Comparison

The Earth by Tinybop vs SPACE by THIX

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

Head to head
About

The Earth by Tinybop

Explore geology and ecology with an interactive Earth model. Kids can simulate geological forces, witness landform creation, and learn about conservation through hands-on activities. Develop foundational science literacy through engaging STEM exploration.

Highlights
  • Interactive Earth model
  • Simulate geological forces
  • Explore Earth's layers
  • Shape landforms
  • Learn conservation
  • Discover fossils
  • Experiment with volcanoes
Features
Read full description

This app is for all junior geologists. ***** Children's Technology Review Editor's Choice ***** The Earth is an interactive model that lets kids study geology and ecology. Kids explore and play with the geological forces that change the Earth—above and below the surface, in minutes and over millions of years. Kids can also learn about conservation as they test clean energy sources, clean up beaches, and preserve forests. The Earth is No. 5 in Tinybop’s Explorer’s Library. Each Explorer’s Library app lets kids explore the invisible and awesome wonders of STEM. Kids (and kids at heart!) develop foundational science literacy. "This is a great way to let children informally and playfully discover some of the big ideas they’ll encounter later on in their school curriculum. Apps like this one are good reminders for why you spent hundreds of dollars on a phone or tablet for your child." — Warren Buckleitner, editor, Children's Technology Review Features: * Investigate how landforms are created. * See the Earth transform over time, from a sphere of boiling rock to the continents we live on today. * Dig under the surface and observe the Earth’s layers from the crust to core. * Weather, erode, and deposit rocks and sediment. Shape the land with your fingertips! * Make a river meander. Make a glacier recede and advance. Create sand dunes, sea stacks, and beaches. Trigger a rockslide! * Discover fossils as you investigate rock formations. * See how plants weather the Earth by making your own garden. * Discover mysteries like frost wedging, stalactites and stalagmites, and hotspots. * Experiment with four different types of volcanoes. * Earth Day ecology bonus interactions about conservation: test clean energy sources, clean up beaches, and preserve forests. * Learn new vocabulary in 40+ languages with interactive labels in close-up scenes. * Original artwork by Sarah Jacoby. * Intuitive, safe, and kid-friendly design. * Entertaining for kids and adults alike — play together and learn together! FREE handbook Our expert-reviewed handbook is full of facts, interaction tips, and discussion questions to support learning in this app, in the classroom or at home. Download in your app or at: http://tinybop.com/handbooks. Privacy policy We take your and your child’s privacy seriously. We do not collect or share personal information about your child. We do not allow any third-party advertising. When the camera, microphone, and other services are used within an app, your information is not collected or distributed outside of the app. Read our complete privacy policy at tinybop.com. Tinybop, Inc. is a Brooklyn-based studio of designers, engineers, and artists. We make apps for curious, creative, and kind kids. We’re all over the internet. Visit us: www.tinybop.com Follow us: twitter.com/tinybop Like us: facebook.com/tinybop Peek behind the scenes: instagram.com/tinybop We love hearing your stories! If you have ideas, or something isn’t working as you expect it to, please contact us: hi@tinybop.com. Psst! It's not Tiny Bop, or Tiny Bob, or Tiny Pop. It's Tinybop. :)

About

SPACE by THIX

Create and explore your own universe with realistic physics. Build celestial bodies, experiment with natural laws, and journey through the cosmos you design. Learn astronomy and astrophysics through interactive play.

Highlights
  • Create celestial bodies (planets, stars, black holes)
  • Experiment with gravity and natural laws
  • Simulate supernovae and planetary collisions
  • Interactive real-time physics
  • Explore created universes
  • Learn astronomy and astrophysics
Features
Read full description

* Best of 2016 – Apple * Create your own universe. Play with the law of nature. Visit the outer worlds. Build asteroids, nebula, comets, planets, moons, stars, pulsars and even blackholes at your fingertips. Experiment with gravity, supernova, planetary collision and so forth. Zoom in to ride comets. Zoom out to gaze at the galaxy of stars. S C I E N C E D R I V E N Learn Astronomy and Astrophysics for fun and creativity. All celestial bodies you create can move and interact in real-time and in accordance with the Newtonian astrophysics laws. C E L E S T I A L T O U C H Move planets with your fingers. Swipe to shoot a comet. Play with your own universe in an astronomical scale. SPACE puts gigantic celestial bodies under your fingertips. C O S M I C V O Y A G E Meditate in the indescribable beauty of space that you create, anywhere and anytime. Hold your device to view the universe in from any angle. Visit us: thix.co
 Like us: facebook.com/thixlab 
Follow us: twitter.com/thixlab Comments or Questions: support@thixlab.com

Screenshots

The Earth by Tinybop4 screens
SPACE by THIX4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: The Earth by Tinybop at 4.3 against SPACE by THIX's 3.7. SPACE by THIX's advantage is price ($2.99 vs $3.99). On review sentiment, ratings volume, update cadence and ads 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

The Earth by Tinybop costs $3.99 and SPACE by THIX $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

The Earth by Tinybop holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 3.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 81 and 169 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 45% of The Earth by Tinybop's written reviews are positive against 50% of SPACE by THIX's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

The Earth by Tinybop ships an update every 3 months, SPACE by THIX every 2 months. Both last shipped on November 6, 2026.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
The Earth by Tinybop versus SPACE by THIX: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterThe Earth by TinybopSPACE by THIX
Price$3.99$2.99 — better
Rating4.3 (81 ratings) — better3.7 (169 ratings)
Positive reviews45.5% of reviews50.5% of reviews — better
Number of ratings81169 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS9.0 — better10.0
Further details — not scored
Size400 MB106 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTinybop Inc.THIX LLC

Customer experience

The Earth by Tinybop

All ratings81 ratings
Positive79.0%
Neutral9.9%
Negative11.1%
Written reviews222 reviews
Positive45.5%
Neutral9.0%
Negative45.5%

SPACE by THIX

All ratings169 ratings
Positive66.3%
Neutral13.0%
Negative20.7%
Written reviews212 reviews
Positive50.5%
Neutral17.9%
Negative31.6%

User reviews

The Earth by Tinybop

From 81 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🎨 Beautiful, detailed graphics and art style
  • 🧠 Educational content about Earth's geology and natural processes
  • 🎮 Interactive exploration mechanics with engaging animations
  • 🌍 Comprehensive coverage of Earth science topics (volcanoes, earthquakes, layers, etc.)
  • 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Appeals to wide age range from young children to teenagers

Room to improve

  • ❓ Lacks clear instructions and tutorials for navigation
  • ⏱️ Limited content with quick completion time (5-30 minutes)
  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and freezing issues
  • 😕 Not intuitive for users to understand what to do
  • 🎯 No clear objectives or goals provided

SPACE by THIX

From 169 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🌟 Cool and fun to play with
  • 🌌 Relaxing and immersive space experience
  • 🎨 Beautiful graphics and visuals

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Buggy and glitchy behavior
  • 🔍 Difficulty seeing and interacting with small objects
  • 🤔 Lack of clear instructions or tutorials
  • 🕹️ Frustrating controls and navigation

Bugs and requests

The Earth by Tinybop

Reported bugs

10 issues
  • App crashes frequently on various iOS devices
  • Screen freezes and becomes unresponsive
  • Phone crashes to Apple logo on some devices
  • Blank white screen on launch
  • Incompatibility with iPhone 4 and older iOS versions
Show 5 more
  • Layout issues on smaller screens (SE model) with cut-off text
  • Slow performance and glitchy animations
  • Payment window pops up repeatedly and requires device reboot
  • Buttons and controls not functioning properly
  • Issues with timeline feature not being fully functional

Requested features

10 requests
  • Tutorial or guided learning instructions for new users
  • Ability to explore Earth's timeline and early stages properly
  • Space exploration feature to complement Earth exploration
  • More interactive structures and objects to manipulate
  • Mariana Trench addition with marine life details
Show 5 more
  • Persistent changes to landscape after events (earthquakes, volcanoes)
  • Summary information explaining what children are learning
  • More content and activities to extend gameplay duration
  • Visibility of volcano hole in X-ray view
  • Additional Tinybop app integrations

SPACE by THIX

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Planets and objects behaving erratically or disappearing
  • Frequent crashes or freezes, especially with many objects
  • Inconsistent or unresponsive touch controls
  • Incorrect physics or behavior of certain celestial bodies

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add ability to customize and edit planets
  • Implement time controls to speed up/slow down simulation
  • Provide more celestial objects and phenomena to interact with
  • Improve performance and reduce lag on complex scenes
  • Include a tutorial or in-game guidance for new players

In-app purchases

None

The Earth by Tinybop

No in-app purchases

None

SPACE by THIX

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is The Earth by Tinybop free?
The Earth by Tinybop costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is SPACE by THIX free?
SPACE by THIX costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, The Earth by Tinybop or SPACE by THIX?
The Earth by Tinybop is rated higher. The Earth by Tinybop averages 4.3 out of 5 from 81 ratings, while SPACE by THIX averages 3.7 from 169 ratings.
Do The Earth by Tinybop or SPACE by THIX have ads?
Neither The Earth by Tinybop nor SPACE by THIX shows ads.
Which is updated more often, The Earth by Tinybop or SPACE by THIX?
The Earth by Tinybop ships an update every 3 months, and SPACE by THIX every 2 months. Most recently, The Earth by Tinybop was updated on November 6, 2026 and SPACE by THIX on November 6, 2026.

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