Pocket Code vs OctoStudio
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Pocket Code
Develop and play your own games, animations, and interactive applications directly on your mobile device. This visual programming tool is inspired by educational initiatives and offers a free, open-source platform for creative coding.
- Create games and apps
- Develop animations
- Interactive art creation
- Music video production
- Visual programming system
- Share creations
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Create, play, and share your own games, animations, interactive art, music videos, and many other kinds of apps, directly on your iPhone! Pocket Code is ideally suited for the Hour of Code during the Computer Science Education Week http://csedweek.org/ organized by code.org, the European Code Week http://codeweek.eu/ as well as other similar initiatives. Catrobat is a visual programming system and a free open source non-profit project. Catrobat and the software developed by the Catrobat team are inspired by the work of the Lifelong Kindergarten Group at the MIT Media Lab.
OctoStudio
Create animations and games using coding blocks on your mobile device. Bring your own photos and sounds to life, and share your interactive projects with others. Developed by the creators of Scratch at MIT, it's a free and fun way to learn coding.
- Create animations and games
- Use coding blocks
- Incorporate photos and sounds
- Interactive project features
- Share projects as video or GIF
- Offline project creation
- Learn coding through play
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With OctoStudio, you can create animations and games on your mobile phone or tablet. Made by the creators of Scratch at MIT. Code an animated story or game using your own artwork, sounds, and ideas. OctoStudio is completely free of charge - with no ads, no in-app purchases, and no data collected. Create projects without needing an internet connection. Available in more than 30 languages. OctoStudio is developed by the Lifelong Kindergarten group, the MIT Media Lab team that invented Scratch, the world’s most popular coding language for kids. Create • Create animations, games, and anything else you can imagine • Combine emojis, photos, drawings, sounds, and movement • Make your projects come alive with coding blocks Interact • Make interactive games you can play by tilting your phone • Shake your phone or use a magnet to start your project • Make your projects speak aloud • Code your phone to buzz or turn on and off the flashlight • Collaborate across phones using the beam block Share • Record your project as a video or animated GIF • Export your project file for others to play • Send to family and friends Learn • Get started with intro videos and ideas • Explore and remix sample projects • Develop creative thinking and problem-solving skills • Learn to code in a playful and meaningful way OctoStudio has been designed in collaboration with educators in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, India, Korea, Mexico, South Africa, Thailand, Uganda, United States, and other countries around the world. To learn more about OctoStudio or share your feedback, please visit us at www.octostudio.org
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: OctoStudio at 83% against Pocket Code's 34%. OctoStudio also leads on rating (4.8 vs 3.0) and update cadence (monthly vs every 3 months). Pocket Code's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). On price, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases 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.
OctoStudio holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 114 and 64 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 34% of Pocket Code's written reviews are positive against 83% of OctoStudio's.
Pocket Code ships an update every 3 months, OctoStudio monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 21, 2026 and September 20, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Pocket Code | OctoStudio |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.0 (114 ratings) | 4.8 (64 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 33.7% of reviews | 83.3% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 114 — better | 64 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Monthly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 60 MB | 51 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | International Catrobat Association - Verein zur Foerderung freier Software | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Customer experience
Pocket Code
OctoStudio
In-app purchases
Pocket Code
No in-app purchases
OctoStudio
No in-app purchases
