languages

Both platforms are well known for teaching languages to the students. Whether you are using Duolingo or Memrise platform you will be able to learn the language. If you talk about Duolingo there are more than 100 courses for 40 different languages that you can take up. Some of the popular languages that are available on this platform are Spanish,  Russian, Latin, etc. On the other hand, if we talk about the Memrise platform, the popular languages that you can get are Tagalog, ASL, Latin, etc. Before choosing the platform, you must find out if the chosen language is on the platform or not.

4. Vocabulary

Vocabulary is one of the major parts of learning a new language. Without vocabulary, you cannot master in new language as you need to know the various words in detail. If you also want to boost your vocabulary knowledge, then choosing Duolingo will not give you much benefit. Memrise is a platform that helps to learn the language in the form of flash cards. You will be getting various flashcards in which there will be different terms that you can learn. It is in fact one of the best ways to revise the content you have studied so far.

5. How they work

Duolingo is a platform that follows a similar course structure for all the courses available on the platform. This structure was earlier known as the Duolingo tree. In this course, you will be getting various gamified exercises and also a spaced repetition system. Although you get similar content on Memrise, there are more features that add value to your study routine like videos or developing your content. In addition to that you are also able to create your own course and add various flash cards on this platform. This feature is not available for the Duolingo platform. Another advantage of using Memrise over Duolingo is that you do not get any heart system for it.

6. Grammar explanations

The next important thing while learning a new language is to get various grammar explanations. If you are a person who learns the language by following the grammar rules then you may get confused on the Duolingo platform. The simple reason behind it is that there are no more grammar explanations for various concepts on the platform. On the other hand, for memrise, you are not limited due to it. Although the grammar explanations are short, you can get explanations for everything on this platform.

What are the benefits and drawbacks of Duolingo?

Further, we have discussed the benefits and drawbacks of using Duolingo-

Benefits

The following are the benefits If you are using Duolingo-

• If you are a fresher or on a tight budget then this platform is for you. It is because this platform is designed for getting the intermediate-level language.
• There is an accurate speech recognition technology that helps in boosting up speaking skills.
• You can regularly review the sessions with the help of different course content.
• You will be getting a lot of exercises like matching the following start will help you to stay engaged in the lessons.

Drawbacks

The following are the drawbacks of learning the language with the help of the Duolingo platform-

• The subscription plan of this platform does not add up much in the learning journey.
• There is very little grammar in the lessons on this platform.
• If you are looking for a platform that helps you get the advanced level of content then again you may not want to use this platform.

What are the benefits and drawbacks of Memrise?

Further, we have discussed the benefits and drawbacks of using the Memrise platform-

Benefits

The following are the benefits If you are using the platform-

• You get a lot of video clips of native speakers on this platform.
• There are a lot of user-created courses that you can take to learn the language.
• You can keep up the duration of the lessons according to your learning schedule.
• The subscription plan offers you a lot of more benefits like unlocking more content. 

Drawbacks

The following are the drawbacks of learning the language with the help of the Memrise platform-

• How it will work will depend upon the device you are using.
• There are fewer lessons that are based on verbal practice.
• The free version is very limited and you do not get many features from it.

Memrise vs Duolingo: Which one should you choose?

Which one should you choose will always depend upon your personal goal and why you are learning the language. If you are interested in learning the language just for normal conversations then you can use both platforms. However, if you are interested in only getting fluency at the intermediate level then you must choose the Duolingo platform. It is because the official website of this platform also states that you can become fluent at the intermediate level on this platform. Both platforms have free versions as well as paid subscription plans.

If you are not on a budget and thinking about buying the subscription plan then you must choose to pay for Memrise platform. It is because to subscription plan of this platform gives you more features like extra lessons that will help you to learn the language in more better way. If we talk about Duolingo, it does not help you learn the language when you take up the subscription plan.

Conclusion 

If you are a language learner, you must be confused between the two main platforms for learning the language which are Memrise and Duolingo. Both platforms are very useful in learning the language and you can get free as well as paid subscriptions of both platforms. Of course, the free version has some limitations and therefore there is a paid version of both platforms.

If you do not have a limited budget and are looking for a paid subscription plan then you may choose the Memrise platform. Memrise platform is a platform where you get to unlock additional lessons that help you in learning the language better. Also if you want to increase your vocabulary knowledge then you may again choose this platform.

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