# Puppet Pals vs Explain 3D FREE

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.

Both are free to download. Puppet Pals sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Explain 3D FREE asks for nothing beyond the download.

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.

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

## The numbers

| Metric | Puppet Pals | Explain 3D FREE |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[3.8 (53 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/puppet-pals/id342076546/reviews)** | [2.0 (5 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/explain-3d-free-understand-how-stuff-works/id968247111/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **53** | 5 |
| Positive reviews | **70.9% of reviews** | 14.3% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 6 months | **Every 6 weeks** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Free** |
| Size | 77 MB | 84 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | **9.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Polished Play, LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/332686547) | [Explain 3D](https://appshunter.io/developer/1019479194) |

## 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


### Explain 3D FREE

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/explain-3d-free-understand-how-stuff-works/id968247111)

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:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked 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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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*