A Duolingo alternative for your own words
A course decides what you learn. Rayaad makes sure the words you actually meet are still there next year — the part most learners end up needing.
Why switch to Rayaad
- Your words, not a syllabus. Everything you review is there because you added it, or chose a deck.
- Spaced repetition schedules every word from your own answers, with gaps that grow into months.
- Any pair of languages, including ones no course exists for.
- No streaks, leagues or nagging notifications. A session ends when the due words are done.
- Export everything, any time, on any plan.
Where they differ
- Duolingo teaches a course, with grammar, listening and speaking exercises. Rayaad does one job — keeping the vocabulary you choose — and is not a course.
- Duolingo's motivation features are central to it. Rayaad has none of them, which suits people who found streaks more stressful than helpful.
- Duolingo covers a fixed set of official courses. Rayaad has no list of supported languages.
- Duolingo decides the order you meet words in. Rayaad has no opinion about what you learn, only about when to show it to you again.
Duolingo vs Rayaad, side by side
In words rather than ticks — a tick on both sides tells you nothing.
| Rayaad | Duolingo | |
|---|---|---|
| Built for | People who have words they want to keep, at any level, in any language pair. | Learners who want a guided course, especially from beginner to lower intermediate. |
| Who picks the words | You do. Every card is there because you put it there, or installed a deck. | The course does, in the order it is arranged. |
| Scheduling | FSRS spaced repetition for every word, from your own answers, with gaps you can see. | Review is built into the course rather than shown as a schedule for each word. |
| Adding your own words | The whole point — quick add, CSV, paste and AI drafts. | Not part of the course; what you learn is what it contains. |
| Grammar and speaking | Not covered. Rayaad keeps vocabulary, and says so. | A core part of the course, along with listening and speaking. |
| Motivation | No streaks, leagues, daily goals or engagement notifications. | Central and deliberate — streaks, leagues, goals and reminders. |
| Languages | Any pair you choose. There is no list of supported languages. | A fixed set of official courses, extensive for widely spoken languages. |
| Price | A free plan with no review limit and no ads. | Free with ads, plus a paid subscription. |
The words a course cannot reach
Once you are past the first months of a language, most new words arrive from outside any app: a book, a subtitle, a colleague’s phrasing, a sign. They are in nobody’s course, and a course cannot schedule a word it does not know about.
Those words usually end up in a notebook or a note on a phone, which means they are never reviewed — and never learned. That list is what Rayaad is for. You add the words, and Rayaad brings each one back just before it would slip, for as long as it takes.
No streak, on purpose
Rayaad has no streak, no league and no daily goal. Progress is what you can remember, not how many days in a row you opened an app. For some people a streak is the thing that gets them to show up. For the many who have quit after breaking a long one, its absence is the point.
Any pair, including yours
There is no list of supported languages. You choose the language you are learning and the one you speak, so Rayaad works for combinations no course has ever been built for — and every card can be heard in the right voice.
Moving from Duolingo
Keep your course, if you like it
Plenty of people use a course for structure and Rayaad for everything the course does not cover. They are different jobs.
Start a list of the words you meet
From a book, a show, a conversation. Add each one in a few seconds, or paste the notes you already keep.
Review what is due, then stop
A few minutes a day. When the due words are done, you are done — there is no streak to keep alive.
Duolingo alternative questions
Can Rayaad replace Duolingo?
Not as a course — Rayaad does not teach grammar or speaking. It is the better tool for keeping vocabulary, and many learners use it alongside a course or after finishing one.
Does Rayaad have streaks?
No. There are no streaks, leagues or points. Progress is measured in what you remember, and missing a day costs you nothing but a few due words.
Which languages can I learn?
Any pair you choose, including ones no course has been built for. Ready-made decks exist for some pairs; everything else works with your own words.
Try Rayaad alongside Duolingo
Nothing to uninstall. Add a handful of words you keep losing and see whether they stop being lost.