Comparison

NAWL Builder vs Essential Words

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

Head to head
About

NAWL Builder

This app helps English language learners master academic vocabulary using the New Academic Word List (NAWL). It provides tools for downloading, organizing, and studying words with definitions, pronunciation, and progress tracking.

Highlights
  • Study tools for NAWL words
  • Download and organize word lists
  • Progress tracking
  • Email progress reports
  • Native English pronunciation
  • Simple English definitions
Features
Read full description

NAWL Builder: This application is designed to help learners and teachers make use of one of the most important lists of academic vocabulary words for second language learners of English, the New Academic Word List (NAWL). The list is open source and is used with permission of the authors. The app contains simple tools to help you download, email and organize the NAWL, as well as science-based study tools to quickly and efficiently learn the words, keep detailed record of your progress and the ability to email your progress to yourself or a teacher. The original definitions are written in simple English and the app also give you pronunciation of each word by a professional voice talent who is a native speaker of English of North American English. About the NAWL: The first version of the New Academic Word List (NAWL 1.0), published by Dr. Charles Browne, Dr. Brent Culligan is finished and available at the following link (www.newgeneralservicelist.org). The list is available in alphabetical order, with inflected forms, and with Standard Frequency Indices (Carroll, Davies, & Richman, 1971; Carroll, 1971). How many words are in the NAWL? The NAWL is a list of 963 words derived from an academic corpus containing about 288 million words. What are the components used in building the corpus? The first major component of the corpus is the Cambridge English Corpus. This corpus is comprised of academic journals and non-fiction, student essays, and academic discourse. According to Cambridge English Corpus website, the corpus includes “text from academic books and journals from the UK and US covering a wide range of disciplines and topics.” This part of the Corpus contained about 249 million words and yielded a single word list with frequencies. The rest of the corpus was assembled from other sources. The oral part of the corpus used was compiled from two corpora of spoken English, the Michigan Corpus of Academic Spoken English (MICASE), and the British Academic Spoken English (BASE) corpus. These corpora were put together and re-sorted into four categories, namely Arts and Humanities, Life Sciences, Social Sciences, and Physical Sciences, giving four separated word lists and frequencies. The third and final part, Textbooks, was assembled from a corpus of published textbooks including many of the top 100 best-selling textbooks. The textbooks were also divided into the same four categories as the spoken English corpus and generated four word lists with frequencies. The steps to get the list were as follows. The final corpus was analyzed using procedures outlined in Carroll, Davies, and Richman (1971) and Carroll (1971) to obtain D, an index of dispersion over the nine word lists, U, an adjusted estimation of the occurrence of the word frequency per million, and the SFI, the Standard Frequency Index. The words from the New General Service List (NGSL) were accounted for and a list of candidates was selected based on frequency, dispersion, and appropriateness. About Intelligent Flashcards: The app also contains an Intelligent Wordlist Maker and Intelligent Flashcard system. The Intelligent Wordlist Maker helps you to quickly and efficiently pick only the words you don’t know for study in the flashcard system. Rather than force you to go through the entire list at once, Intelligent Wordlist Maker guides you through the list by frequency bands, allowing you to add words little by little, just as you need them or when you have time. Based on the well documented science of “spaced-repetition”, the Intelligent Flashcard system systematically and efficiently helps you to review the words several times over a period of a month, giving you extra time with the words that are giving you difficulty. References Carroll, J. B. (1971). Statistical analysis of the corpus. In The American Heritage Word Frequency Book (pp. xxi – xl). Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

About

Essential Words

Master 4000 essential English words through definitions, examples, and audio pronunciations. Learn vocabulary in context with engaging stories and bookmark words for review. Ideal for all English learners.

Highlights
  • 4000 essential English words
  • Detailed definitions and examples
  • Audio pronunciation
  • Engaging stories for context
  • Bookmark words for review
Features
Read full description

Expand your vocabulary and improve your English language skills with 'Essential Words - 4000' - a comprehensive language learning app designed to help you master the essential words of the English language while enjoying captivating stories. Key Features: Access a comprehensive list of 4000 essential English words to expand your vocabulary. Detailed definitions, example sentences, and audio pronunciation for each word. Engaging stories incorporating the essential words, making learning more enjoyable and contextual. Bookmark and revisit words for reinforcement. Whether you're a beginner looking to build a solid English foundation or an advanced learner seeking to enhance your language skills, 'Essential Words - 4000' is the perfect companion for your language learning endeavors. Dive into our app and unlock a world of knowledge, communication, and endless possibilities. Start your language learning journey today! Download 'Essential Words - 4000' now! Keep in touch with us via: - Email: insbox.helps@gmail.com

Screenshots

NAWL Builder4 screens
Essential Words4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: NAWL Builder at 5.0 against Essential Words's 4.5. NAWL Builder also leads on ads (none vs shown) and monetization model (free vs ad-supported). Essential Words's advantage is update cadence (every 2 days vs every 8 months) and ratings volume (75 vs 4). On price, in-app purchases and device support 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

NAWL Builder holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Essential Words has 75 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

NAWL Builder ships an update every 8 months, Essential Words every 2 days. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
NAWL Builder versus Essential Words: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNAWL BuilderEssential Words
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (4 ratings) — better4.5 (75 ratings)
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings475 — better
Update frequencyEvery 8 monthsEvery 2 days — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterAd-supported
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS7.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size46 MB29 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperEFL TechnologiesSon Le

Customer experience

NAWL Builder

All ratings5 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Essential Words

All ratings63 ratings
Positive88.9%
Neutral1.6%
Negative9.5%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

NAWL Builder

No in-app purchases

None

Essential Words

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is NAWL Builder free?
NAWL Builder is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Essential Words free?
Essential Words is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, NAWL Builder or Essential Words?
NAWL Builder is rated higher. NAWL Builder averages 5.0 out of 5 from 4 ratings, while Essential Words averages 4.5 from 75 ratings.
Do NAWL Builder or Essential Words have ads?
Essential Words shows ads; NAWL Builder does not.
Which is updated more often, NAWL Builder or Essential Words?
NAWL Builder ships an update every 8 months, and Essential Words every 2 days. Most recently, NAWL Builder was updated on October 24, 2026 and Essential Words on October 24, 2026.

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