Comparison

Acrobots vs Thomas & Friends

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

Head to head
About

Acrobots

A physics-based toy for iPhone and iPad. Drag and toss living bots, watch them interact, and stack them to create structures. Customize their behavior and environment for endless playful experimentation.

Highlights
  • Drag and toss bots
  • Physics-based interactions
  • Stack bots to form structures
  • Shake to scatter bots
  • Customize scale, gravity, balance, speed, and legs
Features
Read full description

Acrobots is a mesmerizing, physics-based toy for your iPhone and iPad. - Drag and toss these living bots across the screen. - Watch them tumble and push off each other. - Stack them together to form living structures. - Shake your iPhone to watch the bots scatter. - Customize scale, gravity, balance, stickiness, speed, and number of legs.

About

Thomas & Friends

Embark on a magical train adventure with interactive mini-games and customizable train sets. Build your own railway, collect toys, and ride with favorite characters in this safe and engaging game for young children.

Highlights
  • Interactive mini-games
  • Customizable train sets
  • Collect track pieces, toys, and decorations
  • Play with favorite engines
  • Safe and easy gameplay
  • Ride and explore
Features
Read full description

Go on a magical train adventure with Thomas & Friends™ Magical Tracks Fun, safe & interactive game play for kids aged 2-7 Packed with interactive mini games, this customizable magical train set lets your little conductors shape their own fun adventure. Ride the rails with all of your children's favorite engines and collect all the toys and decorations they need to create their very own Island of Sodor! What magical adventures will you build today? THE ULTIMATE TRAIN SET ADVENTURE • EASY & SAFE train games for boys & girls • PLAY with Thomas, Percy, Kana & more engines • COLLECT track pieces • BUILD train sets • WIN toys and decorations • RIDE freely and blow the whistle! FUN MINI TRAIN GAMES • RIDE the canyon rapids! • BALANCE your engine as you race your way down Crazy Coaster Mountain! • TRANSPORT various passengers and cargo • HOSE down your engine to make it shine • RACE against fellow engines! • CLEAR the tracks of animals and debris • OUTRUN the boulder in the Boulder Chase • JUMP over the broken bridge Play the free and fun train game app for preschool and kindergarten boys & girls aged 2,3,4,5,6,7! PRIVACY & ADVERTISING Budge Studios takes children's privacy seriously and ensures that its apps are compliant with privacy laws. This application has received the “ESRB (Entertainment Software Rating Board) Privacy Certified Kids’ Privacy Seal”. For more information, please visit our privacy policy at: https://budgestudios.com/en/legal/privacy-policy/, or email our Data Protection Officer at: privacy@budgestudios.ca Before you download this app, please note that it is free to try, but some content may only be available via in-app purchases. In-app purchases cost real money and are charged to your account. To disable or adjust the ability to make in-app purchases, change your device settings. This app may contain contextual advertising (including the option to watch ads for rewards) from Budge Studios regarding other apps we publish, from our partners and from third parties. Budge Studios does not permit behavioral advertising or retargeting in this app. The app may also contain social media links that are only accessible behind a parental gate. TERMS OF USE / END-USER LICENSE AGREEMENT This application is subject to an End-User License Agreement available through the following link: https://budgestudios.com/en/legal-embed/eula/ ABOUT BUDGE STUDIOS Budge Studios was founded in 2010 with the mission to entertain and educate children around the world, through innovation, creativity and fun. Its high-quality app portfolio consists of original and branded properties, including PAW Patrol, Transformers, My Little Pony, Barbie, Thomas & Friends, Strawberry Shortcake, Caillou, The Smurfs, Miss Hollywood, Hello Kitty and Crayola. Budge Studios maintains the highest standards of safety and age-appropriateness, and has become a global leader in children’s apps for smartphones and tablets. Visit us: www.budgestudios.com Like us: facebook.com/budgestudios Follow us: @budgestudios Watch our app trailers: youtube.com/budgestudios HAVE QUESTIONS? We always welcome your questions, suggestions and comments. Contact us 24/7 at support@budgestudios.ca BUDGE and BUDGE STUDIOS are trademarks of Budge Studios Inc. Thomas & Friends™: Magical Tracks © 2022 Budge Studios Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Screenshots

Acrobots4 screens
Thomas & Friends4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Thomas & Friends at Free against Acrobots's $0.99. Thomas & Friends also leads on ratings volume (77K vs 25). Acrobots's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 12) and review sentiment (87% vs 62%). On rating, 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

Thomas & Friends is free to download; Acrobots costs $0.99 up front. Thomas & Friends sells 11 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Acrobots asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.4 for Acrobots against 4.4 for Thomas & Friends. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Thomas & Friends has 77K ratings behind it against 25, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 87% of Acrobots's written reviews are positive against 62% of Thomas & Friends's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Acrobots ships an update every 5 weeks, Thomas & Friends every 6 months. The most recent releases landed on October 27, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Acrobots versus Thomas & Friends: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAcrobotsThomas & Friends
Price$0.99Free — better
Rating4.4 (25 ratings) — better4.4 (77K ratings)
Positive reviews86.7% of reviews — better61.6% of reviews
Number of ratings2577K — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeks — betterEvery 6 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS8.0 — better13.0
Further details — not scored
Size2 MB253 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperVectorparkBudge Studios

Customer experience

Acrobots

All ratings24 ratings
Positive87.5%
Neutral4.2%
Negative8.3%
Written reviews165 reviews
Positive86.7%
Neutral4.8%
Negative8.5%

Thomas & Friends

All ratings74,291 ratings
Positive85.3%
Neutral7.1%
Negative7.6%
Written reviews1,072 reviews
Positive61.6%
Neutral9.2%
Negative29.2%

User reviews

Acrobots

From 25 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🎉 Fun and entertaining
  • 👍 Mesmerizing and relaxing
  • 🤖 Clever and unique physics simulation
  • 💻 Great port from the web version
  • 🕰 Good time-waster

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional bugs and crashes
  • 🔍 Lack of customization options
  • 💤 Can get boring after a while
  • 💰 Some feel it's not worth the price

Thomas & Friends

From 77K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🤗 Fun game
  • 💕 Nostalgic for childhood
  • 🥰 Loved by kids

Room to improve

  • 😡 Dislike changes to character designs
  • 🤬 Too many ads and in-app purchases
  • 🤯 Glitches and bugs

Bugs and requests

Acrobots

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Acrobots disappearing when device is leveled
  • Buttons/controls not always responsive
  • Performance issues with many acrobots on screen

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to customize individual acrobots (color, size, etc.)
  • More interactive elements (explosives, trampolines, etc.)
  • Ability to pause/freeze the simulation
  • Additional background options
  • Sound effects

Thomas & Friends

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Game freezes and crashes
  • Trains get stuck in certain areas
  • Purchases not restoring properly

Requested features

4 requests
  • Bring back original character designs
  • Add option to revert to old version
  • Fix glitches and crashes
  • Reduce ads and in-app purchases

In-app purchases

None

Acrobots

No in-app purchases

11 purchases

Thomas & Friends

Subscriptions1
  • Monthly Subscription1 Month trial$9.991 Month
One-time10
  • Frederico's Mini Pack!$1.99
  • Unlock the Great Race Pack!$2.99
  • Kana's Builder Pack!$2.99
Show 7 more
  • Diesel's Builder Pack!$2.99
  • Unlock Emily's Splash Mountain Adventure Box$4.99
  • Unlock James' Boulder Escape Adventure Box!$4.99
  • Unlock Percy's Haunted Castle Adventure Box!$4.99
  • Unlock Gordon's Quarry Race Adventure Box!$4.99
  • Get All the Toys!2 variants$19.99
  • Get All the Toys!$39.99

Questions

Is Acrobots free?
Acrobots costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Thomas & Friends free?
Thomas & Friends is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Acrobots or Thomas & Friends?
Acrobots is rated higher. Acrobots averages 4.4 out of 5 from 25 ratings, while Thomas & Friends averages 4.4 from 77K ratings.
Do Acrobots or Thomas & Friends have ads?
Neither Acrobots nor Thomas & Friends shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Acrobots or Thomas & Friends?
Acrobots ships an update every 5 weeks, and Thomas & Friends every 6 months. Most recently, Acrobots was updated on October 27, 2026 and Thomas & Friends on October 28, 2026.

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