Comparison

Drops vs ELSA Speak

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

Head to head
About

Drops

Learn new languages through engaging games and visually appealing vocabulary exercises. Offers over 55 languages with custom illustrations and professional voiceovers. Track progress, unlock achievements, and become fluent with fun, game-like lessons.

Highlights
  • Gamified vocabulary learning
  • Visual learning with custom illustrations
  • 55+ languages available
  • Professional voice artist pronunciations
  • Progress tracking and achievements
  • Game-like lessons for effectiveness
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

About

ELSA Speak

This AI-powered English tutor helps you practice conversations, improve pronunciation, and build vocabulary for real-life scenarios like job interviews and presentations. It offers personalized learning paths and instant feedback to boost your speaking confidence.

Highlights
  • AI-powered English tutor
  • Conversation practice
  • Pronunciation training
  • Grammar and vocabulary building
  • Personalized learning paths
  • Exam preparation (IELTS, TOEFL, TOEIC)
  • Real-time feedback
Features
Read full description

Meet ELSA - Your personal AI-powered English tutor. ELSA Speak is a leading AI-powered language coach designed to help professionals and learners speak English with confidence using our essential AI learning tools and custom learning pathways. If you are looking to learn English to help you engage in real-time speaking scenarios to practice job interviews, presentations, meetings, exam preparations, and more. Reinforce your skills with interactive AI-powered games that make learning engaging and effective. Learn English with 8,000+ lessons, and learn proper pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary. Download the best AI-powered English learning app today and start your journey to confident English communication! ELSA SPEAK'S TRUSTED AI LANGUAGE LEARNING APP FEATURES: THE TOP SOLUTION FOR IMPROVING ENGLISH COMMUNICATION & PRONUNCIATION - Learn English with a Career-Specific Focus – Speak English and learn vocabulary that is tailored to your field - Utilize Speech Analyzer - Speak freely with instant detailed feedback. See what you missed and how to fix it. - Interview Coach - Start practicing today to sound sharp, calm, and confident for your next role. - Exam Preparation – Prepare for IELTS, TOEFL, TOEIC, EIKEN, CEFR, and more with targeted practice to boost fluency with Elsa’s AI English tutor. Available with ELSA Premium(*). PERSONALIZED LEARNING PATHS FOR ENGLISH PRACTICE - Customized Language Coach - Start learning English today using ELSA Speak’s AI conversation coach, pronunciation coach, and grammar coach. - Personalized language learning – Succeed in workplace interviews, presentations, meetings, client calls, and having daily conversations. - AI-Driven Conversations & Open-Ended Dialogues – AI gives you personalized language learning with realistic conversation practice. REAL-LIFE ENGLISH CONVERSATION PRACTICE - English Grammar & Study Vocabulary – AI-driven conversation helps you build a solid foundation in English grammar and vocabulary. Adaptive AI adjusts to your progress so you learn exactly what you need. - Improve English accent and fluency with role-plays, open-ended dialogues, and real-life scenarios. Leave language misunderstandings with English conversations behind. - Pronunciation Training – Conquer tricky sounds with each daily English practice. - Learn with Personalized English Study Sets – Save words, phrases, or sentences from lessons or create your own, explore and share sets - Accent Training - Learn English with accent choices: American, British, Australian, and more. INSTANT FEEDBACK & AI ENGLISH CONVERSATION COACH - Indepth Analysis & Progress Tracking – Monitor your improvement with data-driven insights showing your pace, hesitation, and grammar score. - Pronunciation & Word Stress Guidance from our AI English Coach – Receive real-time feedback to sound more natural as you speak English. ENGLISH TUTOR BENEFITS - Enhanced Global Collaboration: Bridge language gaps with international colleagues or friends. - Career Potential: Impress clients and colleagues with polished English communication. - Expand Your Network: Practice English, build relationships, and explore global opportunities. - Beyond English Pronunciation: Learn grammar, vocabulary, and communication techniques to succeed academically, personally, or professionally. --- (*) ELSA PREMIUM - Access all advanced features such as exam preparation and targeted courses. - Take your English skills to the next level and start for free with a 7-day trial. Yearly and Monthly Memberships are available. --- TRUSTED BY ENGLISH LEARNERS AND INDUSTRY EXPERTS: - Honorable Mention in the AI and Data category of Fast Company's 2020 World Changing Ideas Awards - Top 100 Influencers in State of EdTech Report by EdTech Digest 2020 - Mentioned by TechCrunch, Forbes, Mashable, VentureBeat, Yahoo, Salma Hayek, and more --- Connect With Us Email: support@elsanow.io Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula

Screenshots

Drops4 screens
ELSA Speak4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: ELSA Speak at none against Drops's shown. Drops's advantage is review sentiment (75% vs 42%). On price, rating, ratings volume 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Drops sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per month and ELSA Speak sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $19.99 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 — 4.7 for Drops against 4.7 for ELSA Speak. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 72K and 115K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 75% of Drops's written reviews are positive against 42% of ELSA Speak's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 10 days. Both last shipped on November 12, 2026.

Scorecard2 real differences · 9 level
Drops versus ELSA Speak: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDropsELSA Speak
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (72K ratings)4.7 (115K ratings) — better
Positive reviews74.8% of reviews — better41.5% of reviews
Number of ratings72K115K — better
Update frequencyEvery 10 daysEvery 10 days
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#168#104 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.616.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size198 MB270 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPLANB LABS OUElsa Corp

Customer experience

Drops

All ratings71,739 ratings
Positive94.2%
Neutral2.9%
Negative2.9%
Written reviews2,264 reviews
Positive74.8%
Neutral9.6%
Negative15.6%

ELSA Speak

All ratings114,587 ratings
Positive93.7%
Neutral3.2%
Negative3.1%
Written reviews2,123 reviews
Positive41.5%
Neutral11.0%
Negative47.5%

User reviews

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

ELSA Speak

From 115K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Excellent for improving pronunciation
  • 👍 Helpful feedback on pronunciation issues
  • 💡 Covers a wide range of topics
  • 🤖 Effective AI-powered speech recognition

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent app crashes and freezes
  • 🔌 Slow loading times and connectivity issues
  • 🤖 Inconsistent and unreliable scoring system
  • 🇺🇸 Only supports American English accent

Bugs and requests

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

ELSA Speak

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Microphone not working after phone calls
  • Inability to add words to personal playlists
  • Inconsistent behavior when repeating the same phrase
  • Subscription issues and lack of clear cancellation process

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add support for British English accent
  • Improve dictionary with more word meanings
  • Provide option to switch between male and female voices
  • Implement more structured learning path and progress tracking

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Drops

Subscriptions10
  • Genius for a month$7.991 Month
  • Premium$9.991 Month
  • Premium$11.991 Month
Show 7 more
  • Premium$14.991 Month
  • Curious for a month$22.991 Month
  • Holiday premium!$39.991 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
10 purchases

ELSA Speak

Subscriptions10
  • Monthly$19.991 Month
  • 3 months7 Days trial$39.993 Months
  • 3 months Elsa Premium$47.993 Months
Show 7 more
  • 3 months$58.003 Months
  • 1 year$71.001 Year
  • One year Premium membership1 Year trial$99.991 Year
  • 1 Year Elsa Premium7 Days trial$99.991 Year
  • 1 Year ELSA Premium7 Days trial$99.991 Year
  • 1 year7 Days trial$109.991 Year
  • 1 year7 Days trial$129.991 Year

Questions

Is Drops free?
Drops is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is ELSA Speak free?
ELSA Speak is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Drops or ELSA Speak?
ELSA Speak is rated higher. Drops averages 4.7 out of 5 from 72K ratings, while ELSA Speak averages 4.7 from 115K ratings.
Do Drops or ELSA Speak have ads?
Drops shows ads; ELSA Speak does not.
Which is updated more often, Drops or ELSA Speak?
Drops ships an update every 10 days, and ELSA Speak every 10 days. Most recently, Drops was updated on November 12, 2026 and ELSA Speak on November 12, 2026.
Which is more popular, Drops or ELSA Speak?
Drops currently peaks at #168 in the App Store charts, and ELSA Speak at #104. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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