Personally, I have been using both of these apps in conjunction to learn Spanish. Both Duolingo and Memrise are amazing in their own rights, however, their teaching methods are very different. This comparison article will allow you to gauge each app’s strengths and select the best one. I’ll be honest here, I love both these apps and they work amazingly when used together. I highly recommend that you try them both yourself before coming to a conclusion after all no comparison article will be better than your own judgment.
Our Ratings:
Duolingo: 4.5 out of 5 Stars Memrise: 4.5 out of 5 Stars
Google Play Ratings and Links:
Duolingo: 4.6 out of 5 Stars
Memrise: 4.6 out of 5 Stars
What Are They?
Memrise and Duolingo are two of the most effective language learning tools available on the Google Play Store today. Language learning apps have gained a lot of popularity in recent years and for good reason as well. They have completely made learning tapes and books irrelevant and are highly convenient. Will they be able to replace an actual teacher? Absolutely not! Will they allow you to grasp some immediate knowledge about a language? Absolutely! Duolingo – This one is my personal favorite among the two apps. That’s because Duolingo presents learning in the form of a game. The app uses pictures as well as phonetics to make the learning easier.
Memrise – Memrise uses a no-pressure structure to ease you into a language. This method is remarkably different than the one used by Duolingo.
The Good
In Duolingo Vs Memrise comparison, both of them will give you similar results. While Duolingo employs an addictive game-like structure to provide you with new words and meanings, Memrise uses another approach to the learning. Both apps will eventually get you to your goal and help you learn better.
The Bad
Duolingo can become a little frustrating in the long run. Like I said, it’s more like a game and every game is played to win. Duolingo can make you angry when it kicks you out of a level because of a simple mistake you made at the end. This induced gamer-rage in me more times than I would care to admit. Memrise, on the other hand, can be frustrating for another reason. Not every language is the same and one word in English can have multiple meanings in another language. Memrise uses only one word as the correct answer and discards all the others. This means, unless you know the exact answer Memrise is expecting from you, your score will take a hit. This is not as daunting as the problem in Duolingo, but is still just as annoying.
The Bottom Line
I would highly recommend you use both apps at least once before coming to a sound conclusion. While Duolingo Vs Memrise will highlight the differences between the two, personally, I have found them to be equally effective. If you are looking to challenge yourself, Duolingo is the best app on the market right now. If you are a relaxed and calculated learner who aims to master a language, Memrise works well in that department. I will suggest that you keep them both on your Android and use them together for the ultimate learning experience.
Interface – Tie
While the desktop apps may have some inconsistencies in the design, both Duolingo and Memrise have a great interface on Android. Duolingo seems to be a bit more polished to me, but overall there are no quirks which makes the experience enjoyable.
Duolingo shares some elements with quiz and trivia games we all love and enjoy. The basic lessons are extremely well designed with visual and audio cues to help guide you. Duolingo, in my extensive testing, uses well-formed methods of traditional teaching and refines them for touch screen usage. There are fill-in-the-blanks type of questions as well. The advanced lessons go a bit deeper, yet the interface remains great.
Memrise is not a traditional language learning app, in the sense that it uses many different concepts and ties them well together. I certainly had an easy time navigating around the app and learned a lot of new words.
Usage – Duolingo
To be honest, both of the apps are somehow alike yet different. The game-like nature of Duolingo makes it a pick and play affair. I used the app while traveling on the bus and still understood everything. The basic lessons are easy to use and understand.
Memrise also follows the same design but gets a little complicated. Not to rain on Memrise, the app does produce some curve balls mid-lesson. However, it is still a great experience that fully immerses you in the language. What I mean to say is, Memrise demands your undivided attention while Duolingo can still work if you are doing something else as well.
Content Depth– Memrise
When it comes to content, both of the apps deliver some compelling features. Duolingo provides you with little nibbles of information that are easier to digest. These small bites are an effective way of learning new words and mastering the language. However, once you are done with the lessons there is nothing more you can do. Sure you can subscribe to the user generated lessons but that is a whole another feature.
Memrise, however, incorporates a lot of information into its lessons. The app also tackles grammar with surpassing ease. I used this app to learn a bit of Spanish and the results were great. There is a downside to this method as well; The app seems to lose focus at some questions and completely derails from the context of the lesson.
Entertainment – Duolingo
I love video games and I believe that they are the best teacher there is. You can learn a lot when you are having fun and Duolingo knows that. I often boot up the app when a few of my friends come and we can have a lot of fun “playing” the trivia game. Time flys when you are having fun and in no time you’re learning a new language. Just like any other video game, Duolingo has some annoying problems as well. But the overall fun you can have while playing around this app overweighs any problems you may face.
The other app doesn’t come with any penalties for getting the answers wrong. It’s a no risk no reward environment that may be relaxing and easy to follow, but it lacks the fun factor.
Conclusion:
Like I have said before, Duolingo Vs Memrise are both so good that comparing them is moot. I would give a whole hearted thumbs up to both the apps. While they deliver the same learning experiences, they both somehow manage to be different from each other by a margin. I hope that this Duolingo Vs Memrise article will help you select the one app you need for all your language learning needs. However, because they are free, I would urge you to get them both and enjoy an even more enhanced experience. What do you think of these premiere language learning apps on Android? Let us know which language you are trying to learn in the comments.
