Comparison

BrainPOP vs Starfall

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

BrainPOP

This app offers award-winning animated educational videos, interactive activities, and quizzes designed by educators. It aims to transform passive screen time into active, enriched learning experiences for children in grades 3-8 across all subjects.

Highlights
  • Animated educational movies
  • Interactive activities
  • Quizzes
  • Content for grades 3-8
  • All subjects covered
  • Research-backed learning platform
Read full description

Access BrainPOP’s award-winning animated movies, activities and quizzes made by educators and replace your kids’ passive screen time with active, enriched learning. Start your free trial today to access content for grades 3-8 across all subjects. BrainPOP is a research-backed learning platform created by educators that know how kids learn best, and perfect for age-appropriate, independent learning. Start watching, learning, playing and growing with us! Terms of Use: https://www.brainpop.com/about/terms_of_use/ Privacy Policy: https://www.brainpop.com/about/privacy_policy/ User Agreement: https://www.brainpop.com/about/user_agreement/

About

Starfall

This app offers engaging reading and math activities for children from preschool to 5th grade. It features games, songs, and interactive lessons designed by educators to support early literacy and numeracy skills. The platform also includes accessibility features for children with impairments.

Highlights
  • Reading phonics and fluency
  • Math concepts and operations
  • Interactive games and songs
  • Accessibility features
  • Sequential learning objectives
  • Holiday activities and sing-alongs
Features
Read full description

Starfall® fun activities, games, and songs includes reading, math, music, and more – read, learn, and play preschool to fifth grade. Includes free and subscriber content. Starfall provides an Enhanced Accessible Index for children with visual, hearing, or mobility impairments. For more information, please contact Customer Service at (+1) 303-417-6414. Join Zac the Rat® and his friends on an exciting learning journey, starting with the ABCs and 123s and advancing up to grade 5 grammar and mathematics. Starfall's playful open format intuitively guides children through sequential learning objectives for reading, math, art, music, and social subjects like kindness and caring. *Highlights* *Reading (phonics, fluency, grammar) -- ABCs, Learn to Read, I’m Reading, Talking Library, Punctuation, Parts of Speech *Math -- Numbers, Addition and Subtraction, Multiplication and Division, Geometry and Measurement, Fractions *More -- Holiday Activities, Nursery Rhymes, Sing-Alongs, Interactive Calendar *Why Starfall* *Research based, teacher tested, child approved. The Starfall® systematic approach was created by experienced educators using time-tested instructional methods. *Try it for free. All of the basics for learning how to read are available to everyone. *No advertisements. Whether a free user or subscriber, you won’t see any ads. *Pass it forward! Subscribers gain access to hundreds of additional activities and support the free sections for others to enjoy. *What people are saying about Starfall* Listed on PC Magazine’s “15 best Online Learning Services for Kids,” Think Five’s “Top 5 Most Used Apps by Elementary Teachers,” and as one Parent's Magazine's "70 Best Apps for Families." "Kids can learn about letter recognition, phonics, and reading. Skill acquisition is appropriately gradual... Starfall does an excellent job of offering clear and intriguing early literacy lessons." —Common Sense Media “I truly believe that Starfall set the foundation for my future.” —Sarah, undergraduate at Stanford University *Subscription information* If you choose to purchase a Starfall subscription, a $5.99 (USD) payment will be applied to your Apple ID account upon confirmation of purchase and monthly after that. Your subscription will automatically renew unless you cancel at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. This subscription is valid only for home use. It can be used on devices signed in with your Apple ID, as well as any associated Family Sharing devices. *Additional Info* This app requires an internet connection and is intended for Pre-K, Kindergarten, and Grades 1-5. It also supports English language development, special education, and homeschool environments. Privacy Policy: https://teach.starfall.com/privacy Terms of Service: https://teach.starfall.com/terms The Starfall website and applications are program services of Starfall Education Foundation, a 501(c)(3) publicly supported nonprofit. Copyright © 2002–2024 by Starfall Education and its licensors. All rights reserved. Starfall® and Starfall.com® are registered trademarks in the U.S., the European Union, and various other countries.

Screenshots

BrainPOP4 screens
Starfall4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: BrainPOP at 4.7 against Starfall's 4.1. BrainPOP also leads on review sentiment (93% vs 75%) and ratings volume (34K vs 4.3K). Starfall's advantage is chart position (#197 vs unranked). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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. BrainPOP sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month and Starfall sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $5.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

BrainPOP holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: BrainPOP has 34K ratings behind it against 4.3K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 93% of BrainPOP's written reviews are positive against 75% of Starfall's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 months. Both last shipped on October 13, 2026.

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 level
BrainPOP versus Starfall: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBrainPOPStarfall
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (34K ratings) — better4.1 (4.3K ratings)
Positive reviews92.7% of reviews — better74.7% of reviews
Number of ratings34K — better4.3K
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFreemium
Best chart rank—#197 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.015.0
Further details — not scored
Size25 MB155 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBrainPOP®Starfall Education Foundation

Customer experience

BrainPOP

All ratings34,241 ratings
Positive93.5%
Neutral2.9%
Negative3.6%
Written reviews1,055 reviews
Positive92.7%
Neutral2.4%
Negative4.9%

Starfall

All ratings4,287 ratings
Positive74.9%
Neutral6.5%
Negative18.6%
Written reviews261 reviews
Positive74.7%
Neutral7.3%
Negative18.0%

User reviews

BrainPOP

From 34K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Fun and educational
  • 🚀 Helpful for learning
  • 👍 Great for kids
  • 👍 Funny and entertaining
  • 👍 Informative videos

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional crashes
  • 💰 Expensive subscription
  • 💰 Limited free content
  • 🙄 Biased or one-sided content
  • 🙄 Lacks detail in some topics

Starfall

From 4.3K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy and fun learning
  • 🎨 Engaging activities and games
  • 🧠 Helps with reading, math, and more
  • 🌟 Nostalgic childhood memories
  • 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Great for kids of all ages

Room to improve

  • 💰 Limited free content, requires subscription
  • 🔒 Difficulty managing parental controls
  • 🐛 Technical issues like crashes and freezes
  • 📱 Compatibility problems on mobile devices
  • 🔍 Repetitive content and lack of updates

Bugs and requests

BrainPOP

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Login issues
  • Playback problems
  • Syncing issues across devices

Requested features

5 requests
  • More topics and content
  • Lower subscription cost
  • Better organization of content
  • More character diversity
  • Support for older devices

Starfall

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Subscription issues and trouble logging in
  • Freezing and crashing on certain devices
  • Glitches in specific games and activities
  • Compatibility problems with newer OS versions
  • Incorrect pronunciation of numbers and dates

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add more advanced content for older kids
  • Improve accessibility for visually impaired users
  • Provide offline mode for use without internet
  • Allow customization of character and settings
  • Integrate with other educational platforms

In-app purchases

5 purchases

BrainPOP

Subscriptions5
  • BrainPOP Explorer Subscription$3.991 Month
  • BrainPOP Full Access14 Days trial$15.991 Month
  • BrainPOP Combo Monthly14 Days trial$19.991 Month
Show 2 more
  • BrainPOP Full Access Yearly14 Days trial$129.991 Year
  • BrainPOP Combo Yearly14 Days trial$159.991 Year
1 purchases

Starfall

Subscriptions1
  • Starfall Monthly$5.991 Month

Questions

Is BrainPOP free?
BrainPOP is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Starfall free?
Starfall is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, BrainPOP or Starfall?
BrainPOP is rated higher. BrainPOP averages 4.7 out of 5 from 34K ratings, while Starfall averages 4.1 from 4.3K ratings.
Do BrainPOP or Starfall have ads?
Neither BrainPOP nor Starfall shows ads.
Which is updated more often, BrainPOP or Starfall?
BrainPOP ships an update every 2 months, and Starfall every 2 months. Most recently, BrainPOP was updated on October 13, 2026 and Starfall on October 13, 2026.

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