mBlockly for mBot vs Coding Express LEGO® Education
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
mBlockly for mBot
Learn programming by controlling a robot with graphical building blocks. This app allows your robot to sense its environment, move, and react to commands, turning your tablet into a controller for interactive learning experiences.
- Block-based programming interface
- Robot sensor integration (ultrasonic, line-tracking, lightness)
- Bluetooth robot control
- Tablet gyroscope control
- Interactive learning
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Control your robot and learn programming by snapping graphical building blocks together. ***a mBot educational robot with bluetooth module is required for running this app!*** LET YOUR ROBOT FEEL, THINK, AND DANCE With mBlockly, your mBot robot may perceive distance via ultrasonic sensors, mind its feet through line-tracking sensors, and be afraid of dark with its lightness sensor. Build short programs to let your mBot move or sing a little song when it is happy or sad. TAKE YOUR MBOT WITH YOUR TRIP Computers and cables are no more needed. Your iPad communicate directly with your mBot via bluetooth. TURN YOUR IPADS INTO MAGIC WANDS mBlockly can read the status of iPad's gyroscope, meaning that you may let your mBot dance by shaking the iPad or tilting it to each direction. E-mail:support@makeblock.cc
Coding Express LEGO® Education
This app introduces preschoolers to early coding concepts and 21st-century skills using a LEGO DUPLO train set. It offers four engaging activity areas: Journeys, Characters, Math, and Music, fostering problem-solving, collaboration, and creativity.
- Early coding concepts for preschoolers
- LEGO DUPLO train set integration
- Four activity areas: Journeys, Characters, Math, Music
- Develops sequencing, problem-solving, and collaboration
- Teacher guides and lesson plans included
- Supports social and emotional development
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All on board the Coding Express! Coding Express LEGO® Education introduces early coding concepts and 21st century skills to preschoolers. Using the popular LEGO® DUPLO® train set, teacher guide and an easy-to-use app, preschool teachers have all they need to teach early coding concepts. TEACHER QUOTES “I have never seen anything like Coding Express and I am very intrigued with its structure and the varying ways it can teach children specific skills they might not have gained through play before. I love its versatility and how the many different areas of play will keep most children occupied for a very long time.” Kate, preschool teacher, USA “Coding Express gives preschoolers a very different learning experience. Building different shapes with the train track helps them to understand the coding concept and combined with the educational activities and teacher material it makes early coding intuitive, fun and educational. The app enhances the experience and it gives the early learners more ways to learn about coding.” Wenting, pre-school and kindergarten teacher, China With the Coding Express app and LEGO® DUPLO® solution you will get: • 234 LEGO® DUPLO® bricks, including Push & Go train with lights and sounds, motor, color sensor, 5 color-coded action bricks, 2 railroad switches and 3.8 meters of train track • Teaching materials that includes 8 online lessons, introduction guide, poster, 3 building inspiration cards for building 12 unique models, 5 getting started activities and 8 simple video tutorials • Free app featuring 4 fun and educational activity areas, including: o Journeys: Explore destinations and traffic signs. Learn about the sequencing of events, making predictions, planning and problem solving. Characters: Support children’s social and emotional development. Children identify and examine the feelings of characters, considering the consequences for others. Math: Explore and understand how to measure, estimate distance and identify numbers. Music: Learn about sequencing and looping. Compose simple melodies, explore different animal and instruments sounds. • Key learning values include sequencing, looping, conditional coding, problem solving, critical thinking, collaboration, language and literacy, and expressing ideas with digital elements • Teaching solution and early coding toy for preschool children 2-5 years old; Developed using science, math and technology from the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and the 21st Century Early Learning Framework (P21 ELF) and the Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework. *** IMPORTANT*** This is not a standalone educational app. This app is used to program the LEGO® Education Coding Express set, which is sold separately. Please contact your local LEGO Education reseller for further information. Getting Started: www.legoeducation.com/codingexpress Lesson Plans: www.legoeducation.com/lessons/codingexpress Support: www.lego.com/service Twitter: www.twitter.com/lego_education Facebook: www.facebook.com/LEGOeducationNorthAmerica Instagram: www.instagram.com/legoeducation Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/legoeducation LEGO, the LEGO logo and DUPLO are trademarks and/or copyrights of the LEGO Group. ©2024 The LEGO Group. All rights reserved.
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Coding Express LEGO® Education at 4.2 against mBlockly for mBot's 2.5. Coding Express LEGO® Education also leads on review sentiment (50% vs 29%) and ratings volume (256 vs 6). mBlockly for mBot's advantage is update cadence (every 2 months vs every 8 months) and iOS requirement (7.1 vs 15.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Coding Express LEGO® Education holds the better App Store score, 4.2 against 2.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Coding Express LEGO® Education has 256 ratings behind it against 6, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 29% of mBlockly for mBot's written reviews are positive against 50% of Coding Express LEGO® Education's.
mBlockly for mBot ships an update every 2 months, Coding Express LEGO® Education every 8 months. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 21, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | mBlockly for mBot | Coding Express LEGO® Education |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 2.5 (6 ratings) | 4.2 (256 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 28.6% of reviews | 50.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 6 | 256 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months — better | Every 8 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPad | iPad |
| Requires iOS | 7.1 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 10 MB | 855 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Makeblock Co., Ltd. | LEGO Education |
Customer experience
mBlockly for mBot
Coding Express LEGO® Education
In-app purchases
mBlockly for mBot
No in-app purchases
Coding Express LEGO® Education
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is mBlockly for mBot free?
Is Coding Express LEGO® Education free?
Which has better reviews, mBlockly for mBot or Coding Express LEGO® Education?
Do mBlockly for mBot or Coding Express LEGO® Education have ads?
Which is updated more often, mBlockly for mBot or Coding Express LEGO® Education?
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