Some of the best language learning apps are usually available online and downloadable on smartphones, laptops (desktop version), and tablets. But how can we know if it is the best language app to use and help us master our target language? In this Drops Vs. Busuu blog will talk about which of these two language learning apps best your learning styles and your needs.
Are you planning to learn a new language? There is no denying that learning new words using a free language learning app is the best choice today. If you check some of the most famous names out there, you will see that some of these apps offer different language courses, learning features, and even tactics in helping you learn some of the hardest and easiest languages out there. Through these tools, a beginner may learn how to practice speaking and engage in various comprehension-based exercises available in the app.
However, these free language learning apps also have their distinct downside, which is why we believe that there is no particular app that is guaranteed to work on anyone. As the saying goes, there is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to learning. In today’s blog, I will give an honest review about the two best apps: Drops Vs. Busuu and the best alternative app for a language learner.
Drops Language Learning App: A Quick Overview
Drops is a language learning application that is primarily focused on helping you in terms of mastering the vocabulary of a particular target language. Because of its aesthetic look and game-like features, this is a good platform for those beginners who digs this engaging learning style. It also provides audio samples of vocabulary words and English translation.
All in all, Drops is a beautifully designed language vocabulary app that offers other language learning apps like the Scripts app and Droplets app, which provides interactive games to improve your languages skills, specifically your vocabulary skills.
Can Drops Help You Become A Native Speaker?
Since Drops is primarily focused on building vocabulary skills, this type of learning technology cannot help you become a native speaker or be fluent in your second language. The simplicity of this language learning app helps learn essential words, but it will cover anything related to grammatical and conversational skills.
How To Use Drops
When using Drops for the first time, you can use its embedded “native language” feature, which is excellent when you are just scratching the surface in a different language. However, it depends on your own pace, level, and learning time if you want to turn it on or not.
Also, this game-like language app has three levels: Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced level. You can achieve a certain level if you understand and master a new vocabulary by answering their interactive games (pictorial and maze of letters). Moreover, the streak features may help you advance to a new level.
Features Of Drops
Because Drops is only limited to teaching vocabulary words (which is one of the disadvantages of the app), they create another co-partner app, the Scripts app. From the word ‘script,’ the Scripts app offers various writing systems of a specific target language that you want to learn. Aside from different languages, they also provide minority languages. Furthermore, they also have this Droplets app, the Kids version of the Drops app. This is more engaging and aesthetically designed for kids who want to learn a language at their own pace.
Another disadvantage of Drops is the free version only provides 5 minutes of using the app every 10 hours in a week, so if you want to learn more vocabulary words, you need to wait for another 10 hours unless you need to avail the premium version. In addition, the Scripts app and Droplets app is available only in the premium version of Drops.
Is Drops A Free App?
The free version of Drops only offers a 5-minute trial version for 10 hours a week. Furthermore, you may be bumped into different advertisements while using this version.
Drops Premium Version And Subscription
If you want to avail of the Premium version subscription, you only have to pay $8.49 a month. They also offer discount vouchers and promos to help the premium version if you are still using the free version. They usually send to the valid email address you used when you signed up to create an account.
Here are the features that Premium subscription offers:
- Access most languages that Drops offers (43 foreign languages)
- Ad-free experience
- Offline access
- Unlimited time for reviewing using the app
- More lessons to choose from (You can skip words )
The annual subscription price is $69.99
The lifetime subscription price is $159.99
Pros And Cons Of Drops
| Pros | Cons |
| Aesthetic design (colorful and engaging icons) | In matching words to pictures, there are no extra choices to choose from (3 words-3 choices) |
| Simple application (you only need to click, drag and scroll to use the app) | Too simple in achieving your target language |
| Adaptive Algorithm (perfect for a beginner) | Free version (5 mins per 10 hours, unlike other language apps) |
| Not helpful for learning grammar | |
| Nouns are not taught with gender |
Busuu Language Learning App: A Quick Overview
When we talk about Busuu, this language learning app is also beneficial to learning vocabulary. Unlike in Drops, this app asks you to think than translate a word. For instance, you can record your answer then write if you are given an open question. For example, if you are learning Spanish in this app, an open-ended question would be ‘Introduce yourself in Spanish.’ Your answer would be sent and checked by the native speakers from Busuu, and they will give corrections if there are any. This way, you can improve your listening skills and proper pronunciation.
It also provides grammar lessons, familiarizing the spelling of a word, vocabulary words, native language speakers support, speed repetition exercises, and other language skills of your target language.
Can Busuu Help You Become A Native Speaker?
If you want to become a native speaker, the free version can never help a beginner become fluent in a specific target language. However, Busuu can help you master various vocabulary words because of the powerful techniques that they provide (thinking than translating).
On the other hand, the free version provides only limited features to learn a new language, so you better go with the premium version.
How To Use Busuu
Busuu is a great language learning app for beginners because you will first begin to learn the basics before going on to the next level (from letters to words, from words to sentences, from sentences to phrases, and so on).
Once you are familiar with the basics (since the app has this logical and graded organization of lessons, you can now move on to inferring meaning and listening skills. Through this, you will use the basics in answering the given open-ended questions. Afterward, the app will give other repetitive questions to improve your language skills.
This learning technique will significantly help a beginner learn a new language because a native speaker from the app will give feedback according to their answers. Those feedbacks will encourage the users to study more of their second language.
Features Of Busuu
Unlike Drops which offers 43+ languages, this is the most significant disadvantage of Busuu because it only provides 12 languages such as English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese, Italian, Russian, Chinese, Arabic, Turkish, Portuguese, and Polish.
Is Busuu A Free App?
Yes, Busuu is a free app, but having this version may exclude you from other language packs that Busuu has in the Premium version.
Busuu Premium Version And Subscription
In the Busuu Premium Plus plan, they will offer and teach languages up to 12 languages! Below are the two paid versions/premium subscriptions that you can choose for your target language:
Busuu Premium price is €5,83 per month 0r $6.59 per month
- One language only.
- Offline Mode – learning without an Internet connection
- A lot of grammar
- Speech recognition software
- Learning with AI system.
Busuu Premium Plus price is €6,66 per month 0r $7.53 per month
- You can learn all 12 languages available.
- Large community and support of native speakers.
- McGraw Hill official tests
- personalized Study Plan provided by AI learning software.
Lifetime Subscription price $159.99
Pros And Cons Of Busuu
| Pros | Cons |
| Has logical and graded organization of lessons to improve your vocabulary (the users will be asked to answer and use the new word they learned) | The questions and word categories are so easy (not good to make a user fluent in a particular language) |
| They have a study plan (helps in achieving target language) | No screening/reviewing of correct answers (The users will never know if their answers are wrong answers) |
| The app is not that aesthetically engaging but perfect for a language learning application |
Drops Vs Busuu: Final Review
Here’s the truth: Choose what best fits your needs at the end of the day. There is not much difference between the two as they are geared for total beginners who are passionate about increasing the vocab they know about their target language. Both of these also do not cover anything related to sentence patterns, which is not suitable for real students.
Busuu is a complete language learning app for a user’s target language to avail of the premium version. Through, Drops premium version is a lot way cheaper than Busuu, but the learning technique of Busuu is better for a beginner, and it is worth the price. For more app reviews, you can also check and read other blog posts related to this topic, like Drops Review and LingQ Vs. Busuu.
Alternative Learning Language App: Ling App
If you think that these two language applications are not your style in learning your target language, then I suggest you try a better language learning app: Ling App.
Ling App by Simya Solutions is an innovative and user-friendly learning app that a beginner must have.
This is one of the best alternatives and best language learning app not only in learning a new word or vocabulary, grammatical skills, different parts of speech, but most importantly in mastering a target language.
Another good news is that the Ling app provides fresh content that helps you understand deeper and appreciate your target language better. The contents of the blog posts are very informative and exciting such as top foods in the country, common animal, vegetable and fruit names, and other content that will help you improve your vocabulary.
For instance, a sample content discussed how the locals speak their native languages, such as 30 Best Tagalog Slang Words To Sound Like A Local and 25 Cool Korean Slang Words To Sound Like A Local, which will significantly help a beginner. In addition, the Ling app also includes grammar lessons presented in interactive exercises like mini-games, quizzes, and other flashcard games. Through this, you can master your target language without being bored or stressed.
Download and learn with Ling App now!
