Last updated: November 2026
Your Duolingo daily goal is the XP target you aim to earn each day — for example, 10 XP for Casual, 20 XP for Regular, 30 XP for Serious, or 50 XP for Intense. When it works, the goal ring fills as you earn XP, and finishing it keeps your day counted. When it does not work, the ring stays empty, XP seems not to count, or the goal resets at the wrong time. This guide fixes all three problems, in order, without merging them into one vague “app not working” answer.
One correction first: the old version of this article said daily goals had been removed and replaced by one fixed target. That is not right. Daily goals still exist in 2026. What has changed is where you change them — the setting is easy to find on the web, and harder to find, or missing, on some versions of the mobile app. That mismatch is the cause of most of the confusion in this article’s comments and in search results.
What Counts Toward Your Daily Goal
Before you fix anything, check that you are counting the right thing:
| Activity | Counts toward daily goal? | Note |
|---|---|---|
| A completed lesson | Yes | XP is added when the lesson finishes and the summary screen loads. |
| Practice Hub review | Yes | Practice Hub is free for all learners and its XP counts like lesson XP. |
| A lesson you quit halfway | No | XP is only saved when the lesson is completed. |
| Stories, listening, and speaking practice | Yes, if finished | Any finished activity that awards XP counts. |
| XP from a League or a quest bonus | Usually yes, if it comes from a lesson | Bonus XP shown in the League table comes from the same lessons, so do not count it twice. |
| Opening the app, with no lesson | No | Opening the app does not earn XP and does not fill the goal. |
Your daily goal is also separate from your streak, even though they are linked. Your streak stays alive when you finish at least one lesson in a day. Your daily goal is a separate XP target, and it can be higher than one lesson. So you can keep your streak alive and still miss your daily goal — that is normal, not a bug.
The Daily Goal Levels
| Goal level | XP per day | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | 1 XP | Keeping a streak alive on a very busy day. |
| Casual | 10 XP | One short lesson a day. |
| Regular | 20 XP | A steady daily habit. |
| Serious | 30 XP | Faster progress, two or three lessons a day. |
| Intense | 50 XP | Heavy daily practice. |
If your goal is set to Intense (50 XP) and you only finish one 10 XP lesson, the ring will look broken — but it is not. It is simply not full yet. Check your goal level before you start troubleshooting. Many “goal not working” reports are really a goal set higher than the learner realised.
How to Change Your Daily Goal
The reliable way to change your goal in 2026 is on the web. The mobile app has moved or hidden this setting in several versions, and some learners report that they cannot find it on their phone at all.
On the web (most reliable)
- Sign in at duolingo.com in a browser on a computer.
- Click More in the left menu, then Settings.
- On the right side, click Edit Daily Goal.
- Pick a level from Basic (1 XP) to Intense (50 XP).
- Save it, then open the app and check that the new goal shows there.
On the mobile app (if your version still has it)
- Open the Duolingo app and tap your Profile tab.
- Tap the Settings gear at the top right.
- Scroll down and look for Edit Daily Goal or Daily Goal.
- If you find it, pick your new level and save it. If you do not find it, your app version does not offer it — change the goal on the web instead, using the steps above.
Do not install an old version of the app from an APK site to get the setting back. That is not officially supported, it can break your account sync, and it can put unsafe software on your phone. The web setting does the same job safely.
Problem 1: Your Goal Is Not Tracking (Ring Stays Empty)
Work through these in order. Stop as soon as the ring starts moving again.
- Finish a full lesson and wait for the summary screen. XP is saved when the lesson ends. If you close the app the second the last question ends, before the summary loads, the XP may never sync. Wait for the summary screen every time.
- Check your internet during the lesson. Duolingo needs a stable connection to sync XP to its servers. A connection that drops in the last seconds of a lesson is one of the most common reasons XP does not save. Switch to stable Wi-Fi and do one more lesson.
- Force-close the app and open it again. The goal ring can get stuck showing old data while the server already has your new XP. Closing the app fully and reopening it forces a fresh sync.
- Check the web version. Sign in at duolingo.com and look at your XP for today. If the web shows your XP and the app does not, the problem is the app, not your account. Update or reinstall the app (steps below).
- Update the app. Open your app store, search for Duolingo, and install any update. Sync and goal bugs are often fixed in a single app update.
- Clear the app cache (Android). Go to your phone Settings, then Apps, then Duolingo, then Storage, and tap Clear cache. On iPhone there is no cache button — reinstall the app instead (step 7).
- Reinstall the app. Delete Duolingo, restart your phone, install it again from your app store, and sign in to the same account. Your progress, streak, and XP are saved on your account, not on the phone — but make sure you know your login details before you delete the app.
Problem 2: XP Is Not Counting
XP not counting and the goal not tracking look the same, but the cause is often different. Check these:
| Symptom | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| XP shows 0 after a lesson | Lesson did not sync — connection dropped, or app closed too early | Do another lesson on stable Wi-Fi and wait for the summary screen. |
| XP counts on web, not on the app | App is outdated or its cache is stale | Update the app, clear the cache (Android), or reinstall. |
| XP counts on the app, not on the web | Web session is stale, or you are signed in to a different account on the web | Sign out and back in on the web with the same account. Clear browser cache. |
| XP is lower than expected | Short lesson, or XP boost ended | Check the lesson XP on the summary screen. Different lessons give different XP, and bonus XP events end. |
| XP from yesterday appears today, or the reverse | Timezone problem (see Problem 3) | Check your phone timezone and clock. See below. |
A note on the old article’s advice: it told readers to use “lingots” from the treasure chest and to try old app versions in emulators. Lingots no longer exist — gems replaced them years ago, and the treasure chest is not tied to the daily goal in the way the old article described. Ignore any guide that still talks about lingots as a current reward.
Problem 3: Goal Resets at the Wrong Time (Timezone)
This is the most missed cause. Duolingo counts a day based on your own local timezone. If your phone clock or timezone is wrong, a lesson you did “today” can be logged as yesterday, or tomorrow — and your goal resets when you do not expect it to.
- Check your phone timezone. Go to your phone Settings, then Date and Time, and turn on automatic date and time and automatic timezone. A manual timezone set to the wrong city is a common cause.
- Check the clock. If your phone clock is even an hour off, a late-night lesson can land on the wrong day.
- Be careful when travelling. If you fly across timezones, a lesson done at 11 pm in one place can count as the next day in another. Do your lesson earlier in the day while travelling, not right before midnight.
- Do not do lessons right before midnight. If you finish at 11:58 pm and the summary screen loads after midnight, the XP can land on the next day. Finish at least a few minutes before midnight to be safe.
- Use one device for late-night lessons. Two devices in different timezones, or one device with the wrong timezone, will disagree about which day it is.
If your streak was lost because of a timezone or sync problem, a Streak Freeze may have saved it — but only if you already had one in your inventory before the missed day. Duolingo support can sometimes restore a streak lost to a clear app error, but this is handled case by case and is not guaranteed. Ask through the Help Center, with the date and the lesson details ready.
Problem 4: The Goal Option Is Missing
Some learners open the app and cannot find any daily goal setting at all. This is a real difference between app versions, not something you did wrong.
- Check the web first. If Edit Daily Goal appears on duolingo.com, your goal still exists and you can change it there. The app will pick up the new goal after a sync.
- Update the app. A missing setting can be a bug in one version that is fixed in the next.
- Try another device. If the setting appears on a different phone or on the web, the problem is that one app version, not your account.
- Do not reset your course to fix this. Resetting a course deletes your progress in that course and does not bring the goal setting back.
We could not verify a single official Duolingo statement that explains exactly which app versions show the goal setting and which do not, so this guide does not claim a version number. The web route above is the part we can stand behind, because it is the route other current guides agree on and the one that works across versions.
Quick Fix Checklist
| Step | What to do | Takes about |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Check your goal level | Confirm your XP target on the web (Basic 1, Casual 10, Regular 20, Serious 30, Intense 50). | 1 minute |
| 2. Finish one full lesson | On stable Wi-Fi, wait for the summary screen. | 5 minutes |
| 3. Force-close and reopen | Close Duolingo fully, then open it again. | 1 minute |
| 4. Check the web | See if your XP shows on duolingo.com. If it does, the app is the problem. | 2 minutes |
| 5. Check timezone | Turn on automatic date, time, and timezone. | 1 minute |
| 6. Update the app | Install the latest Duolingo update from your app store. | 2 minutes |
| 7. Clear cache or reinstall | Clear cache on Android, or delete and reinstall the app. | 5 minutes |
| 8. Contact support | If XP is still missing after all of the above, report it with dates and screenshots. | 10 minutes |
When to Contact Duolingo Support
Contact support if your XP is missing on both the app and the web after a full lesson on stable Wi-Fi, if your goal keeps resetting at the wrong time even with the correct timezone, or if a streak was lost to a clear app error. Before you write, note down:
- The date and time of the lesson that did not count, and which language course it was in.
- Your daily goal level (Basic, Casual, Regular, Serious, or Intense).
- Your device, app version, and timezone setting.
- What you already tried from the checklist above.
- Screenshots of your goal ring and your XP for that day, on the app and on the web if they disagree.
Go to the Duolingo Help Center at support.duolingo.com and choose Submit a request, or use Help inside the app under Profile, then Settings, then Help. Duolingo has no phone support and no general support email, so the Help Center form is the official route. Never share your password with support, or with anyone who offers to fix your goal for you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is my Duolingo daily goal not working?
Most often, the goal is set higher than you realised, the lesson did not sync because the connection dropped or the app was closed before the summary screen, or your phone timezone is wrong so the XP landed on a different day. Check your goal level first, then do one full lesson on stable Wi-Fi and wait for the summary screen.
How much XP do I need for my daily goal?
It depends on your level: Basic is 1 XP, Casual is 10 XP, Regular is 20 XP, Serious is 30 XP, and Intense is 50 XP per day. You can change it on the web under More, then Settings, then Edit Daily Goal.
Does my daily goal keep my streak alive?
Not exactly. Your streak stays alive when you finish at least one lesson in a day. Your daily goal is a separate XP target. You can keep your streak and still miss a high daily goal, and that is normal.
Why did my XP count yesterday but not today?
Check the timezone first. If your phone clock or timezone changed, or you did the lesson close to midnight, the XP may have been logged on a different day. Then check whether the lesson fully synced — do another lesson on stable Wi-Fi and wait for the summary screen.
Can I change my daily goal on my phone?
It depends on your app version. Some versions still show Edit Daily Goal under Profile, then Settings. Some do not. If you cannot find it on your phone, change it on the web at duolingo.com — that route works across versions.
Will resetting my course fix my daily goal?
No. Resetting a course deletes your progress in that course and does not fix goal tracking. Do not reset a course to fix a goal problem.
