Comparison

The Earth by Tinybop vs How It Works?

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

How It Works?

Explore the wonders of our world through interactive games, animations, and explanations. This app makes learning about natural phenomena engaging and fun for children, fostering curiosity and understanding of the planet.

Highlights
  • Interactive games
  • Animations
  • Clear explanations
  • Big images
  • Experiments
  • Locutions for non-readers
Features
Read full description

Allow your children to learn about how our world works and discover its beauty through a fun and interactive application full of games, images and animations. How it Works? is a very entertaining didactic application that gives the children the opportunity to explore how our world works through animations, small explanations, games and locutions. It includes small lectures that teaches them about the plants, the energies, the volcanoes, the planet and its interior, the water’s cycle and many more natural phenomena. What is in the Application How it Works? ===================================== • Big images to understand the context • Animations to comprehend the functioning of the phenomena • Easy to do experiments • Simple and clear explanations • Fun games to reinforce the learning • Locutions to facilitate the comprehension of the non-readers Download How it Works? and allow your children, grandchildren or students to explore some of the most interesting natural phenomena of our planet. Show them how they work internally and on the outside, satisfy their curiosity and make them participate in how we can make the world better with small everyday actions. How does it work? =================== The kids are free to explore the games in the order they want, see images watch videos and read about the thrilling planet Earth! Or they can play games and challenge their knowledge! With How it Works? the little ones discover how the world works at their own pace and according to their own interests. We believe that you will find, nevertheless, that when they play How it Works?, that they are intuitively drawn to learn about things they never thought to explore. How it Works? is a game that makes the learning and even better, the comprehension, of how some phenomena develops more fun and mild. It is full of curiosities, contents, images, applications and games to reach all kind of children. The kids have access to a broad range of contents of interest about the planet, everything in only one app! • Without third party advertising How it Works? is the perfect application to install in your device when you make a long trip in car, plane, train or bus. Enjoy your time, while allowing your children to have fun and learn in an exciting way for them. ABOUT LEARNY LAND At Learny Land, we love to play, and we believe that games must form part of the educational and growth stage of all children; because to play is to discover, explore, learn and have fun. Our educational games help children learn about the world around them and are designed with love. They are easy to use, beautiful and safe. Because boys and girls have always played to have fun and learn, the games we make - like the toys that last a lifetime - can be seen, played and heard. At Learny Land we take advantage of the most innovative technologies and the most modern devices to take the experience of learning and playing a step further. We create toys that could not have existed when we were young. Read more about us at www.learnyland.com. Privacy Policy We take Privacy very seriously. We do not collect or share personal information about your children or allow any type of third party ads. To learn more, please read our privacy policy at www.learnyland.com. Contact us We'd love to know your opinion and your suggestions. Please, write to support@learnyland.com. Terms of Use: http://learnyland.com/terms-of-service/

Screenshots

The Earth by Tinybop4 screens
How It Works?4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: How It Works? at Free against The Earth by Tinybop's $3.99. The Earth by Tinybop's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 4) and rating (4.3 vs 3.9). On ratings volume, update cadence, ads and device support 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

How It Works? is free to download; The Earth by Tinybop costs $3.99 up front. How It Works? sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per month. The Earth by Tinybop asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

The Earth by Tinybop holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 3.9. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 81 and 69 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 45% of The Earth by Tinybop's written reviews are positive against 37% of How It Works?'s.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

The Earth by Tinybop ships an update every 3 months, How It Works? every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
The Earth by Tinybop versus How It Works?: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterThe Earth by TinybopHow It Works?
Price$3.99Free — better
Rating4.3 (81 ratings) — better3.9 (69 ratings)
Positive reviews45.5% of reviews — better36.8% of reviews
Number of ratings81 — better69
Update frequencyEvery 3 months — betterEvery 4 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS9.0 — better13.0
Further details — not scored
Size400 MB340 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTinybop Inc.Learny Land

Customer experience

The Earth by Tinybop

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

How It Works?

All ratings65 ratings
Positive67.7%
Neutral12.3%
Negative20.0%
Written reviews19 reviews
Positive36.8%
Neutral15.8%
Negative47.4%

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

How It Works?

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

The Earth by Tinybop

No in-app purchases

4 purchases

How It Works?

Subscriptions4
  • Learny Land Pass - Monthly7 Days trial$7.991 Month
  • Learny Land Pass - Monthly7 Days trial$8.991 Month
  • Learny Land Pass - Annual7 Days trial$39.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Learny Land Pass - Annual7 Days trial$49.991 Year

Questions

Is The Earth by Tinybop free?
The Earth by Tinybop costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is How It Works? free?
How It Works? is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, The Earth by Tinybop or How It Works??
The Earth by Tinybop is rated higher. The Earth by Tinybop averages 4.3 out of 5 from 81 ratings, while How It Works? averages 3.9 from 69 ratings.
Do The Earth by Tinybop or How It Works? have ads?
Neither The Earth by Tinybop nor How It Works? shows ads.
Which is updated more often, The Earth by Tinybop or How It Works??
The Earth by Tinybop ships an update every 3 months, and How It Works? every 4 months. Most recently, The Earth by Tinybop was updated on November 1, 2026 and How It Works? on October 24, 2026.

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