Comparison

Puppet Pals vs iBrainstorm

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

iBrainstorm

This app allows users to capture and organize creative ideas on a digital canvas. Easily add notes, drawings, and arrange them visually. Share your brainstormed content seamlessly across devices.

Highlights
  • Multi-device collaboration
  • Add and drag-and-drop notes
  • Assign colors to notes
  • Digital drawing board
  • Zoom functionality
  • Capture and share ideas
Features
Read full description

Capturing and sharing your inner most creative genius has never been easier. Introducing the first multi-device collaboration tool from Universal Mind. From iPad to iPad with just a flick of the finger, iBrainstorm has set the bar and has redefined the very nature of collaboration. Add a note, then drag and drop it anywhere on the iPad's screen to create any desired order or pattern. Assign colors to give additional meaning or priority. Provide clarity to your students or classmates through simple organization. The iPad canvas also serves as a drawing board. Draw, erase or zoom in for tighter control. Everything is then captured for later. Show relationships between ideas or just capture your best stickman - it's easy. Think it. Share it. Love it!

Screenshots

Puppet Pals4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: iBrainstorm at none against Puppet Pals's 10. iBrainstorm also leads on iOS requirement (7.1 vs 17.0). Puppet Pals's advantage is review sentiment (71% vs 46%). On price, rating, ratings volume and update cadence 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. iBrainstorm asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 3.8 for Puppet Pals against 3.7 for iBrainstorm. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 52 and 25 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 71% of Puppet Pals's written reviews are positive against 46% of iBrainstorm's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Puppet Pals ships an update every 6 months, iBrainstorm every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 1, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Puppet Pals versus iBrainstorm: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPuppet PalsiBrainstorm
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.8 (52 ratings) — better3.7 (25 ratings)
Positive reviews70.9% of reviews — better45.6% of reviews
Number of ratings52 — better25
Update frequencyEvery 6 monthsEvery 4 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPad
Requires iOS17.07.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size77 MB11 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPolished Play, LLCErik Loehfelm

Customer experience

Puppet Pals

All ratings53 ratings
Positive69.8%
Neutral7.5%
Negative22.6%
Written reviews213 reviews
Positive70.9%
Neutral7.5%
Negative21.6%

iBrainstorm

All ratings25 ratings
Positive64.0%
Neutral8.0%
Negative28.0%
Written reviews149 reviews
Positive45.6%
Neutral25.5%
Negative28.9%

User reviews

Puppet Pals

From 52 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

iBrainstorm

From 25 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 💡 Great app for brainstorming and organizing ideas
  • 👍 Simple and intuitive to use
  • 🚀 Useful for quick note-taking and sketching
  • 👍 Nice visual design and layout

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional crashes or loss of data
  • 🔍 Limited functionality (e.g. no undo, no resizing of notes)
  • 🔍 Difficulty deleting or clearing the workspace
  • 🔍 Lack of collaboration features (e.g. no multi-user support)

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

iBrainstorm

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Sticky notes sometimes disappear after reopening the app
  • Drawing tools can be laggy or unresponsive
  • Difficulty connecting devices for collaboration

Requested features

6 requests
  • Add undo/redo functionality
  • Allow resizing and formatting of sticky notes
  • Implement multi-page or infinite workspace
  • Enable collaboration between multiple devices
  • Add support for inserting images and documents
Show 1 more
  • Improve eraser and drawing tools

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

iBrainstorm

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Puppet Pals free?
Puppet Pals is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is iBrainstorm free?
iBrainstorm is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Puppet Pals or iBrainstorm?
Puppet Pals is rated higher. Puppet Pals averages 3.8 out of 5 from 52 ratings, while iBrainstorm averages 3.7 from 25 ratings.
Do Puppet Pals or iBrainstorm have ads?
Neither Puppet Pals nor iBrainstorm shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Puppet Pals or iBrainstorm?
Puppet Pals ships an update every 6 months, and iBrainstorm every 4 months. Most recently, Puppet Pals was updated on November 6, 2026 and iBrainstorm on November 1, 2026.

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