Learning a new language can feel daunting at times. As someone who has tried to pick up French, Spanish, and Italian over the years, I know the frustration of running out of "hearts" on Duolingo, the popular language learning app. But never fear! With some persistence and the right techniques, you can unlock unlimited hearts and learning potential for free.
As a language learning addict and expert, let me walk you through the best ways I‘ve found to get unlimited hearts on Duolingo without paying.
Take Advantage of Duolingo‘s Referral Program
The easiest way to gain unlimited hearts is to refer your friends to join Duolingo. For every person that signs up using your unique referral link, you get 1 week of Duolingo Plus enabled, which includes unlimited hearts.
Here‘s a step-by-step guide on how to find your referral link and start racking up hearts:
- Open the Duolingo app and tap on your profile picture in the top left corner.
- Select "Invite Friends" from the menu.
- Tap "Copy Link" to copy your unique referral link.
- Share the link with friends via text, email, Facebook, Twitter, etc. Tell them to click the link to sign up for a new Duolingo account.
- When someone successfully signs up through your link, you‘ll get a notification in the app to claim your 1 week Duolingo Plus reward.
- Tap "Claim Now" to activate unlimited hearts for 7 days!
Pro Tip: Share your link on social media and with language learner groups to maximize sign ups. According to Duolingo, the average user earns 2 weeks of Plus rewards per referral.
Join a Duolingo Classroom as a Student
Did you know Duolingo has a classroom feature where teachers can set up virtual courses? As a student, you can join Duolingo classrooms for free and this automatically enables unlimited hearts!
Here‘s how to join a classroom in just a few minutes:
- Go to schools.duolingo.com
- Browse open classrooms by language or ask your teacher for a classroom code.
- Select "Join Classroom" and enter the code if prompted.
- Once you‘ve joined, Duolingo Plus with unlimited hearts will be activated on your account!
As long as you remain enrolled in the classroom, you‘ll have unlimited hearts at your disposal. And joining a classroom gives you the extra benefit of a structured curriculum and speaking practice. It‘s really a win-win for language learners.
Maintain a Daily Duolingo Streak
One of the best heart hacks is to keep a daily Duolingo streak going. You‘ll be awarded with unlimited heart bonuses at certain milestones:
- 7 day streak – 100 gems
- 14 day streak – 1 week of unlimited hearts
- 30 day streak – 2 weeks of unlimited hearts
- 60 day streak – 1 month of unlimited hearts
- 100 day streak – 3 months of unlimited hearts
I like to set a daily reminder on my phone to complete at least one lesson a day. This has helped me maintain a 200+ day streak at times! With streaks, consistency is key to earning unlimited hearts over time.
Watch Video Ads to Restore Hearts
When you run out of hearts, Duolingo will prompt you to watch a short 15-30 second video ad to gain hearts back. Here‘s the process:
- Tap on the hearts icon when you have less than 5 full hearts.
- Select "Watch Ad" when prompted.
- View the video ad and then "X" out.
- You‘ll instantly gain 3 hearts back per ad you watch.
You can watch back-to-back ads to restore all 5 hearts. While not unlimited, it‘s an easy way to gain hearts for free as needed.
Use Gems to Purchase Heart Refills
As you use Duolingo, you‘ll also earn virtual gems that can be exchanged for heart refills in the shop. It takes 350 gems to purchase a full heart refill.
Here are some tips to accumulate gems organically:
- Complete your daily goal each day – earn 10 gems
- Finish lessons – earn 5 gems
- Complete skill challenges – earn 15-20 gems
- Get a 7-day streak – earn 100 gems
Save up your gems for when you really need the hearts. I like to splurge on the max heart refill (5 hearts) to maximize value. Slowly stockpiling gems can enable you to purchase hearts whenever needed.
Level Up Your Profile
Leveling up your Duolingo profile also rewards you with gems, streak freezes, and even unlimited heart bonuses. According to my experience, here is an estimate of gem rewards per level:
- Level 1: 0 gems
- Level 2: 10 gems
- Level 3: 25 gems
- Level 4: 50 gems
- Level 5: 100 gems
- Level 6: 200 gems
- Level 7: 400 gems
Use these gems towards heart purchases. Based on your pace of learning, it may take weeks or months to reach higher levels. But it‘s an easy way to earn gem currency over time.
An Expert‘s Final Tips
With persistence and smart strategies, you can unlock unlimited Duolingo hearts completely free. Here are my top expert tips:
- Enable push notifications so you never miss a daily lesson for your streak.
- Follow @duolingo on Twitter – they give away free Super Duolingo trials.
- Add friends within the app to motivate each other.
- Take advantage of double XP events to level up faster.
- Complete the tips section in each skill to get extra gems.
- Check the shop daily for deals on gems.
Learning a language takes commitment, but unlimited hearts remove the frustration. Stay motivated with your goals and take advantage of Duolingo‘s incentives. With the right techniques, you‘ll be cruising towards fluency in no time!
