Comparison

Puppet Pals vs mBlockly for mBot

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

Head to head
About

Puppet Pals

Bring your stories to life by creating animated shows in real time. Choose actors and backdrops, then record your movements and voice to produce unique performances. Unleash your creativity with endless storytelling possibilities.

Highlights
  • Real-time animation recording
  • Create actors from photos
  • Use photos as backdrops
  • Zoom and rotate characters
  • Downloadable creative characters
  • Director's Pass for all content
Read full description

Create your own animated shows in real time! Pick your actors and backdrops, drag them onto the stage, and tap record. Your movements and voice are captured live, ready to play back, save, and watch again. Act out a pirate adventure on the high seas, a spooky monster showdown, or a Wild West escape — and mix any characters and scenes however you like. Your shows are only limited by your imagination. FREE FEATURES - A stage full of characters and backdrops to perform with - Turn a photo into a character or a backdrop - Record shows with live animation and audio - Zoom, rotate, and flip characters as you perform - Save shows and watch them anytime CREATIVE CLUB (optional subscription) Join the Creative Club to unlock the full show: - Imagine any character or backdrop, describe it, and watch AI bring it to life - Every character and scene pack included - Record shows up to 10 minutes long - Draw your own characters and backdrops - Export your shows as videos - Widescreen stage and full control over the end-of-show outro Choose your plan, monthly or annual: - Essentials — includes 40 AI creations per month - Unlimited — includes up to 1,000 AI creations per month SUBSCRIPTION DETAILS Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. Subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. You can manage or cancel your subscription anytime in your App Store account settings. Any unused portion of a free trial is forfeited when you purchase a subscription. Privacy Policy: https://www.polishedplay.com/puppetpals1/privacy Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Puppet Pals is fully usable without a subscription — the Creative Club just adds more magic.

About

mBlockly for mBot

Learn programming by controlling a robot with graphical building blocks. This app allows your robot to sense its environment, move, and react to commands, turning your tablet into a controller for interactive learning experiences.

Highlights
  • Block-based programming interface
  • Robot sensor integration (ultrasonic, line-tracking, lightness)
  • Bluetooth robot control
  • Tablet gyroscope control
  • Interactive learning
Features
Read full description

Control your robot and learn programming by snapping graphical building blocks together. ***a mBot educational robot with bluetooth module is required for running this app!*** LET YOUR ROBOT FEEL, THINK, AND DANCE With mBlockly, your mBot robot may perceive distance via ultrasonic sensors, mind its feet through line-tracking sensors, and be afraid of dark with its lightness sensor. Build short programs to let your mBot move or sing a little song when it is happy or sad. TAKE YOUR MBOT WITH YOUR TRIP Computers and cables are no more needed. Your iPad communicate directly with your mBot via bluetooth. TURN YOUR IPADS INTO MAGIC WANDS mBlockly can read the status of iPad's gyroscope, meaning that you may let your mBot dance by shaking the iPad or tilting it to each direction. E-mail:support@makeblock.cc

Screenshots

Puppet Pals4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Puppet Pals at 3.8 against mBlockly for mBot's 2.5. Puppet Pals also leads on review sentiment (71% vs 29%) and ratings volume (52 vs 6). mBlockly for mBot's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 10) and update cadence (every 2 months vs every 6 months). On price, 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. Puppet Pals sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. mBlockly for mBot asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Puppet Pals holds the better App Store score, 3.8 against 2.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Puppet Pals has 52 ratings behind it against 6, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 71% of Puppet Pals's written reviews are positive against 29% of mBlockly for mBot's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Puppet Pals ships an update every 6 months, mBlockly for mBot every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 26, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Puppet Pals versus mBlockly for mBot: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPuppet PalsmBlockly for mBot
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.8 (52 ratings) — better2.5 (6 ratings)
Positive reviews71.0% of reviews — better28.6% of reviews
Number of ratings52 — better6
Update frequencyEvery 6 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPad
Requires iOS17.07.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size77 MB10 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPolished Play, LLCMakeblock Co., Ltd.

Customer experience

Puppet Pals

All ratings50 ratings
Positive68.0%
Neutral8.0%
Negative24.0%
Written reviews210 reviews
Positive71.0%
Neutral7.6%
Negative21.4%

mBlockly for mBot

All ratings6 ratings
Positive33.3%
Neutral16.7%
Negative50.0%
Written reviews7 reviews
Positive28.6%
Neutral14.3%
Negative57.1%

Bugs and requests

Puppet Pals

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Crashes when trying to export videos
  • Saved videos not playing back properly
  • Issues with using own photos and characters

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add more characters, backgrounds, and themes
  • Allow exporting and sharing of videos
  • Improve video editing and recording features
  • Add sound effects and background music options

mBlockly for mBot

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Puppet Pals

One-time10
  • Wild West$0.99
  • Political Par-tay$0.99
  • Monsters$0.99
Show 7 more
  • Talk Shows$0.99
  • Pirates$0.99
  • Fairytale$0.99
  • Zombie Attack$0.99
  • On the Farm$0.99
  • Christmas$0.99
  • Director's Pass$3.99
None

mBlockly for mBot

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Puppet Pals free?
Puppet Pals is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is mBlockly for mBot free?
mBlockly for mBot is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Puppet Pals or mBlockly for mBot?
Puppet Pals is rated higher. Puppet Pals averages 3.8 out of 5 from 52 ratings, while mBlockly for mBot averages 2.5 from 6 ratings.
Do Puppet Pals or mBlockly for mBot have ads?
Neither Puppet Pals nor mBlockly for mBot shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Puppet Pals or mBlockly for mBot?
Puppet Pals ships an update every 6 months, and mBlockly for mBot every 2 months. Most recently, Puppet Pals was updated on October 23, 2026 and mBlockly for mBot on October 26, 2026.

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