how much and how does Duolingo spends on marketing, and their marketing cost trend

Duolingo spends modestly yet strategically on marketing, primarily to acquire new users and build its brand. The company's reported "Sales and Marketing" expenses have been on a clear upward trajectory in absolute terms. For example, in the first quarter of 2025, this expense was $26.7 million, a 34% increase compared to the $19.9 million spent in the same period of 2024.

Here is a more detailed breakdown of the annual spending trend:

| Period | Sales & Marketing Expense | Year-Over-Year Change |

| :--- | :--- | :--- |

| Full Year 2021 | $59.2 million | +69.1% |

| Full Year 2022 | $67.0 million | +13.2% |

| Full Year 2023 | $75.8 million | +13.2% |

| Full Year 2024 | $90.5 million | +19.4% |

What Do These Marketing Dollars Pay For?

Duolingo's "Sales and Marketing" expenses cover a range of activities, including:

• Paid User Acquisition: Spending on digital ads on platforms like YouTube, as well as other social media channels.

• Brand Marketing: Costs for creating campaigns, including salaries for brand and creative teams.

• Social Media & Viral Content: Producing and amplifying culturally relevant, often humorous, organic content.

• Employee Costs: Salaries and stock-based compensation for the company's marketing personnel.

Duolingo is also developing its own "Duolingo Ads" platform, allowing brands to pay for native advertising within the app, turning its massive user base into a new revenue stream.

📉 The Most Important Trend: Marketing Efficiency is Increasing

While the dollar amount spent on marketing is rising, the most critical trend is that its relative cost is decreasing.

• A Shrinking Percentage of Revenue: Marketing expenses made up 36% of total revenue at the time of its IPO in 2021. By the first quarter of 2025, that figure had plummeted to just 11.5%. This means Duolingo generates far more revenue from every marketing dollar spent than it used to.

• Declining Cost to Acquire a Customer (CAC): The cost to acquire a single new paying subscriber has also dropped significantly. It was an estimated ~$41 at the time of its IPO but fell to ~$33 in the first quarter of 2025. Other estimates have put this number as low as $1–$2 per new user, highlighting just how efficient its strategy is.

This efficiency is no accident. It's the result of a deliberate and effective strategy of generating explosive, low-cost growth through viral marketing—like the famous "death of Duo" mascot stunt—product features that encourage sharing, and smart cultural partnerships. These successes allow the company to reinvest its savings into new products and further its growth.

While Duolingo is famous for its highly effective organic growth strategy—with up to 90% of new users acquired without paid advertising—they certainly do spend a significant amount on marketing in the U.S. market as well.

📊 Breakdown of U.S. Marketing Spend

• 🚀 Impressive Growth Rate: Duolingo's overall sales and marketing expenses are on a steep upward trajectory. For example:

• In the six months ending June 30, 2025, this expense surged by 40% year-over-year to $56.2 million, up from $40.1 million in the same period of 2024.

• This continues a multi-year trend, rising from $59.2M in 2021 to $75.8M in 2023.

• 🎯 Paid Ad Spend on Key Platforms: The company actively purchases digital ads. In Q2 2024, their U.S. advertising peaked at over $177,000 in monthly spending. Their primary focus was YouTube, which accounted for a "major share of impressions".

• 🤝 Low-Cost Brand Building: Beyond traditional ads, Duolingo excels at organic, viral marketing.

• Their viral social media strategy generated nearly 3 billion impressions across platforms in 2023, a 170% increase from the previous year.

• They leverage pop culture moments, like a Squid Game-themed campaign, which led to a 216% surge in U.S. Mandarin course enrollments.

• These efforts keep customer acquisition costs remarkably low, estimated at just $1–$2 per user.

• 💵 Revenue from U.S. Operations: The financial importance of the U.S. market is clear. Duolingo reported U.S. revenue of $392.2 million for the year ending December 31, 2025, a significant increase from $311.5 million the previous year.

If you'd like to explore any other aspect of Duolingo's marketing strategy, feel free to ask.