Duolingo advertising spend, FY2025

Duolingo (DUOL) reported $86.9M of advertising expense for the fiscal year ended Dec 31, 2025. That is 8.4% of revenue of $1B. Up 39.3% from FY2024.

Ad spend, FY2025
$86.9M
year ended Dec 31, 2025
Change vs prior year
+39.3%
vs FY2024
Share of revenue
8.4%
of $1B revenue
Rank by ad spend
#368
of 458 companies

Key facts

  • Ad spend is 3.2x its FY2020 level ($27.4M), slower than revenue (6.4x).
  • FY2025 is the highest year on file, going back to FY2020.
  • Largest increase +57.1% in FY2021.
  • Ad spend has risen 5 years in a row.
  • Ad spend is 8.4% of revenue, down from 16.9% in FY2020.
  • Duolingo spends more on advertising than 20% of the 458 US-listed companies tracked. Its ad-to-revenue ratio is 1.8x the median of 4.6%.

Ad spend by fiscal year

$0 $25M $50M $75M $100M FY2020 (ended 2020-12-31): $27.4M 2020 FY2021 (ended 2021-12-31): $43M 2021 FY2022 (ended 2022-12-31): $48.1M 2022 FY2023 (ended 2023-12-31): $53M 2023 FY2024 (ended 2024-12-31): $62.4M 2024 FY2025 (ended 2025-12-31): $86.9M 2025 $86.9M

Ad spend as % of revenue

0% 5% 10% 15% 20% FY2020 (ended 2020-12-31): 16.9% 2020 FY2021 (ended 2021-12-31): 17.1% 2021 FY2022 (ended 2022-12-31): 13.0% 2022 FY2023 (ended 2023-12-31): 10.0% 2023 FY2024 (ended 2024-12-31): 8.3% 2024 FY2025 (ended 2025-12-31): 8.4% 2025 8.4%

History

Download CSV
Fiscal year Period end Ad spend YoY Revenue Ad / revenue Tag Filing
FY2025 Dec 31, 2025 $86.9M +39.3% $1B 8.4% AdvertisingExpense 10-K Feb 27, 2026
FY2024 Dec 31, 2024 $62.4M +17.8% $748M 8.3% AdvertisingExpense 10-K Feb 27, 2026
FY2023 Dec 31, 2023 $53M +10.1% $531M 10.0% AdvertisingExpense 10-K Feb 27, 2026
FY2022 Dec 31, 2022 $48.1M +12.0% $369M 13.0% AdvertisingExpense 10-K Feb 28, 2025
FY2021 Dec 31, 2021 $43M +57.1% $251M 17.1% AdvertisingExpense 10-K Feb 29, 2024
FY2020 Dec 31, 2020 $27.4M n/a $162M 16.9% AdvertisingExpense 10-K Mar 1, 2023

What the figure is

Advertising costs as disclosed in the annual report (XBRL tag AdvertisingExpense).

Compared with similar spenders

The 6 companies closest to Duolingo in latest-year ad spend.

Rank Company Ad spend Ad / revenue YoY Fiscal year
364 Spectrum Brands $87.7M 3.1% -4.4% FY2025
365 Universal Technical Institute $87.5M 10.5% +13.3% FY2025
366 Carters $87.3M 3.0% n/a FY2026
367 Shutterstock $87M 8.8% -5.2% FY2025
368 Duolingo $86.9M 8.4% +39.3% FY2025
369 LifeMD $86.1M 44.4% +22.8% FY2025
370 Polaris $85.7M 1.2% +0.2% FY2025

Full ranking of 458 companies · Biggest increases #51 · Up 5+ years in a row #52

Questions

How much does Duolingo spend on advertising?

Duolingo spent $86.9M on advertising in fiscal 2025, the year ended Dec 31, 2025, according to its 10-K filed Feb 27, 2026.

What percentage of revenue does Duolingo spend on advertising?

8.4% of revenue in fiscal 2025 ($86.9M of $1B). The median across the 458 companies tracked is 4.6%.

Is Duolingo spending more on advertising?

Yes. Ad spend rose 39.3% in fiscal 2025 from fiscal 2024. It has risen 5 years in a row.

How does Duolingo rank by advertising spend?

#368 of 458 US-listed companies with $50M or more in ad spend, ranked on each company's latest fiscal year.

What does Duolingo's advertising figure include?

Advertising costs as disclosed in the annual report (XBRL tag AdvertisingExpense).

Source

Filing
10-K for FY2025, filed Feb 27, 2026
Accession number
0001628280-26-012494
Company
Duolingo, Inc., CIK 1562088, SIC 7372 (Services-Prepackaged Software)
Data
SEC EDGAR XBRL company facts, retrieved Nov 4, 2026. Methodology.
Cite
Duolingo advertising spend, FY2020-FY2025. Aleksei Trudov, io.trudov.com, from SEC EDGAR XBRL company facts (latest: 10-K filed Feb 27, 2026), retrieved Nov 4, 2026. https://io.trudov.com/company/duolingo/advertising-spend/
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CSV, all years · CSV, all 458 companies