Comparison

Puppet Pals vs Explain 3D FREE

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

Explain 3D FREE

Explore interactive 3D simulations to understand how various systems and objects function. This free version includes a 4-stroke engine simulation, with more available in the full version. It aims to make learning engaging and fun through detailed models and animations.

Highlights
  • Interactive 3D simulations
  • Understand how things work
  • Car engine simulation (free)
  • Detailed 3D models and animations
  • Engaging educational content
  • Intuitive interface
Features
Read full description

Explain3D success: ***TOP 25 GEW - Global start up competition finalist 2013 (http://www.cnbc.com/id/101168347/page/6)*** Explain3D is system of interactive simulations, that can help you to explain, how things work. Simulations are built in interactive 3D environment, which brings fun to education and helps understand the stuff. Simulations in FREE version: - Car workshop - 4 stroke engine, Simulations in FULLversion: - Car workshop - 4 stroke engine, Car clutch, Manual transmission, Disc brakes, Ignition system - Discover the Universe - ISS space station, Space shuttle, Solar system - Electricity around us - Hydroelectric dam, Wind turbine, Nuclear power plant - Transport simulations - Railroad switch, Submarine, Jet engine - Our homes - Lock and key, Elevator, Toilet, Desk Lamp - Tools - Jackhammer, Hand pump Features: - Interactive 3D environment - simple and intuitive interface - description of main parts of simulations / objects - nice 3D models and animations - great to make education more engaging and interesting

Screenshots

Puppet Pals4 screens
Explain 3D FREE4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Puppet Pals at 71% against Explain 3D FREE's 14%. Puppet Pals also leads on rating (3.8 vs 2.0) and ratings volume (53 vs 5). Explain 3D FREE's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 10) and update cadence (every 6 weeks vs every 6 months). On price, ads and device support 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. Explain 3D FREE asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Puppet Pals holds the better App Store score, 3.8 against 2.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Puppet Pals has 53 ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 71% of Puppet Pals's written reviews are positive against 14% of Explain 3D FREE's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Puppet Pals ships an update every 6 months, Explain 3D FREE every 6 weeks. Both last shipped on November 1, 2026.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Puppet Pals versus Explain 3D FREE: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPuppet PalsExplain 3D FREE
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.8 (53 ratings) — better2.0 (5 ratings)
Positive reviews70.9% of reviews — better14.3% of reviews
Number of ratings53 — better5
Update frequencyEvery 6 monthsEvery 6 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.09.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size77 MB84 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPolished Play, LLCExplain 3D

Customer experience

Puppet Pals

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

Explain 3D FREE

All ratings5 ratings
Positive20.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative80.0%
Written reviews7 reviews
Positive14.3%
Neutral28.6%
Negative57.1%

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

Explain 3D FREE

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

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

Explain 3D FREE

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Puppet Pals free?
Puppet Pals is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Explain 3D FREE free?
Explain 3D FREE is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Puppet Pals or Explain 3D FREE?
Puppet Pals is rated higher. Puppet Pals averages 3.8 out of 5 from 53 ratings, while Explain 3D FREE averages 2.0 from 5 ratings.
Do Puppet Pals or Explain 3D FREE have ads?
Neither Puppet Pals nor Explain 3D FREE shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Puppet Pals or Explain 3D FREE?
Puppet Pals ships an update every 6 months, and Explain 3D FREE every 6 weeks. Most recently, Puppet Pals was updated on November 1, 2026 and Explain 3D FREE on November 1, 2026.

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