# Puppet Pals vs HudsonAlpha iCell

The clearest difference is rating: Puppet Pals at 3.8 against HudsonAlpha iCell's 3.0. HudsonAlpha iCell's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 10) and update cadence (every 4 weeks vs every 6 months). On price, review sentiment, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Puppet Pals sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. HudsonAlpha iCell asks for nothing beyond the download.

Puppet Pals holds the better App Store score, 3.8 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: HudsonAlpha iCell has 296 ratings behind it against 52, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 71% of Puppet Pals's written reviews are positive against 70% of HudsonAlpha iCell's.

Puppet Pals ships an update every 6 months, HudsonAlpha iCell every 4 weeks. Both last shipped on November 10, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | Puppet Pals | HudsonAlpha iCell |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[3.8 (52 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/puppet-pals/id342076546/reviews)** | [3.0 (296 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hudsonalpha-icell/id364882015/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 52 | **296** |
| Positive reviews | **70.9% of reviews** | 69.8% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 6 months | **Every 4 weeks** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Free** |
| Size | 77 MB | 83 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | **8.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Polished Play, LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/332686547) | [HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology](https://appshunter.io/developer/364882018) |

## 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


### HudsonAlpha iCell

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hudsonalpha-icell/id364882015)

Explore the inner workings of animal, plant, and bacteria cells in a 3D interactive environment. Tap on cellular components to learn their names and functions. Rotate and zoom to get a comprehensive understanding of cellular biology.

**Highlights:** 3D interactive cell models, Animal, plant, and bacteria cell examples, Tap to select and learn organelle functions, Rotate and zoom functionality, Adjustable text size and description levels

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Helpful for learning about cells
- 🚀 Great 3D visuals and interactive features
- 💡 Different levels of complexity for various users
- 🎓 Useful for students and teachers

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Crashes and stability issues
- 🔍 Limited content and organelles covered
- 🤔 Lacking in-depth information and functionality
- 🙄 Boring and oversimplified for some users

**Reported bugs**

- Frequent crashes and app instability
- Compatibility issues with newer iOS versions
- Missing or incorrectly labeled organelles

**Requested features**

- Add more cell types (e.g. fungi, virus)
- Provide quizzing and assessment features
- Improve level of detail and explanations
- Allow users to explore cell structures in more depth


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Puppet Pals free?

Puppet Pals is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is HudsonAlpha iCell free?

HudsonAlpha iCell is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Puppet Pals or HudsonAlpha iCell?

Puppet Pals is rated higher. Puppet Pals averages 3.8 out of 5 from 52 ratings, while HudsonAlpha iCell averages 3.0 from 296 ratings.

### Do Puppet Pals or HudsonAlpha iCell have ads?

Neither Puppet Pals nor HudsonAlpha iCell shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Puppet Pals or HudsonAlpha iCell?

Puppet Pals ships an update every 6 months, and HudsonAlpha iCell every 4 weeks. Most recently, Puppet Pals was updated on November 10, 2026 and HudsonAlpha iCell on November 10, 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.*