Duolingo's switch to 'Energy' system leaves many longtime users feeling punished

There’s something deeply ironic about being locked out of a language learning app because you’ve been using it too much. But that’s exactly what thousands of Duolingo users are dealing with after the company rolled out its new Energy system.

The change replaces hearts with a battery-style energy bar that drains with every question you answer. Get three lessons done perfectly? Doesn’t matter. Your energy still runs out, and now you’re stuck waiting 18 hours, spending gems you’ve saved for years, or watching ads to keep going.

A Reddit post from earlier this week summed up the frustration pretty well: “So now we’re punished for using the app?” The thread pulled in nearly 3,000 upvotes, with hundreds of comments from people ready to abandon ship entirely.

Here’s what changed. Under the old hearts system, you lost progress when you made mistakes. Five wrong answers and you’d need to wait, practice easier lessons, or sit through ads. It was annoying, but it made sense in a “do better next time” kind of way.

Energy works differently. Free users get 25 units instead of five hearts, which sounds better until you realize energy disappears whether you’re right or wrong. The OP from the trending Reddit post learning Spanish said: “Now I can basically do 3 perfect lessons with 0 mistakes, and I’m suddenly forced to either wait like 18 hours, pay with the gems that I’ve been grinding for years, or binge watch Temu adds.”

Duolingo’s official explanation centers on helping users develop “healthier learning habits” and complete more lessons. They claim beginners were twice as likely to run out of hearts mid-lesson, which could be discouraging. Energy supposedly fixes this by shifting focus from punishing mistakes to rewarding correct answers with random energy bonuses.

But users aren’t convinced. The system hits particularly hard for anyone learning languages with different alphabets. One person studying Japanese mentioned that taking too long to read characters costs two energy units instead of one. “I’m disgusted but at the same time it forces me to look elsewhere,” they wrote.

And people are looking elsewhere. Alternative apps like Renshuu keep getting mentioned in threads asking for recommendations. Deutsche Welle’s free German courses are popping up. Even YouTube lessons and library resources are being suggested as better options than what Duolingo now offers.

Even people with 750-day streaks are talking about switching apps. In another post, someone mentioned they should’ve left a long time ago but the energy system was their “final straw.”

“Give us hearts back or the owl gets it,” one user warned on X. Another complained: “Each change worsens Duolingo. It’s no fun anymore. Energy instead of hearts, it’s the final straw.”

Sam Liberty, writing in a Medium analysis, argues the change is about monetization more than education. Super and Max subscribers get unlimited energy, just like they had unlimited hearts before. The core limitation hasn’t changed, but now it feels worse because even perfect performance drains your battery.

What bothers users most is the lack of choice. Unlike hearts, which Super users could toggle off if they wanted, Energy is mandatory once you’re in the test group. No opt-out, no going back. You just get told the rollout is part of “active testing” that will improve over time.

After controversial changes like removing the skill tree in 2022, many users were already frustrated. Energy feels less like an upgrade and more like the thing that finally pushes them to competing apps.

Duolingo says energy creates a “more balanced experience” that supports its free education mission. But when longtime users are actively searching for alternatives and new learners get blocked after three perfect lessons, you have to wonder what kind of balance they’re really going for.