Comparison

English Learning Lounge Starter vs EWA

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

Head to head
About

English Learning Lounge Starter

This app provides over 20 years of ESL teaching experience to help you improve your English. It offers detailed grammar explanations and practice exercises, focusing on listening, reading, vocabulary, and pronunciation. Designed for busy learners, it explains concepts before testing your understanding.

Highlights
  • Detailed grammar explanations
  • Authentic listening and reading practice
  • Vocabulary building exercises
  • Pronunciation practice
  • Multiple choice quizzes
  • Gap fill exercises
  • Word re-ordering activities
Features
Read full description

Give your English learning a boost today. Get over 20 years of high quality ESL teaching experience in one app! Macmillan Education review: "Focuses on all aspects of language learning...detailed grammar explanations and plenty of opportunity to practice." * The FREE app for iPhone/iPad that doesn't stress you and test you - it explains, then checks. * Real English: authentic listenings and readings. * Created by native speaker teachers with 20 years' English teaching. Are you too busy to do a long, expensive English course? Do you need English and don't know where to start? Or wish to improve the English you already have? English Learning Lounge is the free English learning app from esl-lounge.com, the ESL website that has helped millions of both teachers and students of English since 2001. English Learning Lounge will help students of all levels to make a giant leap in their English learning. In 2015, we launched new versions of the English Learning Lounge - this is the Starter app. -- THE LEVELS ON "STARTER" -- + First Words If you are beginning your English learning, First Words will teach you your first 200 words using easy-to-understand pictures and audio. And you can learn either UK or US pronunciation and spelling. You choose! + Beginner Using the verb "to be", Present Simple, Adjectives, There Is/Are, Contractions, Apostrophes, Pronouns, Using "to have", Spelling. + Elementary Using "can", Some/Any, Past Simple, Present Continuous, Comparatives & Superlatives, Going To future, Adverbs, Prepositions, Verb Patterns, Plurals. PLEASE NOTE: Our other English Learning Lounge apps (Intermediate, Advanced, Exams), you can go to even higher levels and get practice for Cambridge Examinations! Look for them on the App Store today! -- USING THE APP -- If you need English for your job, your studies, your life - then English Learning Lounge, our FREE app, is the app for you today. With this app, you don't just do quizzes and tests: there are full grammar explanations too. English Learning Lounge is your very own English teacher, in your pocket! The quizzes on English Learning Lounge are fun and intuitive: multiple choice, gap fill quizzes, word re-ordering, colorful matching exercises and sentence editing. Super easy to understand, just use your fingers. Tap here, swipe there, and your English will get better! The English Learning Lounge will help you improve the following areas of your English: + Grammar + Reading + Listening + Vocabulary + Pronunciation + Writing As you go through the app, move onto higher and higher levels and move towards mastering the most popular and useful language in the world. -- THE BENEFITS -- Learn English as you go about your busy day. While other apps only test you, English Learning Lounge gives full explanations of grammar and then checks if you have understood. -- USEFUL LINKS -- Follow us: https://twitter.com/esllounge Like us: https://www.facebook.com/esl.lounge.student/ Visit us: http://www.esl-lounge.com/student/

About

EWA

Learn English, Spanish, or French through interactive books, speaking courses with TV characters, and flashcards. Improve reading, writing, pronunciation, and vocabulary with engaging games and dialogues. Tailor your learning pace and level for effective language acquisition.

Highlights
  • Books with real-time translation
  • Speaking courses with TV characters
  • Flashcards with spaced repetition
  • Interactive games for cognitive training
  • Dialogues for everyday conversations
  • Progress tracking and score charts
Features
Read full description

Learn English, Spanish, or French with EWA! Read books with real time translations, discover unknown words with a tap of your finger, complete speaking courses with your favorite TV characters, and learn new words with flashcards - all for free in our app! Improve your existing skills today! EWA is a personalized English, Spanish, or French tutor that fits in your pocket. Every user can decide for themselves how they would like to learn a language - at what level and at what pace: 1. More than 10,000 English, Spanish, or French books with audio are available for you to sharpen your reading, writing, and grammar skills. Choose a book that matches your current language level and start expanding your skills right away! Unknown word? Simply tap it to translate it, add it to your “to-learn” list, and memorize it forever! 2. Spoken video-courses with popular movie scenes and TV show characters is what our users love the most about EWA! It’s fun, interesting, and an innovative way to improve pronunciation and achieve language proficiency. The courses include a variety of topics, levels and time frames - so, regardless of your current skills, your language abilities will only benefit from EWA! 3. Speaking Topics Don't know what to say at passport control, how to ask for directions, or how to order food at a café? Read and listen to dialogues on everyday topics that will help you on every journey. With these dialogues, you'll easily improve your conversational English by applying what you've learned in real life! 4. All you need is a spare 5 minutes a day to learn English, Spanish, or French. More than 40,000 flashcards are available for you to choose from. Pick the words you want to learn and memorize them using the spaced repetition study method. Feeling excited about your progress? Compete on score charts, compare your results to thousands of other people, and get to the top-ranked spot! 5. The games section is now available in EWA. A unique teaching methodology compromised of cognitive training exercises and easy-to-learn brain games will help you sharpen your language skills in a very fun and exciting way. Our games aren’t time-wasters; they’re actually great mental stimulators! Play, have fun, and most importantly, learn a new language in no time! No more cramming, stress, and angry teachers! With EWA, you’ll learn the language whenever and wherever - at your own pace. You’ll improve your English, Spanish, or French and experience the beauty of knowing another language - from freedom while traveling to higher paying jobs. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated! If you have any concerns, recommendations, or complaints just drop us a line at support@appewa.com and we’ll work towards making EWA better! ================== PLEASE NOTE: You will need an EWA subscription in order to access all courses and features. Courses available may vary depending your device’s language. • Payment will be charged to your iTunes Account at ‘confirmation of purchase’ • Your account will be charged for a subscription renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period and will identify the cost of the renewal • Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user’s Account Settings after purchase • Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription to that publication, where applicable ================== Start now and experience a new way of learning English, Spanish, or French. Expanding your vocabulary has never been easier.

Screenshots

English Learning Lounge Starter4 screens
EWA4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: EWA at 4.7 against English Learning Lounge Starter's 4.0. EWA also leads on update cadence (weekly vs every 6 weeks) and ratings volume (197K vs 4). English Learning Lounge Starter's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and review sentiment (100% vs 74%). 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. English Learning Lounge Starter sells 10 one-off in-app purchases and EWA sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $11.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

EWA holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: EWA has 197K ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 100% of English Learning Lounge Starter's written reviews are positive against 74% of EWA's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

English Learning Lounge Starter ships an update every 6 weeks, EWA weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
English Learning Lounge Starter versus EWA: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterEnglish Learning Lounge StarterEWA
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (4 ratings)4.7 (197K ratings) — better
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews — better74.3% of reviews
Number of ratings4197K — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeksWeekly — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank—#98 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS6.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size86 MB200 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperNeil CoghlanLithium Lab Pte Ltd

Customer experience

English Learning Lounge Starter

All ratings4 ratings
Positive75.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative25.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

EWA

All ratings196,613 ratings
Positive93.6%
Neutral3.6%
Negative2.8%
Written reviews4,075 reviews
Positive74.3%
Neutral4.8%
Negative20.9%

Bugs and requests

English Learning Lounge Starter

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

EWA

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Lessons and progress getting reset unexpectedly
  • Subscription issues and unauthorized charges
  • Inability to cancel subscription or get refunds
  • App crashing or freezing during use
  • Incorrect or missing translations in books and lessons

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add more language options beyond English and Spanish
  • Improve translation accuracy and provide context-based definitions
  • Offer more advanced content and customization options
  • Integrate speech recognition for speaking practice
  • Improve app stability and reduce technical issues

In-app purchases

10 purchases

English Learning Lounge Starter

One-time10
  • Remove Ads$0.99
  • Beginner Unit 11$0.99
  • Beginner Unit 12$0.99
Show 7 more
  • Beginner Unit 13$0.99
  • Beginner Unit 14$0.99
  • Beginner Unit 2$0.99
  • First Words Expansion Pack$2.99
  • Beginner Expansion Pack$3.99
  • Elementary Expansion Pack$3.99
  • Starter App Unlock$8.99
7 purchases

EWA

Subscriptions7
  • One-Month Subscription3 Days trial2 variants$11.991 Month
  • One-Month EWA Premium Subscription$15.991 Month
  • One-Month Subscription3 Days trial2 variants$15.991 Month
Show 4 more
  • Six-Month Subscription7 Days trial$34.996 Months
  • One-Year Subscription3 Days trial$49.991 Year
  • One-Year Subscription3 Days trial2 variants$99.991 Year
  • One-Year Subscription7 Days trial$99.991 Year

Questions

Is English Learning Lounge Starter free?
English Learning Lounge Starter is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is EWA free?
EWA is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, English Learning Lounge Starter or EWA?
EWA is rated higher. English Learning Lounge Starter averages 4.0 out of 5 from 4 ratings, while EWA averages 4.7 from 197K ratings.
Do English Learning Lounge Starter or EWA have ads?
EWA shows ads; English Learning Lounge Starter does not.
Which is updated more often, English Learning Lounge Starter or EWA?
English Learning Lounge Starter ships an update every 6 weeks, and EWA weekly. Most recently, English Learning Lounge Starter was updated on November 1, 2026 and EWA on November 5, 2026.

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