Duolingo is free to use, so any charge relates to a paid tier. The tiers remove adverts and add features, and they are sold monthly, annually, and as a family plan covering several accounts.
Annual billing is the default the app promotes, because it is cheaper per month. That produces a single larger charge once a year, which is the version people fail to recognise. If a Duolingo charge is far larger than a language app subscription ought to be, it is an annual renewal rather than an error.
The family plan is usually the better value
The family plan covers several accounts for not much more than a single individual subscription. Households paying for two separate individual subscriptions are paying substantially more than they need to, and the app does not prompt anyone to notice.
Free trials convert
Duolingo promotes trials persistently inside the app, often at the moment you run out of hearts or lose a streak. Accepting one requires a payment method and converts automatically at the end of the trial period.
Because the prompt appears mid-lesson rather than in a shopping context, people frequently do not register that they have started a subscription at all.
Where the billing sits
Most Duolingo subscriptions are bought inside the mobile app, which means Apple or Google holds the billing, not Duolingo. The charge appears under an Apple or Google descriptor, and Duolingo cannot cancel it.
This is the single most common reason people believe they cancelled and were charged anyway. Deleting the app does not cancel anything either.
- On iPhone, open Settings, tap your name, then Subscriptions.
- On Android, open the Play Store, then your profile, then Payments and subscriptions.
- If you subscribed on the website, manage it at duolingo.com under Settings.
- Cancel before the renewal date, since app stores generally do not refund a period already begun.