LingoDeer vs Duolingo: Which one should you choose?

LingoDeer and Duolingo are popular language-learning websites. Duolingo provides comprehensive content for free, whereas LingoDeer provides limited content for free.

Therefore, in this LingoDeer Vs Duolingo battle, we must see whether subscribing to LingoDeer is worth it to determine the winner.

About LingoDeer and Duolingo

LingoDeer is one of the best websites to learn Asian languages. It is similar to Duolingo but offers better grammar explanations and breaks down complex concepts into simple ones. The catch is that it is better than Duolingo only when comparing Asian languages, and you have to subscribe to the premium plan to get the best experience. 

If you are wondering whether to use LingoDeer or Duolingo for Japanese, you should stick with the former. However, LingoDeer has nothing to offer to advanced learners. It can only help you advance to the upper-intermediate level.

Duolingo is a fun language-learning website for beginners, and it helps you advance to B1 or B2 levels depending on the language. The mascot ‘Duo’ is the best and worst part of Duolingo. It keeps you motivated to complete learning a language. However, some people feel it is nagging them to learn and maintain their learning streak.

Duolingo is an exceptional website with fantastic course content for Spanish, French, Italian, etc. But it also has its flaws. Since it teaches you grammar and sentence structuring rules implicitly through practice, you may get frustrated with it when learning complex languages. Patience and a casual mindset are essential when learning using Duolingo.

Comparison of LingoDeer vs Duolingo

You will know the answer to ‘Is LingoDeer better than Duolingo?’ after we complete comparing the features of both language-learning websites. Of course, some people will always dispute our pick no matter which website we pick. After all, both websites have loyal learners who can’t bear the thought of another website being better.

Content Quality

The trouble with LingoDeer is it offers to teach only 17 languages including Vietnamese, Portuguese, Japanese, Greek, Korean, Thai, and Ukrainian. The free content is limited. Therefore, you must subscribe to the premium plan, which offers fairly comprehensive content for all Asian languages.

Duolingo’s high-quality content is one of its many strengths. It teaches a wider variety of languages compared to LingoDeer. You can learn Dutch, Danish, Klingon, Welsh, Norwegian, Hebrew, etc. using Duolingo. It keeps developing courses for new languages and improving the courses for the existing ones. And you have unrestricted access for free.

Learning Methods

LingoDeer is similar to Duolingo in some ways. However, its ‘learning tips’ for every lesson provide a better explanation of the basic rules. For example, it tackles the identification of gendered nouns. Duolingo provides a ‘Guidebook’ for each unit and not every lesson and the explanations provided are barely enough to get you by.

Duolingo focuses on learning by doing. You practice a lot and learn from your errors. Super Duolingo identifies the areas you have trouble with and focuses more on them to help you understand. However, its speech recognition system is appalling sometimes. LingoDeer shines here. It knows whether your pronunciation is on point or not.

Practice Exercises

Duolingo and LingoDeer have similar practice exercises. However, the latter focuses more on speech practice. Moreover, it helps you practice writing alphabets of complex Asian languages such as Chinese, Mandarin, and Japanese. Duolingo does a stellar job of improving your writing, reading, and listening skills.

But, it isn’t as good as LingoDeer for learning Asian languages. And LingoDeer needs to improve its non-Asian language courses. Duolingo helps you improve your speaking skills but is slightly less effective than it is for improving other areas. In short, choosing LingoDeer or Duolingo depends on the language you pick.

Customer Support

LingoDeer has decent customer support. I am surprised; this is the first time I have come across a language-learning website that replies to customer queries on time. If you accidentally subscribe more than once and need a refund, you get it back without too much fuss. 

Duolingo doesn’t offer much customer support. You can report bugs or other issues. However, you may not get a satisfactory response. Sometimes, even the bug you reported doesn’t get addressed.

Pricing and Value for Money

Super Duolingo gives you free access to all Legendary challenges and the ‘Practice’ feature. You have to use 100 diamonds (earning diamonds isn’t as easy as it was before) to unlock a single Legendary Challenge if you are using the free version. The practice feature which aims to improve your weak areas isn’t available in the free version.

You also get unlimited hearts in Super Duoingo, whereas only 5 hearts per day are available in the free version. However, this is not a problem for many users, as they are busy and need to use the app for only 10 – 15 minutes a day. You have to pay $12.99 or $6.99/month to access Super Duolingo based on which plan you choose – monthly or annual plan.

If you subscribe to Super Duolingo after using the free version, chances are you will be more than satisfied with it. LingoDeer premium plan gives you access to the test-out feature and review section. The test-out feature is similar to Duolingo’s legendary challenges. However, you can take the test without learning the lessons if you already know what is being taught.

The next batch of lessons is unlocked if you pass. This is similar to how Duolingo lets you jump to the next section if you pass the test. However, Duolingo’d Jump to feature isn’t always available. It appears randomly. That is not the case in LingoDeer. The review section of LingoDeer is superior to Duolingo’s, too.

LingoDeer has monthly, quarterly, annual, and lifetime subscription plans. They cost $14.99, $39.99, $79.99/month, and $159.99 (one-time payment) respectively. The plans are worth the price if you like LingoDeer’s teaching methods and review tools.

Beware, you can’t get a refund for the subscription plans once the free trial ends unless you face technical issues. You can’t decide you don’t like it one day and request a refund. 

Community

In the Duolingo Vs LingoDeer battle, both lose this round. Neither website has forums to discuss problems or share your learning journey with fellow learners. Duolingo users use Discord to connect. 

LingoDeer users have Reddit (people will help you out if you post your question). That is an official community run by LingoDeer.

If you need more support you can check out this blog that lists some helpful language forums and communities.

User Interface

LingoDeer doesn’t look like much. Its focus is on teaching you. Duolingo has a fantastic user interface. It makes learning fun, accessible, and interactive. You won’t ever feel bored while using Duolingo. That said, the gamification may be too much for some people. So, try using it for a while to see if you get used to it.

Device Compatibility

Duolingo is compatible with all devices. Its web version is mobile-friendly and its app version is available for all devices. Unfortunately, LingoDeer doesn’t have an app version for Windows or Mac. 

You can only use the web version. So, if you are dating whether to use Duolingo or LingoDeer, Duolingo is a better option if you want a desktop app. LingoDeer’s app version is compatible with Android and iOS. Remember to use the same account and the same login method to sync data on all devices.

User Feedback

Clear audio of native speakers pronouncing a word or speaking a sentence is LingoDeer’s main strength. Structured lessons, good grammar explanations, and a free travel phrasebook make it a useful website. However, limited practice for non-Asian languages is a major concern. Not all language courses have every feature mentioned above. 

Duolingo does its job perfectly. It promises to get you from the beginner level to the intermediate level, and it fulfills it. Duolingo doesn’t suck at teaching Asian languages. It does a good job but LingoDeer does a better job. So, all things considered, Duolingo is an excellent choice no matter what language you choose.

Let’s take a look at a few language courses to highlight the points mentioned above:

Duolingo Vs LingoDeer Japanese

Duolingo is not a good website/app for learning Japanese. Even I, an ardent Duolingo supporter, concede that. LingoDeer is a better choice, as it makes you practice writing the three types of Japanese alphabets. The lessons are well thought-out and structured. So, LingoDeer bags this round.

LingoDeer Vs Duolingo Spanish

Duolingo is spectacular at teaching you Spanish. It is one of its best courses along with courses on the French and Italian languages. LingoDeer provides limited practice for Spanish. The course isn’t on par with the Asian language courses. Duolingo scores here!

Duolingo Vs LingoDeer Korean

Duolingo is great for learning Korean alphabets, words, and phrases. But that’s about it. You will need a lot of patience if you want to understand the grammar rules. The worst thing is you still may not learn it if you don’t know how to look for it. Duolingo relies on you to practice and learn. It doesn’t teach you explicitly.

LingoDeer doesn’t help you much in building your Korean vocabulary but it helps you better understand grammar. It also has clear audio of locals speaking Korean; that’s a plus. So, Duolingo is good for vocabulary and LingoDeer is better for grammar and pronunciation. Since they offer different benefits, both win here. 

Who Should Use LingoDeer?

LingoDeer is a great choice for you if you want to learn Asian languages. After all, that was the website’s initial goal. It has branched out but isn’t that good at teaching non-Asian languages yet. Who knows, maybe it will improve and suit your learning style in a few years. Right now, it isn’t a suitable choice for learning non-Asian languages.

Who Should Use Duolingo?

Duolingo is for everyone. Its goal is to make all language courses accessible to all for free. If you are a learner with a fun mindset, little time to spend every day learning a language, and a penchant for games, Duolingo is the right option. The interactive characters will keep you on track. 

Besides, Duolingo is constantly improving its courses. So, using it will be interesting, to say the least. After all, it is the most popular language-learning app despite haters trash-trashing it any chance they get. However, some long-time users are disappointed with the changes made recently. The closing of forums was a major setback.

Their opinions are legitimate, but changes are part of progress. Some users love these changes. It is due to this difference in opinion that you should always try using the website before deciding to subscribe. All language-learning websites have these problems. Not just Duolingo.

Alternatives

Memrise, Mango Languages, Anki, Modly, FluentU, and Lingvist are great alternatives for LingoDeer and Duolingo. Speaking Fluently, The Polyglot Dream, and Fluentin3months are fantastic blogs for learning languages. 

Easy Languages, Olly Richards – A Language Learner’s Haven, and LangFocus are excellent YouTube channels that teach various languages. All these are great alternatives to LingoDeer and Duolingo. You can also learn from a textbook or start watching movies and shows in the language you want with subtitles on.

Final Thoughts

In short, LingoDeer is for you if you have set goals and need to learn an Asian language. Duolingo is the best for learning multiple languages with great content for free.

You have to try them and pick whichever website you feel comfortable with.