# Acrobots vs Thomas & Friends

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.

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.

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.

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.

## The numbers

| Metric | Acrobots | Thomas & Friends |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $0.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | **[4.4 (25 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/acrobots/id322149014/reviews)** | [4.4 (77K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/thomas-and-friends-magic-tracks/id1126382960/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 25 | **77K** |
| Positive reviews | **86.7% of reviews** | 61.6% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 5 weeks** | Every 6 months |
| Monetization | **Free** | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 2 MB | 253 MB |
| Requires iOS | **8.0** | 13.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Vectorpark](https://appshunter.io/developer/322149017) | [Budge Studios](https://appshunter.io/developer/390712652) |

## What reviewers say

### Acrobots

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/acrobots/id322149014)

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:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

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

**What reviewers complain about**

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

**Reported bugs**

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

**Requested features**

- 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

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/thomas-and-friends-magic-tracks/id1126382960)

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:** Family Sharing

**In-app purchases (11)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly Subscription | $9.99 | per month |
| Frederico's Mini Pack! | $1.99 | one-time |
| Unlock the Great Race Pack! | $2.99 | one-time |
| Kana's Builder Pack! | $2.99 | one-time |
| Diesel's Builder Pack! | $2.99 | one-time |
| Unlock Emily's Splash Mountain Adventure Box | $4.99 | one-time |
| Unlock James' Boulder Escape Adventure Box! | $4.99 | one-time |
| Unlock Percy's Haunted Castle Adventure Box! | $4.99 | one-time |
| Unlock Gordon's Quarry Race Adventure Box! | $4.99 | one-time |
| Get All the Toys! | $19.99 | one-time |
| Get All the Toys! | $39.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

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

**What reviewers complain about**

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

**Reported bugs**

- Game freezes and crashes
- Trains get stuck in certain areas
- Purchases not restoring properly

**Requested features**

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


## Frequently asked 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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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*