Comparison

Rocket Languages vs Drops

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Rocket Languages

Learn to speak new languages like Spanish, French, and Japanese with structured audio lessons and cultural insights. This app offers lifetime access to courses designed for real conversations, helping you overcome common learning frustrations and speak confidently from day one.

Highlights
  • Structured audio lessons for speaking
  • Lifetime access with free updates
  • Cultural insights and customs
  • Voice recognition for pronunciation
  • Adaptive review activities
  • Interactive audio and conversation practice
Features
Read full description

Rocket Languages - Finally Speak Spanish, French, Japanese & More Learn Spanish, French, Japanese, Italian, German, Korean, Chinese, and more with Rocket Languages - trusted by 2+ million learners worldwide. Unlike game-based apps, Rocket gives you lifetime access to structured lessons that teach you to speak confidently in real conversations. Start your free trial today and see how quickly you’ll go from learning words to actually speaking your new language. WHY ROCKET LANGUAGES WORKS • Speak in real conversations from day 1 – guided audio lessons get you talking fast • Get lifetime access with free updates – your course never expires, and you own it for life • Understand culture, not just grammar – greetings, customs, food, holidays, and everyday life • Perfect your pronunciation – state-of-the-art voice recognition with thousands of native audio examples • Fix weak spots fast – smart review activities adapt to your progress WHAT YOU’LL GET IN EACH LEVEL • 60+ hours of interactive audio lessons you can listen to anywhere — like a podcast, but designed to get you speaking • 60+ hours of Language & Culture lessons that explain the “why,” not just the “what” • Writing practice for Japanese, Korean, Chinese, and other script-based languages • Stress-free conversation practice – train both sides of real dialogues so you’re ready when it counts • Built-in motivational tools to keep you inspired and on track SOLVE THE BIGGEST LANGUAGE LEARNING FRUSTRATIONS • Forgetting what you’ve learned • Memorizing phrases you can’t use in real life • Feeling nervous speaking with locals • Struggling to find time in a busy schedule • Believing you’re too old to learn • Finding other apps unstructured or confusing With Rocket Languages, you’ll remember what you learn, practice until it sticks, and finally speak with confidence. EXTRA BENEFITS YOU WON’T FIND ELSEWHERE • Train your ear – interactive audio sharpens listening skills quickly • Learn how the language actually works – build sentences step by step • Get tailored courses – each one crafted for what’s practical and relevant • Stay motivated – built-in tools keep your learning on track WHY LEARNERS CHOOSE ROCKET LANGUAGES • Proven by millions worldwide • One-time purchase – no ads, no subscriptions • A complete method that teaches speaking, listening, reading, writing, and culture START SPEAKING TODAY Whether it’s for travel, work, or personal growth, Rocket Languages gives you everything you need to finally speak your new language with confidence. • Free trial included – explore the course with no time limit. • Try a set number of lessons for free, then unlock full levels when you’re ready for more. • Additional levels are available as optional in-app purchases, but you’ll always keep free access to your trial lessons. Download Rocket Languages today - start your free trial and begin speaking Spanish, French, Japanese, and more with confidence.

About

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.

Highlights
  • Gamified vocabulary learning
  • Visual learning aids
  • 55+ language options
  • Progress tracking and rewards
  • Native speaker pronunciations
  • Customizable learning goals
Read full description

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

Rocket Languages4 screens
Drops4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Rocket Languages at none against Drops's shown. Drops's advantage is ratings volume (72K vs 2.4K) and update cadence (weekly vs every 3 weeks). On price, rating, review sentiment and in-app purchases 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Rocket Languages sells 49 one-off in-app purchases 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.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for Rocket Languages against 4.7 for Drops. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Drops has 72K ratings behind it against 2.4K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 69% of Rocket Languages's written reviews are positive against 75% of Drops's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Rocket Languages ships an update every 3 weeks, Drops weekly. Both last shipped on September 24, 2026.

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 level
Rocket Languages versus Drops: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRocket LanguagesDrops
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (2.4K ratings)4.7 (72K ratings) — better
Positive reviews69.2% of reviews74.6% of reviews — better
Number of ratings2.4K72K — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksWeekly — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank—#169 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.4 — better17.6
Further details — not scored
Size44 MB191 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLibros Media LtdPLANB LABS OU

Customer experience

Rocket Languages

All ratings2,398 ratings
Positive91.0%
Neutral3.9%
Negative5.1%
Written reviews389 reviews
Positive69.2%
Neutral11.8%
Negative19.0%

Drops

All ratings71,502 ratings
Positive94.2%
Neutral2.9%
Negative2.9%
Written reviews2,192 reviews
Positive74.6%
Neutral9.6%
Negative15.8%

User reviews

Rocket Languages

From 2.4K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Interactive and engaging lessons
  • 🚀 Comprehensive and structured learning approach
  • 💡 Variety of practice methods (listening, speaking, writing)
  • 👍 Explanations of grammar and cultural context
  • 🚀 Detailed and accurate pronunciation feedback

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Voice recognition issues and inconsistencies
  • 🐛 App crashes and bugs
  • 🐛 Inability to review/replay recorded audio
  • 🐛 Lack of offline functionality
  • 🐛 Outdated or confusing user interface

Drops

From 72K App Store ratings

What 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

Rocket Languages

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Audio playback issues
  • Inconsistent voice recognition
  • Lesson progress not properly tracked
  • Compatibility problems with newer devices/OS
  • Crashes and freezes during use

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to slow down audio playback
  • More grammar and vocabulary review tools
  • Improved search and navigation within the app
  • Customizable learning plans and progress tracking
  • Integration with other language learning resources

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

49 purchases

Rocket Languages

One-time49
  • Rocket Sign Language Level 1$39.99
  • Rocket Spanish Level 1$59.99
  • Rocket Japanese Level 1$59.99
Show 46 more
  • Rocket Italian Level 1$59.99
  • Rocket Korean Level 1$59.99
  • Rocket Arabic Level 1$59.99
  • Rocket French Level 1$59.99
  • Rocket Portuguese Level 1$59.99
  • Rocket Sign Language Level 1$59.99
  • Rocket Spanish Level 1$89.99
  • Rocket Korean Level 1$89.99
  • Rocket Arabic Level 1$89.99
  • Rocket French Level 1$89.99
  • Rocket German Level 1$89.99
  • Rocket Italian Level 1$89.99
  • Rocket Japanese Level 1$89.99
  • Rocket French Level 1$99.99
  • Rocket Japanese Level 1$99.99
  • Rocket Italian Level 1$99.99
  • Rocket Spanish Level 1$99.99
  • Rocket Spanish Levels 1 & 2$119.99
  • Rocket Spanish Premium: Level 1$149.99
  • Rocket French Premium: Level 1$149.99
  • Rocket German Premium: Level 1$149.99
  • Rocket Italian Premium: Level 1$149.99
  • Rocket Japanese Premium: Level 1$149.99
  • Rocket Chinese Premium: Level 1$149.99
  • Rocket Arabic Premium: Level 1$149.99
  • Rocket Portuguese Premium: Level 1$149.99
  • Rocket Korean Premium: Level 1$149.99
  • Rocket Russian Premium: Level 1$149.99
  • Rocket Spanish Levels 1, 2 & 3$179.99
  • Rocket French Levels 1, 2 & 3$179.99
  • Rocket Japanese Level 1, 2 & 3$179.99
  • Rocket Russian Levels 1, 2 & 3$179.99
  • Rocket German Levels 1, 2 & 3$179.99
  • Rocket Chinese Levels 1, 2 & 3$179.99
  • Rocket Italian Levels 1, 2 & 3$179.99
  • Rocket Spanish Levels 1, 2 & 3$249.99
  • Rocket Japanese Level 1, 2 & 3$249.99
  • Rocket Italian Levels 1, 2 & 3$249.99
  • Rocket German Levels 1, 2 & 3$249.99
  • Rocket Chinese Levels 1, 2 & 3$249.99
  • Rocket Russian Levels 1, 2 & 3$249.99
  • Rocket French Levels 1, 2 & 3$249.99
  • Rocket Japanese Level 1, 2 & 3$259.99
  • Rocket Italian Levels 1, 2 & 3$259.99
  • Rocket Spanish Levels 1, 2 & 3$259.99
  • Rocket French Levels 1, 2 & 3$259.99
13 purchases

Drops

Subscriptions12
  • Genius for a month$7.991 Month
  • Premium$9.991 Month
  • Premium$11.991 Month
Show 9 more
  • 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
One-time1
  • Unlimited time for all Languages!$59.99

Questions

Is Rocket Languages free?
Rocket Languages is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Drops free?
Drops is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Rocket Languages or Drops?
Drops is rated higher. Rocket Languages averages 4.6 out of 5 from 2.4K ratings, while Drops averages 4.7 from 72K ratings.
Do Rocket Languages or Drops have ads?
Drops shows ads; Rocket Languages does not.
Which is updated more often, Rocket Languages or Drops?
Rocket Languages ships an update every 3 weeks, and Drops weekly. Most recently, Rocket Languages was updated on September 24, 2026 and Drops on September 24, 2026.

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