Preschool Data Toolbox vs OctoStudio
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Preschool Data Toolbox
This app helps young children collect, visualize, and analyze data through interactive investigations. It supports the development of early math skills, computational thinking, and problem-solving with engaging activities and discussion prompts.
- 6 pre-made investigations
- Create custom investigations
- Data collection within the app
- Visualize data with graphs
- Data analysis and sorting tools
- Discussion prompts for learning
- Teacher's Guide with lesson plans
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Collect data, create graphs, and analyze your findings with Gracie & Friends® in the Preschool Data Toolbox app! Choose one of our six investigations with preschool-appropriate research questions, or create your own investigations and turn them into a data story. These data collection and analysis activities help children to engage in meaningful mathematics while developing computational thinking and problem-solving, communication, and inquiry skills. Features - 6 investigations provided - Create your own investigations - Collect data in the app - Visualize data with pictographs, bar graphs, and tally charts - Tools to analyze and sort data - Drawing tool to annotate on top of graphs - Graph comparison - Slider to change pictograph to bar graph - Discussion prompts to guide analysis and learning - Data story feature to present your findings - Teacher's Guide with lesson plans - Alignment with research-based early math learning trajectories - No in-app purchases - No advertising Learning Goals This app and its corresponding data collection and analysis investigations are designed to help preschool-aged children practice and learn early mathematics concepts, engage with meaningful questions about the world around them, and use active problem-solving to answer these questions. Specifically, children will: - Collect and organize data, create visual representations like charts and graphs, and use and discuss data to answer real-world questions - Practice mathematical concepts like (counting, sorting, comparing, and ordering) Early Math with Gracie & Friends® is a math-focused preschool curriculum supplement that includes resources for classroom and home use. The Preschool Data Toolbox app and the corresponding hands-on investigations were designed to support children’s data collection and analysis skills as well as their computational thinking. The app and hands-on investigations are based on rounds of iterative research and development with preschool children and teachers. Research has shown that the use of this app and hands-on investigations help preschoolers learn about data collection and analysis, and improve their mathematical knowledge. Early Math Gracie & Friends® is not just apps! Our research shows the importance of engaging learners in hands-on, non-digital play. In fact, for every Gracie & Friends® app, we have created and researched around five hands-on activities! Check them out at http://first8studios.org About First 8 Studios @ GBH Kids GBH Kids has pioneered children's educational media for decades. First 8 Studios @ GBH Kids is dedicated to carrying this pioneering spirit into the digital, mobile world. First 8 Studios creates mobile experiences to support the healthy growth of children from birth through age 8. At the heart of this work is a commitment to research-based development and an ongoing collaboration with teachers and children to give them a voice in the digital media development process. You'll find evidence of the big hearts and little fingerprints of our partners throughout each Gracie & Friends® experience. Privacy Policy First 8 Studios @ WGBH is committed to children's safety and well-being. No personally identifiable data is collected. For our complete Privacy Policy, please visit: https://first8studios.org/privacypolicy.html Copyright Early Math with Gracie & Friends® and the characters and related indicia are trademarks of First 8 Studios @ GBH Kids. ®/© 2022 WGBH Educational Foundation. All Rights Reserved. This Early Math with Gracie & Friends® app was produced by GBH Kids. This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. DRL-1933698. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of NSF.
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 ratings volume: OctoStudio at 64 against Preschool Data Toolbox's 2. OctoStudio also leads on device support (3 vs 1). Preschool Data Toolbox's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.8) and update cadence (fortnightly vs monthly). 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Preschool Data Toolbox holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: OctoStudio has 64 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Preschool Data Toolbox ships an update fortnightly, OctoStudio monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Preschool Data Toolbox | OctoStudio |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better | 4.8 (64 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | — | 84.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 2 | 64 — better |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly — better | Monthly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 11.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 53 MB | 51 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | WGBH | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Customer experience
Preschool Data Toolbox
OctoStudio
In-app purchases
Preschool Data Toolbox
No in-app purchases
OctoStudio
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Preschool Data Toolbox free?
Is OctoStudio free?
Which has better reviews, Preschool Data Toolbox or OctoStudio?
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Which is updated more often, Preschool Data Toolbox or OctoStudio?
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