Comparison

Weemarkable vs Explore & Play

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

Head to head
About

Weemarkable

Stay connected with your child's day through daily updates, photos, and direct messages from educators. Access menus and receive notifications on your mobile device. Share updates with family and friends in a safe, secure environment.

Highlights
  • Daily updates and photos
  • Direct messaging with educators
  • Child care center menus
  • Mobile notifications
  • Follower management
  • Secure and confidential
Features
Read full description

It's the app you love to hear from: • Daily updates and photos about your child's play, nap and meals • Direct messaging to and from your child's educators • Child Care Centre menus • Notifications direct to your mobile device • Add followers and customize what they can view • Safe, secure and confidential Even when you can't be with them, it's Weemarkable how connected you'll be.

About

Explore & Play

Discover the challenges faced by Arctic and Indonesian rainforest animals through interactive AR and VR experiences. Learn about climate change impacts and how to help protect wildlife. Make climate action pledges and earn badges for your conservation efforts.

Highlights
  • AR/VR animal experiences
  • Climate change education
  • Arctic animal simulations
  • Rainforest conservation activities
  • Virtual drone exploration
  • Health check simulations
  • Climate action pledges
Read full description

"Dive into the free app “Explore & Learn” by Toronto Zoo to discover the challenges faced by animals in the Arctic and the rainforests of Indonesia, plus what you can do to help. In “On Thin Ice”, you will learn how climate change is disrupting the delicate balance of life in the Arctic. Shrinking sea ice is a huge problem for Arctic wildlife, especially polar bears. Polar bears cannot survive without sea ice. With “On Thin Ice”, you’ll get up close and personal with life-sized AR Arctic animals and learn about their amazing adaptations and the challenges they face due to climate change. You can even be a polar bear and hunt for seals in the VR sea ice game. Try to catch as many seals as you can and gain enough weight before the ice melts! At each stop, you can make a climate action pledge to protect polar bears and other Arctic animals. In “Rainforest Guardians”, you will learn how wild orangutans are guardians of the rainforests of Indonesia. They shape the ecosystem and help make it possible for all the other plants and animals to live there, too. Unfortunately, rainforests are under threat. Trees are cut down to make way for roads, logging, and palm oil plantations. As the only home for wild orangutans, we need to defend rainforests. Experience first-hand what it takes to be a Rainforest Guardian. You can search for plants and animals in a VR rainforest and unlock the bonus Nature Cam; fly a drone to search for orangutan nests; be like a Toronto Zoo Keeper and perform a health care check; and virtually shop for products made with sustainable palm oil. You can even observe the orangutans at the Toronto Zoo to help us better understand how they use their habitat. Complete each activity to earn your Rainforest Guardian badge!"

Screenshots

Weemarkable4 screens
Explore & Play4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Explore & Play at monthly against Weemarkable's every 4 months. Explore & Play also leads on iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.1). Weemarkable's advantage is review sentiment (15% vs 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Weemarkable ships an update every 4 months, Explore & Play monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and September 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 5 level
Weemarkable versus Explore & Play: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterWeemarkableExplore & Play
PriceFreeFree
Positive reviews15.2% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.113.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size53 MB2.6 GB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperYMCA of Hamilton/Burlington/BrantfordTIMELOOPER INC

Customer experience

Weemarkable

Written reviews66 reviews
Positive15.2%
Neutral18.2%
Negative66.7%

Explore & Play

Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

Bugs and requests

Weemarkable

Reported bugs

45 issues
  • Constantly kicked out of app
  • Red bar across screen on open
  • Auto sign outs on multiple devices
  • Camera access option gone
  • App won't start/sign in does nothing
Show 40 more
  • Photo uploading doesn't work on iOS 26
  • Cannot download pictures (permission required but no option)
  • Face recognition/passcode issues
  • Undefined alert on login
  • Feed not loading, just spins
  • App won't load anything after update
  • Cannot log in after update
  • Screen disappears when typing login
  • Cannot close pictures/menu difficult to access
  • App stops working after new update
  • Cannot see anything in feed/blank
  • Notifications not coming through
  • Touch ID not compatible
  • Cannot add follower if they follow another child
  • Email address incorrect for new account setup
  • Exit X on left side does not work
  • App is very slow
  • Newsfeed will not load
  • Latest update removed text in documentation field
  • Cannot revert to prior version
  • Cannot close images without exiting app
  • Downloaded image is the prior one
  • App doesn't function well on iPhone 12 Pro Max
  • Close button at top left doesn't work
  • Cannot access menu 90% of the time
  • Glitchy and frustrating on iPhone 13
  • App won't load, happens all the time
  • Cannot close out of an image on iPhone 13
  • App is slow and unresponsive
  • Cannot close photos, close button too small
  • Double space doesn't make a period
  • Cannot edit or delete comments
  • No way to respond to other comments
  • No notifications for messages
  • Cannot see what you're typing in long messages
  • App is buggy on iPhone 13 Pro
  • Cannot open menu or close photo
  • Stopped receiving notifications
  • App doesn't work with iPhone
  • Cannot access menu or close pictures on iPhone 12

Requested features

11 requests
  • Allow both parents to view messages
  • Enable group messaging for parents
  • Fix camera permission issue
  • Add dark mode
  • Allow editing messages
Show 6 more
  • Add time stamps to messages
  • Allow adding second child
  • Allow adding follower/emergency contact
  • Improve photo upload limits
  • Fix double-tap for period
  • Fix keyboard switching after punctuation

Explore & Play

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Weemarkable

No in-app purchases

None

Explore & Play

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Weemarkable free?
Weemarkable is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Explore & Play free?
Explore & Play is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Weemarkable or Explore & Play have ads?
Neither Weemarkable nor Explore & Play shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Weemarkable or Explore & Play?
Weemarkable ships an update every 4 months, and Explore & Play monthly. Most recently, Weemarkable was updated on October 14, 2026 and Explore & Play on September 30, 2026.

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