Comparison

Drops vs PopStudy

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 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

About

PopStudy

Master any subject with this educational app utilizing a spaced repetition system. Create custom study mixes, engage in personalized sessions, and track your learning progress. Access curated content and study offline on your devices.

Highlights
  • Spaced repetition system
  • Curated expert content
  • Customizable study mixes
  • Personalized daily sessions
  • Progress tracking
  • Cross-device syncing
  • Offline studying
Features
Read full description

PopStudy — Master Spanish, French, or Chinese Most language apps teach you to dabble. PopStudy is built for learners who want to actually master a language — to read, write, listen, and speak with real fluency. Three languages. Curriculum-grade content. An AI coach that sharpens your skills. How does it work? Have you ever found yourself unwittingly singing the words to a song that's played over and over on the radio? That's spaced repetition at work. Research shows our brains transform repeated information into real knowledge, very quickly. PopStudy uses a scientifically-tuned spaced repetition engine to help you achieve fluency in record time — training you to recognize the nuanced sounds, patterns, and rhythms that are the building blocks of any language. What's inside: - A scientifically-tuned spaced repetition engine that gets vocabulary and grammar to stick — faster than streak-based apps. - An expert-curated library of lessons in Spanish, French, and Chinese, charting a path for everyday learners, plus ACTFL-aligned paths for school programs. - Custom AI lessons on any topic you choose — from job interview prep to vocabulary from your favorite TV shows — generated on demand. - A 24/7 AI coach to answer your questions and target your learning goals. - Listening, reading, speaking, and writing activities — comprehension drills built on native-speaker audio, pronunciation practice with instant feedback, spelling drills, and role-play scenarios. - Daily performance reports that show your strengths and weaknesses, so you always know how far you've come and where you need to go next. - Cross-platform sync across iPhone, iPad, and the web. Pick up where you left off. PopStudy is built for serious learners — students preparing for AP Spanish, AP French, or HSK Chinese exams; professionals working toward fluency; heritage speakers reconnecting with a family language; and anyone ready to go beyond beginner streaks. Have fun speaking your new language with confidence — you'll amaze yourself and the people around you. Download PopStudy and start mastering your language today. PopStudy Premium is an auto-renewable subscription. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://popstudy.com/privacy_policy

Screenshots

Drops4 screens
PopStudy4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: PopStudy at none against Drops's shown. PopStudy also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 75%) and rating (4.9 vs 4.7). Drops's advantage is ratings volume (72K vs 9) and chart position (#194 vs unranked). On price, update cadence, 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. Drops sells 13 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per month and PopStudy sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

PopStudy holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Drops has 72K ratings behind it against 9, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 75% of Drops's written reviews are positive against 100% of PopStudy's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Drops ships an update weekly, PopStudy fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 4, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Drops versus PopStudy: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDropsPopStudy
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (72K ratings)4.9 (9 ratings) — better
Positive reviews74.7% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings72K — better9
Update frequencyWeekly — betterFortnightly
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesAd-supported — better
Best chart rank#194 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.6 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size191 MB150 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPLANB LABS OULongtail Studios

Customer experience

Drops

All ratings71,502 ratings
Positive94.2%
Neutral2.9%
Negative2.9%
Written reviews2,222 reviews
Positive74.7%
Neutral9.6%
Negative15.7%

PopStudy

All ratings9 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

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

PopStudy

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

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
3 purchases

PopStudy

One-time3
  • 1-Month Subscription$7.99
  • 3-Month Subscription$19.99
  • 1-Year Subscription$59.99

Questions

Is Drops free?
Drops is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is PopStudy free?
PopStudy is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Drops or PopStudy?
PopStudy is rated higher. Drops averages 4.7 out of 5 from 72K ratings, while PopStudy averages 4.9 from 9 ratings.
Do Drops or PopStudy have ads?
Drops shows ads; PopStudy does not.
Which is updated more often, Drops or PopStudy?
Drops ships an update weekly, and PopStudy fortnightly. Most recently, Drops was updated on October 14, 2026 and PopStudy on October 4, 2026.

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