# Drops vs Earworms

The clearest difference is ads: Earworms at none against Drops's shown. Earworms also leads on iOS requirement (12.4 vs 17.6). Drops's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 5 months) and ratings volume (72K vs 357). On price, rating, review sentiment and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Drops sells 13 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per month and Earworms sells 16 one-off in-app purchases. 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 Drops against 4.8 for Earworms. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Drops has 72K ratings behind it against 357, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 75% of Drops's written reviews are positive against 71% of Earworms's.

Drops ships an update weekly, Earworms every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 19, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Drops | Earworms |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.7 (72K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/drops-language-learning-games/id939540371/reviews) | **[4.8 (357 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/earworms-language-learning/id1214721881/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **72K** | 357 |
| Positive reviews | **74.6% of reviews** | 71.2% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | **Weekly** | Every 5 months |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | **#169** | — |
| Size | 191 MB | 48 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.6 | **12.4** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [PLANB LABS OU](https://appshunter.io/developer/527215806) | [earworms Ltd](https://appshunter.io/developer/391784509) |

## What reviewers say

### Drops

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/drops-language-learning-games/id939540371)

**Currently charting:** #169 Top Grossing · Education (US App Store)

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

**In-app purchases (13)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Genius for a month | $7.99 | per month |
| Premium | $9.99 | per month |
| Premium | $11.99 | per month |
| Premium | $14.99 | per month |
| Curious for a month | $22.99 | per month |
| Holiday premium! | $39.99 | per year |
| Premium | $62.99 | per year |
| Premium | $69.99 | per year |
| All Language Learning Plans | $69.99 | per year |
| Premium | $79.99 | per year |
| Premium | $89.99 | per year |
| Premium | $99.99 | per year |
| Unlimited time for all Languages! | $59.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Vocabulary learning
- 👍 Unique and engaging learning activities
- 👍 Wide range of languages
- 👍 Customizable learning experience
- 👍 Effective for building vocabulary

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Inaccurate translations or pronunciations
- 🔒 Subscription model issues
- 👎 Limited to vocabulary, lacks grammar/sentence structure
- 👎 Repetitive and not enough variety in exercises

**Reported bugs**

- Login issues and lost progress
- Crashes and performance problems

**Requested features**

- 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


### Earworms

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/earworms-language-learning/id1214721881)

Learn languages effectively using the "earworm effect" with catchy music and lyrics. This method anchors foreign language words and phrases into your long-term memory through engaging, brain-based audio-visual lessons. Improve vocabulary and grammar with bite-sized tracks and native speaker pronunciation.

**Highlights:** Learn languages with music and lyrics, Brain-based learning technique, Audio-visual experience with karaoke lyrics, 6-9 minute learning tracks, Content-rich language based on CEF, Native speaker pronunciation

**Features:** Family Sharing, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (16)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Try before you buy | Free | one-time |
| Essayez avant d’acheter | Free | one-time |
| Álbum de demostración | Free | one-time |
| French Vol. 1 | $11.99 | one-time |
| Italian Vol. 1 | $11.99 | one-time |
| Spanish Lat. Am. Vol. 1 | $11.99 | one-time |
| Portuguese Vol.1 | $11.99 | one-time |
| French Vol. 2 | $11.99 | one-time |
| Dutch Vol. 1-2 | $19.99 | one-time |
| Japanese Vol. 1-2 | $19.99 | one-time |
| Spanish Lat. Am. Vol. 1-3 | $27.99 | one-time |
| Bundle deals, French Vol. 1-3 | $28.99 | one-time |
| Bundle deals, German Vol. 1-3 | $28.99 | one-time |
| Bundle deals, Italian Vol. 1-3 | $28.99 | one-time |
| Bundle, Spanish Eu. Vol. 1-3 | $28.99 | one-time |
| Portuguese Vol.1-3 | $28.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🎵 Music-based learning method effectively reinforces memory
- 👍 Easy and intuitive to use
- ⭐ Excellent customer support team
- 🎯 Practical, conversational phrases for real-world use
- 🧠 Words and phrases stick in memory effortlessly

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent app crashes and freezing issues
- 📱 Poor booklet formatting on mobile devices
- 💸 Pricing considered expensive by some users
- ❌ Limited number of lessons per language
- 🔧 App lacks autoplay/continuous playback feature

**Reported bugs**

- App crashes every few minutes on iPhone
- Network error on startup despite internet connection
- Infinite loop on initial setup screen
- App closes unexpectedly during playback
- Restore purchases feature not functioning

**Requested features**

- Additional volume levels for existing languages
- More lessons and expanded content library
- Autoplay feature for continuous listening
- Repeat single track functionality
- Ability to select specific lesson categories


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Drops free?

Drops is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Earworms free?

Earworms is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Drops or Earworms?

Earworms is rated higher. Drops averages 4.7 out of 5 from 72K ratings, while Earworms averages 4.8 from 357 ratings.

### Do Drops or Earworms have ads?

Drops shows ads; Earworms does not.

### Which is updated more often, Drops or Earworms?

Drops ships an update weekly, and Earworms every 5 months. Most recently, Drops was updated on September 24, 2026 and Earworms on September 19, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*