Comparison

DNA Play vs Space by Tinybop

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

Head to head
About

DNA Play

Design and mutate unique creatures by solving DNA puzzles and altering genes. Interact with your creations in real-time through various activities, discovering their personalities and evolving their forms.

Highlights
  • Create over 200 billion unique monsters
  • Solve DNA puzzles to build creatures
  • Alter genes for real-time mutations
  • Interact with monsters in various activities
  • Discover monster personalities and quirks
  • Save monster creations and DNA blueprints
Read full description

Create your own funny monsters and transform them in real-time by building and tweaking their DNA! Over 200 billion unique life forms at your fingertips! Feed your monsters, dance with them, watch them skate, get to know their quirks. • App Store "Best of 2015" • Reached #1 in Kids & Education on the App Store in US, UK & many more countries • Digital Ehon Award - Prize Winner 2017 • Tutora Award - Best Educational App 2017 • "App of the Week" by BBC Focus Magazine • Featured in "Apps of the Month" by The Guardian • "Learning about genetics becomes child’s play" - Cool Mom Tech • "A playful and amusing introduction to a big STEM concept!" - Madison Public Library • "Sneak scientific knowledge under a child’s radar by turning it into a game" - The Sunday Times This fun monster maker game introduces kids to the basic science of DNA in an easy pure-play style. Learn how to build creatures by completing a series of simple DNA puzzles. Get creative and experiment with quirky mutations of different body parts by altering genes. Have fun playing with your monsters and change their form in real-time while they dance, skate, eat or sleep! CREATE & MUTATE Start with a basic unformed figure and complete the gene puzzles to give it a fully grown torso, face and limbs. Then tweak the genes or simply tap on the monster's body parts to trigger mutations. Observe how the tiniest change in the DNA code can lead to unimaginable new characteristics. Watch your monster turn from yellow to red, grow pink hair and 6 eyes, have its ears transform into fish fins and its belly pop out and crave for food. Best of all, these are emotional creatures with vivid personalities, so prepare to be surprised! PLAY & EXPLORE Once you complete all 6 body parts it's time to play with your monsters and have fun! Feed them, tweak them, push them, squeeze them, make them jump or slide! Go for a skateboard ride with them! Get to know their quirks. Do they enjoy being chased by an elephant, being hypnotized or listen to music? Are they afraid of the dark? Discover what makes them sneeze, laugh or cry, how their voice changes after mutating their faces! Try, experiment and evolve! Why stick with 2 short legs when 4 tall ones are so much better for flamenco dancing? Keep transforming and observe which forms look better in various activities! Take photos and share your genetic blueprints so friends can clone your beasts. Build your personal library of ready-to-play, cute little monsters. Science has never been so fun! MAIN FEATURES • A playful introduction to DNA, biology and genetics • Build over 200 billion unique monsters! • Complete the DNA puzzles, swap their pieces to mutate • Tap on body parts to trigger random mutations • Plenty of unexpected and hilarious interactions • Transform monsters in real-time while they dance, sleep, eat, skate & more! • Save your monsters in a ready-to-play library  • Save snapshots of your creations stamped with their DNA code • Parents' section includes basic info on DNA, illustrated tutorial, interaction hints & play ideas • Ideal for kids 4-9 years old • Perfect for STEM education (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) • Language neutral game-play • No time limits, free-play style • Exceptional graphics, superb music & original sound design • Safe for kids: COPPA compliant, no 3rd party ads, no in-app purchases PRIVACY POLICY We respect your privacy! We do not collect, store, or share any personal information. Our app does not contain 3rd party ads or in-app purchases and is completely safe for young children. Read our privacy policy here: http://avokiddo.com/privacy-policy. ABOUT AVOKIDDO Avokiddo is an award-winning studio, creating top quality apps for education and playful learning. We think that when you enjoy something, you become one with it; and it is in this creative state that learning takes place. More about us at: avokiddo.com

About

Space by Tinybop

Explore our solar system and visit each planet up close. Discover their surfaces, characteristics, and orbits through interactive play. Test atmospheres, gravity, and observe planetary spins and seasons.

Highlights
  • Visit 8 planets and the sun
  • Study planet surfaces up close
  • Discover planet characteristics
  • Test atmospheres and gravity with meteorites
  • Compare planet sizes and masses
  • Observe planetary orbits and moon phases
  • Explore Mars with rovers and chopper
Features
Read full description

Travel into space and visit tiny Mercury, fierce Venus, friendly Earth, dusty Mars, stormy Jupiter, elegant Saturn, hazy Uranus, and mysterious Neptune. Perfect for future astronomers everywhere. "Space should more accurately be called "Hands On With the Solar System." — Children's Technology Review *** KAPi Best App for Older Children *** *** Children's Technology Review Editor's Choice *** Hurl meteorites through the atmosphere. Spin around the sun and zoom onto its surface. Jump into a whirling space storm. Boldly go where no kid has gone before in 3, 2, 1…. liftoff! Space is No.8 in Tinybop’s award-winning Explorer’s Library. Kids can discover new worlds in other Explorer’s Library apps, including The Human Body, Plants, Simple Machines, The Earth, Weather, Homes, and Skyscrapers. FEATURES + Visit 8 planets and the sun! + Study the surface of each planet and the sun up close. + Discover the characteristics of each planet with a helpful snowman. + Throw meteorites at each planet to test their atmospheres and gravity. + See how big and massive each planet and the sun are by comparing them side-by-side. + Play with and observe each planet’s orbit around the sun. + Follow the moon’s orbit to discover the phases of the moon. + See how quickly or slowly each planet spins on its axis and how long each day is. + Peek inside each planet’s rocky crust or gassy outer layer. + Move the Earth’s axis to see how it affects seasons. + Explore Mars’ rocky surface with NASA’s Curiosity, Pathfinder rovers. + Fly the Ingenuity Chopper on Mars. + Experience wild weather and more on Venus. + Find out why Mercury has so many craters. + See what Saturn’s rings are made of and make them spin. + Discover diamonds on Neptune and Uranus. + Interactive text labels in 50+ languages teach vocabulary. + FREE Space Handbook has technology tips and basic info for teachers and parents. + Original artwork by Jessie Sattler. + Original sound design. + Open-ended activities with no rules. Curiosity and creativity are rewarded. + Multi-user system. + Fun for all ages. + No third-party advertising. FREE handbook Our expert-reviewed handbook is full of facts, interaction hints, 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 very seriously. We do not collect or share personal information about your child, nor do we allow any third-party advertising. When the camera, microphone, and other services are used within an app, your information is neither collected nor 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 toys for tomorrow. 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. :)

Screenshots

DNA Play4 screens
Space by Tinybop4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ratings volume: DNA Play at 2.2K against Space by Tinybop's 72. Space by Tinybop's advantage is price ($3.99 vs $4.99). On rating, review sentiment, 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

DNA Play costs $4.99 and Space by Tinybop $3.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.4 for DNA Play against 4.3 for Space by Tinybop. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: DNA Play has 2.2K ratings behind it against 72, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 68% and 67% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 6 months. The most recent releases landed on October 22, 2026 and October 21, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
DNA Play versus Space by Tinybop: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDNA PlaySpace by Tinybop
Price$4.99$3.99 — better
Rating4.4 (2.2K ratings) — better4.3 (72 ratings)
Positive reviews67.6% of reviews — better66.7% of reviews
Number of ratings2.2K — better72
Update frequencyEvery 6 monthsEvery 6 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS11.0 — better12.0
Further details — not scored
Size155 MB255 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAVOKIDDOTinybop Inc.

Customer experience

DNA Play

All ratings2,160 ratings
Positive84.5%
Neutral7.7%
Negative7.8%
Written reviews68 reviews
Positive67.6%
Neutral14.7%
Negative17.6%

Space by Tinybop

All ratings72 ratings
Positive80.6%
Neutral6.9%
Negative12.5%
Written reviews87 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral6.9%
Negative26.4%

Bugs and requests

DNA Play

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Food items hard to pick up
  • Glitches and crashes on some devices

Requested features

4 requests
  • More gameplay options and activities
  • Ability to name and save monsters
  • Additional customization options
  • Improved controls and responsiveness

Space by Tinybop

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

DNA Play

No in-app purchases

None

Space by Tinybop

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is DNA Play free?
DNA Play costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Space by Tinybop free?
Space by Tinybop costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, DNA Play or Space by Tinybop?
DNA Play is rated higher. DNA Play averages 4.4 out of 5 from 2.2K ratings, while Space by Tinybop averages 4.3 from 72 ratings.
Do DNA Play or Space by Tinybop have ads?
Neither DNA Play nor Space by Tinybop shows ads.
Which is updated more often, DNA Play or Space by Tinybop?
DNA Play ships an update every 6 months, and Space by Tinybop every 6 months. Most recently, DNA Play was updated on October 22, 2026 and Space by Tinybop on October 21, 2026.

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