Lingawa vs Preply vs NKENNE vs Drops: Which Is Best for Learning Yoruba or Igbo? (2026)

If you are trying to learn Yoruba or Igbo online, four options come up most often: Lingawa, Preply, NKENNE, and Drops. They are not really the same kind of product, which is why "which is best" depends entirely on what you want. This page lays out what each does well and where each falls short, honestly, including where the others beat us.

We make Lingawa, so treat this as a comparison written by an interested party. We have tried to be fair, and we point out below the cases where a competitor is the better choice.

The short version

• Lingawa combines self-paced app practice (games, sentence building, vocabulary) with live native-speaker tutors, built specifically for Yoruba and Igbo and aimed at diaspora adults and children. Best if you want structure plus a real person.
• Preply is a large tutor marketplace. Best if you only want one-on-one tutoring and want to pick from many individual tutors on price.
• NKENNE is an app covering 15 African languages, strong on vocabulary and pronunciation, with optional paid live sessions. Best if you want a broad African-language app and mostly self-study.
• Drops is a vocabulary game app. Best if you want five-minute word drills and nothing heavier.

The four, in detail

Lingawa

Lingawa is built only for Yoruba and Igbo. It pairs a self-paced app layer, matching games, sentence builders, vocabulary drills, progress tracking, with live one-on-one lessons from native-speaking tutors. The design goal is a complete path: you practise on your own between lessons, then use a tutor for speaking, correction, and structure. It is aimed particularly at diaspora families, adults reconnecting with a heritage language and children learning from scratch.

Where it is strong: it is one of the few options that gives you both the app practice and the human tutor in one place, rather than making you assemble them yourself. Focus on two languages means the Yoruba and Igbo content is deeper than a generalist app's.

Where it falls short: two languages only. If you want Swahili, Zulu, or any other African language, Lingawa does not offer them and one of the others below will serve you better.

Preply

Preply is a general tutoring marketplace that happens to include Yoruba and Igbo tutors. As of 2026 it lists on the order of 100 Yoruba tutors and around a dozen Igbo tutors, with lesson prices ranging from roughly $3 to $40+ per hour depending on the tutor, and an average in the low teens. You browse individual tutor profiles, watch intro videos, read reviews, and book trial lessons.

Where it is strong: choice and price flexibility. If your single priority is one-on-one tutoring and you want to shop among many tutors to find a rate and style that suit you, Preply's marketplace is hard to beat on selection. Its Igbo tutor pool is smaller than its Yoruba pool but still real.

Where it falls short: it is tutoring only. There is no structured self-paced curriculum or practice layer built for Yoruba or Igbo specifically, so what you do between lessons is up to you. Quality varies tutor to tutor because it is a marketplace, not a designed course. If all you want is a cheap Yoruba tutor and you will handle your own practice, Preply is a better fit than Lingawa.

NKENNE

NKENNE is a dedicated African-language app covering around 15 languages including Yoruba and Igbo, with more than 400,000 learners. It focuses on audio-based lessons, pronunciation and tone, digital flashcards, offline learning, and a proprietary AI translation feature for a few languages. It added optional live 1-on-1 tutoring (NKENNE LiiVE) at around $20 per session.

Where it is strong: breadth and self-study polish. If you want one app that covers many African languages, or you want to study Yoruba or Igbo mostly on your own with a well-built mobile experience, NKENNE is a strong choice. Its offline mode is genuinely useful.

Where it falls short: its tutoring is a relatively new add-on sold per session rather than an integrated ladder, and covering 15 languages means its per-language depth is spread thinner than a two-language specialist. Some users report app stability issues. If you want a broad African-language app and mostly self-study, NKENNE is a reasonable pick over Lingawa.

Drops

Drops is a vocabulary-learning app built around fast, visual, five-minute word games. It includes Yoruba; Igbo coverage is more limited.

Where it is strong: low-friction habit building. If you want a quick daily vocabulary game and nothing more demanding, Drops is polished and pleasant.

Where it falls short: it is vocabulary only. There is no grammar progression, no sentence construction, no speaking practice, and no tutor. It will build you a word bank, not conversational ability. For Yoruba or Igbo specifically, it is a supplement, not a course.

Quick comparison

How to choose

• You want the app practice and a real tutor in one place, for Yoruba or Igbo specifically, possibly for your kids: Lingawa.
• You only want one-on-one tutoring and want the widest, cheapest tutor selection: Preply.
• You want a broad African-language app and mostly self-study: NKENNE.
• You want a light daily vocabulary game: Drops.

The honest summary: if your goal is actually holding a conversation in Yoruba or Igbo, the thing that closes the gap is combining structured practice with a real person to speak to. An app alone tends to plateau you at vocabulary; a tutor alone leaves your between-lesson practice unstructured. That combination is what Lingawa is built to provide, but if your needs are narrower, one of the other three may fit you better, and we have tried to say clearly where.

Competitor details (tutor counts, prices, feature sets) verified against public sources in August 2026 and can change. Check each provider's own site for the current state.