Comparison

Puppet Pals vs Number Rack, by MLC

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

Number Rack, by MLC

This virtual manipulative tool helps children develop number sense through interactive bead groupings. It supports exploration of addition and subtraction strategies with customizable rows and colors. Ideal for elementary classrooms, it includes annotation and sharing features.

Highlights
  • 1-10 rows of 10 beads
  • Resizable bead covers for subtraction
  • Color-coded bead rows
  • Annotation and drawing tools
  • Math text and writing tools
  • Shareable work via image or code
Features
Read full description

Number Rack facilitates the natural development of children’s number sense. The movable, colored beads encourage learners to think in groups of fives and tens, helping them to explore and discover a variety of addition and subtraction strategies. This virtual version of the manipulative is an open-ended educational tool, ideal for elementary classrooms and other learning environments. FEATURES • Display 1 to 10 rows of beads, 10 beads per row. • Hide beads with resizable covers, which allows teachers or learners to model subtraction or difference problems. • Reverse the colors of rows 6 to 10 to distinguish (or not) groupings of 25 beads. • Use the drawing tools to annotate work and show understanding. • Add equations, expressions, and descriptions with the math text and writing tools. • Share work by saving an image or providing a share code to others. Great for creating the initial setup of an activity, then sharing it with students so they can explore it further.

Screenshots

Puppet Pals4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Puppet Pals at 3.8 against Number Rack, by MLC's 3.2. Puppet Pals also leads on update cadence (every 6 months vs every 25 months) and ratings volume (50 vs 9). Number Rack, by MLC's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 10) and review sentiment (100% vs 71%). 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. Number Rack, by MLC asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Puppet Pals holds the better App Store score, 3.8 against 3.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Puppet Pals has 50 ratings behind it against 9, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 71% of Puppet Pals's written reviews are positive against 100% of Number Rack, by MLC's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Puppet Pals ships an update every 6 months, Number Rack, by MLC every 25 months. The most recent releases landed on August 27, 2026 and June 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Puppet Pals versus Number Rack, by MLC: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPuppet PalsNumber Rack, by MLC
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.8 (50 ratings) — better3.2 (9 ratings)
Positive reviews71.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings50 — better9
Update frequencyEvery 6 months — betterEvery 25 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPad
Requires iOS17.014.7 — better
Further details — not scored
Size77 MB4 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPolished Play, LLCThe Math Learning Center

Customer experience

Puppet Pals

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

Number Rack, by MLC

All ratings9 ratings
Positive55.6%
Neutral0.0%
Negative44.4%
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

Number Rack, by MLC

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

Number Rack, by MLC

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Puppet Pals free?
Puppet Pals is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Number Rack, by MLC free?
Number Rack, by MLC is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Puppet Pals or Number Rack, by MLC?
Puppet Pals is rated higher. Puppet Pals averages 3.8 out of 5 from 50 ratings, while Number Rack, by MLC averages 3.2 from 9 ratings.
Do Puppet Pals or Number Rack, by MLC have ads?
Neither Puppet Pals nor Number Rack, by MLC shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Puppet Pals or Number Rack, by MLC?
Puppet Pals ships an update every 6 months, and Number Rack, by MLC every 25 months. Most recently, Puppet Pals was updated on August 27, 2026 and Number Rack, by MLC on June 24, 2026.

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