Drops vs Bunpo
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- Gamified vocabulary learning
- Visual learning aids
- 55+ language options
- Progress tracking and rewards
- Native speaker pronunciations
- Customizable learning goals
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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
Bunpo
Master multiple languages with this comprehensive learning app. It offers detailed grammar explanations, vocabulary building, and smart review systems to help you progress from beginner to advanced levels. Learn Japanese, Korean, Spanish, French, German, and Chinese with interactive exercises and personalized study plans.
- Learn 6 languages
- Master grammar with detailed explanations
- Build vocabulary and kanji knowledge
- Spaced repetition for smart review
- Interactive quizzes and example sentences
- Offline learning for Spanish, French, German, Chinese
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Learn languages with Bunpo! Learn Japanese, Korean, Spanish, French, German, Chinese, Italian, Portuguese, English and more! Master speaking, grammar, and vocabulary from beginner to advanced, trusted by over 5 million learners worldwide. From your first Hiragana あ to JLPT N1, from "annyeong" to a real Korean conversation, or any of our 8+ languages, Bunpo takes you from day one to fluency. ========= Why Bunpo works for language learning - Speak from day one: Start speaking from your very first lesson with advanced speech recognition technology. - 8+ languages, one app: Learn Japanese, Korean, Spanish, French, German, Chinese, Italian, Portuguese, and English, and switch between them anytime without juggling multiple apps. - Grammar that makes sense: Detailed explanations in plain English, plus exercises that make it stick. - Smart review: A personalized study plan powered by spaced repetition (SRS) so you remember more, faster. - From the alphabet to advanced: Start with your very first character and build all the way to advanced grammar, whatever language you choose. Whether you're learning for travel, a higher grade, JLPT, a career boost, or just to feel confident in a new conversation, Bunpo's got your back. ========= Japanese Course - Master the Japanese alphabets (Hiragana & Katakana) so you can read menus, train signs, and even your favorite manga without guessing. - Learn Japanese grammar for every JLPT level (N5 to N1) with clear, no-nonsense explanations because "This is a pen" will only get you so far. - Build real-world Japanese vocabulary and kanji knowledge you can actually use in daily conversations, not just in textbooks. - Practice with 1,800+ Japanese example sentences and 8,000+ interactive quizzes designed to make new grammar and vocab stick. - Search any topic instantly in the Japanese grammar dictionary, perfect for "What does that mean again?" moments. - Review smarter, not harder, with a spaced repetition system (SRS) that reminds you before you forget. ========= Korean Course - Master the Korean alphabet (Hangul) with a guided chart, listening, and writing practice. - Build Korean vocabulary you'll actually use in everyday conversations. - Practice reading, writing, listening, and speaking so every skill grows together. ========= Spanish Course - Learn Spanish offline - Master Spanish grammar from A1 to B1 level - Spanish verb conjugation - Perfect your Spanish pronunciation ========= French Course - Learn French offline - Master French grammar from A1 to A2 level - French verb conjugation - Perfect your French pronunciation ========= German Course - Learn German offline - Master German grammar from A1 to C1 level - German verb conjugation - Perfect your German pronunciation ========= Chinese Course - Learn Chinese offline - Master Chinese vocabulary and phrases - Listen, speak, and write Chinese ========= Subscription pricing and terms Bunpo offers an auto-renewing monthly subscription and an auto-renewing yearly subscription to provide you with unlimited access to the Bunpo courses while you maintain an active subscription. These prices are for United States customers. Pricing in other countries may vary, and actual charges may be converted to your local currency depending on the country of residence. The subscription will automatically renew unless turned off in your iTunes Account Settings at least 24 hours before the current period ends. You can go to your iTunes Account settings to manage your subscription and turn off auto-renew. Your iTunes Account will be charged when the purchase is confirmed. Bunpo also offers a Forever subscription, which is paid for by a one-off upfront payment with unlimited access to the Bunpo courses forever. Privacy Policy and Terms of Use: https://bunpo.app/privacy.html Any feedback? Feel free to contact us at: iphone@bunpo.app
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: Bunpo at none against Drops's shown. Bunpo also leads on rating (4.9 vs 4.7). Drops's advantage is chart position (#169 vs unranked) and ratings volume (72K vs 18K). On price, review sentiment, update cadence 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
Both are free to download. Drops sells 13 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per month and Bunpo sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Bunpo holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 72K and 18K respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 75% of Drops's written reviews are positive against 73% of Bunpo's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Drops ships an update weekly, Bunpo every 9 days. Both last shipped on September 24, 2026.
| Parameter | Drops | Bunpo |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (72K ratings) | 4.9 (18K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 74.6% of reviews — better | 72.5% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 72K — better | 18K |
| Update frequency | Weekly — better | Every 9 days |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #169 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 17.6 | 16.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 191 MB | 189 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | PLANB LABS OU | Bunpo Language Learning |
Customer experience
Drops
Bunpo
User reviews
Drops
From 72K App Store ratingsWhat 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
Bunpo
From 18K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Helpful for learning Japanese
- 👍 Well-designed and organized
- 👍 Explains grammar and usage well
- 👍 Customizable to learning needs
- 👍 Effective spaced repetition
Room to improve
- 🔒 Too much content locked behind paywall
- 🐛 Bugs and crashes reported
- 🐛 Issues with keyboard and text display
- 🐛 Inconsistencies in question answers
- 🔒 Lack of offline access to paid content
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
Bunpo
Reported bugs
4 issues- App crashes during lesson reviews
- Incorrect answers marked as wrong
- Text and keyboard issues on smaller screens
- Audio playback problems
Requested features
4 requests- Add landscape mode support for tablets
- Improve review options to revisit specific grammar points
- Expand vocabulary lessons and practice
- Add more languages beyond Japanese
In-app purchases
Drops
- Genius for a month$7.991 Month
- Premium$9.991 Month
- Premium$11.991 Month
Show 9 moreShow fewer
- 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
- Unlimited time for all Languages!$59.99
Bunpo
- Bunpo Plus Monthly2 variants$9.991 Month
- Bunpo Platinum Monthly7 Days trial$19.991 Month
- Bunpo Platinum Monthly$19.991 Month
Show 4 moreShow fewer
- Bunpo Plus Yearly$29.991 Year
- Bunpo Plus Yearly$39.991 Year
- Bunpo Platinum Yearly7 Days trial$79.991 Year
- Bunpo Platinum Yearly$79.991 Year
- Bunpo Plus Lifetime$39.99
- Bunpo Plus Lifetime$44.99









