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  <span style="font-size:12px;font-weight:500;color:#516271;">Independent comparison on Should I Use It</span>
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<a href="https://shouldiuse.io/vs/italki/duolingo">italki vs Duolingo on Should I Use It</a>

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italki versus Duolingo
Compare	italki	Duolingo
Verdict	Depends	Depends
Best for	Conversational practice with native speakers	Casual daily practice
Who it's not for	Learners wanting structured, curriculum-driven courses	Anyone needing fast fluency for work or travel
Privacy	User forums discuss a past data breach; shows no public security page.^⁸	2023 breach affected 2.6M accounts; one 2017 CVE in the discontinued TinyCards app.¹³
Support quality	Repeated complaints about service and policies	No evidence in sources
Public sentiment	Long-term learners credit italki with real speaking progress; complaints center on refunds, expiring credits, and support.	Opinion is polarized: casual users love the streak-driven habit, while serious learners say progress stalls.
Biggest gotcha	Community posts discuss a data breach; be careful what personal data you share^⁸	2.6M user records circulated on the dark web after the 2023 leak¹³

Pick italki when

Conversational practice with native speakers
Rare or niche languages
Budget learners
Self-directed learners

When italki is not a fit

Learners wanting structured, curriculum-driven courses
Anyone expecting painless refunds or responsive support
Casual dabblers . free apps cover that
Unsupervised kids; italki itself advises parental oversight

Pick Duolingo when

Casual daily practice
Complete beginners in popular languages
Habit-driven streak learners
Students supplementing a real course

When Duolingo is not a fit

Anyone needing fast fluency for work or travel
Intermediate learners past the app's ceiling
Serious learners wanting conversation practice
People expecting an app alone to teach a language

Sources

Is italki worth it? : r/languagelearningreddit.com
review
For those who have used italki . 140+ lessonsreddit.com
review
italki Reviews on G2g2.com
review
italki Reviews on Trustpilottrustpilot.com
review
italki Review: Pricing, Pros & Cons (pinetreepoet)pinetreepoet.com
review
Unfair Policies and Frustrating Customer Service : r/iTalkireddit.com
review
Italki charged me yearly without notice . refund complaintsikayetvar.com
review
italki - Data breach! What to do?italki.com
security
Italki is unsafe : r/languagelearningreddit.com
security
italki Security page scanitalki.com
security
Italki - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
news
italki - Crunchbase Company Profile & Fundingcrunchbase.com
news
Duolingo Data Breachhaveibeenpwned.com
security
CVE-2017-16905 Detailnvd.nist.gov
security
Duolingo Surpasses 50 Million Daily Active Usersinvestors.duolingo.com
news
Why I Don't Recommend Duolingo (Review)autolingual.com
review