Score
- Duolingo
- 5
- Pimsleur Better here
- 8.5
App comparisons
Duolingo vs Pimsleur for Italian learners
- Score: Duolingo 5, Pimsleur 8.5.
- Pricing: Duolingo 12.00 US$, Pimsleur 575.00 $.
- Platforms: Duolingo Web, iOS, Android; Pimsleur Web, iOS, Android.
Decision
Pricing
- Duolingo Better here
- Monthly: 12.00 US$; Free trial: Available; Credit card needed; 14 days
- Pimsleur
- Lifetime: 575.00 $; Free trial: Available; No credit card needed; 0 days
Best suited for
- Duolingo
- Beginners looking to practice Italian vocabulary and grammar in a very gamified environment.
- Pimsleur
- Beginners and language learners looking to improve their pronunciation skills in a structured, gradual manner.
Pros
- Duolingo
- Fun and engaging design, Intuitive website navigation, Effective spaced repetition
- Pimsleur
- Effective audio-based lessons, Speaking and pronunciation practice, Simple, distraction-free interface
Details
Duolingo
Duolingo Italian Review
- Duolingo scores 5/10; strongest area: User experience, weakest area: Course quality.
- Best suited for: Beginners looking to practice Italian vocabulary and grammar in a very gamified environment.
- Main upside: Fun and engaging design; main tradeoff: Limited speaking exercises.
Made by: Duolingo, Inc.
Pimsleur
Pimsleur Italian Review
- Pimsleur scores 8.5/10; strongest area: User experience, weakest area: Pricing.
- Best suited for: Beginners and language learners looking to improve their pronunciation skills in a structured, gradual manner.
- Main upside: Effective audio-based lessons; main tradeoff: Limited interactive speaking tools.
Made by: Simon & Schuster, LLC. Pimsleur®
At a glance
DuolingoPimsleur
Concept
Duolingo
Duolingo provides a highly gamified language learning experience, but the focus on actual language acquisition often takes a back seat.
Pimsleur
Pimsleur Italian delivers a well-designed, audio-driven learning experience, although it doesn\'t take full advantage of AI tools for speaking practice.
Concept
Duolingo
Duolingo provides a highly gamified language learning experience, but the focus on actual language acquisition often takes a back seat.
Pimsleur
Pimsleur Italian delivers a well-designed, audio-driven learning experience, although it doesn\'t take full advantage of AI tools for speaking practice.
Made by
Duolingo
Duolingo, Inc.
Pimsleur
Simon & Schuster, LLC. Pimsleur®
Made by
Duolingo
Duolingo, Inc.
Pimsleur
Simon & Schuster, LLC. Pimsleur®
Languages taught
Duolingo
Arabic, Chinese, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Swahili, Swedish, Turkish, Yiddish, Zulu
Pimsleur
Albanian, Arabic, Armenian, Chinese, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dari, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Lithuanian, Mandarin Chinese, Norwegian, Pashto, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Punjabi, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Swahili, Swedish, Tagalog, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Urdu, Vietnamese
Languages taught
Duolingo
Arabic, Chinese, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Swahili, Swedish, Turkish, Yiddish, Zulu
Pimsleur
Albanian, Arabic, Armenian, Chinese, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dari, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Lithuanian, Mandarin Chinese, Norwegian, Pashto, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Punjabi, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Swahili, Swedish, Tagalog, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Urdu, Vietnamese
Platforms
Duolingo
Web, iOS, Android
Pimsleur
Web, iOS, Android
Platforms
Duolingo
Web, iOS, Android
Pimsleur
Web, iOS, Android
Levels
Duolingo
(A0) Total beginner, (A1) Beginner, (A2) Elementary, (B1) Intermediate, (B2) Upper-intermediate, (C1) Advanced
Pimsleur
(A0) Total beginner, (A1) Beginner, (A2) Elementary, (B1) Intermediate, (B2) Upper-intermediate, (C1) Advanced
Levels
Duolingo
(A0) Total beginner, (A1) Beginner, (A2) Elementary, (B1) Intermediate, (B2) Upper-intermediate, (C1) Advanced
Pimsleur
(A0) Total beginner, (A1) Beginner, (A2) Elementary, (B1) Intermediate, (B2) Upper-intermediate, (C1) Advanced
Duolingo
Pros
- Fun and engaging design
- Intuitive website navigation
- Effective spaced repetition
- Motivating achievements
Cons
- Limited speaking exercises
- Restricted lesson navigation
- Overemphasis on translation
Pimsleur
Pros
- Effective audio-based lessons
- Speaking and pronunciation practice
- Simple, distraction-free interface
- Gradual learning pace
Cons
- Limited interactive speaking tools
- Repetitive practice exercises
Features
Feature checks
DuolingoPimsleur
Spaced repetition
Duolingo
Partial
Pimsleur
Partial
Spaced repetition
Duolingo
Partial
Pimsleur
Partial
Customization
Duolingo
Partial
Pimsleur
Partial
Customization
Duolingo
Partial
Pimsleur
Partial
Focus on learning
Duolingo
Partial
Pimsleur
Partial
Focus on learning
Duolingo
Partial
Pimsleur
Partial
Personalization
Duolingo
Partial
Pimsleur
Partial
Personalization
Duolingo
Partial
Pimsleur
Partial
Sentence accuracy
Duolingo
Partial
Pimsleur
Partial
Sentence accuracy
Duolingo
Partial
Pimsleur
Partial
Sentence relevance
Duolingo
Partial
Pimsleur
Partial
Sentence relevance
Duolingo
Partial
Pimsleur
Partial
Variety and depth
Duolingo
Partial
Pimsleur
Partial
Variety and depth
Duolingo
Partial
Pimsleur
Partial
Audio quality
Duolingo
Partial
Pimsleur
Partial
Audio quality
Duolingo
Partial
Pimsleur
Partial
Speaker's quality
Duolingo
Partial
Pimsleur
Partial
Speaker's quality
Duolingo
Partial
Pimsleur
Partial
Speaking practice
Duolingo
Partial
Pimsleur
Partial
Speaking practice
Duolingo
Partial
Pimsleur
Partial
Ease of use
Duolingo
Partial
Pimsleur
Partial
Ease of use
Duolingo
Partial
Pimsleur
Partial
Interface and design
Duolingo
Partial
Pimsleur
Partial
Interface and design
Duolingo
Partial
Pimsleur
Partial
Performance
Duolingo
Partial
Pimsleur
Partial
Performance
Duolingo
Partial
Pimsleur
Partial
Grammar notes
Duolingo
Yes
Pimsleur
No
Grammar notes
Duolingo
Yes
Pimsleur
No
Learning path
Duolingo
Yes
Pimsleur
Yes
Learning path
Duolingo
Yes
Pimsleur
Yes
Speech recognition
Duolingo
Yes
Pimsleur
Yes
Speech recognition
Duolingo
Yes
Pimsleur
Yes
User-generated courses
Duolingo
No
Pimsleur
No
User-generated courses
Duolingo
No
Pimsleur
No
Offline access
Duolingo
Yes
Pimsleur
No
Offline access
Duolingo
Yes
Pimsleur
No