Kahoot! vs Duolingo
Side-by-side comparison of AI visibility scores, market position, and capabilities
$150M revenue Oct 2025; 4B participants in 200 countries; acquired by Goldman Sachs, General Atlantic, Kirkbi $1.7B 2024; delisted March 2024; TIME Top 5 EdTech 2025; 600 employees; gamified learning leader
About
Kahoot! is a game-based learning platform founded in 2012 in Trondheim, Norway, spun out of research at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, with the mission of making learning awesome by transforming education and training into engaging, competitive, social experiences. The company was founded on the pedagogical conviction that active participation — answering questions under time pressure in a group setting — dramatically improves knowledge retention compared to passive instruction, and that the mechanics of games (points, leaderboards, competition) could be applied to any learning context from school classrooms to corporate training to social trivia. Kahoot! was built as a platform accessible on any device with a web browser, requiring no installation and enabling instant deployment in live group settings.\n\nKahoot!'s core product allows educators, trainers, and presenters to create multiple-choice quizzes, polls, and word puzzles — called kahoots — that participants join via a game PIN on their devices. The platform has expanded significantly into asynchronous learning, with Challenge mode for self-paced assignments, Courses for structured learning journeys, and an AI-powered question generator that accelerates content creation. Kahoot! at Work targets corporate L&D teams with branded training games, onboarding programs, and meeting engagement tools. The platform integrates with Microsoft Teams, Google Workspace, Canvas, and major LMS platforms, embedding Kahoot! into existing learning workflows.\n\nKahoot! reached $150 million in revenue as of October 2025 and has accumulated 4 billion participants across 200 countries, making it one of the most widely used educational technology platforms in the world. In 2024, the company was taken private in a $1.7 billion acquisition led by Goldman Sachs Alternatives, General Atlantic, and Kirkbi, reflecting institutional confidence in its growth trajectory despite the post-pandemic normalization of the EdTech sector. Its combination of extraordinary scale, freemium-to-enterprise monetization, and a product roadmap anchored in AI-assisted content generation positions Kahoot! as the dominant brand in interactive learning globally.
Pittsburgh gamified language learning (NASDAQ: DUOL, $17.7B market cap); Q3 2025 $400.2M revenue with 47.7M DAU +40% YoY and 2025 guidance raised to $1.68B; Chess course 1M+ DAU competing with Babbel for consumer language EdTech.
About
Duolingo is a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based language learning platform — publicly traded on NASDAQ (NASDAQ: DUOL) at approximately $17.7 billion market capitalization as of mid-2025 — providing 130+ million monthly active users with gamified language and education courses in 42 languages plus mathematics, music, and chess. In Q3 2025, Duolingo reported $400.2 million in revenue (+9% year-over-year), 47.7 million daily active users (+40% YoY), and 10.9 million paid subscribers (+37% YoY), raising full-year 2025 guidance to $1.68-1.69 billion — versus $748 million in 2024 revenue. The Chess course launched in 2025 surpassed 1 million daily users. Duolingo Max and Super Duolingo premium subscriptions provide AI-powered features including GPT-4-powered conversational practice (Duolingo Max) with roleplay scenarios and AI explanations. Duolingo employs 800+ people with >90% annual employee retention. Founded 2011 by Carnegie Mellon professor Luis von Ahn and Severin Hacker; NASDAQ IPO July 2021 at $3.7 billion valuation.
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