Head-to-head
BrainPOP vs Duolingo
BrainPOP
70
Winner
Tie
Duolingo
70
Choose BrainPOP for comprehensive, curriculum-aligned educational content for K-8, especially if your school provides access, while Duolingo is better for self-directed language learning or casual engagement with other subjects like chess.
BrainPOP offers educational videos and quizzes across various subjects, praised for making learning fun but criticized for its limited free content and technical issues. Duolingo excels in language learning with a gamified approach, though recent updates to its 'energy' system and frequent ads have frustrated many users.
Head to head
BrainPOP BrainPOP is highly valued for its educational videos and quizzes across subjects like math, science, and social studies, making learning engaging for children R2R8. Users appreciate the depth of information and the ability to quiz themselves . However, many users express frustration over the limited number of free videos and the need to pay for full access, which restricts learning opportunities R12. Some users also report issues with content accuracy or perceived political bias R3R13.
Duolingo Duolingo is praised for its effectiveness in teaching languages, with many users successfully learning Spanish, Arabic, and German . It's also noted for its gamified approach and new features like chess lessons . However, some users find the content repetitive, teaching only basic or 'useless' phrases, and wish for more in-depth grammar or conversational skills R67R75R81R82. The recent 'energy' system, replacing 'hearts,' is a major point of contention, as it severely limits daily learning without a subscription R63R64R69.
BrainPOP BrainPOP is generally considered easy to use for its target audience of children R2R5. However, many users report significant technical issues including connection errors, videos not playing, crashing, inability to type for account creation, and sound problems R1R6R7R17. Some users also struggle with updating the app R5.
Duolingo Duolingo is often described as fun and easy to use, especially for beginners . However, it suffers from frequent bugs and crashes, particularly during or at the end of lessons, leading to lost progress . Users also report issues with account creation and voice recognition software not working correctly . The app's interface is criticized by some for excessive pop-ups and gamification elements that distract from learning .
BrainPOP BrainPOP is a paid app with a free trial and limited free content, and its pricing is a major source of dissatisfaction R1R4R10R11. Many users, especially parents, feel it should be entirely free or offer more free content, citing financial constraints . The subscription process is also described as not straightforward, with iOS purchases not porting to family subscriptions and website subscriptions requiring business hours confirmation . The 'family plan' only allowing two children is also a point of frustration for larger families .
Duolingo Duolingo is a free app with in-app purchases and a 'Super Duolingo' subscription, but recent updates have significantly pushed users towards paying R63R64. The new 'energy' system is widely seen as a paywall, limiting free users to only a couple of lessons per day R64. Users also complain about frequent and 'creepy' ads in the free version R66. There are serious complaints about unexpected charges for annual subscriptions and a lack of refunds .
BrainPOP Reviews for BrainPOP do not frequently mention direct interaction with customer support. However, some users express frustration when reporting bugs or content issues, implying a lack of responsiveness or difficulty in getting issues resolved R3R13R17. There's a general sentiment that the company should address user feedback, especially regarding pricing and content variety R11R14.
Duolingo Duolingo users report issues with customer support, particularly regarding subscription charges and refunds, with some stating they were charged without warning and denied refunds . The app's notifications are often described as 'passive aggressive' or shaming, which some users find annoying enough to delete the app . There are also reports of bug reports not being submitted or addressed .
Pick BrainPOP if
you are looking for a comprehensive, curriculum-aligned educational resource for K-8 students, especially if your school provides free access . It's also suitable if you value engaging video content and quizzes across a wide range of subjects .
Pick Duolingo if
you want to learn a new language or engage with subjects like chess in a gamified, accessible format . It's a good choice for casual learning or supplementing other language studies, particularly if you are willing to tolerate ads or pay for a subscription to avoid limitations .
Evidence note: Both apps have a significant number of negative reviews related to their pricing models and technical issues, despite high lifetime ratings. For BrainPOP, many negative reviews stem from the expectation of a free app. For Duolingo, recent updates, particularly the 'energy' system, have caused a strong negative skew in recent reviews, indicating a decline in user satisfaction for free users.
Frequently asked
Is BrainPOP truly free?
What are the main complaints about Duolingo's free version?
Does BrainPOP have technical problems?
What reviewers actually said
Built only from these 120 real reviews (foreign ones translated). Superscripts jump to the quote here. Apple has no per-review links, so [ref] opens that app's reviews on the App Store.
- [R2] BrainPOP Appppppp=/gooiood: It’s a great app especially for a 9 year old like me! So good I neeed a fake name……
- [R3] BrainPOP Octopi is not a word: I was working with my elementary school students and was doing a “quiz” with them and stopped because your company used the word octopi for the plural of octopus. That is not a correct plural. Please fix this ASAP
- [R8] BrainPOP Brain pop is awesome: I love brain pop it is so fun for me
- [R12] BrainPOP Read: I love this app so much because it makes learning fun but your also only limited to the free movies which makes it not as fun and limited to what you can learn which makes it hard to find a good video.
- [R1] BrainPOP Horrid: Lots of money + did not work do not get!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
- [R5] BrainPOP Updating: I gave it a four star because want me to update it but I don’t know how to update it and I’m not saying this is your fault I’m just nine years old so I don’t know how to update stuff.
- [R6] BrainPOP Error: There is a connection error and it won’t let me play any videos
- [R4] BrainPOP Straight up lie: So I went to go download some learning games and then I downloaded it and it said it had a free trial and I’m not allowed to have games that cost money so I deleted it and searched games that don’t cost money for learning and it came up and it’s literally a straight up lie
- [R10] BrainPOP It was free for me but then I had to pay I don’t think you should use this: It used to be free but then I had to pay so much money
- [R11] BrainPOP More more more more more more more: Pls make it free
- [R13] BrainPOP 🤬Disease my foot!!!!!🤬: ADHD is not a disease it’s a wonderful way to think, and learn and be a person, so you better make autism and ADHD more positive because it is!
- [R14] BrainPOP Brain pop: YALL NEED TO MAKE THIS APP FREE WITHIN THE APP NO SUBS COME ONE YALL BEEN AROUND FOR YEARS I LIVE BRAIN POP BUT I DONT WANNA PAY FOR IT
- [R63] Duolingo Solid app: Hi, for anyone reading this, this is a great app the only reason thats its three stars is because of the energy and not being able to do video calls without plus. I do think it’s really stupid because they are basically just stopping their users from learning… but beside from that, it’s a good app.
- [R64] Duolingo Please go back to the lives/hearts instead of energy!!!: Absolutely terrible since they switched to the stupid energy system. You can’t even get through more than two lessons without running out! And you have to speed through so you can’t even take the time to repeat words or actually learn. Absolutely ridiculous, completely contrary to what they claim is the purpose of duo, to make learning a for
- [R66] Duolingo Its ok: Its ok but the ads are crazy! And it forces you to get a free trial but its a good app if your ok with ads :)
- [R69] Duolingo It’s alright: It’s good but I wish you didn’t run out of energy fast you don’t really get to learn a lot in one day because of it running out fast
- [R7] BrainPOP Why can’t I type?: Basically when I am trying to make an account, it immediately goes out of the text box and doesn’t let me type at all.
- [R17] BrainPOP Discovered a new bug: I can’t hear anything. I checked my sound and it is on. Please fix it.
- [R67] Duolingo ts app is glazed too much: Great app if u wanna be able to say useless stuff in another language like “the penguin is under the bridge”
- [R75] Duolingo Alright language learning app.: I feel like this is more of a game than a language learning app, it just makes you learn basic sentences, it would be more helpful for it to teach you sentence starters or about the language too, or how you pronounce the words. Goodbye, from Johnny
- [R81] Duolingo Dang: This is so bad but good u learn stuff that is bad and u will never use
- [R82] Duolingo Not enough Irish: Been learning Irish for 4 months and it keeps giving me the same words over and over and saying they’re new, I’m better off listening to kneecap and translating myself.
Synthesized from 120 recent App Store reviews · updated July 2026 · View on the App Store