# Puppet Pals vs EarthViewer

The clearest difference is rating: EarthViewer at 4.4 against Puppet Pals's 3.8. EarthViewer also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 10) and update cadence (every 2 months vs every 6 months). On price, ratings volume, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

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

EarthViewer holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 3.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 52 and 107 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 71% of Puppet Pals's written reviews are positive against 83% of EarthViewer's.

Puppet Pals ships an update every 6 months, EarthViewer every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 1, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Puppet Pals | EarthViewer |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [3.8 (52 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/puppet-pals/id342076546/reviews) | **[4.4 (107 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/earthviewer/id590208430/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 52 | **107** |
| Positive reviews | 70.9% of reviews | **83.1% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 6 months | **Every 2 months** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Free** |
| Size | 77 MB | 108 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | **9.3** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Polished Play, LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/332686547) | [Howard Hughes Medical Institute](https://appshunter.io/developer/411540290) |

## 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


### EarthViewer

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/earthviewer/id590208430)

Explore Earth's 4.5 billion-year history with this interactive time machine. See how continents, oceans, and climate have changed over eons, track landmarks and fossils, and visualize scientific data like temperature and biodiversity. Discover the dynamic evolution of our planet.

**Highlights:** Continental reconstructions over billions of years, Sea level and temperature maps, Track landmark and fossil movements, Visualize atmospheric composition and biodiversity, Explore geological eons, eras, and periods, Automated play modes and animations

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🌍 Comprehensive geological history visualization from 4.6 billion years ago to present
- 📚 Excellent educational resource for teachers and students
- 🎨 Beautiful and intuitive interface design
- 🆓 Free app with extensive features and data
- 🔄 Smooth continental drift animation and timeline controls

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🚫 Cannot exit app without force-closing or restarting device
- 🐛 App freezes when switching between map projections
- 📱 Not optimized for newer iOS versions
- 🌏 Australia appears incorrectly in ancient Earth viewer
- 🔲 Grid coordinates (lat/lon) not displaying properly

**Reported bugs**

- App cannot be closed normally - requires force quit or device restart
- App freezes when switching from flat map to globe view
- Australia appears in incorrect locations in ancient Earth viewer
- Grid coordinates (latitude/longitude) not displaying
- Globe transparency and image distortion on iPad

**Requested features**

- Add Pangea Proxima/Pangea Ultima supercontinent visualization
- Add Kenorland supercontinent (2500 Mya)
- Include future Earth continental drift predictions (0-250 million years)
- Add Pleistocene ice age details with smaller time increments
- Include ground-level view of Earth with animals and landscapes


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Puppet Pals free?

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

### Is EarthViewer free?

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

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

EarthViewer is rated higher. Puppet Pals averages 3.8 out of 5 from 52 ratings, while EarthViewer averages 4.4 from 107 ratings.

### Do Puppet Pals or EarthViewer have ads?

Neither Puppet Pals nor EarthViewer shows ads.

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

Puppet Pals ships an update every 6 months, and EarthViewer every 2 months. Most recently, Puppet Pals was updated on November 6, 2026 and EarthViewer on November 1, 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.*