LingoflyLearning Spanish with Duolingo?
Spanish is one of Duolingo’s biggest courses: per its announcement of April 22, 2026 it goes up to B2 on the CEFR scale regardless of the source language. DELE diplomas certify it officially from A1 to C2, with indefinite validity. Below: how the Duolingo levels, the exams and our course line up — and how to switch without starting from lesson 1.
From Duolingo sections to a level and an exam
Duolingo’s courses are built on CEFR, and on 22.04.2026 they announced: nine of their most popular courses, Spanish among them, now teach up to B2 regardless of the source language ([the announcement](https://blog.duolingo.com/courses-teach-advanced-content/)). Your current level in the app is the Duolingo Score; their own Score ↔ CEFR table is the first column ([the table](https://blog.duolingo.com/duolingo-score/)).
| Duolingo Score | CEFR | Exam | Our level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0–29 | A1 | DELE A1 | A0–A1 |
| 30–59 | A2 | DELE A2 | A1–A2 |
| 60–99 | B1 | DELE B1 | B1 |
| 100–129 | B2 | DELE B2 | — |
- As of September 27, 2026, the Spanish course on Duolingo runs from Russian.checked against the primary source
- DELE certifies levels A1–C2, valid indefinitely.checked against the primary sourceInstituto Cervantes · Checked September 27, 2026.
- SIELE certifies levels global score 0–1000, CEFR-aligned; certificate valid 5 years.checked against the primary sourceInstituto Cervantes, UNAM, Universidad de Salamanca, Universidad de Buenos Aires · Checked September 27, 2026.
- Getting by on simple subjects usually takes 180–200 hours of study. That is a very rough estimate: it works out differently for different people.checked littleCambridge English, Guided learning hours · A guideline from the Cambridge exam board for level A2; up to B1 it is 350–400 hours. It is the board's estimate, not a research finding.
- To follow about 95% of ordinary conversation you need around 3,000 words. But 95% means one unknown word in twenty — not “I understand nearly everything”.checked many timesAdolphs & Schmitt, 2003, Applied Linguistics 24(4) · Counted across two large collections of recorded speech: CANCODE (5 million words) and the BNC. Word families were counted, not each form separately.
How to switch without starting from lesson 1
Already learning Spanish on Duolingo? Do not start from the alphabet: the app asks you in the course's own words and lands you exactly where you belong. The level row below opens Spanish right away — the language is already chosen.
- A check of where to start. Three questions per band, two failed bands — and the check is over. It asks in the words of the course itself, not by self-assessment.
- Words can come along. Export your list from Duolingo as text or CSV — the course credits the matches and does not teach them again.
- Streak days transfer once. In your first week after switching, the streak starts at their count; after that only our days count, and rewards and leagues restart from zero.
Where Duolingo is stronger
The Spanish course is Duolingo’s shop window: hundreds of lessons, content up to B2, more than a decade of polish. If Spanish is all you need and explanations in your own language are not the point, starting there is the sensible move. Our difference is the script-first order, pronunciation scoring and a B1 target with honest hours.
Our course: Spanish
4061 words by topic, a phrasebook with dialogues, grammar in plain words and texts to read — from the alphabet up to B1.
The hours to a level follow Cambridge's guide, the same one as the How long does Spanish take page: usually 180–200 hours of study to A2, 350–400 to B1.
Frequently asked
Is Spanish in Duolingo?
Yes. The difference is not whether the course exists but what is inside it: how many words, whether each has audio, whether the script is taught from zero. We have Spanish in full: 4061 words, with audio, a phrasebook and grammar in plain words.
Which exams certify a Spanish level?
Officially, Spanish levels are certified by: DELE (A1–C2, valid indefinitely) and SIELE (global score 0–1000, CEFR-aligned; certificate valid 5 years). Each body publishes its own mapping between its certificates and levels; the links are in the sources block under the table.
DELE or SIELE — which one to take?
Different jobs, by their own pages: DELE issues level diplomas A1–C2 with indefinite validity; SIELE is a single multi-level exam scored 0–1000, mapped to CEFR, with a certificate that lasts five years. Officialdom usually asks for DELE; SIELE is the quicker level check.