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Duolingo, a quick-and-easy learning app that boasts more than 128 million monthly active users worldwide 鈥� mostly for its language offerings 鈥� has expanded into mathematics with elementary and middle school lessons aligned to the Common Core standards.

The Pittsburgh-based company is one of many 鈥� including , , , and 鈥� that provide instruction for children and adults. But the language phenom hopes its broader popularity will help it gain traction in a complex space.

鈥淒uolingo certainly arrives late to the party, but their brand recognition, UX design expertise and enormous user base give them a unique advantage,鈥� said Paul Darvasi, CEO and co-founder of , a Montreal-based company with more than 15 years of experience creating learning games. 鈥淧ersonally, I feel math is often taught out of context. Students learn formulas and procedures, but as they get older they rarely know how they will be applied. I believe games and simulations will be able to better connect math to the real world.鈥�

Duolingo, the language learning app in the world, won鈥檛 disclose the exact number of users for its math offering, launched in August 2022, but company spokeswoman Monica Earle said it’s in the millions. She said, too, the application鈥檚 creators hope it will help alleviate math anxiety, a common phenomenon among children and adults. 

Duolingo鈥檚 current math offerings span third grade through early middle school. Samantha Siegel, a company software engineer who spearheaded the math course鈥檚 development, said it started with third graders because of the critical lessons taught at that level.

鈥淚f you don鈥檛 understand how fractions work, it can predict your math performance and proficiency for the rest of your education career,鈥� Siegel said.

She said the company uses real-world problems to further students鈥� comprehension of what might otherwise seem like abstract concepts.

鈥淲e do a lot with implicit learning 鈥� you learn by doing,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e have developed a really proven and unique way of approaching education and packaging it in a really fun way. Why shouldn鈥檛 we be the one to apply this to other subjects?鈥�

American students have struggled with mathematics for decades. The Common Core, a controversial set of academic standards rolled out in 2010, was meant to correct the unevenness in how the subject was taught across the nation and deepen students鈥� understanding. It was met with sharp disdain from teachers, parents and students. 

Despite the derision, it became a symbol of academic rigor and continue to use Common Core math. But even with the new standards, American students continued to flail: Test scores persistently lagged for most, though have emerged in recent months.

A 2024 Urban Institute only reinforced the subject鈥檚 importance. It found that increasing math scores helps deliver stronger long-term returns for students 鈥� especially related to earnings 鈥� compared to reading. 

What鈥檚 less obvious, at least to some, is the value of game-based approaches to learning this challenging subject. Critics worry about what they say is Duolingo鈥檚 skin-deep approach. 

Keith Devlin, a mathematician and Stanford University professor emeritus, knows repetitive practice is valuable in learning almost anything and that video games and interactive software in general are excellent at keeping people engaged. He鈥檚 not as confident, however, in the idea that these applications will create mathematical thinkers.

鈥淭he real question is, do games produce better ability to solve a mathematical problem that is more than a basic skill? For the majority of games, the answer is no,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey often do result in students having a more positive attitude to math 鈥� and that鈥檚 a plus.鈥�

But they don鈥檛 teach users how to solve math problems that require a train of thought, he said. 

鈥淲here they can fall short is in the tendency to focus too heavily on rote practice or gamified repetition without enough conceptual depth,鈥� Gold Bug Interactive鈥檚 Darvasi said. 鈥淢ath understanding requires more than speed and accuracy; it needs problem-solving, reasoning and connections to real-world contexts. Apps that fail to integrate those richer experiences risk reinforcing procedural knowledge without deep comprehension.鈥�

Darvasi said, too, that digital math learning can become isolating if it isn鈥檛 paired with collaborative, discussion-based problem-solving 鈥� like the kind found in traditional classrooms.

鈥淗owever, these are temporary setbacks,鈥� he said in assessing current online offerings from multiple companies. 鈥淲ith the latest tools in adaptive learning, thoughtful game design, and technology that can generate fresh challenges on the fly, the path is opening for math to be taught in ways that are engaging, meaningful, and tailored to the learner.鈥�

Duolingo Math鈥檚 target audience, spokeswoman Earle said, is students who struggle with the subject and those who enjoy it enough to do it for fun. Cartoon figures and colorful graphics help guide users through the math problems, offering encouragement along the way. 

Roughly 90% of users access Duolingo, which also runs programs off its website, for free. Others pay either $12.99 a month or $95.99 a year for Super Duolingo, which avoids ads and allows for unlimited practice. A second level, Duolingo Max, costs $29.99 a month or $167.99 a year and offers enhanced, generative-AI-powered conversation features. 

Despite some about the limitations of the language learning tool and a recent kerfuffle over how much AI would shape the product, Duolingo’s reported for 2025 were $252.3 million, up from $178.3 million a year ago.

Nicole Paxton, principal of Mountain Vista Community School in Colorado Springs, said her school relies upon Math Catalyst, a teacher-led, concept-focused program from . It is not a computer-based game, but 鈥渁 structured set of mini-lessons and practice activities that target specific learning gaps and build strong mathematical reasoning鈥�, she said. 

鈥淚f used as a supplement at home, a program like Duolingo Math could be helpful for fluency and fact practice, but it would not replace the intentional, standards-based support students receive through Math Catalyst,鈥� Paxton said. 

Earle said the program also allows for personalization using machine learning to tailor each lesson. Once it identifies a weakness in students鈥� understanding, it will present them with these same problems until they can solve them. 

But the main purpose of the venture, software engineer Siegel said, is to make math feel fun.

鈥淒uolingo is really delightful,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 our bread and butter.鈥�

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