# Puppet Pals vs Number Rack, by MLC

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.

Both are free to download. Puppet Pals sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Number Rack, by MLC asks for nothing beyond the download.

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.

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.

## The numbers

| Metric | Puppet Pals | Number Rack, by MLC |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[3.8 (50 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/puppet-pals/id342076546/reviews)** | [3.2 (9 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/number-rack-by-mlc/id1469094747/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **50** | 9 |
| Positive reviews | 71.0% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 6 months** | Every 25 months |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Free** |
| Size | 77 MB | 4 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | **14.7** |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad** | iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Polished Play, LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/332686547) | [The Math Learning Center](https://appshunter.io/developer/1542700905) |

## What reviewers say

### Puppet Pals

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/puppet-pals/id342076546)

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

**In-app purchases (10)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Wild West | $0.99 | one-time |
| Political Par-tay | $0.99 | one-time |
| Monsters | $0.99 | one-time |
| Talk Shows | $0.99 | one-time |
| Pirates | $0.99 | one-time |
| Fairytale | $0.99 | one-time |
| Zombie Attack | $0.99 | one-time |
| On the Farm | $0.99 | one-time |
| Christmas | $0.99 | one-time |
| Director's Pass | $3.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- ⭐ Great app for classrooms and education
- 🤩 Lots of fun and creativity
- 👍 Easy to use
- 💯 Awesome for making videos and animations
- 🎨 Ability to use own photos and characters

**What reviewers complain about**

- 💰 Many features require paid upgrade
- 🤬 Frustrating that you can't use own characters without paying
- 🐛 Bugs with exporting and saving videos
- 🙄 Limited free content

**Reported bugs**

- Crashes when trying to export videos
- Saved videos not playing back properly
- Issues with using own photos and characters

**Requested features**

- 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

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/number-rack-by-mlc/id1469094747)

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:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked 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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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*