DuoCards and 1000 Words are both vocabulary apps with spaced repetition, but they start from different places. DuoCards is strong at collecting your own cards from videos, articles and shared decks, in more than 50 languages. 1000 Words gives you the 1,000 most important words of each language ready to learn, with audiobooks, videos and AI stories, in 33 freely combinable languages. If you want to collect words yourself, choose DuoCards; if you want to start with ready-made core vocabulary, choose 1000 Words.
As of November 2026. Statements about DuoCards are based on the sources listed below (DuoCards FAQ, App Store, reviews and user ratings). Prices and features change, so check the store.
| Feature | DuoCards | 1000 Words |
|---|---|---|
| Company | DuoCards s.r.o. | Tob Apps, Barcelona |
| Core idea | Your own flashcards, saving words from YouTube videos and articles, public decks and courses | Ready-made core vocabulary: 1,000 words per course in three categories |
| Review system | Spaced repetition | SM-2 with four ratings and a due list |
| Practice types | Flashcards, AI tutor with role-play, pronunciation feedback, AI grammar feedback | Flashcards, typing, listening, speaking, matching, speed round, mixed |
| Extra content | Learning with videos and articles, transliteration for other scripts | Videos, audiobooks (including a sleep version), e-books, PDF word lists, quizzes, AI stories A1 to C1 |
| Languages | 50+ according to the App Store, over 100 according to the FAQ | 33, any combination (1,056 pairs) |
| Free tier | up to 20 added cards, up to 2 languages, ads | first 100 words per course as video and audiobook, 100 own words per pair, ads |
| Premium (Nov 2026) | 3 months or 1 year, family plan for up to 6; US App Store tiers from about $20 to about $160 | €5.99 a month or €29.99 a year (German reference price), all languages |
| Platforms | iOS, Android, web, Chrome extension | Web app, iOS, Android |
DuoCards is a flashcard app by the company DuoCards s.r.o. Learners save words and phrases from subtitled YouTube videos, articles or shared decks and review them with spaced repetition. It also offers ready-made courses, public decks, an AI tutor for role-play and stories, pronunciation feedback, and, more recently, AI grammar feedback and transliteration for non-Latin scripts. A mascot called Memo rewards regular review.
Reviewers praise DuoCards for quick card creation, the built-in translator with audio and its clean interface; Think in Italian calls its spaced repetition system strong. DuoCards holds 4.7 stars in the US App Store and around 4.6 on Google Play.
1000 Words is a vocabulary app by Tob Apps in Barcelona. For each of 33 languages, 1000 Words contains the 1,000 most important words in three categories: nouns, verbs and adjectives, and sentences. Every word has a translation, an example sentence, audio and usually a picture. The trainer uses SM-2 in seven modes, and the due list shows each day what to review.
Around the trainer, 1000 Words has videos and audiobooks for every course, including triple-repeat and sleep versions, e-books, PDF word lists, quizzes such as hangman and AI stories from A1 to C1 built from your own words. You type your own words into My Words, where they are translated automatically, and decks can be shared and discovered.
DuoCards is at its best when you already have material: a series, a YouTube channel, articles. You save what you meet and learn exactly your own vocabulary. That suits intermediate and advanced learners and anyone who consumes a lot of input. The drawback for beginners is that you first need to know which words matter.
1000 Words makes that decision for you. Depending on the language and how you count, the 1,000 most frequent words cover a large share of everyday texts, and exactly those words are ready with a picture, example sentence and audio. You can add your own words too. What 1000 Words cannot do is pull words straight from YouTube or articles, hold AI conversations or correct grammar. If you want to go beyond core vocabulary, DuoCards is broader.
DuoCards is free to use, but according to its FAQ with a maximum of 20 added cards in your collection and two languages. Premium removes those limits, adds offline learning and comes as a three-month or yearly plan, plus a family plan for up to six people. The US App Store lists Premium tiers between about $20 and about $160. According to the FAQ, in-app purchases are generally non-refundable. DuoCards runs on iOS, Android, in the browser and as a Chrome extension.
1000 Words runs as a web app and on iOS and Android. Basic is free with ads: video and audiobooks for the first 100 words per course, 100 of your own words per language pair, and five AI stories a month with an account. Premium costs €5.99 a month or €29.99 a year as the German reference price, for all 33 languages. Depending on the store and plan, a short free trial may be available.
DuoCards is well rated. Even so, the following points recur in justuseapp reviews, the App Store and test reports.
What users report: several of the 28 reviews shown on justuseapp are about price, for example "Too expensive as a subscription." Think in Italian says the price may feel high compared with alternatives. According to the FAQ, Premium comes as a three-month or yearly plan.
What 1000 Words does better here: 1000 Words offers a monthly plan at €5.99 and a yearly plan at €29.99 (German reference prices), each for all 33 languages. It is still a subscription.
What users report: according to the DuoCards FAQ, free users can keep at most 20 cards and learn two languages; new cards can only be added once the total drops below 20. Think in Italian calls the free version restrictive.
What 1000 Words does better here: 1000 Words Basic is limited too, but differently: 100 own words per language pair instead of 20 cards, all 33 languages to choose from, and the first 100 words of every course as video and audiobook. In return, Basic shows ads.
What users report: a justuseapp reviewer says they can barely get through their cards before an ad pops up.
Where 1000 Words only helps with Premium: 1000 Words Basic shows ads as well. Premium is ad-free.
What users report: a 2023 App Store review criticises that the intervals between reviews cannot be changed and calls them "pretty absurd". This is a single voice.
What 1000 Words does better here, partly: 1000 Words uses SM-2, so how soon a word returns depends on whether you rate it again, hard, good or easy. You cannot set the intervals manually in 1000 Words either.
What users report: a few justuseapp reviews miss features such as filters, sorting or marking words as learned; one says filters require Premium. On DuoCards' feature board, users ask for folders and a way to flag difficult cards.
What 1000 Words does better here: in 1000 Words the core vocabulary is already sorted into nouns, verbs and adjectives, and sentences, each language pair has its own deck, and the due list automatically brings difficult words back more often. There are no custom folders for My Words, though.
What users report: Think in Italian mentions occasional bugs and slow loading, two justuseapp reviews report crashes, one of them when opening the rewards screen.
Where 1000 Words only partly helps: 1000 Words is not bug-free either. If you study on a computer, you can use 1000 Words in the browser, as with DuoCards on the web.
What users report: in 2024 an App Store user wrote that all their words were gone until they logged in again. In a forum, a user looks for their 850 own words.
What 1000 Words does better here: the core vocabulary of 1000 Words is built into the app and cannot be lost.
What reviewers say: Think in Italian lists "Limited speaking practice" and "Weak grammar explanations". DuoCards has since added an AI tutor and AI grammar feedback.
Where 1000 Words does not help: 1000 Words has no grammar course and no conversations. There is only the speaking mode, which compares the recognised word with the target word when the device and language support speech recognition.
DuoCards and 1000 Words complement each other: build core vocabulary with 1000 Words, then use DuoCards to collect the words from videos and articles that go beyond it. That way you do not need to create DuoCards cards for basic words.
DuoCards is a flexible card collector with many languages and AI features; users mainly criticise its price, tight free limit and ads. 1000 Words is more focused: ready-made core vocabulary in 33 languages with an SM-2 trainer, audiobooks, videos and AI stories, a monthly plan and one subscription for all languages. For starting a new language, 1000 Words is the more direct choice; for everything that comes after, DuoCards can join in.
For beginners 1000 Words is usually more direct, because the 1,000 most important words of each language are ready with a picture, example sentence and audio. In DuoCards you mostly build your vocabulary yourself (as of November 2026).
According to the DuoCards FAQ, at most 20 added cards in your collection and two languages. In 1000 Words Basic you get 100 own words per language pair, plus the ready-made core vocabulary.
According to its FAQ, DuoCards Premium comes as a three-month or yearly plan and a family plan. 1000 Words costs €5.99 a month or €29.99 a year in Germany.
1000 Words uses SM-2, the algorithm behind SuperMemo and Anki, with the ratings again, hard, good and easy.
DuoCards lists over 50 or over 100 languages, depending on the source. 1000 Words has 33 languages, each available in every combination with the same scope.
Yes. Use 1000 Words for core vocabulary and DuoCards for words from videos and articles that go beyond it.