How Duolingo Used Psychology to Make Learning Addictive

What this episode covers

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.