Duolingo is one of the world’s most successful learning-based businesses. In 2023, it made nearly half a billion dollars in revenue (a 46% increase from the year prior) and had 16.3M daily active users.
Maybe its success isn’t surprising — there are lots of reasons to want to learn a new language:
Maybe you’re planning a trip abroad, you’d like to improve your job prospects, or you were inspired by a popular movie or show.
But here’s Duolingo’s big challenge:
It’s easy to be excited about starting a learning journey. But it’s much harder to stick with learning than most people think.
But Duolingo has been remarkably successful keeping people engaged with digital learning. They boast a daily active user retention rate of about 55%.
Why?
Because they use psychology and behavioral science to keep us learning.
Join me (Jen Clinehens) today as I unpack the psychology behind Duolingo's massive success.
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