# Puppet Pals vs PuppetMaster

Puppet Pals and PuppetMaster both sit at 3.8 stars, but that hides the real split: 71% of Puppet Pals's written reviews are positive against 39% of PuppetMaster's. PuppetMaster's advantage is update cadence (monthly vs every 6 months) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 17.0). On price, rating, ratings volume and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Puppet Pals sells 10 one-off in-app purchases and PuppetMaster sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

PuppetMaster holds the better App Store score, 4.0 against 3.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 50 and 52 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 71% of Puppet Pals's written reviews are positive against 39% of PuppetMaster'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, PuppetMaster monthly. The most recent releases landed on August 27, 2026 and September 20, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Puppet Pals | PuppetMaster |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [3.8 (50 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/puppet-pals/id342076546/reviews) | **[4.0 (52 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/puppetmaster/id438080891/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 50 | **52** |
| Positive reviews | **71.0% of reviews** | 39.5% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 6 months | **Monthly** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 77 MB | 415 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | **13.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Polished Play, LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/332686547) | [Shmonster LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/438080894) |

## 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


### PuppetMaster

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/puppetmaster/id438080891)

Create animated videos by acting out scenes or touching the screen. Record your voice to bring characters to life in real-time. Features motion capture, multi-touch control, and the ability to use custom puppets and backgrounds.

**Highlights:** Real-time animation, Motion capture, Multi-touch animation, Create custom puppets, Create custom backgrounds, Export and share videos

**In-app purchases (6)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Creative Kids' Activities | $2.99 | per month |
| Animation | $2.99 | per month |
| Creative Kids' Activities | $24.99 | per year |
| Animation | $24.99 | per year |
| Animation | $2.99 | one-time |
| Animation | $24.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Puppet Pals free?

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

### Is PuppetMaster free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Puppet Pals or PuppetMaster?

PuppetMaster is rated higher. Puppet Pals averages 3.8 out of 5 from 50 ratings, while PuppetMaster averages 4.0 from 52 ratings.

### Do Puppet Pals or PuppetMaster have ads?

Neither Puppet Pals nor PuppetMaster shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Puppet Pals or PuppetMaster?

Puppet Pals ships an update every 6 months, and PuppetMaster monthly. Most recently, Puppet Pals was updated on August 27, 2026 and PuppetMaster on September 20, 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.*