Updated September 30, 2026 · AcademyCue Editorial Team
Drops vs Reading Eggs
Drops vs Reading Eggs: the differences
| Compare |  Drops |  Reading Eggs |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $5 | £6.99 |
| Price per month | $11 | £6.99 |
| Price per year | $69.99 | £54.99 |
| Free tier | YesHas it | No |
| Free trial length | 7 days | 30 daysHigher |
| Money-back period | 14 days | 30 daysHigher |
| Lifetime price | $150 | Not confirmed |
| Languages | Ainu, American English, Arabic, Basque, Bosnian, Brazilian Portuguese, British English, Cantonese, Castilian Spanish, Catalan, Chti, Croatian, Danish, Dutch, Egyptian Arabic, Esperanto, Estonian, European Portuguese, Finnish, French, Galician, German, Greek, Greenlandic, Hawaiian, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Igbo, Indonesian, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin Chinese, Maori, Mexican Spanish, Norwegian, Persian, Polish, Romanian, Russian, Samoan, Sanskrit for Yoga, Serbian, Swahili, Swedish, Swiss German, Tagalog, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Vietnamese, Welsh, Yoruba | Not confirmed |
| Lesson length (minutes) | 5 | Not confirmed |
| Speech recognition | Not confirmed | Yes |
| Offline use | Yes | Not confirmed |
| Family subscription | Not confirmed | Yes |
| Markets | Not confirmed | GB |
Same on both: Kids version (Yes).
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Key differences
- Reading Eggs scores higher overall: 9.4 vs 9.2.
- Free tier: only Drops.
- Free trial length is higher at Reading Eggs: 30 days vs 7 days.
- Money-back period is higher at Reading Eggs: 30 days vs 14 days.
- Support channels: only Reading Eggs offers Phone.
Our verdict on each
Drops
Drops suits self directed learners who want the same app for a whole household, with lessons of 5 minutes and a free starting point. It scores 9.2 overall, and readers who need a phone line or a long refund window will find a narrower offer here.
Reading Eggs
Reading Eggs is a children's reading subscription built for families rather than adult learners, with £54.99 a year covering the household and a library of 4,000 titles. The 30 days free trial and 30 days money-back period make it a low risk way to see whether a child keeps reading.
Score breakdown
| Area | Drops | Reading Eggs |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | 9.4Entry at $5, a yearly plan at $69.99 and a lifetime payment of $150 keep both horizons affordable. | 9.5HigherEntry at £6.99 and yearly at £54.99 rank near the top, with £6.99 a month. |
| Offer | 8.9A free tier leads into a 7 day trial, with a 14 day money-back window on the paid plans. | 9.3HigherFamily profiles, a kids version, assessments and 4,000 titles on unlimited access in one family subscription. |
Licences and countries
| Country | Drops | Reading Eggs |
|---|---|---|
| Headquarters | Estonia | Australia |
Positions in our rankings
| Ranking | Drops | Reading Eggs |
|---|---|---|
| Language learning apps | 12 of 46 | 7 of 46 |
Which one suits you
Pick Drops if free tier matter most.
Pick Reading Eggs if offer, free trial length, and money-back period matter most.
Where these facts come from
Drops
- languagedrops.com: 15 facts, checked September 30, 2026
Reading Eggs
- readingeggs.co.uk: 14 facts, checked September 30, 2026
Every fact side by side
| Fact | Drops | Reading Eggs |
|---|---|---|
| Learning method | App | App |
| Legal entity | PlanB Labs OÜ | Blake eLearning Pty Limited |
| Headquarters | Estonia | Australia |
| Support channels | Email, Help centre | Email, Phone, Help centreCovers more |
Online courses
| Fact | Drops | Reading Eggs |
|---|---|---|
| Platform type | Not confirmed | Subscription |
| Graded assessments | Not confirmed | Yes |
| Team plan | Not confirmed | Yes |
Audiobooks and ebooks
| Fact | Drops | Reading Eggs |
|---|---|---|
| Access model | Not confirmed | Unlimited |
| Titles in the catalogue | Not confirmed | 4,000 |
| Content types | Not confirmed | Ebooks, Audiobooks |
| Family profiles | Not confirmed | Yes |
Where each stands against the rest
| Fact | Drops | Reading Eggs | Median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free trial length | 7 daysat the median | 30 dayshighest quarter | 7 days |
| Money-back period | 14 daysbelow the median | 30 daysat the median | 30 days |
| Lesson length (minutes) | 5lowest quarter | Not confirmed | 30 |
Median across 33 listed providers.
Pros and cons
Drops
Pros
- The catalogue runs to Ainu, American English and Arabic, spanning regional variants and smaller languages alongside the major ones.
- Offline downloads are part of the service, so practice works on a flight or a commute.
- A kids version sits in the same app, and family profiles are the most common arrangement on the comparison, at 100% of the brands listed.
Cons
- The introductory price of $5 is a low entry point, but renewal lands on the monthly plan at $11 or the yearly plan at $69.99.
- The trial is short at 7 days against a 7 day median for language apps, and Drops places 8 of 21 brands on trial length.
- The money-back window of 14 days falls short of the 29 day median, and Drops sits 20 of 29 brands on that measure.
Reading Eggs
Pros
- A free trial of 30 days and a money-back period of 30 days let a family use the service properly before deciding to keep paying.
- The library covers 4,000 titles as ebooks and audiobooks, with unlimited access under a single plan.
- Family profiles, a family subscription and a kids version cover a whole household, and a team plan is offered for larger groups.
Cons
- There is no free tier, so the 30 days free trial is the only look before a payment is due.
- Entry at £6.99 sits above phase-6 and Bunpro, which list €0 and $0, so a family wanting a book library still pays to start.
- Support runs on email, phone and help centre, with no live chat or community forum in the list, so a question sent late waits for a reply.
Who each suits
Drops
Who it suits
- Learners who want to try a language at no cost before choosing a paid plan.
- Households with children, since a kids version runs in the same app.
- People who would rather pay once, at $150, than keep a subscription alive.
Who should look elsewhere
- Not for readers chasing a free entry price: one of the compared alternatives lists its entry price at €0.
- Not for buyers who want a long refund window, since the money-back period runs 14 days and the trial lasts 7 days.
- Not for cautious triallers who need longer to decide: the trial runs 7 days, shorter than the 7 day median for language apps.
Reading Eggs
Who it suits
- Households with several children who want reading practice and a story library in a single subscription, priced at £54.99 a year.
- Parents in the UK who want to look before committing, since phase-6 and Bunpro both start free and Reading Eggs does not, though its 30 days refund window offsets that.
- Families who read aloud together at home, because speech recognition and assessments sit inside the app rather than being left to a live tutor.
Who should look elsewhere
- Anyone whose goal is an adult spoken language rather than a children's library, since SpanishPod101 starts at $4 and Reading Eggs is built around a kids version and family profiles.
- Learners who insist on starting at no cost, because phase-6 and Bunpro both list free entry prices while Reading Eggs opens at £6.99.
- People outside GB, where the listed price and the money-back period do not apply.
Current offers
Reading Eggs
Current offer
Free trial
30 days FREE access to Reading Eggs: 30 days
This offer is only available to new customers.
Source, checked September 30, 2026
Questions about each
Drops
What does Drops cost at the start and at renewal?+
The entry price is $5, an introductory figure. From there the monthly plan runs $11 and the yearly plan $69.99. A lifetime option at $150 replaces both with a single payment, and the money-back window of 14 days covers a change of mind.
Is there a free plan, and how long is the trial?+
A free tier is available, so the opening stretch of a course costs nothing. The paid trial that follows runs 7 days, which is shorter than the 7 day median across language apps. Anyone who upgrades has the money-back window of 14 days as a fallback.
Reading Eggs
How much does Reading Eggs cost?+
The family subscription is listed at £6.99 a month and £54.99 for a year, with entry at £6.99. Taking the yearly figure rather than paying monthly costs less across the same stretch of time, and both are the renewal prices to budget for once the trial ends.
Is there a free version of Reading Eggs?+
There is no free tier, so nothing stays available once a trial ends without a payment. The free trial lasts 30 days and the money-back period is 30 days, which lets a family use the whole trial, decide it is not working, and still claim the fee back inside that window.