Comparison

Puppet Pals vs Photon Robot

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

Photon Robot

This educational app allows children to program a robot companion, unlocking new abilities and senses as they complete tasks. Progress is visualized, serving as a motivational tool for learning programming concepts.

Highlights
  • Robot programming
  • Unlockable abilities
  • Skill progression
  • Motivational learning
  • Interactive companion
Features
Read full description

The robot develops along his owner by gaining new abilities, senses and functionalities with each programming related task completed. Completing a quest to create a simple program may let the kid pick some sort of upgrade for Photon, like the ability to see or detect obstacles. This way, progress is visible right away and works as wonderful motivational tool. It's not just another toy, it's a true friend and companion.

Screenshots

Puppet Pals4 screens
Photon Robot4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Photon Robot at none against Puppet Pals's 10. Photon Robot also leads on update cadence (every 2 months vs every 6 months) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). Puppet Pals's advantage is ratings volume (52 vs 3). On price, rating, 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. Photon Robot asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 3.8 for Puppet Pals against 3.7 for Photon Robot. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Puppet Pals has 52 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Puppet Pals ships an update every 6 months, Photon Robot every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 10, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Puppet Pals versus Photon Robot: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPuppet PalsPhoton Robot
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.8 (52 ratings) — better3.7 (3 ratings)
Positive reviews70.9% of reviews—
Number of ratings52 — better3
Update frequencyEvery 6 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size77 MB158 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPolished Play, LLCPhoton Entertainment sp. z o.o.

Customer experience

Puppet Pals

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

Photon Robot

All ratings3 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%

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

Photon Robot

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

Photon Robot

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Puppet Pals free?
Puppet Pals is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Photon Robot free?
Photon Robot is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Puppet Pals or Photon Robot?
Puppet Pals is rated higher. Puppet Pals averages 3.8 out of 5 from 52 ratings, while Photon Robot averages 3.7 from 3 ratings.
Do Puppet Pals or Photon Robot have ads?
Neither Puppet Pals nor Photon Robot shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Puppet Pals or Photon Robot?
Puppet Pals ships an update every 6 months, and Photon Robot every 2 months. Most recently, Puppet Pals was updated on November 10, 2026 and Photon Robot on November 3, 2026.

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