Comparison

Square Panda vs Osmo Shape Builder

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

Head to head
About

Square Panda

This app offers a multi-sensory, game-based learning experience for children aged 2 and up to develop reading skills. It adapts to a child's progress, covering phonics, phonological awareness, spelling, word reading, and reading comprehension through interactive games and stories.

Highlights
  • Phonics games for letter sounds
  • Phonological awareness activities
  • Letter tracing and spelling challenges
  • CVC word reading practice
  • Interactive storybooks with SwipePhonics™
  • Parent and teacher progress portal
Features
Read full description

*FROM THE CREATORS OF THE AWARD-WINNING SQUARE PANDA PHONICS PLAYSET* For early readers ages 2 and up, the award-winning Square Panda app features a multi-sensory, fun learning experience to help children learn to read. Featuring personalized gaming and learning that adapts to where children are in developing reading skills. Feeling ready for an adventure? Explore the island of Square Panda - engaging and fun learning for kids. Phonics Area - Pop bubbles, do a fun dance, and play hide-and-seek in an assortment of mini-games to learn letters and their sounds. Phonological Awareness Area - Go coconuts for learning sounds! Explore rhyming, initial and ending sounds of spoken words, blending, and more. Spelling and Writing Area - Zip! Zap! Learn how to trace uppercase and lowercase letters, complete spelling challenges, and manipulate letters to create new CVC words! Word Reading Area - Ready to hop on the word train? Practice blending and reading words at the CVC level with a fun set of mini-games. Lagoon Area - Let’s go to the Lagoon! Explore letter-sound correspondences and spell any word up to 8 letters long! Supports vocabulary development by revealing pictures for many common words. SquareTales Area - SquareTales stories with our patent-pending SwipePhonics™ technology bridges the gap between sounding out individual letters and blending them into words. Carefully crafted text in each story enables emergent readers to start connecting words and sentences to read fun stories. With 40+ eBooks and new content being released on an ongoing basis, these stories help your child learn how to read so they can say, “I read a book all by myself!” The Square Panda Literacy System is designed to keep children engaged and having fun when developing important reading skills: - Provides simple, highly controlled text to support beginning readers - Builds knowledge of word families and common spelling patterns - Introduces CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) words and sight words - Supports ELA state standards in foundational reading skills - Supports reading fluency through guided practice and repeated readings of text And much more! Square Panda's learning games have had more than 400,000 words spelled and more than 2 million letters played! PARENT & TEACHER PORTAL - With the Square Panda cloud-based parent and teacher portals, parents can follow their child’s progress as they learn letters and words and teachers can manage student profiles, monitor progress, and identify instructional opportunities. “This is the first time that I've seen him able to actually make that connection and put those sounds together to make words. I am so excited and he is so excited as well to be reading.” “This is making a huge impact on my students and their reading ability. To me, that’s amazing!” "Seeing my daughter advance in her class with letters definitely made me feel good and confident that I'm helping pick products and choices that are making her advance in reading and writing.” Follow us on social! Facebook: @playsquarepanda Instagram: @squarepanda Twitter: @squarepanda Twitter (Education): @squarepandaedu *The Square Panda Phonics Playset is compatible for some learning games to extend the learning and fun! Playset sold separately. Privacy Policy: https://squarepanda.com/pages/application-privacy-policy Terms of Use: https://squarepanda.com/pages/terms-conditions

About

Osmo Shape Builder

This app helps young children learn basic geometric shapes through interactive play. It progresses from identifying shapes to creating them, fostering a love for learning and turning screen time into an educational experience.

Highlights
  • Learn basic geometric shapes
  • Compose and create shapes
  • Identify and describe shapes
  • Color recognition
  • Hands-on learning system
  • Inspires love of learning
Read full description

Fill a magic mansion with furniture, items and incredible things! This game teaches basic geometric shapes in progression. Start with identifying and describing shapes, then advance to creating shapes on your own. LEARN ABOUT SHAPES Explore basic shapes concepts including composing shapes, relative positioning, and color recognition. INSPIRE THE LOVE OF LEARNING Designed for children ages 3-5 to inspire their love of learning through hands-on play. TURN SCREEN TIME INTO LEARNING TIME Osmo’s unique technology transforms your tablet into a hands-on learning system! *Requires the Osmo Base for iPad and Silicone Sticks & Rings. Each sold separately or as part of Osmo Little Genius Starter Kit. Learn more by visiting www.playosmo.com. *Please see our device compatibility list here: https://support.playosmo.com/hc/articles/115010156067 ABOUT OSMO -- 21ST CENTURY PLAY AND LEARNING Osmo uses 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 intelligence technology.

Screenshots

Square Panda4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Square Panda at 2.9 against Osmo Shape Builder's 2.3. Square Panda also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 2) and review sentiment (15% vs 0%). On price, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Osmo Shape Builder sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Square Panda asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Square Panda holds the better App Store score, 2.9 against 2.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 30 and 86 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 15% of Square Panda's written reviews are positive against 0% of Osmo Shape Builder's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Square Panda ships an update every 6 weeks, Osmo Shape Builder every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and October 18, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Square Panda versus Osmo Shape Builder: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSquare PandaOsmo Shape Builder
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.9 (30 ratings) — better2.3 (86 ratings)
Positive reviews14.5% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings3086 — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeks — betterEvery 3 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPad
Requires iOS10.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size420 MB322 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSquare Panda Inc.Tangible Play

Customer experience

Square Panda

All ratings28 ratings
Positive46.4%
Neutral0.0%
Negative53.6%
Written reviews55 reviews
Positive14.5%
Neutral5.5%
Negative80.0%

Osmo Shape Builder

All ratings86 ratings
Positive30.2%
Neutral3.5%
Negative66.3%
Written reviews28 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

Bugs and requests

Square Panda

Reported bugs

130 issues
  • App freezes
  • App crashes
  • App won't load
  • Login issues
  • Outdated app
Show 125 more
  • Poor customer support
  • Apps not available in US stores
  • Paid apps used to be free
  • Slow loading times
  • Interface is messy
  • Errors are frequent
  • App closes unexpectedly
  • Missing stars and codes in books
  • QR codes missing in books
  • Inconsistent app performance across devices
  • App drains battery quickly
  • Phone gets extremely hot
  • Apps not showing on one tablet
  • Lagging and disconnecting from playset
  • Glitchy and not smooth
  • App boots to gray screen and shuts down
  • App won't stay open
  • App loads but only plays one game
  • Play set doesn't work
  • No web link for help
  • Sign up for help doesn't work
  • App not loading or advancing
  • Logs out when going to a story
  • Crashes before one page is read
  • Stuck on loading screen
  • Letters stuck or upside down
  • App not responding to touch
  • Letters not working
  • App not working on screen
  • App crashes on first game
  • App not loading at all
  • App crashes on loading profiles
  • App breaking on load
  • Login errors
  • Cannot proceed from map screen
  • Stuck on panda flying screen
  • Download stops midway
  • App crashes after contacting tech support
  • Sound doesn't work in some apps
  • App won't let me create an account
  • App disabled overnight
  • App won't download
  • App won't load properly
  • Background is colored but everything in front is black
  • App keeps closing and turning off the board
  • A few clicks into any games and it takes him back to the start menu
  • All of the applications crash
  • None of the apps will open far enough to even play the game
  • Only one panda game that reads books
  • Super slow
  • App crashes with every game
  • Gets an error every time
  • Website says wrong credentials
  • Cannot update password
  • App freezes and games never load
  • Will send the game board back soon if the problem isn’t fixed
  • Can’t get his name to come up in the lagoon
  • Returning the game board and deleting the apps
  • Need an Apple iPad to play this game
  • Will be returning the game
  • Really frustrated
  • Can’t get the app to stop crashing
  • App crashes with every game
  • My son is so upset
  • Loaded app and he got to use it for 5 min then kicks me out
  • Request that I re login and gives me an error every time
  • Tried all the apps same deal
  • Tried using their website says i have wrong credentials
  • Will not allow me update password
  • Sent in to customer support and still waiting
  • Seemed like a good idea but so far the app doesn’t follow through
  • First letter was stuck on M
  • Showed an upside down K
  • Kept saying remove the M
  • Couldn’t get any letters to work
  • Couldn’t get the app to work on the screen
  • Said touch a letter and nothing happened
  • My 5 year old told me she doesn’t like it and it doesn’t work
  • Very disappointed
  • Assume their new update fixed it all
  • Was able to play multiple games with no issues
  • Learning device also works with your phone, not just a tablet
  • Phone got extremely hot
  • Battery was drained very quickly
  • Not sure if a tablet would have the same issue
  • Crashed on the first try
  • This is terrible
  • Couldn’t get to load at all
  • I’m returning
  • Love the hands on tile + fun games
  • Concise and straightforward enough for my 5 yo to do independently and enjoy and be successful
  • Every single time we try to use this app it does not work
  • My daughter gave up on this!
  • How can you come out with a product and it does not work?
  • Spent 20min just trying to get something to load and it never does
  • We are returning this
  • Constantly crashing
  • Every time we try to go anywhere in square land or read any books in square tales, the app completely crashes
  • Happens every time now
  • My child is completely frustrated
  • 개같이 로그인오류떠서 못쓰게만든건 누구대가리에서 나온 아이디어냐 (Whose idea was it to make it unusable with dog-like login errors?)
  • iPad app is crashing and won’t load at all
  • Attempted downloading the app on my iPhone, and it won’t download!
  • Cannot use
  • Cannot proceed from the map screen
  • Stuck on the screen where the panda is flying
  • Stops midway
  • What should I do?
  • Crashes on the very first game
  • Cost way too much money for the app to crash
  • Woeful app keeps crashing
  • Books will not download
  • Terrible app
  • Bugs that are continually being reported are being ignored
  • Crashes after contacting tech support and following instructions
  • Way too expensive of a device for this to happen
  • Crashes during the first game
  • Seems like it would be really cool other wise
  • Stopped working
  • Used to work fine
  • Crashes on loading profiles
  • Even after the update
  • Please fix!
  • Breaks on load
  • Reinstalled and still doesn’t work

Requested features

37 requests
  • Add more games to a single app
  • Allow customization of name in lagoon
  • Fix bugs and glitches
  • Make app compatible with more devices
  • Provide better tech support
Show 32 more
  • Make all apps free again
  • Improve app loading speed
  • Update the interface
  • Fix login errors
  • Provide a web link for help
  • Allow password updates
  • Fix missing stars and codes in books
  • Include QR codes in books
  • Improve app stability
  • Fix battery drain and overheating issues
  • Allow users to download all apps on any device
  • Make sound work in all apps
  • Ensure all apps are visible on all devices
  • Improve connectivity with playset
  • Fix glitchy and unsmooth app performance
  • Allow users to create accounts
  • Make the app available in all regions
  • Fix the issue where the app only plays one game
  • Make the play set work with the app
  • Allow users to sign up for help and more games
  • Fix app not loading or advancing issues
  • Fix app logging out issues
  • Fix app crashing before pages are read
  • Fix stuck loading screens
  • Fix issues with letters being stuck or upside down
  • Fix app not responding to touch
  • Fix issues with letters not working
  • Fix app not working on screen
  • Fix app crashing on first game
  • Fix app not loading at all
  • Fix app crashing on loading profiles
  • Fix app breaking on load

Osmo Shape Builder

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Square Panda

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Osmo Shape Builder

One-time2
  • 3-day trial of Shape BuilderFree
  • Unlock Shape Builder$24.99

Questions

Is Square Panda free?
Square Panda is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Osmo Shape Builder free?
Osmo Shape Builder is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Square Panda or Osmo Shape Builder?
Square Panda is rated higher. Square Panda averages 2.9 out of 5 from 30 ratings, while Osmo Shape Builder averages 2.3 from 86 ratings.
Do Square Panda or Osmo Shape Builder have ads?
Neither Square Panda nor Osmo Shape Builder shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Square Panda or Osmo Shape Builder?
Square Panda ships an update every 6 weeks, and Osmo Shape Builder every 3 months. Most recently, Square Panda was updated on October 13, 2026 and Osmo Shape Builder on October 18, 2026.

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