# Puppet Pals vs Number Pieces, by MLC

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.

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. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 23, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Puppet Pals | Number Pieces, by MLC |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [3.8 (52 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/puppet-pals/id342076546/reviews) | **[3.9 (22 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/number-pieces-by-mlc/id605433778/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **52** | 22 |
| Positive reviews | 71.0% of reviews | **87.5% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 6 months** | Every 9 months |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Free** |
| Size | 77 MB | 8 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | **14.7** |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad** | iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Polished Play, LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/332686547) | [The Math Learning Center](https://appshunter.io/developer/1542700905) |

## 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


### Number Pieces, by MLC

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/number-pieces-by-mlc/id605433778)

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.

**Highlights:** 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

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Puppet Pals free?

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

### Is Number Pieces, by MLC free?

Number Pieces, by MLC is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Puppet Pals or Number Pieces, by MLC?

Number Pieces, by MLC is rated higher. Puppet Pals averages 3.8 out of 5 from 52 ratings, while Number Pieces, by MLC averages 3.9 from 22 ratings.

### Do Puppet Pals or Number Pieces, by MLC have ads?

Neither Puppet Pals nor Number Pieces, by MLC shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Puppet Pals or Number Pieces, by MLC?

Puppet Pals ships an update every 6 months, and Number Pieces, by MLC every 9 months. Most recently, Puppet Pals was updated on October 29, 2026 and Number Pieces, by MLC on October 23, 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.*