Comparison

AlphaBaby Play vs Elmo Loves ABCs

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

Head to head
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.

About

Elmo Loves ABCs

Explore the alphabet with interactive games, songs, and videos featuring beloved characters. This app offers engaging activities to help children learn letter identification, sounds, and tracing, fostering art and music appreciation.

Highlights
  • Interactive letter games
  • Songs and videos about letters
  • Coloring pages
  • Letter tracing activities
  • Personalization options
  • Progress tracker for adults
Currently charting
Read full description

Elmo loves this app! It has songs and videos about letters. It has coloring pages and games about letters. It has all the letters from A to Z! Elmo even made a new alphabet song for it. Elmo thinks it’s the best ABC app ever! Come on, explore the alphabet with Elmo! FEATURES • Slide, sweep, swipe, touch, trace and dig to discover over eighty classic Sesame Street clips, seventy five Sesame Street coloring pages, and four different ways to play hide and seek! • Touch and trace your favorite letter to unlock its surprises. • Tap on the star button to discover even more letter activities. • Personalize by adding your own photos and videos to the game. • ABCs tracker for grown-ups to see how your child is doing. • Ability to purchase even more great letter content and holiday surprises. LEARN ABOUT • Letter identification (uppercase and lowercase) • Letter sounds • Letter tracing • Art and creativity • Music appreciation TIPS • If you wish to personalize Elmo Loves ABCs by adding your own content, remember to complete all the fields: name, recording, photo, and video! If you do not have all four, your content will not appear in the game. • PLEASE NOTE: Personalized photos and videos, are not backed up to the device library. To save or access this content, use the device's camera to create your content. ABOUT US Sesame Workshop’s mission is to use the educational power of media to help kids everywhere grow smarter, stronger, and kinder. Delivered through a variety of platforms, including television programs, digital experiences, books and community engagement, its research-based programs are tailored to the needs of the communities and countries they serve. Learn more at www.sesameworkshop.org. PRIVACY POLICY The Privacy Policy can be found here: https://sesameworkshop.org/about-us/legal/privacy-policy/ CONTACT US Your input is very important to us. If you have any questions, comments, or need help, please contact us at: sesameworkshopapps@sesame.org.

Screenshots

AlphaBaby Play4 screens
Elmo Loves ABCs4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: AlphaBaby Play at Free against Elmo Loves ABCs's $4.99. AlphaBaby Play also leads on review sentiment (89% vs 52%) and iOS requirement (9.0 vs 13.0). Elmo Loves ABCs's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and chart position (#71 vs unranked). On rating, update cadence, ads 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

AlphaBaby Play is free to download; Elmo Loves ABCs costs $4.99 up front. AlphaBaby Play sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Elmo Loves ABCs 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 AlphaBaby Play against 4.1 for Elmo Loves ABCs. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 36 and 147 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 89% of AlphaBaby Play's written reviews are positive against 52% of Elmo Loves ABCs's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

AlphaBaby Play ships an update every 4 months, Elmo Loves ABCs every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 12, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
AlphaBaby Play versus Elmo Loves ABCs: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAlphaBaby PlayElmo Loves ABCs
PriceFree — better$4.99
Rating4.2 (36 ratings) — better4.1 (147 ratings)
Positive reviews89.1% of reviews — better51.6% of reviews
Number of ratings36147 — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 months — betterEvery 5 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank—#71 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS9.0 — better13.0
Further details — not scored
Size5 MB548 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLittle Potato SoftwareSesame Workshop (Apps)

Customer experience

AlphaBaby Play

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

Elmo Loves ABCs

All ratings138 ratings
Positive73.2%
Neutral4.3%
Negative22.5%
Written reviews186 reviews
Positive51.6%
Neutral9.7%
Negative38.7%

User reviews

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

Elmo Loves ABCs

From 147 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Engaging and educational for children
  • 🎨 Customizable with personal videos and photos
  • 🎥 Classic Sesame Street videos and songs
  • 🤖 Elmo is a beloved character
  • 💡 Wide variety of activities per letter

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Tracing letters can be difficult and unresponsive
  • 🐛 Crashes and freezes reported
  • 🔇 Audio issues like missing sounds or echoes
  • 🛑 Paid version has intrusive ads
  • 🔍 Difficulty finding/accessing all content

Bugs and requests

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

Elmo Loves ABCs

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Tracing not working as expected
  • Crashes and freezes on various devices
  • Audio issues like missing sounds
  • Incompatibility with newer iOS versions
  • Difficulty downloading/accessing full version

Requested features

5 requests
  • Improved letter tracing functionality
  • Ability to disable ads in paid version
  • More customization options
  • Expanded content beyond just letters
  • Better organization and navigation

In-app purchases

1 purchases

AlphaBaby Play

One-time1
  • Upgrade to Full AlphaBaby$0.99
None

Elmo Loves ABCs

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is AlphaBaby Play free?
AlphaBaby Play is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Elmo Loves ABCs free?
Elmo Loves ABCs costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, AlphaBaby Play or Elmo Loves ABCs?
AlphaBaby Play is rated higher. AlphaBaby Play averages 4.2 out of 5 from 36 ratings, while Elmo Loves ABCs averages 4.1 from 147 ratings.
Do AlphaBaby Play or Elmo Loves ABCs have ads?
Neither AlphaBaby Play nor Elmo Loves ABCs shows ads.
Which is updated more often, AlphaBaby Play or Elmo Loves ABCs?
AlphaBaby Play ships an update every 4 months, and Elmo Loves ABCs every 5 months. Most recently, AlphaBaby Play was updated on November 6, 2026 and Elmo Loves ABCs on November 12, 2026.

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