Comparison

Puppet Pals vs KidBot Start

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

KidBot Start

This app teaches children the fundamentals of programming through an engaging puzzle game. Players command a robot to collect toys using a visual, puzzle-like interface that introduces concepts like sequencing, loops, and conditions.

Highlights
  • Visual programming interface
  • Robot command puzzles
  • Instruction sequencing
  • Conditional execution
  • Loops and jumps
  • Offline play
Features
Read full description

Programming is the new literacy, and you better start early! Kidbot introduces kids to programming through a fun puzzle game. A room. Toys all over. A robot under your command. Few commands, endless possibilities. Move around. Gather the toys. Get to the basket. Kidbot uses a unique programming model, both powerful and intuitive. Instructions, conditions and jumps build on a familiar analogy with jigsaw puzzles, where the form of the piece indicates where it can fit. KidBot lets kids and even teenagers gain understanding of the basic concepts behind coding and robot building: INSTRUCTION SEQUENCING IDENTIFYING COMMON PATTERNS AS PROCEDURES CONDITIONAL EXECUTION LOOPS Safe for kids NO ADS NO NETWORK CONNECTION REQUIRED NO ACCOUNTS NO SOCIAL FEATURES The programming aspect (language) of the game is inspired by the fundamental ARM architecture. This means that the child learns how computers and programming work on a very low level, how basic loops and conditional execution are built by basic blocks. The game has a very smooth learning curve, guiding the child in with many tutorials and tips. While the tips are only in English, the game can be played without the child being able to read yet, because of the very interactive tutorials that show the kid what to do action by action. KidBot Start features 12 levels, which cover sequencing and subprograms. KidBot Full features 48 levels and adds condition operators as well as jumps and recursion.

Screenshots

Puppet Pals4 screens
KidBot Start4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: KidBot Start at 5.0 against Puppet Pals's 3.8. KidBot Start also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 10) and review sentiment (100% vs 71%). Puppet Pals's advantage is ratings volume (53 vs 2). On price, update cadence, 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. KidBot Start asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

KidBot Start holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Puppet Pals has 53 ratings behind it against 2, 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 100% of KidBot Start's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Puppet Pals ships an update every 6 months, KidBot Start every 5 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Puppet Pals versus KidBot Start: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPuppet PalsKidBot Start
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.8 (53 ratings)5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews70.9% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings53 — better2
Update frequencyEvery 6 monthsEvery 5 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.016.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size77 MB64 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPolished Play, LLCKONSTANTIN ILIEV VASSILEV

Customer experience

Puppet Pals

All ratings53 ratings
Positive69.8%
Neutral7.5%
Negative22.6%
Written reviews213 reviews
Positive70.9%
Neutral7.5%
Negative21.6%

KidBot Start

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

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

KidBot Start

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

KidBot Start

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Puppet Pals free?
Puppet Pals is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is KidBot Start free?
KidBot Start is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Puppet Pals or KidBot Start?
KidBot Start is rated higher. Puppet Pals averages 3.8 out of 5 from 53 ratings, while KidBot Start averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.
Do Puppet Pals or KidBot Start have ads?
Neither Puppet Pals nor KidBot Start shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Puppet Pals or KidBot Start?
Puppet Pals ships an update every 6 months, and KidBot Start every 5 months. Most recently, Puppet Pals was updated on November 1, 2026 and KidBot Start on October 29, 2026.

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