Comparison

Drops vs Basic

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

Basic

Features
Read full description

Almud n tutlayt tafṛansist s iwellihen ara d-yilin s tutlayt-inek/inem tayemat? Ih, yezmer ad d-yili s Basic-Français. Basic-Français yettwaxleq-d i uselmed n llsas n tutlayt n tefṛansist s lemɛawna akked temdint n Paris d tama n ile de France, s tedrimt n tmura tirupiyin. Basic-Français d asnas ara ken-iɛawnen deg yisurrifen nnwen imezwura n walmud n tutlayt n tefṛansist. Ludo akked Vic ttwaxelqen-d akken ad d-metlen igduden deg umaḍal-agi d wesnerni n useɛdel ger wergaz akked tmeṭṭut, ad ttilin yid-wen yal ass akken ad awen-slemden tutlayt n tefṛansist s idiwenniyen ara yeddun d wayen tettidiren yal ass d waṭas n wunuɣen i s ara d-sfehmen awalen imaynuten n tefṛansist. Basic-Français itekkes tilisa n tira imi ara d-yemmel ilaɣmuten, s tutlayt-inek/inem tayemat. Diɣ netta, tzemreḍ ad tlemdeḍ llsas n tutlayt tafṛansist akken yebɣu yili weswir-inek/inem ussnan. Basic-Français yezmer yiwen ad t-yessexdem xas ur yettmeslay ara tafṛansist d teglizit neɣ yettmeslay tutlayt ur nesɛi ara agemmay. Imi asefhem yettili-d s tutlayt i tfehmem, aya yessenɣas atqelleq yerna ad ak/am-iɛemmed ad tlemdeḍ s lemɣawla agbur asinan. Am wakken yella waṭas n leqdic, ula d aɛqal n taɣect, akken ad twennɛeḍ lmenṭeq-inek/inem, ad tessishleḍ asefhem d ccfawat d wamek ara terreḍ almud i tukksa n lxiq! Basic-Français yessawaḍ ɣer weswir amenzu (A1) n Cadre Européen commun de Référence pour les langues, d ayen ara k/kem-yeǧǧen ad tlemded iberdan n teywalt akken ad tedduḍ s lemɣawla deg walmud-inek/inem. Basic-Français ur isett ara internet-inek/inem. Ayen akk ara yettwaxedmen yettwaxdam mebla internet. D ayen yesɛan azal meqqren yerna qlil ad t-id-tafeḍ deg wesnasen nniḍen tura.

Screenshots

Drops4 screens
Basic4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Basic at none against Drops's shown. Basic also leads on iOS requirement (12.0 vs 17.6). Drops's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 2 months) and chart position (#167 vs unranked). 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. Drops sells 13 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per month and Basic sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Drops ships an update weekly, Basic every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 1, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 level
Drops versus Basic: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDropsBasic
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (72K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews74.7% of reviews—
Number of ratings72K — better—
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 2 months
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
Best chart rank#167 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.612.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size191 MB901 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPLANB LABS OULudo-Vic

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

Basic

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
1 purchases

Basic

One-time1
  • Full access$9.99

Questions

Is Drops free?
Drops is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Basic free?
Basic is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Drops or Basic have ads?
Drops shows ads; Basic does not.
Which is updated more often, Drops or Basic?
Drops ships an update weekly, and Basic every 2 months. Most recently, Drops was updated on October 1, 2026 and Basic on September 21, 2026.

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