sayit vs Duolingo
- Checked 2026-09
- No sponsorship — see sources below
Who each one is actually for
For fixing specific sounds — the narrowest, deepest tool here, scoring pronunciation and nothing else.
For a full general English course — reading, writing, vocabulary and grammar alongside speaking exercises, free and on nearly every platform.
Side by side
| sayit | Duolingo | |
|---|---|---|
| What's measured | Per-phoneme clarity against target IPA, on any text | Pass/fail pronunciation checks inside read-aloud exercises |
| Feedback depth | Target IPA vs. your sound, per word, plus a fix | A pass/fail signal; Max's AI Video Call adds short spoken exchanges with no pronunciation scoring |
| Accent policy | Accent-tolerant — flags only contrasts that change meaning | Not documented as accent-specific |
| Exam prep | IELTS + TOEFL timed practice with a band estimate | Not exam-focused — general course-based learning |
| Platforms | Web (Chrome, Edge, Safari, Firefox), Chrome/Edge extension, iOS (waitlist) | iOS, Android, web |
| Price | Free; Pro $9/mo, Max $13.50/mo | Free (ad-supported); Super ~$12.99–13.99/mo; Max ~$29.99/mo |
| Free tier | 1 guest take, then a free account with 30 min/mo — no card | Yes — the full core course, ad-supported |
| Privacy | Processed for feedback only; not sold or shared; raw audio not kept long-term | Standard cloud processing (no public on-premise option found) |
| Offline / on-prem | No — cloud-processed, needs a connection | No public on-premise option found |
Where each one actually wins
Where sayit is better
- Real per-phoneme scoring with target IPA — Duolingo's speaking exercises are pass/fail, not a diagnosis.
- IELTS/TOEFL timed practice with a band estimate; Duolingo has no exam mode.
- You choose the text — Duolingo's speaking exercises are locked to its own course content.
Where Duolingo is better
- A genuinely complete course — vocabulary, grammar, reading, writing — not just speaking; sayit is pronunciation-only by design.
- Free and ad-supported with no real limit, versus sayit's 30-minute monthly cap on the free tier.
- Most learners already have it installed, and its daily-streak habit loop is best-in-class.
Straight answers
Does Duolingo score pronunciation the way sayit does?
No — its speaking exercises check whether you said the expected phrase closely enough to pass, not which specific phoneme was off. sayit gives a per-word, per-phoneme verdict with target IPA.
Should I replace Duolingo with sayit?
Only if speaking is your sole goal. For overall English (vocabulary, grammar, reading), Duolingo covers far more ground; many people run both — Duolingo for the course, sayit for the sounds that keep slipping.
Where the facts about the other side came from
- CheckThat.ai — Duolingo Super/Max pricing (third-party) — checked 2026-09
- Duoplanet — Duolingo Max Video Call, no pronunciation scoring (third-party) — checked 2026-09
Facts about sayit come from its own pricing, features and product pages, not a third party. Every Duolingo fact above was checked 2026-09; prices and features change, so treat this as a snapshot, not a guarantee.
See what sayit actually shows you
Record one sentence — free, no card — and see the per-phoneme verdict this whole comparison is about.