Drops and 1000 Words are both vocabulary apps with pictures, but they follow different ideas. Drops turns vocabulary into short, beautifully designed game rounds in more than 55 languages, but limits free users to five minutes every ten hours. 1000 Words teaches exactly the 1,000 most important words in 33 languages, each with an example sentence, and offers them in an SM-2 trainer and as video, audiobook and e-book. Pick Drops for rare languages and game-style fun; pick 1000 Words for a clearly defined core vocabulary with sentences and audiobooks.
This comparison reflects November 2026. Information about Drops comes from languagedrops.com, the App Store, reviews by StoryLearning and FluentU, and user reports on Reddit and Trustpilot, listed in the sources. Information about 1000 Words describes the app at the same date.
| Feature | Drops | 1000 Words |
|---|---|---|
| Approach | Vocabulary games in rounds of about five minutes | Core vocabulary: 1,000 words per language in three categories |
| Languages | More than 55, including rare ones like Māori and Yoruba | 33, any combination (1,056 language pairs) |
| Word count | Over 5,000 words and phrases per the website, varies by language | 1,000 words per course, the same in every pair |
| Sentences | Single words and phrases, grammar games for 9 languages since March 2026 | Every word with an example sentence, plus a sentences category |
| Review | Review Dojo | SM-2 trainer with seven modes and a due list |
| Speaking | Speak Practice removed in March 2026 according to StoryLearning | Speaking mode when device and language support speech recognition |
| Passive listening | Audio mode | Videos and audiobooks, including one for falling asleep |
| Free tier | 5 minutes every 10 hours, ads | First 100 words of every course as video and audiobook, quizzes, ads |
| Price | About 70 US dollars a year, lifetime about 160 US dollars (StoryLearning, Sep 2026) | 29.99 euros a year or 5.99 euros a month (Germany) |
| Platforms | iOS, Android, web | iOS, Android, web |
Drops is a vocabulary app by PlanB Labs OÜ, which has been part of the Norwegian learning game company Kahoot! since 2020. Drops shows every word with its own illustration and has you match, swipe and review it in quick games. A session lasts about five minutes. According to its website, Drops covers more than 55 languages and over 5,000 words and phrases. Since March 2026, short grammar games are available for nine languages.
On the US App Store, Drops holds a 4.7 out of 5 rating from about 72,000 ratings as of November 2026 and carries an Editors' Choice badge. Reviewers such as StoryLearning praise its design and language range and describe Drops as good vocabulary practice rather than a complete course.
1000 Words is a vocabulary app by Tob Apps, based in Barcelona. Each course contains the 1,000 most important words of a language, split into nouns, verbs and adjectives, and sentences. Every word has a translation, an example sentence, audio and usually a picture. The same words are available in the vocabulary trainer, as a video, as an audiobook, as an e-book, as a PDF word list and in quizzes. My Words lets you add your own words, and AI stories at A1 to C1 use them in short texts with audio.
Drops is built on speed and visuals: short rounds, swipe gestures and illustrations. That makes starting easy and motivating, but you mostly learn single words. 1000 Words is built on SM-2 spaced repetition, the method Anki also uses. The trainer offers flashcards, typing, listening, speaking, matching, a 60-second blitz round and a mixed mode, and the due list shows which words need review each day.
A second difference is context. In Drops, a word usually sits next to a picture. In 1000 Words, each word also appears in an example sentence, and one whole category consists of sentences. Neither app explains grammar systematically.
Drops wins on language choice: more than 55 languages, including Māori, Yoruba, Hawaiian and Ainu, which 1000 Words does not offer. 1000 Words has 33 languages but pairs them freely, so you can learn Romanian straight from French or Japanese from German. On scope, 1000 Words is clearer: every course has 1,000 words, while Reddit users report that course size in Drops varies by language. Both apps run on iOS, Android and in the browser.
Drops can be used for free, but according to StoryLearning only for five minutes every ten hours, with ads and topics that unlock one at a time. StoryLearning lists Premium in September 2026 at about 13 US dollars a month, about 70 US dollars a year or about 160 US dollars one-off, and sales are frequent.
1000 Words Basic is free and includes the first 100 words of every course as video and audiobook, plus quizzes and previews of the e-book and PDF, with ads. Premium costs 5.99 euros a month or 29.99 euros a year in Germany for all 33 languages. 1000 Words does not sell a lifetime plan, and store prices vary by country.
The time limit is the most frequent criticism of Drops. Reviews cite five minutes every ten hours, one Reddit user saw only three minutes in 2024, and another calls Drops pay to win because of it.
What 1000 Words does better here: 1000 Words Basic works differently. The first 100 words of every course are free as video and audiobook, along with quizzes, so the limit is on scope. Premium, at 29.99 euros a year in Germany, also costs less than Drops' annual plan.
Reviews and Trustpilot users describe Drops as a vocabulary app rather than a way into the language. A Reddit user learning Arabic asks when Drops will teach them to build sentences. Since March 2026, grammar games are available for nine languages.
What 1000 Words does better here: in 1000 Words every word has an example sentence, and one of the three categories consists entirely of sentences. AI stories put the words you learned into connected texts. To be honest, 1000 Words has no grammar course either.
According to StoryLearning, Drops removed its Speak Practice feature in early March 2026. Even before that, FluentU criticized that audio covers only single words.
What 1000 Words does better here: 1000 Words has a speaking mode that appears when the device and language support speech recognition. It only checks whether the right word is recognized and does not analyze sounds. On top of that, audiobooks and videos voice every word and sentence.
A user on r/languagelearning writes that with Drops they end up learning the clip-art symbol rather than the word, because the same picture always appears. StoryLearning notes that some pictures are hard to tell apart.
1000 Words only partly helps here: 1000 Words also usually shows one fixed picture per word. Its trainer, however, has modes without pictures, such as listening dictation and typing, and every word also appears in a sentence.
On Reddit, users look for official word counts for Drops courses and find none. A Romanian learner has the impression that only about 350 words are available, and another user got stuck at 247 words.
What 1000 Words does better here: every 1000 Words course has 1,000 words, Romanian included, across all 1,056 language pairs. You know up front what you will have learned at the end.
Several Reddit users reported bugs in 2024 and 2025: a stuck counter in the Review Dojo, topics marked as mastered although not all their words were known, and rejected words that still ended up in the study queue.
1000 Words does not help across the board here: 1000 Words can have bugs too. Its SM-2 trainer does, however, show openly each day which words are due through the due list.
Drops is the prettier game app and offers far more languages. 1000 Words is the more thorough vocabulary app: a fixed scope of 1,000 words, example sentences for every word, SM-2 with seven modes, videos and audiobooks, and a cheaper annual plan for all languages. If your language is in 1000 Words, you get a clearly defined vocabulary in more formats for less money there.
Drops is better for short game rounds and rare languages. 1000 Words is better for a fixed core vocabulary of 1,000 words with example sentences, SM-2 review, videos and audiobooks (as of November 2026).
According to StoryLearning, five minutes every ten hours. Premium removes the limit (as of September 2026).
According to StoryLearning, Drops costs about 70 US dollars a year. 1000 Words costs 29.99 euros a year in Germany for all 33 languages. Prices vary by country and store.
Drops mainly teaches single words and phrases; since March 2026 there are grammar games for nine languages. 1000 Words has an example sentence for every word and a sentences category, but no grammar course either.
Every course has 1,000 words in three categories: nouns, verbs and adjectives, and sentences.
Drops, with more than 55 languages. 1000 Words has 33 languages but pairs them freely into 1,056 combinations.