Comparison

Itsy Bitsy Spider vs Philips Scan Buddy

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

Head to head
About

Itsy Bitsy Spider

An interactive and educational retelling of a classic nursery rhyme for young children. Features include hidden surprises, sing-along recording, and mini-games that teach counting and nature.

Highlights
  • Interactive illustrations with hidden surprises
  • Record your own voice singing
  • Learn about nature with Cloe the fly
  • Counting activities with a squirrel
  • Play peek-a-boo with a frog
  • Watch a caterpillar transform
Read full description

An award-winning original tribute to a childhood classic, Itsy Bitsy Spider offers children a fun, interactive and educational experience. AGES: 2-5. OVERVIEW - 100% interactive illustrations with hidden surprises on every page - Easy navigation – just poke the spider to move to the next scene - Use the record feature to sing along CATEGORY: Nursery Rhyme ACTIVITIES - FOLLOW the spider on an adventure – up, down and all around - LEARN about the environment and nature from Cloe the fly - COUNT with a squirrel as he builds his house - PLAY peek-a-boo with a frog - SING along and record your own voice - LISTEN to classical music performed on a violin and cello - WATCH a caterpillar become a beautiful butterfly
 - COLLECT colorful eggs on the spider web AWARDS - Parents’ Choice Gold Award - Parents’ Choice Foundation - Children’s Technology Review Editor’s Choice Award for Excellence in Design ABOUT DUCK DUCK MOOSE (A subsidiary of Khan Academy) Duck Duck Moose, an award-winning creator of educational mobile apps for families, is a passionate team of engineers, artists, designers, and educators. Founded in 2008, the company has created 21 top-selling titles and has received 21 Parents’ Choice Awards, 18 Children’s Technology Review Awards, 12 Tech with Kids’ Best Pick App Awards, and a KAPi award for “Best Children’s App” at the International Consumer Electronics Show. Khan Academy is a nonprofit with a mission to provide a free, world-class education for anyone, anywhere. Duck Duck Moose is now part of the Khan Academy family. Like all Khan Academy offerings, all Duck Duck Moose apps are now 100% free, without ads or subscriptions. For kids ages 2-7, don't miss Khan Academy Kids, our new early learning app to help young children with reading, writing, math and social-emotional development! We’d love to hear from you! Visit us at www.duckduckmoose.com or drop us a line at support@duckduckmoose.com.

About

Philips Scan Buddy

This app prepares children for MRI exams through interactive games and educational content. It uses a cartoon world and a familiarization framework to reduce anxiety and help kids feel more in control during the procedure.

Highlights
  • Interactive cartoon world
  • Familiarize, Inform, Train (FIT) framework
  • Introductory movie
  • MRI game simulation
  • Augmented Reality scanner exploration
  • Sticker hunt game
  • Parental information module
Features
Read full description

Note: The Scan Buddy App is part of the Pediatric Coaching solution and a code is provided by your healthcare provider to guide you through the upcoming examination. An MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) examination can provide a wealth of information to your child’s paediatrician. But for children, undergoing an MRI exam can be a stressful experience. Tapping into the wonderment of this new experience, the Scan Buddy App engages your child on his/her level with an easy-to-enjoy cartoon world of Scan Buddies, so you and your child can undergo the MRI exam with confidence, distracted from fears. It will help your child to feel more in control. The Scan Buddy App is developed following the Familiarize, Inform, and Train (FIT) framework and consists of 4 modules. The intro movie gives an overview of the procedures, steps, spaces, and people that the child will encounter. The MRI scanner is introduced in a non-threatening way, which explains why metal items are not allowed, and the child gets familiarized with the strange MRI sounds during the scan. In the MRI game, the child gets to help one of the Scan Buddies (Ollie) with her MRI scan. The game starts with the child having to remove the metal items from Ollie. And when Ollie is on the MRI table, the child gets to identify the right equipment for the scan such as earplugs, headphones, and head coil. When the table with Ollie slides into the MRI scanner, the child has to keep the phone or tablet still to help Ollie lie still during her scan. While kids practice lying still or holding still, they are again exposed to MRI sounds. The Augmented Reality game helps the child explore what an MRI scanner looks like. A sticker hunt game engages the child to walk around the MRI scanner and find stickers, which unlock educational material to further de-mystify the machine and process. The adult information module has an educational and a practising skills section providing general information and suggestions about MRI scans to parents and caregivers. In case you face any problems with the app ,kindly reach us on helpdesk.ae@philips.com.

Screenshots

Philips Scan Buddy4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Philips Scan Buddy at 5.0 against Itsy Bitsy Spider's 4.2. Philips Scan Buddy also leads on device support (3 vs 1). Itsy Bitsy Spider's advantage is ratings volume (40 vs 1) and iOS requirement (9.0 vs 14.0). 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Philips Scan Buddy holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Itsy Bitsy Spider has 40 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 7 months. The most recent releases landed on October 1, 2026 and September 13, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Itsy Bitsy Spider versus Philips Scan Buddy: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterItsy Bitsy SpiderPhilips Scan Buddy
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.2 (40 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews70.5% of reviews—
Number of ratings40 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 7 monthsEvery 7 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS9.0 — better14.0
Further details — not scored
Size26 MB217 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDuck Duck Moose LLCPhilips Electronics North America Corporation

Customer experience

Itsy Bitsy Spider

All ratings40 ratings
Positive80.0%
Neutral2.5%
Negative17.5%
Written reviews105 reviews
Positive70.5%
Neutral9.5%
Negative20.0%

Philips Scan Buddy

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Itsy Bitsy Spider

Reported bugs

7 issues
  • App won't progress past opening screen after iOS 13 update
  • App won't open at all after recent update
  • Stuck on first page with no way to turn pages
  • Sound not working despite troubleshooting
  • Program crashes and requires restart to change pages
Show 2 more
  • App incompatible with iPad HD version
  • Freezes and performance issues

Requested features

8 requests
  • More nursery rhymes in similar format
  • Additional screens and content
  • Female or child voice option for singing
  • More verses of Itsy Bitsy Spider incorporated
  • Automatic music playback option
Show 3 more
  • Multi-touch support for simultaneous screen touches
  • Ability to switch singer voice
  • More interactive activities and projects

Philips Scan Buddy

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Itsy Bitsy Spider

No in-app purchases

None

Philips Scan Buddy

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Itsy Bitsy Spider free?
Itsy Bitsy Spider is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Philips Scan Buddy free?
Philips Scan Buddy is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Itsy Bitsy Spider or Philips Scan Buddy?
Philips Scan Buddy is rated higher. Itsy Bitsy Spider averages 4.2 out of 5 from 40 ratings, while Philips Scan Buddy averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Itsy Bitsy Spider or Philips Scan Buddy have ads?
Neither Itsy Bitsy Spider nor Philips Scan Buddy shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Itsy Bitsy Spider or Philips Scan Buddy?
Itsy Bitsy Spider ships an update every 7 months, and Philips Scan Buddy every 7 months. Most recently, Itsy Bitsy Spider was updated on October 1, 2026 and Philips Scan Buddy on September 13, 2026.

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