Comparison

Puppet Pals vs Maker Studio

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

Maker Studio

This app empowers children to unleash their creativity by building 3D worlds, animating characters, and drawing cartoons. Kids can design and share their projects as movies, flipbooks, or even 3D prints, with augmented reality features to bring creations to life.

Highlights
  • Create 3D worlds and cities
  • Animate characters
  • Draw 2D cartoons and flipbooks
  • 3D print creations
  • Augmented Reality projection
  • Stopmotion animation
  • Learn 2D/3D visualization
Read full description

Maker Studio is an all-in-on creativity app for kids which lets them create animations ,build worlds, draw shapes and share their creations with movies, flipbooks and 3d prints. **ONE WEEK FREE TRIAL!!** Create beautiful worlds and cities with simple taps, from giant windmills to craggy castles and add animals, humans and birds. "Walk" mode lets you create a character and walk around the world ,with the ability to customize your character with different costumes and colors. Make objects such as birds, animals, vehicles with simple taps and print them or project them in the real world with Augmented Reality Print mode allows parents to 3d print their kids creations in the real world Draw funny cartoons in 2d and print them out as flipbook or export out as movie. Use Apple Pencil or touch to make funny cartoons or beautiful animated backgrounds. Build cute 3D characters and animate them to walk, run and dance. Simple controls and video tutorials show step by step instructions on how to make 3D animations Explore clay animation with our simple to use Stopmotion app. Capture frames using the device's camera and time the frames to create your very own animated masterpiece! Build 2D shapes with simple drag and drop with an interactive mode on creating basic geometric shapes. Kids can learn how to visualize their creations in 2d and 3d with minimal instructions. **How To Videos show kids step by step how to use the app to make creations. *All the apps in Maker Studio have won awards from Purdue University, Children's Tech Review, Common Sense Media and been featured in Apple's Top Ten for Creativity with over 10 million downloads globally. Key Features of Maker Studio: • Parents get regular updates on their email showing kid's activities as screenshots • iCloud sync to make sure your kid's work stays safely on the cloud • Work offline and save all creations locally on device **Plus, members get access to our new apps and releases on a monthly basis Updates: https://makerstudiokids.com/update.html Highlights: • Unlimited access to our complete collection of games and activities, all in one kid-friendly app through COPPA and GPDR compliant • Pre-downloaded games without WiFi or internet, perfect for long roadtrips. • Exclusive content, updated monthly • One subscription across multiple devices • Members get early access to all new games and releases • Perfect for kids aged 4-9 • No ads or in-app purchases for members • Store all work across multiple devices using iCloud sync Subscription Details: New users will have access to a free trial at the time of sign-up! After your free trial, you can choose to subscribe on a Monthly or Annual basis. Subscription allows users to access all the app features based on a Monthly (every 30 days) or Annual (every year) basis. When you confirm your purchase, payment will be charged through your iTunes account. Your subscription will automatically renew unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period. * If you change your mind at any point, you can cancel anytime from App Store Subscription Settings. No cancellation fee would be charged. * Don’t want to auto-renew? Manage your account and renewal settings in your User Account Settings. * You can use your subscription on any device registered with your Apple ID. If you are facing any issues with the app, please reach out at support@appymonkeys.com. Privacy Policy & Terms of Use: We adhere to the strict guidelines set forth by COPPA (Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule), which ensures the protection of your child’s information online. Read our full privacy policy and Terms of Use: Privacy Policy & Terms Of Use https://appymonkeys.com/privacy_policy.html About Appy Monkeys Maker Studio is developed by Appy Monkeys, an award-winning company devoted to play and education. www.appymonkeys.com

Screenshots

Puppet Pals4 screens
Maker Studio4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Maker Studio at 4.4 against Puppet Pals's 3.8. Maker Studio also leads on update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 6 months) and ratings volume (430 vs 50). Puppet Pals's advantage is monetization model (free with in-app purchases vs subscription). On price, review sentiment, ads and in-app purchases 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 Maker Studio sells 2 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

Maker Studio holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 3.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Maker Studio has 430 ratings behind it against 50, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 71% and 71% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Puppet Pals ships an update every 6 months, Maker Studio every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 10, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Puppet Pals versus Maker Studio: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPuppet PalsMaker Studio
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.8 (50 ratings)4.4 (430 ratings) — better
Positive reviews71.0% of reviews71.2% of reviews — better
Number of ratings50430 — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterSubscription
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.011.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size77 MB802 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPolished Play, LLCArjun Gupte

Customer experience

Puppet Pals

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

Maker Studio

All ratings430 ratings
Positive83.3%
Neutral5.1%
Negative11.6%
Written reviews52 reviews
Positive71.2%
Neutral3.8%
Negative25.0%

User reviews

Puppet Pals

From 50 App Store ratings

What we love

  • ⭐ 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

Room to improve

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

Maker Studio

From 430 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🎨 Creative animation and 3D modeling tools
  • 👍 User-friendly interface for kids
  • 🎯 Educational and developmental value
  • 🌈 Colorful and engaging graphics
  • 📱 No ads in the app

Room to improve

  • 💰 Aggressive paywall after free trial
  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and data loss
  • ⚠️ Limited free content
  • 🔴 Performance issues and lag
  • 🎮 Confusing interface for beginners

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

Maker Studio

Reported bugs

7 issues
  • App crashes after 3 minutes of gameplay with data loss
  • Black screen appearing during gameplay
  • World building mode doesn't allow deletion or undo
  • Augmented reality missing delete functionality
  • iPad compatibility issues with city worlds
Show 2 more
  • Game freezes and lags during creation
  • Objects placed in world building cannot be removed

Requested features

8 requests
  • Delete/undo button for all activities and world building
  • Eraser tool for objects in activities
  • More character models
  • Walking/exploration in cities
  • More frequent content updates
Show 3 more
  • Better tutorials for first-time users
  • Minecraft-like features (mining, pets, exploration)
  • Bug fixes for world maker and advanced animation

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
2 purchases

Maker Studio

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly Subscription7 Days trial$4.991 Month
  • Annual Subscription7 Days trial$44.991 Year

Questions

Is Puppet Pals free?
Puppet Pals is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Maker Studio free?
Maker Studio is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Puppet Pals or Maker Studio?
Maker Studio is rated higher. Puppet Pals averages 3.8 out of 5 from 50 ratings, while Maker Studio averages 4.4 from 430 ratings.
Do Puppet Pals or Maker Studio have ads?
Neither Puppet Pals nor Maker Studio shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Puppet Pals or Maker Studio?
Puppet Pals ships an update every 6 months, and Maker Studio every 3 weeks. Most recently, Puppet Pals was updated on October 10, 2026 and Maker Studio on October 12, 2026.

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