Duolingo reverses monetization to boost users, sacrificing $50M bookings to target 100M daily users by 2028

In 2025, Duolingo increased monetization by adding friction to its free app, which grew bookings by 33% but slowed daily user growth from 49% to about 30%. In February 2026, the company reversed this strategy, sacrificing over $50 million in 2026 bookings to focus on user growth again, aiming for 100 million daily active users by 2028. Early 2026 results show user growth reaccelerating from 21% to 23%, though revenue from advertising and in-app purchases—linked to friction—is declining. The market appears to price in the short-term booking slowdown but not the potential larger user base for 2027. With a valuation of about 16.5 times 2026 EBITDA and $1.4 billion in net cash, the analyst rates Duolingo as a BUY with a base price target of $166 and a bull case of $243 per share.

Duolingo trades at USD 141.00 on Pluang as of Oct 26, 2026, 19:51 WIB, down 1.43% for the day. Its market cap stands at $6.69 billion with a 52-week high of $312.00 and low of $90.03. The stock's typical hold time on Pluang is 139 days, showing moderate investor interest amid strategic shifts in monetization and user growth.