Puppet Pals vs HMH Science Dimensions
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 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
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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.
HMH Science Dimensions
This augmented reality app transforms book covers into interactive science experiments. Students can scan their textbooks to launch 3D models and explore concepts like weather, solar energy, and the solar system. It's designed to make learning engaging and fun for young students.
- Augmented reality science experiments
- Scan book covers to activate content
- Interactive 3D models
- Explores various science topics
- Engaging learning experience
- Group or pair work friendly
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HMH Science Dimensions AR! (In order to access this app’s content, you will need any Student Edition book cover from HMH’s California Science Dimensions AR program). HMH Science Dimensions AR is an augmented reality tool that turns your students’ book cover into a fun, unique learning experience. To play, open the app and scan the Student Activity Book cover from any grade using a smartphone or tablet. Then watch an augmented reality experiment pop right out of it! HMH Science Dimensions AR gets students out of their seats and thinking about the science they’ll be learning in the coming year. It can also serve as a short, fun homework activity. For target images please go to: https://prod-hmhco-vmg-craftcms-private.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/CA_SD_AR_Covers.pdf Experiments and investigations include… Weather Materials Solar Energy Food Chains Biological Systems Photosynthesis The Solar System Sound Waves How Crystals Form Tips Move your device around the cover and even move the cover itself to get the full experience. The experiments lend themselves well to students working in small groups or pairs. App Info This app does not collect any personally identifiable information. This app contains no social media sharing or links to websites. This app does not track the user’s location. For users age 6 or younger, we recommend child-safe device covers. Avoid pressing buttons or controls outside the main screen area when holding the device as doing so may minimize or close the game.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Puppet Pals at 71% against HMH Science Dimensions's 25%. Puppet Pals also leads on rating (3.8 vs 2.3) and ratings volume (52 vs 17). HMH Science Dimensions'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
Both are free to download. Puppet Pals sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. HMH Science Dimensions asks for nothing beyond the download.
Puppet Pals holds the better App Store score, 3.8 against 2.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 52 and 17 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 71% of Puppet Pals's written reviews are positive against 25% of HMH Science Dimensions's.
Puppet Pals ships an update every 6 months, HMH Science Dimensions every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 10, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Puppet Pals | HMH Science Dimensions |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.8 (52 ratings) — better | 2.3 (17 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 70.9% of reviews — better | 25.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 52 — better | 17 |
| Update frequency | Every 6 months | Every 2 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 9.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 77 MB | 227 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Polished Play, LLC | Houghton Mifflin Harcourt |
Customer experience
Puppet Pals
HMH Science Dimensions
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
HMH Science Dimensions
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Puppet Pals
- Wild West$0.99
- Political Par-tay$0.99
- Monsters$0.99
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- 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
HMH Science Dimensions
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Puppet Pals free?
Is HMH Science Dimensions free?
Which has better reviews, Puppet Pals or HMH Science Dimensions?
Do Puppet Pals or HMH Science Dimensions have ads?
Which is updated more often, Puppet Pals or HMH Science Dimensions?
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