Puppet Pals vs Number Pieces, by MLC
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 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
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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.
Number Pieces, by MLC
This app helps students grasp place value and computation with multi-digit numbers using interactive visual tools. Users can manipulate number pieces to add, subtract, multiply, and divide, fostering a deeper mathematical understanding.
- Manipulate ones, tens, and hundreds pieces
- Regroup pieces (e.g., 10 ones to 1 ten)
- Measure array dimensions with an edge piece
- Use drawing and text tools for annotations
- Zoom, scroll, and hide/reveal work
- Share work via image save or share code
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Number Pieces helps students develop a deeper understanding of place value while building their computation skills with multi-digit numbers. Students use the number pieces to represent multi-digit numbers, regroup, add, subtract, multiply, and divide. FEATURES • Add and manipulate pieces (ones, tens, and hundreds). • Change the starting set of pieces to a basic or an advanced set. • Join pieces in groups of ten or break them apart (e.g., 10 ones into 1 ten and vice versa). • Use the expanding edge piece like a measuring tape to show the dimensions of arrays created with the pieces. • Choose from three different colors to clearly identify groups or pieces. • Move, rotate, and duplicate pieces individually or as a group. • Use the drawing tools to label representations and show understanding. • Add equations, expressions, and descriptions with the math text and writing tools. • Zoom and scroll to work with larger collections of pieces. • Hide and reveal work with resizable covers to create your own problems and model strategies. • Share your work by saving an image or providing a share code to others. MORE APPS For more Number Pieces resources and other apps, visit: www.mathlearningcenter.org/apps LEARN MORE To learn about Bridges in Mathematics, an elementary curriculum that employs visual models like number pieces, visit: www.mathlearningcenter.org/bridges/overview ABOUT US This resource is brought to you by The Math Learning Center, a nonprofit organization dedicated to K-12 education since 1976. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Number Pieces was made possible by a generous donation from Dr. David Moursund. This app was crafted by Clarity Innovations. We help improve teaching and learning by creating solutions that match promising technologies with the needs of education. Visit us: www.clarity-innovations.com
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Number Pieces, by MLC at none against Puppet Pals's 10. Number Pieces, by MLC also leads on review sentiment (88% vs 71%) and iOS requirement (14.7 vs 17.0). 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
Both are free to download. Puppet Pals sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Number Pieces, by MLC asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 3.8 for Puppet Pals against 3.9 for Number Pieces, by MLC. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 52 and 22 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 71% of Puppet Pals's written reviews are positive against 88% of Number Pieces, by MLC's.
Puppet Pals ships an update every 6 months, Number Pieces, by MLC every 9 months. Both last shipped on October 23, 2026.
| Parameter | Puppet Pals | Number Pieces, by MLC |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.8 (52 ratings) | 3.9 (22 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 71.0% of reviews | 87.5% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 52 — better | 22 |
| Update frequency | Every 6 months — better | Every 9 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad — better | iPad |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 14.7 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 77 MB | 8 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Polished Play, LLC | The Math Learning Center |
Customer experience
Puppet Pals
Number Pieces, by MLC
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
Number Pieces, by MLC
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Puppet Pals
- Wild West$0.99
- Political Par-tay$0.99
- Monsters$0.99
Show 7 moreShow fewer
- 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
Number Pieces, by MLC
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Puppet Pals free?
Is Number Pieces, by MLC free?
Which has better reviews, Puppet Pals or Number Pieces, by MLC?
Do Puppet Pals or Number Pieces, by MLC have ads?
Which is updated more often, Puppet Pals or Number Pieces, by MLC?
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