Comparison

Dog vs Elf Studio®

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

Head to head
About

Dog

Interact with a unique robot dog through a dedicated app. Care for, train, and play games with your digital companion. Customize its appearance and teach it tricks using simple programming.

Highlights
  • Care and status tracking
  • Virtual treat feeding
  • Play 6 fun games
  • Train tricks with sequential programming
  • Customize tail messages and drawings
  • Mint unique Dog-E profiles
Features
Read full description

Care for, train, play games and more with Dog-E, your one in a million robot dog. Connect the app to Dog-E via Bluetooth to unlock more ways to play and see Dog-E come to life. Customize your Dog-E even more to make your robot dog totally unique to you. THE ONE IN A MILLION ROBOT DOG APP Through the minting process, the all-white Dog-E comes to life and reveals a unique combination of colorful lights, sounds and personality traits. Using the app, you can reveal a one in a million Dog-E, take the personality quiz and name your dog. So no two Dog-Es are ever the same. Save multiple profiles, so you can mint Dog-Es again and again. CARE FOR YOUR DOG-E Keep track of Dog-E’s needs in the app, so you can keep your pup happy. Dog-E’s status screen in the app tells you when your Dog-E needs love, food, playtime and more. FEED DOG-E TREATS Feeding your Dog-E is even more fun in the app! Hold the app up, and you can “throw” Dog-E treats, and Dog-E eats them. Dog-E will even tell you when it likes a specific treat or not. You can even earn special treats the more you PLAY GAMES & ACTIVITIES Dog-E includes 6 fun games you can play, including Ultimate Nose Boop, Fortune Teller and Turbo Pet. Use the app to access Dog-E’s games and see your high scores. You can also level up your play in caring for Dog-E by playing the flea flicking game to boost Dog-E’s health meter and taking Dog-E to the Dog Spa to change its colors. TEACH DOG-E TRICKS Train your Dog-E to do tricks using the app. Using simple sequential programming, practice STEM skills by creating your own trick with up to 6 sequences. The Trick Maker includes 44 different sequences that you can use to build custom tricks, including emotes, light shows and motion. You can save up to 4 custom tricks for each Dog-E profile you have. DOG-E TALKS WITH ITS TAIL Using innovative persistence of vision (POV) technology, Dog-E can communicate with you using its tail. Use the Dog-E App to write custom messages that will play in Dog-E’s tail. You can also draw pictures! Save up to 4 custom tail creations in each Dog-E profile you have. CREATE A DOG-E WITHOUT THE TOY No Dog-E toy? No problem! You can Quick Mint one in a million Dog-E profiles in the app even without the toy. Even name your dogs. When you get a Dog-E toy, you can load those profiles onto your toy to bring them to life. ABOUT US At WowWee, we don’t just create, we wow. We astonish imaginations and inspire kids around the world. We believe in the power of innovation, which is why we develop industry-leading apps to pair with our award-winning interactive toys. Learn more about WowWee and our products at www.wowwee.com Privacy is an issue we take very seriously. To learn more about our app and our privacy policy, visit https://dog-e.com/policies/privacy-policy

About

Elf Studio®

Create magical videos and photos of Santa and his elves visiting your home using augmented reality. Place characters in any environment, customize their appearance and animations, and record your own festive scenes.

Highlights
  • Add Santa Claus and elves
  • Unlimited elves and recording time
  • Create custom elves with Elf Workshop
  • Customize elf outfits and accessories
  • Elves with walking and dancing animations
  • Pre-plan or perform animations
  • Customize lighting, shadows, and camera filters
Features
Read full description

Welcome to Elf Studio®! The latest marvel from the Software Elves here at the North Pole Command Center (Creators of Speak to Santa)! Turn your elf's Christmas mischief into photos and videos set in your own home! Put them under the tree, send them towards the cookie jar, or dream up a surprise of your own. - SCAN YOUR OWN ELF! Start with one photo of your elf toy, with room for up to four views. Every account includes one elf scan. Elf Studio Pro includes ten a month, with no additional credit charge. - NO TOY? DRAW OR DESCRIBE ONE! Sketch your elf on the drawing pad or describe it in words, and the AI turns it into an elf you can cast in any scene. - QUICK CREATE OR STUDIO! Pick an elf and a photo, then describe the action, or stage your photo by dragging elves and props into place, choosing poses and adjusting sizes. - GET HELP WITH THE WORDS! Studio builds a scene script from your layout. Get Ideas suggests actions for your photo, and Improve helps rewrite your prompt. - AI PHOTOS & VIDEOS! Make photo takes, compare them and animate your favorite. Cast up to three elves with their own roles in the scene. - DIRECT THE SHOT! Create five-second AI videos with Natural, Stop Motion or Storybook styling, camera movement, portrait or landscape framing and optional generated sound. Use start and end images to guide the action. - MAKE AN EXAMPLE YOUR OWN! Browse scene ideas and use an example recipe with your chosen elf and your own photo. - THE ELF WORKSHOP! Choose ready-made elves in classic and felt styles, or design one in 3D with hair, hats, outfits, gloves, shoes, glasses and colors, with a live preview. - ENHANCE WITH AI! Give your elf a lifelike look and keep different looks to choose from. - BRING THE PROPS! Pick from the prop shelf, scan a toy or describe a prop for the AI to create reference pictures. - STICKERS & POSES! Make AI stickers of your elf striking new poses, then use those poses in your Studio photos. Add a bust sticker of any custom elf, made right on your device. - SEND THEM IN MESSAGES! Open Elf Studio® in the Messages app drawer to send the cast, your own elves and the stickers you have made. - HOME SCREEN WIDGETS! Count the sleeps until Christmas or until your elf arrives, with a posed elf of your choice keeping watch. - MAKE THEM AR-READY! Generate a 3D model of a scanned elf or prop before placing it in your room. - FILM IN AUGMENTED REALITY! Place AR-ready elves and props on your floor, draw walking routes, add stops and choose animations. Capture AR photos and videos, with Look at Camera, footsteps, lighting and actions you can trigger while filming. AR needs a compatible device. - CATCH THEIR FACES! Record the viewer's reaction as your video plays. Reaction recordings stay on your device and are not uploaded to Elf Studio®. - ADD THE FINISHING TOUCH! Apply eight video looks and filters without changing the original. Find your creations in the Gallery, save them to Photos and share the files. AI generation needs an internet connection. Once a job is sent, it can continue on our servers while you leave the app. Enable notifications to hear when it is ready. Your Gallery is stored on this device. Elf Studio® does not provide cloud library backup, so export the memories you want to keep. AI or AR. Photo or video. Your elf, your home, your Christmas story! Elf Studio® is created by North Pole Command Centre Limited and works with any toy. Elf Studio® is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by Elf on the Shelf®, but many families use Elf Studio® alongside their existing Elf on the Shelf traditions. Made by the software elves here at the North Pole Command Center! Elf Studio® is a registered trademark in the United Kingdom, the European Union and the United States. All rights reserved.

Screenshots

Dog4 screens
Elf Studio®4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Elf Studio® at 4.6 against Dog's 3.9. Elf Studio® also leads on ratings volume (3.8K vs 179). Dog's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 10) and review sentiment (58% vs 45%). On price, update cadence, ads and device support 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. Elf Studio® sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Dog asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Elf Studio® holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 3.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Elf Studio® has 3.8K ratings behind it against 179, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 58% of Dog's written reviews are positive against 45% of Elf Studio®'s, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Dog ships an update every 5 days, Elf Studio® every 6 days. Both last shipped on November 7, 2026.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Dog versus Elf Studio®: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDogElf Studio®
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.9 (179 ratings)4.6 (3.8K ratings) — better
Positive reviews58.1% of reviews — better45.5% of reviews
Number of ratings1793.8K — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 days — betterEvery 6 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS12.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size158 MB343 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperWowWee Group LimitedNorth Pole Command Centre Limited

Customer experience

Dog

All ratings173 ratings
Positive69.4%
Neutral8.1%
Negative22.5%
Written reviews62 reviews
Positive58.1%
Neutral11.3%
Negative30.6%

Elf Studio®

All ratings3,780 ratings
Positive90.8%
Neutral3.3%
Negative5.9%
Written reviews99 reviews
Positive45.5%
Neutral6.1%
Negative48.5%

User reviews

Dog

From 179 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Fun to play with
  • 🐶 Cute robot dog
  • 💖 Interactive features
  • 📱 App enhances experience
  • 🤖 Dog-E is awesome

Room to improve

  • ❓ Unclear battery percentage
  • 🤷‍♀️ App stuck on intro
  • ❓ Don't know what to do
  • 🤔 Confusing permissions
  • 🚫 Items are locked

Elf Studio®

From 3.8K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🎅 Elf-themed game
  • 👍 Fun for kids
  • 💡 Ability to create elf scenes

Room to improve

  • 💰 Many features locked behind paywall
  • 🐛 Glitchy performance
  • 🚫 Limited free functionality

Bugs and requests

Dog

Reported bugs

15 issues
  • App stuck on intro screen
  • App won't pair or open
  • App freezes on screen
  • Bluetooth connection issues
  • App crashes
Show 10 more
  • Love icon doesn't work
  • Potty icon doesn't work
  • Turbo pet doesn't work
  • Nose boop delays
  • Items in app locked
  • App won't open past intro
  • App flashes to dog then back to intro
  • Poop feature doesn't work
  • Feeding part doesn't work
  • App doesn't ask for permissions

Requested features

14 requests
  • Update app for new features
  • More interactive features
  • More games
  • More updates
  • Fix tail color to look green
Show 9 more
  • Fix green paws
  • Ability to delete Dog-E profiles
  • Update app for Amazon tablet
  • Fix love icon
  • Fix potty icon
  • Fix turbo pet
  • Fix poop feature
  • Fix feeding feature
  • Add dark mode

Elf Studio®

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Unable to scan surfaces for elf placement
  • Crashes and freezes when trying to use app

Requested features

3 requests
  • More free customization options
  • Ability to save and share created scenes
  • Improved surface detection for elf placement

In-app purchases

None

Dog

No in-app purchases

10 purchases

Elf Studio®

Subscriptions5
  • Unlock Elf Studio$1.991 Month
  • Elf Studio™ - Monthly$2.991 Month
  • Unlock Elf Studio$3.991 Year
Show 2 more
  • Elf Studio™ - Annual$6.991 Year
  • Elf Studio Pro - Annual$9.991 Year
One-time5
  • 50+ Elf Dance Animations$0.99
  • 1 Elf Video Credit$1.99
  • 5 Elf Video Credits$7.99
Show 2 more
  • Elf Studio - Lifetime Pass$19.99
  • 50 Credits - Pro Price$34.99

Questions

Is Dog free?
Dog is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Elf Studio® free?
Elf Studio® is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Dog or Elf Studio®?
Elf Studio® is rated higher. Dog averages 3.9 out of 5 from 179 ratings, while Elf Studio® averages 4.6 from 3.8K ratings.
Do Dog or Elf Studio® have ads?
Neither Dog nor Elf Studio® shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Dog or Elf Studio®?
Dog ships an update every 5 days, and Elf Studio® every 6 days. Most recently, Dog was updated on November 7, 2026 and Elf Studio® on November 7, 2026.

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