# Puppet Pals vs Home on the Range

The clearest difference is rating: Home on the Range at 5.0 against Puppet Pals's 3.8. Home on the Range also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 10) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 17.0). Puppet Pals's advantage is update cadence (every 6 months vs every 70 months) and ratings volume (53 vs 1). 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. Home on the Range asks for nothing beyond the download.

Home on the Range holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Puppet Pals has 53 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

Puppet Pals ships an update every 6 months, Home on the Range every 70 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Puppet Pals | Home on the Range |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [3.8 (53 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/puppet-pals/id342076546/reviews) | **[5.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/home-on-the-range/id1471647296/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **53** | 1 |
| Positive reviews | 70.9% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 6 months** | Every 70 months |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Free** |
| Size | 77 MB | 84 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | **12.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Polished Play, LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/332686547) | [Smithsonian Institution](https://appshunter.io/developer/370564865) |

## 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


### Home on the Range

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/home-on-the-range/id1471647296)

Explore plant and animal habitats through interactive questions. This simulation aligns with a grade 2 life science module focused on finding optimal growing conditions for plants.

**Highlights:** Habitat and range questions, Plant and animal focus, Grade 2 life science alignment, Interactive simulation, Smithsonian curriculum resource

**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 Home on the Range free?

Home on the Range is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Puppet Pals or Home on the Range?

Home on the Range is rated higher. Puppet Pals averages 3.8 out of 5 from 53 ratings, while Home on the Range averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.

### Do Puppet Pals or Home on the Range have ads?

Neither Puppet Pals nor Home on the Range shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Puppet Pals or Home on the Range?

Puppet Pals ships an update every 6 months, and Home on the Range every 70 months. Most recently, Puppet Pals was updated on November 1, 2026 and Home on the Range on October 29, 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.*