LingQ | Learn Languages vs Drops
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
LingQ | Learn Languages
Learn languages naturally by reading and listening to real content. Expand your vocabulary and improve comprehension with interactive tools and AI-powered features. Supports over 50 languages and offers a global community for support.
- Massive content library
- Import your own content
- Interactive reader with word definitions
- AI-powered learning tools
- Progress tracking
- Offline learning
- Community support and tutoring
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Experience Language Learning with LingQ — the natural and effective way to learn a new language. LingQ is a language learning app that lets you grow your vocabulary and improve comprehension through meaningful exposure to the language with real content. Follow your interests and enjoy an immersive learning experience in over 50 languages. Learn Spanish, English, Japanese, Korean, Italian, German, Portuguese, French, Chinese, Arabic, and other languages. Trusted by Learners Worldwide: ◆4.7 star rating from over 45000 reviews. ◆Featured in CBC, Men’s Health, La Vanguardia, El País. Designed for Real Language Learning LingQ uses an input-based approach: you learn languages by reading and listening to real, interesting content at your level. ◆ Massive Content Library: Thousands of lessons from podcasts, books, interviews, videos, articles, and more — all with matching text for easy listening and reading. ◆ Follow Topics You Enjoy: Choose content you love and progress naturally through immersion, not drills. ◆ Import Your Favorite Content: Turn Netflix, YouTube, podcasts, books, and articles into personalized lessons. ◆ Powerful Reader: An effective, optimized reader that tracks every word you encounter to boost your vocabulary. ◆ Interactive Learning: Listen, read along, tap words for instant definitions, and learn naturally as you go. ◆ Advanced Progress Tracking: Monitor your listening, reading, study time, and vocabulary growth. ◆ Learn Anytime, Anywhere: Study offline and sync your progress automatically. Learn whenever you want. AI Language Learning Tools • AI Audio Transcription: Turn podcasts and audiobooks into interactive lessons. • AI Voices: Make your lessons, reviews and chats more immersive with natural sounding text-to-speech voices. • Advanced Chatbot: Get detailed tutor responses and real-time web search with our advanced Lynx AI Chatbot. • AI-Simplified Lesson: Take advantage of more interesting content earlier on in your learning journey by generating simplified versions of lessons. Read and Listen with Interactive Tools • SRS vocabulary review for long-term retention; • Mini Stories that build a strong foundation at any level; • Grammar guides with clear, accessible explanations; • Audio playlists for hands-free listening; • Karaoke Mode to follow the text while listening; A Global Community to Support You • Writing Exchange for real corrections from native speakers; • Tutoring sessions tailored to your goals; • Community forum for questions, guidance, and motivation; • Challenges that help you stay consistent and build strong habits; Built by Language Learners LingQ was co-founded by Steve Kaufmann, a polyglot who learned more than 20 languages using this same natural approach. Learn Multiple Languages LingQ supports more than 50 languages, including Spanish, English, Japanese, Korean, Italian, German, Portuguese, French, Chinese, Arabic and more. Get LingQ Premium and Accelerate Your Learning • Unlimited vocabulary lookup and SRS review; • Comprehensive word tracking to boost your progress; • Unlimited content imports; • Access to AI features; Start learning from real content. Download LingQ and begin today. Feedback? Let us know. Send suggestions and feedback to iosapp@lingq.com. Terms of Service - https://www.lingq.com/terms/
Drops
Learn new languages through engaging games and visual aids. Practice vocabulary and common phrases in over 55 languages, from beginner to expert levels. Track progress, unlock achievements, and enjoy professionally curated lessons with native speaker pronunciations.
- Gamified vocabulary learning
- Visual learning aids
- 55+ language options
- Progress tracking and rewards
- Native speaker pronunciations
- Customizable learning goals
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Join over 50 million people who use Drops for free language lessons. It’s fast, fun, and easy! Practice vocabulary in Spanish, Japanese, French, Korean, Chinese, German, English. Discover 55+ different new languages with Drops! Learn new languages while playing games. You can become fluent, learn vocabulary and common phrases in Hebrew, Arabic, Russian, and Hindi. Set goals, unlock achievements, and get rewards! • Become fluent in a foreign language with this language learning app • Learn to read characters and scripts from different alphabets like Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Hebrew, Arabic, Russian, and Hindi • Custom illustrations for each vocabulary word makes it easy to remember • From beginner to expert levels, grow your foreign language vocabulary • A professionally curated vocabulary list with more than 3,000 words and phrases • Game-like language lessons that make language learning fun and effective • Level up! Track your progress and get rewards • Professional voice artists and sound design with correct dialect pronunciations • Learn to speak languages like Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin), English (British), English (American), French, German, Icelandic, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese (European), Russian, Spanish (Mexican), Spanish (European), Tagalog, Ainu, Arabic (Egyptian), American Sign Language (ASL), Basque, Bosnian, Cantonese, Catalan, Chti, Croatian, Danish, Dutch, Esperanto, Estonian, Finnish, Galician, Greek, Greenlandic, Hawaiian, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Igbo, Indonesian, Irish, Maori, Norwegian, Persian, Polish, Portuguese (Brazilian), Romanian, Samoan, Sanskrit, Serbian, Swahili, Swedish, Swiss German, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Vietnamese, Welsh, and even Yoruba! "By focusing on visually appealing games and vocab, Drops aims to lower the barrier preventing users from exploring a new language and, ultimately, accessing the social and economic benefits knowing that language may provide." - TechCrunch We are featured by CNET, Forbes, VentureBeat and many other places too! Try Drops Premium with a 7 day free trial. Download the app to learn about different membership options, and register to learn all about exclusive discounts. Payment will be charged to your iTunes Account at confirmation of Drops premium. Afterwards your account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period. Auto-renewal may be turned off at any time by going to your settings in the iTunes Store after purchase. You can cancel your subscription anytime, and you won't be charged in the next billing cycle. Privacy Policy and Terms of Use: http://languagedrops.com/privacypolicy.html
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: LingQ | Learn Languages at none against Drops's shown. Drops's advantage is ratings volume (72K vs 10K). On price, rating, review sentiment and update cadence there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. LingQ | Learn Languages sells 12 in-app purchases, starting at $14.99 per month and Drops sells 13 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for LingQ | Learn Languages against 4.7 for Drops. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Drops has 72K ratings behind it against 10K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 80% of LingQ | Learn Languages's written reviews are positive against 75% of Drops's.
LingQ | Learn Languages ships an update every 5 days, Drops weekly. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 25, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | LingQ | Learn Languages | Drops |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (10K ratings) | 4.7 (72K ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 80.2% of reviews — better | 74.6% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 10K | 72K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 5 days — better | Weekly |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #105 — better | #164 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 — better | 17.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 345 MB | 191 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | LingQ Languages Ltd | PLANB LABS OU |
Customer experience
LingQ | Learn Languages
Drops
User reviews
LingQ | Learn Languages
From 10K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Excellent for reading and listening practice
- 👍 Customizable content and learning experience
- 🚀 Efficient vocabulary acquisition
- 👍 Helpful for improving comprehension and fluency
- 👍 Engaging and enjoyable way to learn
Room to improve
- 🐛 Buggy app with sync and performance issues
- 💰 Expensive subscription model
- 🤔 Limited free version functionality
- 🤔 Confusing user interface and navigation
- 🤔 Inconsistent quality of translations and definitions
Drops
From 72K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Vocabulary learning
- 👍 Unique and engaging learning activities
- 👍 Wide range of languages
- 👍 Customizable learning experience
- 👍 Effective for building vocabulary
Room to improve
- 🐛 Inaccurate translations or pronunciations
- 🔒 Subscription model issues
- 👎 Limited to vocabulary, lacks grammar/sentence structure
- 👎 Repetitive and not enough variety in exercises
Bugs and requests
LingQ | Learn Languages
Reported bugs
4 issues- App crashes and freezes
- Sync issues between app and web version
- Incorrect translations and definitions
- Unreliable streak tracking and progress reporting
Requested features
5 requests- Improved user interface and navigation
- Better sync and performance across devices
- More content and language options
- Enhanced vocabulary management and review tools
- Affordable subscription plans
Drops
Reported bugs
2 issues- Login issues and lost progress
- Crashes and performance problems
Requested features
5 requests- Add more grammar and sentence-level learning
- Improve accuracy of translations and pronunciations
- Provide more flexibility in time limits and review sessions
- Integrate more conversational practice
- Improve user interface and navigation
In-app purchases
LingQ | Learn Languages
- LingQ Premium (Monthly)7 Days trial$14.991 Month
- LingQ Premium (Monthly)$14.991 Month
- Premium Plus Monthly$29.991 Month
Show 9 moreShow fewer
- LingQ Premium (6 Months)7 Days trial$80.996 Months
- LingQ Premium (6 Months)$80.996 Months
- LingQ Premium$89.991 Year
- LingQ Premium$99.991 Year
- LingQ Premium$101.991 Year
- LingQ Premium2 variants$109.991 Year
- LingQ Premium (12 Months)7 Days trial$119.991 Year
- LingQ Premium (12 Months)$119.991 Year
- Premium Plus Yearly7 Days trial$269.991 Year
Drops
- Genius for a month$7.991 Month
- Premium$9.991 Month
- Premium$11.991 Month
Show 9 moreShow fewer
- Premium$14.991 Month
- Curious for a month$22.991 Month
- Holiday premium!$39.991 Year
- Premium7 Days trial$62.991 Year
- Premium7 Days trial$69.991 Year
- All Language Learning Plans7 Days trial$69.991 Year
- Premium7 Days trial$79.991 Year
- Premium7 Days trial$89.991 Year
- Premium7 Days trial$99.991 Year
- Unlimited time for all Languages!$59.99
Questions
Is LingQ | Learn Languages free?
Is Drops free?
Which has better reviews, LingQ | Learn Languages or Drops?
Do LingQ | Learn Languages or Drops have ads?
Which is updated more often, LingQ | Learn Languages or Drops?
Which is more popular, LingQ | Learn Languages or Drops?
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