Comparison

Itsy Bitsy Spider vs AlphaBaby Play

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

Head to head
About

Itsy Bitsy Spider

This interactive app brings a classic nursery rhyme to life with engaging illustrations and activities. Children can explore hidden surprises, sing along, and learn through playful interactions. Designed for young children, it offers a fun and educational experience.

Highlights
  • Interactive illustrations with hidden surprises
  • Easy navigation
  • Record your own voice to sing along
  • Learn about nature and counting
  • Play peek-a-boo
  • Listen to classical music
  • Watch caterpillar transformation
Read full description

An award-winning original tribute to a childhood classic, Itsy Bitsy Spider offers children a fun, interactive and educational experience. AGES: 2-5. OVERVIEW - 100% interactive illustrations with hidden surprises on every page - Easy navigation – just poke the spider to move to the next scene - Use the record feature to sing along CATEGORY: Nursery Rhyme ACTIVITIES - FOLLOW the spider on an adventure – up, down and all around - LEARN about the environment and nature from Cloe the fly - COUNT with a squirrel as he builds his house - PLAY peek-a-boo with a frog - SING along and record your own voice - LISTEN to classical music performed on a violin and cello - WATCH a caterpillar become a beautiful butterfly
 - COLLECT colorful eggs on the spider web AWARDS - Parents’ Choice Gold Award - Parents’ Choice Foundation - Children’s Technology Review Editor’s Choice Award for Excellence in Design ABOUT DUCK DUCK MOOSE (A subsidiary of Khan Academy) Duck Duck Moose, an award-winning creator of educational mobile apps for families, is a passionate team of engineers, artists, designers, and educators. Founded in 2008, the company has created 21 top-selling titles and has received 21 Parents’ Choice Awards, 18 Children’s Technology Review Awards, 12 Tech with Kids’ Best Pick App Awards, and a KAPi award for “Best Children’s App” at the International Consumer Electronics Show. Khan Academy is a nonprofit with a mission to provide a free, world-class education for anyone, anywhere. Duck Duck Moose is now part of the Khan Academy family. Like all Khan Academy offerings, all Duck Duck Moose apps are now 100% free, without ads or subscriptions. For kids ages 2-7, don't miss Khan Academy Kids, our new early learning app to help young children with reading, writing, math and social-emotional development! We’d love to hear from you! Visit us at www.duckduckmoose.com or drop us a line at support@duckduckmoose.com.

About

AlphaBaby Play

This app introduces toddlers to letters and shapes through interactive touch and sound. Users can personalize the experience by recording their own voices and adding custom images and captions, fostering early learning and engagement.

Highlights
  • Interactive letters and shapes
  • Voice recording for customization
  • Add custom images and captions
  • Shrink and grow letter animations
  • Flick and fly animations
Features
Read full description

AlphaBaby Play is the perfect first app for your toddler for the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad! Touch the screen to show and hear letters and shapes. Flick them to send them flying across the screen. Press them and the letters shrink and grow. Record your own voice for the letters and shapes. Add your own images from the camera or photo library, and record captions to match. Have your child record their own voice! AlphaBaby Play is a free version of the AlphaBaby app, also available on the App Store. You are limited by how many sounds and pictures you can add to the app. Upgrading removes those limits and gives you more ways to customize AlphaBaby. Give AlphaBaby Play a try and see how much fun it is to have your own voice speak the alphabet. Have your child record their own voice for the alphabet, or take turns recording fun captions for your own photos. The possibilities are endless.

Screenshots

Itsy Bitsy Spider4 screens
AlphaBaby Play4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Itsy Bitsy Spider at none against AlphaBaby Play's 1. On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume 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. AlphaBaby Play sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Itsy Bitsy Spider asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.2 for Itsy Bitsy Spider against 4.2 for AlphaBaby Play. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 68 and 36 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 87% of Itsy Bitsy Spider's written reviews are positive against 89% of AlphaBaby Play's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Itsy Bitsy Spider ships an update every 6 months, AlphaBaby Play every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on October 18, 2026 and October 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Itsy Bitsy Spider versus AlphaBaby Play: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterItsy Bitsy SpiderAlphaBaby Play
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.2 (68 ratings)4.2 (36 ratings)
Positive reviews86.6% of reviews89.1% of reviews — better
Number of ratings68 — better36
Update frequencyEvery 6 monthsEvery 4 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS9.09.0
Further details — not scored
Size18 MB5 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDuck Duck Moose LLCLittle Potato Software

Customer experience

Itsy Bitsy Spider

All ratings68 ratings
Positive79.4%
Neutral2.9%
Negative17.6%
Written reviews201 reviews
Positive86.6%
Neutral3.0%
Negative10.4%

AlphaBaby Play

All ratings36 ratings
Positive77.8%
Neutral5.6%
Negative16.7%
Written reviews129 reviews
Positive89.1%
Neutral4.7%
Negative6.2%

User reviews

Itsy Bitsy Spider

From 68 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Great for toddlers and young kids
  • 🎨 Excellent graphics and animations
  • 🎶 Engaging music and sounds
  • 🕷️ Interactive features like collecting eggs
  • 🎨 Customizable with ability to record own voice

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional crashes or freezes
  • 🔇 Sound issues after updates
  • 🔁 Limited number of screens/levels
  • 🔍 Confusing navigation with 'recommended' icon

AlphaBaby Play

From 36 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👶 Excellent for babies and toddlers (ages 8 months to 4 years)
  • 🎓 Educational tool teaching letters, numbers, shapes, and colors
  • 🎤 Ability to record custom voice and add personal photos
  • 🆓 Free version available with quality features
  • 🛡️ Child-proof design prevents accidental app store clicks

Room to improve

  • 🔄 Random presentation lacks structured learning approach
  • 📚 Uses letter names instead of phonetic sounds
  • 🔊 Volume control not available
  • 💾 In-app purchases not persisting across device changes
  • 🎙️ Custom sound recording feature unreliable for some users

Bugs and requests

Itsy Bitsy Spider

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Sound not working after iOS updates
  • App crashing on certain devices

Requested features

3 requests
  • More levels and screens to explore
  • Additional songs/nursery rhymes
  • Ability to change backgrounds/environments

AlphaBaby Play

Reported bugs

6 issues
  • In-app purchases lost when changing iOS devices
  • Custom sound recording not working reliably
  • In-app upgrade icon not updating after purchase
  • Same objects appearing consecutively in random mode
  • Settings menu difficult to access and discover
Show 1 more
  • Pictures dominating screen disproportionately when mixed with other content

Requested features

10 requests
  • Phonetic sound options instead of letter names
  • Extended number range (up to 50+)
  • Sound/volume level control
  • Delay option to discourage button mashing
  • Multiple voice recordings per object for multilingual families
Show 5 more
  • Lowercase letter options
  • Colors category as separate learning option
  • Better in-app instructions/tutorial
  • Improved settings menu accessibility
  • More customizable content options

In-app purchases

None

Itsy Bitsy Spider

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

AlphaBaby Play

One-time1
  • Upgrade to Full AlphaBaby$0.99

Questions

Is Itsy Bitsy Spider free?
Itsy Bitsy Spider is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is AlphaBaby Play free?
AlphaBaby Play is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Itsy Bitsy Spider or AlphaBaby Play?
Itsy Bitsy Spider and AlphaBaby Play are both rated 4.2 out of 5 on the App Store, from 68 and 36 ratings respectively.
Do Itsy Bitsy Spider or AlphaBaby Play have ads?
Neither Itsy Bitsy Spider nor AlphaBaby Play shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Itsy Bitsy Spider or AlphaBaby Play?
Itsy Bitsy Spider ships an update every 6 months, and AlphaBaby Play every 4 months. Most recently, Itsy Bitsy Spider was updated on October 18, 2026 and AlphaBaby Play on October 5, 2026.

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