Duolingo Q3 2026: daily users up 29%, bookings up 12%, operating expenses up 24%

Duolingo runs a mobile learning app, best known for languages. It makes most of its bookings from subscriptions (Super, and until now Max), and the rest from advertising, in-app purchases and the Duolingo English Test. It reports bookings, the cash customers commit in the quarter, alongside revenue, which recognizes subscriptions over their term and so lags bookings.

The Q3 letter says that at the start of the year management “laid out a plan to prioritize teaching better and user growth, knowing it would take time to see results”. By our reading, Q3 shows that plan at work on three lines at once: users, bookings and costs. This piece follows the three in turn and then looks at the raised outlook.

Duolingo Q3 2026 results at a glance

$ millions, except per share and users	Q3 2026	Q2 2026	Q3 2025
Daily active users (M)	64.9	58.7	50.5
Paid subscribers, period end (M)	13.1	12.7	11.5
Total bookings	316.1	289.1	281.9
Subscription bookings	278.4	250.3	240.3
Revenue	309.0	298.5	271.7
Income from operations	24.2	33.9	35.2
Net income	27.2	33.2	292.2
Diluted EPS	$0.54	$0.66	$5.95
Adjusted EBITDA	78.7	77.3	80.0

The year-ago net income and EPS include a one-time $222.7 million income-tax benefit from releasing a valuation allowance on deferred tax assets, so they are not comparable with 2026.

DAU growth accelerated to 29%

DAUs averaged 64.9 million, up 29% from a year earlier and about 11% from Q2 (our arithmetic); the letter says growth accelerated for a second quarter in a row, from 23% in Q2. Monthly active users rose 13% to 153.1 million. The letter credits hundreds of product experiments on notifications and streaks, and partnerships with two mobile games, Brawl Stars and Eggy Party, which it says brought in “millions of new and returning users”.

Duolingo also expects the momentum to hold: the letter forecasts year-over-year DAU growth in Q4 “similar to Q3”.

Bookings grew 12%, against 29% for daily users

Total bookings rose 12% to $316.1 million, four points faster than Q2’s 8%, and subscription bookings 16% to $278.4 million. Paid subscribers grew 14% to 13.1 million. So bookings grew at well under half the rate of daily users (our arithmetic). Per daily user, bookings were about $4.87 in the quarter against $5.58 a year earlier, about 13% lower, and paid subscribers were about 20.2% of DAUs against 22.8% (our arithmetic). The letter says “every new learner expands the audience we can monetize over time”, and that Duolingo is “gradually leaning more into monetization in ways that preserve the quality of our free experience”.

Revenue rose 14% to $309.0 million. The CFO’s section explains that revenue growth moderated from Q2 because subscription revenue follows earlier, slower bookings, and expects it to follow bookings up. Gross margin was 72.9%, up 40 bps, which the letter attributes to lower feature-based AI costs and hosting.

The letter also announced that Duolingo will stop selling Max, its top subscription tier, and move existing individual Max subscribers to a Super family plan at the same price, as unlimited Video Call, its AI conversation feature, moves into Super. It expects the bookings effect to be minimal.

Operating income fell to $24.2M, including an $11.4M user-growth bonus

GAAP operating expenses grew $39.2 million, or 24%, to $200.9 million, faster than revenue. Research and development rose about 30% to $107.7 million, sales and marketing about 20% and general and administrative about 16% (our arithmetic). The total includes an $11.4 million accrual for a company-wide bonus tied to reaching Q4 DAU growth of 25% or more, which the letter says was not in its earlier outlook.

Income from operations fell to $24.2 million from $35.2 million, about 31%, and the operating margin to about 7.8% from 12.9% (our arithmetic). Without the bonus accrual, operating income would have been about $35.6 million, roughly level with a year earlier (our arithmetic), though the letter also says certain expenses shifted from Q3 into Q4, so some Q3 costs moved into Q4. Adjusted EBITDA, which adds back stock-based compensation, depreciation and other items, was $78.7 million, down 2%, a 25.5% margin against 29.5%.

Net income was $27.2 million, or $0.54 per diluted share. The year-ago $292.2 million included the $222.7 million tax benefit.

Cash, buybacks and dilution

Operating cash flow was $89.4 million and free cash flow $75.3 million, a 24.4% margin against 28.5%. Cash and short-term investments were about $1.4 billion. Duolingo repurchased $6.4 million of stock in Q3, and $82.0 million in total under its $400 million program through October 30, which the letter says offset all dilution from 2024 and 2025. Fully diluted shares were 50.8 million.

What Duolingo guided for Q4 and 2026

Guidance, $ millions	Q4 2026	Q3 2026 guide (August)	Q3 2026 actual
Bookings	382	307	316.1
Revenue	322	302	309.0
Adjusted EBITDA	84	76	78.7

Q4 bookings of $382 million would be 13% growth and revenue of $322 million 14%. Duolingo expects gross margin to dip to 72.0% in Q4 as it rolls out more AI features, and says the Q4 adjusted EBITDA guide includes the rest of the DAU bonus and “the timing shift of certain expenses from Q3 into Q4”. It also says it expects Q4 bookings slightly ahead of the guidance implied by its previous full-year outlook. In constant currency, it puts Q4 bookings growth at 14% and revenue growth at 13%, and estimates that each 1% move in the U.S. dollar against its currency basket changes Q4 bookings by about $2 million. For 2026, it expects to finish at the high end of its 10% to 12% bookings growth and 15% to 18% revenue growth targets, with adjusted EBITDA of $323 million, a 26.5% margin, $3 million above its previous guidance. It expects stock-based compensation of about 14% of revenue for 2026 and dilution from equity grants of 3.5% to 4.0% before buybacks.

What to watch in Q4

• DAU growth vs the 25% bonus line. The letter expects Q4 DAU growth similar to Q3’s 29%; the bonus pays at 25% or more.
• Bookings per user. About 13% lower than a year earlier in Q3 (our arithmetic). The Q4 guides are 13% bookings growth and DAU growth “similar to Q3”.
• Max sunset. Duolingo expects a minimal bookings effect from moving Max subscribers to Super family plans.
• AI costs. Gross margin guided to 72.0% as AI features roll out more widely.
• Operating margin. About 7.8% GAAP in Q3 (our arithmetic), with more of the bonus to come in Q4.

Quick answers

How many daily active users does Duolingo have?

Duolingo averaged 64.9 million daily active users in Q3 2026, up 29% from 50.5 million a year earlier. Monthly active users were 153.1 million and paid subscribers 13.1 million at quarter end.

What was Duolingo’s revenue in Q3 2026?

Revenue was $309.0 million, up 14%, and total bookings $316.1 million, up 12%. Both were above the $302 million and $307 million Duolingo had guided to in August.

Why did Duolingo’s earnings fall in Q3 2026?

Net income fell to $27.2 million from $292.2 million mainly because the year-ago quarter included a one-time $222.7 million tax benefit. Operating income also fell, to $24.2 million from $35.2 million, as operating expenses grew 24%, including an $11.4 million bonus accrual tied to Q4 user growth.

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Sources and method. Every company figure is Duolingo’s own disclosure, read directly from SEC EDGAR and linked above. Third-quarter and year-ago user metrics, bookings, revenue, gross margin, the income statement, the bonus accrual, the tax benefit note, cash flow, free cash flow, share repurchases, the balance sheet and the Q4 and full-year guidance come from the shareholder letter filed as Exhibit 99.2 to the Form 8-K filed 2026-11-03 (accession 0001628280-26-069474) for the quarter ended 2026-09-30; the press release is Exhibit 99.1 to the same filing. Second-quarter metrics and the Q3 guidance issued in August come from the Q2 shareholder letter (Form 8-K, Exhibit 99.2, filed 2026-08-05, accession 0001628280-26-053299). The results were filed with the SEC at 4:06 pm ET on 2026-11-03 (Form 8-K acceptance time on the EDGAR filing index), after the US market closed; the release scheduled its webcast for 5:00 p.m. ET the same day.

No consensus estimate is included, so this piece makes no claim that the quarter beat or missed expectations. Guidance comparisons are against Duolingo’s own published outlook only. This piece makes no claim about the share-price reaction.

Our arithmetic, labelled as such: DAU growth of 11% from Q2; bookings growth at about 41% of DAU growth (12% against 29%); bookings per daily user of about $4.87 and $5.58 and the 13% decline in bookings per daily user; paid subscribers at 20.2% and 22.8% of DAUs; R&D, sales and marketing and G&A growth (30%, 20% and 16%); the 31% fall in operating income and operating margins of 7.8% and 12.9%; and operating income of about $35.6 million before the bonus accrual. These are approximations, not reported numbers. The 29%, 23%, 14%, 12%, 16%, 24%, −2%, 13% MAU growth, 13% Q4 bookings growth guide, 40 bps gross margin change and other margin figures are as printed in the letter. The interpretation (that user growth is running ahead of bookings and that the bonus accrual accounts for a large part of the operating income decline, alongside expense timing) is our analysis, not a company statement or a forecast.

Related: Duolingo Q2 2026, the prior quarter, and Reddit Q3 2026, another consumer app.