PhrasiGo vs Duolingo · 2026

Duolingo decides what you learn. PhrasiGo lets you decide.

Add the sentences you will really say, hear them in a natural voice, practice them seven ways and talk them through with an AI tutor. Keep a streak that never drains an energy bar. Free, with no ads.

Get it on
Google Play
 See the comparison ↓
100% freeNo ads35 languagesNo account needed to start
Choose PhrasiGo if
  • You have a trip, a new job, a partner’s family or a move ahead and you need specific sentences, not a syllabus.
  • You want an AI conversation partner without paying for a top tier.
  • You are tired of ads, energy meters and being ranked against strangers.
  • You learn Hebrew, Arabic, Russian or another gendered language and want both forms of every sentence.
Duolingo still fits if
  • You want one very long, polished course in a single language and you enjoy the character-driven lessons.
  • Your language is one of the 40+ Duolingo offers that PhrasiGo does not yet.
  • You like competing with friends on a leaderboard; PhrasiGo’s leagues are against thresholds, not people.
  • You need an iPhone or desktop app today. PhrasiGo is on Android, with iOS coming.
$0
for everything in PhrasiGo, AI tutor included
≈$30/mo
Duolingo Max, where Video Call lives [6]
0
ads and energy meters in PhrasiGo

Side by side

PhrasiGo vs Duolingo, feature by feature

Both apps are free to start. The difference is what “free” buys you, and whether the course is theirs or yours.

Feature PhrasiGo Duolingo
Learn your own sentences ✓ Type any sentence. It is translated, spoken aloud, split word by word and saved for practice. ✗ Courses are fixed. There is no way to add your own phrases.
What free gets you ✓ Free. No paywall, no premium tier today. Fair-use limits: 100 new phrases and 200 speaking exercises a day, signed in. ◐ All courses, with ads and an Energy meter that drops one point per question, right or wrong. [2]
Ads ✓ No ads, no ad SDK in the app at all. ✗ Yes on the free tier; removed by Super. [1]
AI conversation practice ✓ Talk: 10 scenarios, A1–B1, briefed on your own saved phrases. 30 conversations a day signed in. $ Roleplay and Video Call with Lily are in Duolingo Max, for 7 languages from English. [5]
Spaced repetition ✓ FSRS-4.5 on every phrase, yours or the course’s. Switched on for everyone, nothing to configure. 7-day forecast. ◐ Half-Life Regression model behind the scenes; the fuller Practice Hub review is a Super feature. [7]
Streak freezes ✓ Start with 2, earn more by practicing. Applied automatically on a missed day. ◐ Equip up to 2; bought with gems or earned. [9]
Leagues ✓ 7 leagues, Bronze to Legend. You promote by clearing a weekly XP threshold; nobody is ranked against you. ◐ Weekly leagues Bronze to Diamond, ranked against other learners. [10]
Speaking practice ✓ Speech-checked word by word. A mumble is a free retry, never a false pass. ✓ Speaking exercises inside lessons.
Guided course ✓ Learning Journey: 13 subjects, A1–B2, 120 units of 8 sentences per pair, 35 pairs. Human-curated. ✓ Long, deep courses in 40+ languages. [3]
Masculine / feminine forms ✓ Every sentence is stored in both forms with a one-tap ♂/♀ toggle. Built for Hebrew, Arabic, Russian and friends. ✗ Sentences come as written in the course.
Works offline ✓ Saved phrases, their audio and your downloaded course work offline. Progress syncs when you are back. ◐ Lesson downloads are widely reported as a Super/Max feature; check Duolingo’s help for current terms.
Languages ✓ 35 languages to learn, any pair for your own phrases. App interface in 11 languages. ✓ 40+ languages. [3]
Platforms ◐ Android on Google Play today. iPhone version in testing, coming soon. ✓ iOS, Android and web.
Paid tiers ✓ None. $ Super $12.99/mo or $83.99–95.99/yr; Max about $30/mo. US App Store list prices. [3]

Bracketed numbers point to the sources at the bottom of this page. Duolingo details are as published on 2 September 2026; features and prices change, so check their site for today's terms.

Personalization

Your phrasebook is the curriculum

Duolingo’s famous odd sentences are a deliberate teaching device [11], but they are still Duolingo’s sentences. In PhrasiGo you type the line you needed yesterday and could not say. It comes back translated, spoken in a natural voice, split word by word so you can tap any word for its meaning, and stored in both gendered forms when the language has them.

Prefer to be guided? The Learning Journey is a human-curated trail through 13 subjects from A1 to B2, and it mixes your own phrases into course practice so the two never compete for your time.

  • 100 new phrases a day, signed in, at no cost
  • Both ♂ and ♀ forms, one tap apart
  • Folders for trips, work, family, exams
The PhrasiGo phrasebook: your own sentences, each translated with an audio button

AI tutor

Talk it through, without the Max tier

Duolingo’s Roleplay and Video Call with Lily are its AI conversation features, and they live in Duolingo Max [5]. PhrasiGo’s Talk is included for everyone: ten everyday scenarios, a level selector from A1 to B1, voice or text.

The difference is what the tutor knows. Talk is briefed on the phrases you have saved and steers the conversation so you get to use them. When you slip, it offers a more natural version with a one-line why, and at the end it lists the phrases worth saving, one tap from your phrasebook.

  • 10 scenarios: café, taxi, doctor, hotel, colleague and more
  • Gentle “more natural” corrections, never a wall of red
  • 30 conversations a day signed in

Motivation

Streaks and leagues, minus the pressure economy

Duolingo’s free tier now runs on Energy: a battery that drops one point per question, right or wrong, and refills over time or with gems [2]. PhrasiGo has no meter. A wrong answer costs one XP and gets a second chance at the end of the session; it never costs you the right to keep going.

Streaks work the way you would hope. Any practice day keeps it alive. You start with two freezes, earn more as you go, and they are spent for you automatically on a missed day. Leagues are seven honest tiers: clear the weekly XP threshold and you promote. Nobody is ranked below you to make you feel fast.

  • Daily goal of 60 XP with a bonus for hitting it
  • Automatic streak freezes, no gems
  • Beat the Clock and a daily Deep Dive treasure

Memory

Reviews timed by FSRS, shown as a reef

Duolingo published its own memory model, Half-Life Regression, in 2016 [7]. PhrasiGo runs FSRS-4.5, the modern open scheduler, on every phrase you own and every course sentence you have met. Each one comes back just before you would forget it, and the Progress tab shows how many reviews are coming this week.

The same schedule powers your Memory Reef: every phrase is a fish, due phrases are hungry, and feeding one is a real review that keeps the reef healthy.

The Memory Reef: each phrase is a fish; reviewing a due phrase feeds it

Making the move

Coming from Duolingo? Keep the habit, change the content.

Your streak discipline transfers. What changes is whose sentences you are practicing.

  1. 1

    Install and pick your language

    No account needed to start. Choose what you speak and what you are learning; any of the 35 languages works in either role.

  2. 2

    Add the five sentences you needed this week

    The one you could not say at the pharmacy. The question your colleague asked. Each takes seconds to add and arrives with audio and word meanings.

  3. 3

    Start the Journey if you want structure

    The A1 units are a gentle on-ramp, and your own phrases ride along inside course practice. Set the 60-XP daily goal and let the streak do its thing.

  4. 4

    Talk once a day

    Pick a scenario at your level. The tutor already knows your phrases and will find a moment for each one.

Questions people ask

Is PhrasiGo really free, or is there a catch?
There is no paid tier in the app right now and there are no ads. Instead of a paywall, PhrasiGo has fair-use limits so nobody can run up the AI bill: signed in with Google, you can add 100 new phrases a day, do 200 speaking exercises a day and hold 30 AI conversations a day. Without an account the limits are lower. Everything else, including the whole guided course, is open.
Does PhrasiGo have streaks, XP and leagues like Duolingo?
Yes. You earn XP for every session, work towards a 60-XP daily goal, keep a streak with automatic freezes, and climb seven leagues from Bronze to Legend. The leagues are threshold-based: you promote by clearing a weekly XP bar, not by beating other people.
Can I add my own sentences in Duolingo?
No. Duolingo’s courses are fixed and there is no feature for adding your own phrases. That is the core difference: PhrasiGo is built around the sentences you bring.
Is there a course, or do I have to write everything myself?
There is a full course. The Learning Journey covers 13 subjects across A1 to B2 with 120 units of eight sentences for each of 35 language pairs. It is curated by people, comes with natural audio, and it mixes your own phrases into practice.
Does Duolingo have an AI tutor?
Duolingo’s AI conversation features, Roleplay and Video Call with Lily, are part of Duolingo Max, its highest tier, and cover a handful of languages. PhrasiGo’s Talk tutor is included at no cost and is briefed on your own phrases.
Is PhrasiGo available on iPhone?
PhrasiGo ships on Android through Google Play today. The iPhone version is built from the same code and is in testing; it will appear on this site the day it is live on the App Store.

Learn the sentences
you will actually say

Download PhrasiGo for free and add your first phrase in under a minute.

Get it on
Google Play

Free · No ads · No account needed to start · iOS coming soon

Sources for the Duolingo claims on this page

  1. Duolingo blog: “Is Duolingo free?” (ads support the free tier)
  2. Duolingo blog: “Introducing Energy”
  3. Duolingo on the App Store (languages, in-app purchase prices)
  4. Duolingo blog: Super Duolingo launch
  5. Duolingo blog: Video Call with Lily (Max)
  6. DealNews: Duolingo cost overview, updated May 2026
  7. Duolingo research: Half-Life Regression (GitHub)
  8. Duolingo blog: guide to the Practice Hub
  9. Duolingo help: What is a streak? (streak freezes)
  10. Duolingo help: Leaderboards and leagues
  11. Slate: why Duolingo’s sentences are so weird (2021)

Checked 2 September 2026. PhrasiGo claims describe the app as shipped on Google Play at the time of writing.