PBS KIDS ScratchJr vs Osmo Coding Duo
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
PBS KIDS ScratchJr
This app allows children ages 5-8 to create their own interactive stories and games using simple programming blocks. Kids can make characters move, jump, and sing, while learning foundational coding concepts and problem-solving skills. It features beloved PBS KIDS characters and offers creative tools like painting and voice recording.
- Create interactive stories and games
- Learn basic coding concepts
- Use colorful programming blocks
- Incorporate PBS KIDS characters
- Paint and edit characters/backgrounds
- Record voice for projects
- Utilize story starters for inspiration
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With PBS KIDS ScratchJr, kids can create their own interactive stories and games through programming activities and lessons. Learn the basics of coding through fun games and activities featuring characters from Wild Kratts, Lyla in the Loops, Odd Squad, Work it Out Wombats, and more! The storytelling possibilities are endless with this creative coding app for children ages 5-8. Children can express their creativity and make characters move, jump, dance and sing by snapping together colorful programming blocks. This app helps kids learn the foundation of programming and coding concepts in a way that’s fun and easy to learn. As kids play, they’ll learn to solve problems, design projects and express themselves creatively. With PBS KIDS ScratchJr, young kids can play and practice early school concepts at home. Download this fun educational app to get started! PBS KIDS ScratchJr Features: Programming Games - Colorful Programming Blocks teach basic coding concepts - Play and learn by snapping together the color-coded motion, sound, look, trigger and control blocks - Use programming concepts to create sequences that cause characters to animate - Program characters to interact in fun and exciting ways - Learn problem solving techniques PBS KIDS Characters and Backgrounds - 150+ PBS KIDS characters to mix and match - Children can create projects based on their favorite shows, including: - Wild Kratts - Lyla in the Loop - Work It Out, Wombats - Molly of Denali - Odd Squad - Arthur - Nature Cat - Peg +Cat - Ready Jet Go - And more! Paint Editing - Create characters and backgrounds - Painting made simple on illustration grids - Paint characters from PBS KIDS shows - Express creativity by painting Voice Recording - Use the recording tool to add sounds and your voice to projects - Voice characters from PBS KIDS shows Story Starters - Looking for inspiration? Eight Story Starters in the app are a great place to start - Each Story Starter features a different set of characters from PBS KIDS shows - Kids can create the stories they want with Story Starters - Encourage children to edit and complete the story however they’d like Introduce children to the basics of coding while having fun with PBS KIDS characters. Start learning, programming, painting, drawing and creating interactive stories. Download PBS KIDS ScratchJr today! PBS KIDS ScratchJr is only available for iPad. ---------------------- For more PBS KIDS apps, visit http://www.pbskids.org/apps For more on ScratchJr, visit http://www.scratchjr.org Privacy Across all media platforms, PBS KIDS is committed to creating a safe and secure environment for children and families and being transparent about what information is collected from users. To learn more about PBS KIDS' privacy policy, visit pbskids.org/privacy PBS KIDS ScratchJr is a collaboration between PBS, Scratch Foundation and the DevTech Research Group at Boston College. The PBS KIDS logo & PBS KIDS® PBS. Used with permission. ScratchJr logo is used with permission. PBS is not affiliated with Scratch Foundation and Boston College.
Osmo Coding Duo
This app offers a collaborative coding adventure where two players team up to solve logic puzzles and rescue pets. It introduces real-world coding concepts through engaging challenges and a fun narrative.
- Multistep logic problems
- Collaborative play for two
- Coding concept introduction
- Pet rescue adventure
- Osmo character interaction
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Team up with a friend to solve coding puzzles and rescue pets! The most advanced game in Osmo’s Coding Family, Coding Duo uses multistep logic problems to introduce kids to real-world coding concepts. FEATURES: Advanced Puzzles for Coding Fans Get challenged by multistep logic problems that will stretch minds and introduce them to coding concepts that are used in the real world. Collaborative Play Friends and family can play together side by side to solve coding puzzles. Use teamwork and strategy to work together towards a common goal. A Fun Rescue Adventure with Osmo Characters A scientist has lost his pets and needs your help to find them. Solve the coding challenges using your favorite Osmo characters and rescue pets across several islands and return them to their home. NOTES: * Requires the Osmo Base and Coding Blocks. Each sold separately or as part of Osmo Coding Starter Kit or Osmo Coding Family Bundle. * Compatible with most iPads. Please see our device compatibility list here: https://support.playosmo.com/hc/articles/115010156067 *About Osmo Osmo is using the screen to create a new healthy, hands-on learning experience that promotes creativity, problem-solving and social interaction. We do this with our reflective artificial intelligent technology.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Osmo Coding Duo at every 2 months against PBS KIDS ScratchJr's every 12 months. Osmo Coding Duo also leads on device support (3 vs 1). PBS KIDS ScratchJr's advantage is monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases) and review sentiment (62% vs 53%). On price, rating, ratings volume 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.0 for PBS KIDS ScratchJr against 3.9 for Osmo Coding Duo. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 289 and 145 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 62% of PBS KIDS ScratchJr's written reviews are positive against 53% of Osmo Coding Duo's.
PBS KIDS ScratchJr ships an update every 12 months, Osmo Coding Duo every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 25, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | PBS KIDS ScratchJr | Osmo Coding Duo |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.0 (289 ratings) — better | 3.9 (145 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 62.0% of reviews — better | 52.6% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 289 — better | 145 |
| Update frequency | Every 12 months | Every 2 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 11.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 138 MB | 309 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | PBS KIDS | Tangible Play |
Customer experience
PBS KIDS ScratchJr
Osmo Coding Duo
Bugs and requests
PBS KIDS ScratchJr
Reported bugs
13 issues- Home button causes character to revert to previous position
- Projects fail to load when creating or opening
- Voice recording feature not working or missing
- How-to tutorial videos don't play
- Drawing tool corrupts custom characters
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- Timer block doesn't function correctly
- Drag-and-drop programming blocks unresponsive
- App crashes when using certain blocks
- Dot character won't disappear from new slides
- Performance slowdown during projects
- Paint editor labels incorrectly aligned with icons
- Microphone feature doesn't show up or work
- Text rendering issues with fonts and handwriting
Requested features
13 requests- Add more PBS Kids shows (Let's Go Luna, Dinosaur Train, Elinor Wonders Why, Hero Elementary, Wordgirl, Rosie's Rules, Alma's Way)
- Unlimited pages/slides instead of 4-slide limit
- More coding blocks from original Scratch (text-to-speech, etc.)
- Custom character creation on blank canvas
- Level maker and world maker features
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- 2D and 3D options
- Editable PBS backgrounds
- Search bar for projects
- More sound effects (crashing, slipping, sliding)
- Page titles/naming system
- More characters for existing shows
- Offline functionality
- Bring back Kart Kingdom game
Osmo Coding Duo
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
PBS KIDS ScratchJr
No in-app purchases
Osmo Coding Duo
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is PBS KIDS ScratchJr free?
Is Osmo Coding Duo free?
Which has better reviews, PBS KIDS ScratchJr or Osmo Coding Duo?
Do PBS KIDS ScratchJr or Osmo Coding Duo have ads?
Which is updated more often, PBS KIDS ScratchJr or Osmo Coding Duo?
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