Duolingo Daily Users Jump 29% to 64.9M as Q3 Bookings Top Guidance and the Full-Year Outlook Rises
Revenue rose 14% to $309.0M and paid subscribers reached 13.1M, while adjusted EBITDA margin slipped to 25.5% from 29.5% a year earlier.
Duolingo (DUOL) reported third-quarter 2026 bookings of $316.1 million, up 12% and above the $307 million it guided in August, as daily active users climbed 29% to 64.9 million. Revenue rose 14% to $309.0 million, also above the $302 million guide, and the company raised its full-year bookings outlook to $1.296 billion from $1.285 billion. Shares were up about 11.3% in after-hours trading.
Third-quarter results
| Metric | Q3 2026 | Q3 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $309.0M | $271.7M | +14% |
| Bookings | $316.1M | $281.9M | +12% |
| Daily active users | 64.9M | 50.5M | +29% |
| Monthly active users | 153.1M | 135.3M | +13% |
| Paid subscribers | 13.1M | 11.5M | +14% |
| Adjusted EBITDA | $78.7M | $80.0M | -1.6% |
| Adjusted EBITDA margin | 25.5% | 29.5% | -4.0 pts |
| Net income | $27.2M | $292.2M | Prior year included a $222.7M one-time tax benefit |
By our calculation, bookings beat the company's guide by about 3.0%, revenue by about 2.3% and adjusted EBITDA ($76 million guided) by about 3.6%. Daily users grew about 10.6% from the 58.7 million reported in the second quarter. Chief Executive Luis von Ahn said the company is now seeing the user acceleration it hoped for.
Outlook
| Item | Q4 2026 guide | Full-year 2026 guide | Prior full-year guide |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bookings | $382M (+13%) | $1,296M (+12%) | $1,285M |
| Revenue | $322M (+14%) | $1,221M (+18%) | $1,207M |
| Adjusted EBITDA | $84M (26.1% margin) | $323M (26.5% margin) | $320M |
By our calculation, the full-year bookings guide rose about 0.9% and the revenue guide about 1.2%.
Buyback
Duolingo repurchased $6.4 million of stock in the third quarter under its $400 million program announced in February. Through Oct. 30, it had bought 781,439 shares for $82.0 million.
What to watch
- Conference call. How the faster user growth converts into paid subscribers and bookings.
- Margin. Whether adjusted EBITDA margin returns toward 29% after falling to 25.5%.
- Q4 guide. Bookings growth of 13% against a user base growing 29%.
- Related coverage. See our reports on Upwork, Ibotta and Procore.
Sources: Duolingo's third-quarter 2026 shareholder letter and second-quarter 2026 letter on SEC EDGAR, which contains the prior guidance. The after-hours move comes from market data and may differ by source. Items labeled by our calculation are our own arithmetic. This article is informational only and is not investment advice.
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