Duolingo Max vs Khanmigo: pricing, features and which to choose

Duolingo Max is Duolingo’s premium language-learning subscription, made by the company founded in 2011 by Luis von Ahn and Severin Hacker. Duolingo reported 130.2 million monthly active users and 10.3 million paid subscribers in the first quarter of 2025. Max combines Super Duolingo benefits with AI conversation features, although the company has since expanded some former Max features to free or Super users. The product targets learners who prefer short, game-like lessons and need extra speaking practice. It is not a standalone tutor. Max runs through Duolingo’s mobile apps, and the company says it cannot be purchased or accessed through the web platform. Course and language support also varies, which makes the subscription less uniform than its name suggests.

A normal workflow starts with Duolingo lessons, then adds speaking practice through Roleplay or Video Call when the learner’s course supports those features. Roleplay presents practical situations, such as ordering coffee or shopping, with Duolingo characters supplying prompts. Video Call with Lily offers on-demand spoken conversations that adapt to the learner’s level and allow repetition requests. Video Call with Falstaff adds a more guided format, including level-based questions, suggested phrases, translations, and feedback in the learner’s language. Calls can appear on the path or in the Practice Hub. Explain My Answer now gives personalized grammar and vocabulary feedback to all learners, rather than remaining a Max-only benefit.

Max makes the most sense for a Duolingo regular who wants structured, low-pressure speaking drills. It is less suitable for learners seeking live teachers, human correction, advanced open-ended discussion, or a full course outside supported languages. Babbel offers more traditional lesson structure, Busuu adds community correction, and ChatGPT supports broader conversation without Duolingo’s course progression. Max’s feature advantage has narrowed as Explain My Answer and Video Call expand beyond the tier. Choose it when character-led practice and Duolingo’s familiar progression matter more than unrestricted tutoring, web access, or predictable feature availability. Learners focused mainly on AI calls should first check whether their Super subscription already includes Video Call. It suits structured language practice.

Khanmigo is an AI tutor and teacher assistant from Khan Academy, a nonprofit education organization. Khan Academy launched it in March 2023 after beginning development in 2022, according to an interview with the company’s chief learning officer. Its reach has grown from a limited pilot to more than 108 million total interactions since launch, with an average of 269,000 weekday interactions reported in April 2026. Khan Academy also reported that only about 15% of students with access engage with Khanmigo, a useful reminder that availability does not equal regular use. The product supports individual learners, parents, teachers, and districts. District adoption grew from 45 partners in 2023-24 to more than 380 in 2024-25, according to Education Week.

The core experience is guided tutoring connected to Khan Academy’s content library. A learner can ask for help with an exercise, receive questions that encourage independent reasoning, and continue through a back-and-forth exchange rather than receiving a final answer immediately. Khanmigo also supports writing and debate with prompts and feedback, career and college coaching, and code review for JavaScript, HTML, Python, and SQL. It accepts speech input and can read responses aloud. Teacher Tools generate standards-aligned lesson plans tied to Khan Academy content, learning objectives, rubrics, exit tickets, and summaries of student work. District implementations add student and teacher access, district data, co-teaching support, automatic rostering, single sign-on through Clever SecureSync or ClassLink, customer success, and professional learning.

Khanmigo’s strongest case is supervised learning tied to Khan Academy’s structured content, especially for families, teachers, and districts that want guided help rather than answer generation. It is less suitable for users outside supported regions, people seeking unrestricted chatbot responses, or organizations requiring self-hosting. Khan Academy says moderation can flag unsafe interactions, child chat history can be reviewed by connected adults, and shared images are not stored. Conversations may remain viewable for up to 365 days, while flagged or feedback conversations may remain for up to two years. ChatGPT is broader and more open-ended, Gemini offers a general assistant, and Quizlet focuses on study materials and flashcards. Pick Khanmigo when guided practice and classroom oversight matter most.