Comparison

LEGO® Powered Up vs POWERUP 4.0

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

Head to head
About

LEGO® Powered Up

Control motorized LEGO sets like trains and the Batmobile via Bluetooth. Bring your custom LEGO creations to life by coding movements and sounds using drag-and-drop programming. Experience interactive play with lights, sensors, and motors.

Highlights
  • Bluetooth control for LEGO vehicles
  • Customizable coding for models
  • Drag-and-drop programming
  • Add sounds and lights
  • Control speed and direction
  • Bring custom builds to life
Features
Read full description

Combine this app with the LEGO DC Super Heroes App-Controlled Batmobile (76112), the LEGO City Cargo Train (60198), or the LEGO City Passenger Train (60197) (each sold separately) to operate the motorized engines via Bluetooth controls, or use your imagination and build entirely new creations using LEGO Powered Up components and bring them to life by coding them. Make your models move and respond to real-world events. The LEGO Powered Up app puts you in the driver’s seat of the awesome 4-wheel-drive Batmobile to speed through the streets of GOTHAM CITY™. Drive forwards, backwards, left and right… or pull 360-degree turns! You can even activate cool tricks and stunts as you become the Dark Knight and fight crime. You can customize and code your Batmobile tricks and choose your sounds and movements – pretty awesome! The LEGO Powered Up app also controls LEGO trains to haul goods or pick up passengers around LEGO City. You can control the speed, change directions, and bring even more life to your play with various sounds such as a whistle, passenger announcement, railroad crossing bell, and more! The Bluetooth remote control app and the remote control handset included in the LEGO City train sets aren’t compatible with older infrared remote-controlled LEGO train sets. Thanks to Powered Up components like hubs, motors, sensors, and lights you will be able to bring your customized creations to life. You can also bring your existing LEGO models to life. Is your device compatible? Please go to LEGO.com/devicecheck to check if your device is compatible. Ask your parents’ permission before going online. The LEGO Powered Up App Feature List - Access control panels for DC Super Heroes App-Controlled Batmobile, LEGO City Cargo Train or LEGO City Passenger Train. - Control speed and direction of LEGO vehicles with a variety of exciting interfaces. - Add playful sounds and take your play to the next level. - Use LEGO Powered Up hardware components in your customized models to bring them to life! - Code movements and sounds for your models to create real-life behaviors. - Simple, easy-to-understand programming language based on drag’n’drop coding. LEGO and the LEGO logo are trademarks of the LEGO Group. ©2019 The LEGO Group

About

POWERUP 4.0

Transform paper airplanes into smart, controllable flying machines. Experience smooth, intuitive flight with advanced sensors and dual motors. Master aerobatics, track flight data, and enjoy night flying with optional LEDs.

Highlights
  • On-board flight computer
  • Gyro and accelerometer sensors
  • Dual thrust vectoring motors
  • Auto-looping aerobatics
  • Real-time flight analytics
  • Optional LED lights
  • Wheeled takeoff and landing
Features
Read full description

POWERUP 4.0 is the smartest, most intuitive paper plane kit we’ve ever made. It makes it possible to fly with ease and smoothness in a variety of conditions. Say goodbye to nosedives and choppy flights. We’ve added a new on-board flight computer and 2 new sensors: gyro and accelerometer, combined with 2 thrust vectoring motors. That means flying POWERUP 4.0 is smoother than ever, and can now do all this: That’s right. POWERUP 4.0 can auto-loop. So you can master tricks and awesome aerobatics by simply pressing a button. We’ve added 2 high speed motors to POWERUP 4.0. That means you’ve got double the thrust, additional maneuvering possibilities, and sharper turns. And together with the flight assist, you can fly just about anything Now you can learn to fly like a pro. We’re showing you real-time analytics including heading direction, thrust level and turning angles. We’ve made it a lot easier and way cooler to fly POWERUP 4.0 at night. Optional LED lights will enable you to light up the night - making for awesome visuals and round-the-clock fun. 2 rear wheels and 1 front wheel give your paper plane more style and make for easier takeoff and landing. They also make it possible to launch off of a surface rather than hand-launching. We partnered with the best RC hobby vloggers on the planet – FliteTest! They have put together their incredibly creative minds to develop a foam jet inspired by the F22 for the 4.0. It is made from a special laser cut foam board they created and make in the USA. Intuitive control makes it easy to fly. Simply tilt your phone in the direction you want your plane to fly. It’s really that easy. POWERUP is an incredibly helpful tool when it comes to teaching and learning aeronautics. Students can test multiple designs, analyze their work and improve their planes. Through trial and error, they can understand what makes their plane fly smoother, longer and farther- key lessons in airplane design.

Screenshots

LEGO® Powered Up4 screens
POWERUP 4.04 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: LEGO® Powered Up at free against POWERUP 4.0's free with in-app purchases. LEGO® Powered Up also leads on ratings volume (555 vs 125) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.6). POWERUP 4.0's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months). On price, rating, review sentiment 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

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

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

POWERUP 4.0 holds the better App Store score, 3.8 against 3.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 555 and 125 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 42% of LEGO® Powered Up's written reviews are positive against 45% of POWERUP 4.0's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

LEGO® Powered Up ships an update every 2 months, POWERUP 4.0 every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 4, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
LEGO® Powered Up versus POWERUP 4.0: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLEGO® Powered UpPOWERUP 4.0
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.6 (555 ratings)3.8 (125 ratings) — better
Positive reviews41.5% of reviews45.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings555 — better125
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.0 — better15.6
Further details — not scored
Size1.5 GB143 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLEGOTailor Toys LTD

Customer experience

LEGO® Powered Up

All ratings550 ratings
Positive61.8%
Neutral8.2%
Negative30.0%
Written reviews407 reviews
Positive41.5%
Neutral15.2%
Negative43.2%

POWERUP 4.0

All ratings125 ratings
Positive67.2%
Neutral6.4%
Negative26.4%
Written reviews60 reviews
Positive45.0%
Neutral11.7%
Negative43.3%

Bugs and requests

LEGO® Powered Up

Reported bugs

12 issues
  • Bluetooth connection drops
  • Motors not controllable through app
  • Timer blocks don't work
  • Motor code blocks don't work
  • Coding canvas is broken
Show 7 more
  • Loses Bluetooth connection randomly
  • Coding blocks not working properly
  • App doesn't run in background
  • Doesn't work on latest iOS
  • Doesn't work with new hubs and motors
  • Can only connect one hub at a time
  • Train stops when app closes

Requested features

12 requests
  • Add more sound effects
  • Add more music to the playlist
  • Allow custom sounds
  • Improve parameters
  • Add more controls
Show 7 more
  • Add more widgets
  • Allow custom themes
  • Add documentation
  • Add support for LEGO Boost and Mindstorms
  • Add loop option for sounds
  • Add dark mode option
  • Add advanced analytics dashboard

POWERUP 4.0

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

LEGO® Powered Up

No in-app purchases

None

POWERUP 4.0

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is LEGO® Powered Up free?
LEGO® Powered Up is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is POWERUP 4.0 free?
POWERUP 4.0 is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, LEGO® Powered Up or POWERUP 4.0?
POWERUP 4.0 is rated higher. LEGO® Powered Up averages 3.6 out of 5 from 555 ratings, while POWERUP 4.0 averages 3.8 from 125 ratings.
Do LEGO® Powered Up or POWERUP 4.0 have ads?
Neither LEGO® Powered Up nor POWERUP 4.0 shows ads.
Which is updated more often, LEGO® Powered Up or POWERUP 4.0?
LEGO® Powered Up ships an update every 2 months, and POWERUP 4.0 every 3 weeks. Most recently, LEGO® Powered Up was updated on November 4, 2026 and POWERUP 4.0 on November 3, 2026.

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