Comparison

Puppet Pals vs Storybird

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

Storybird

Create visual stories using curated artwork from global illustrators. Access writing lessons, prompts, and various formats to craft comics, picture books, and more. Publish your work for feedback and even print your creations into physical books.

Highlights
  • Visual storytelling with curated artwork
  • Writing lessons and prompts
  • Multiple writing formats (comics, books, poetry)
  • Global writing community
  • Expert feedback on submissions
  • Printable book creation
Features
Read full description

Storybird lets anyone make visual stories in seconds. We curate artwork from illustrators around the world and inspire writers of any age to turn those images into original stories. It's a simple idea that has attracted millions of writers, readers, and artists to our platform. Families and friends, teachers and students, and amateurs and professionals have created more than 30 million stories—making Storybird one of the world's largest storytelling communities. 【How it works】 1. Boost your writing skills: Storybird’s writing curriculum offers 700+ lessons, quizzes, and writing prompts created by experienced educators and expert authors. 2. Explore your creativity: Choose from multiple writing formats, from comics to picture books to poetry to longform. Start with a challenge for ready-made inspiration. 3. Global Community: 9 million writers in more than 100 countries around the world use Storybird to tell their stories. Read the best writers and get inspired. 4. Get inspired: Here at Storybird we have over 1,000 outstanding artists from all over the world contributing more than 10,000 breathtaking illustrations that you can use for inspiration or incorporate into your story to help make your vision a reality. 5. Publish your work: Ready to share your words with the world? Submit your stories to get expert feedback from teachers, professional editors, and authors. 6. high-quality book printing function: In the APP, you can print your creations into genuine and exquisite books, and mail them to yourself or your relatives and friends. To get started, download Storybird and start a free 7-day trial of or subscribe to Storybird membership. Storybird membership, a subscription that gives you unlimited access to all reading, writing, and challenges. You'll also be able to publish your story to Storybird public library and get expert feedback to help you improve. Storybird membership is USD 8.99 for 1 month or USD 59.99 for 1 year, quoted in U.S. dollars (prices may differ in countries other than the United States). At confirmation of purchase, payment will be charged to your iTunes account and your account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period at the price of USD 8.99 for 1 month or USD 59.99 for 1 year. Any unused portion of a trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when you purchase a subscription. Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period. You can cancel your subscription (i.e. turn off automatic renewal) in the Account Settings section of your App Store or iTunes settings after you have made the purchase. Our Privacy Policy is available at https://storybird.com/privacy. Terms of Service is available at https://storybird.com/terms-of-service. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to get in touch with us at support@storybird.com

Screenshots

Puppet Pals4 screens
Storybird4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Puppet Pals at 71% against Storybird's 38%. Puppet Pals also leads on rating (3.8 vs 3.5) and ratings volume (52 vs 16). Storybird's advantage is update cadence (every 2 months vs every 6 months) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 17.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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

Both are free to download. Puppet Pals sells 10 one-off in-app purchases and Storybird sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Puppet Pals holds the better App Store score, 3.8 against 3.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 52 and 16 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 71% of Puppet Pals's written reviews are positive against 38% of Storybird's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Puppet Pals ships an update every 6 months, Storybird every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Puppet Pals versus Storybird: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPuppet PalsStorybird
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.8 (52 ratings) — better3.5 (16 ratings)
Positive reviews71.0% of reviews — better37.8% of reviews
Number of ratings52 — better16
Update frequencyEvery 6 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size77 MB10 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPolished Play, LLCTGM EMPLOYCO LLC

Customer experience

Puppet Pals

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

Storybird

All ratings15 ratings
Positive60.0%
Neutral6.7%
Negative33.3%
Written reviews37 reviews
Positive37.8%
Neutral10.8%
Negative51.4%

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

Storybird

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
7 purchases

Storybird

Subscriptions4
  • Storybird Monthly Subscription$4.991 Month
  • Storybird Monthly Membership7 Days trial$4.991 Month
  • Storybird Annual Membership$29.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Storybird Yearly Membership7 Days trial$29.991 Year
One-time3
  • 1 Review Ticket$0.99
  • 5 Review Tickets$3.99
  • 10 Review Tickets$5.99

Questions

Is Puppet Pals free?
Puppet Pals is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Storybird free?
Storybird is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Puppet Pals or Storybird?
Puppet Pals is rated higher. Puppet Pals averages 3.8 out of 5 from 52 ratings, while Storybird averages 3.5 from 16 ratings.
Do Puppet Pals or Storybird have ads?
Neither Puppet Pals nor Storybird shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Puppet Pals or Storybird?
Puppet Pals ships an update every 6 months, and Storybird every 2 months. Most recently, Puppet Pals was updated on October 29, 2026 and Storybird on October 24, 2026.

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