iCircuit vs VibeBlocks
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
iCircuit
Design and simulate analog and digital electronic circuits in real-time. This app offers a comprehensive component library, built-in test equipment, and the ability to create custom elements. It's ideal for learning, prototyping, and validating designs without physical components.
- Real-time circuit simulation
- Extensive component library (300+)
- Built-in test equipment (multimeter, oscilloscope)
- Programmable Arduino and PIC microcontroller support
- Custom element creation and sharing
- Audio simulation
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iCircuit is the premier iPhone and iPad app for designing, simulating, and learning analog and digital electronics. Its advanced simulation engine provides real-time, always-on analysis so your circuits stay powered and live, just like working with real components. Use it like a CAD tool: add components, wire them up, and set their properties. But iCircuit is unlike typical CAD apps because it is always simulating. You do not stop to take a measurement or spend time configuring reports. Instead, you just play with the circuit as you normally would, with the power on. Build circuits with over 300 components, from simple resistors and LEDs to programmable Arduinos (Uno, Nano, Mega, ESP8266, ESP32), Raspberry Pi Pico boards running real MicroPython and CircuitPython, PIC microcontrollers, and 60 4000/7400-series digital ICs (more available with Pro). Connect elements, adjust values, and instantly see the results. BUILT-IN TEST EQUIPMENT • Multimeter: Probe any point to read voltage, current, and power • Oscilloscope: Track multiple signals with touch-controlled time scale, stacked/unstacked views, FFT analysis, and Bode plots • Gauges: Visualize voltages, currents, and frequencies directly in your circuit • Signal generators and configurable sources EXTENSIVE COMPONENT LIBRARY • Raspberry Pi Pico and Pico 2 running genuine MicroPython and CircuitPython firmware • Programmable Arduinos (Uno, Nano, Mega, ESP8266, ESP32) • Programmable PIC microcontrollers (assembly and HEX files, more available with Pro) • Power: Voltage regulators (78xx, LM317), sources, dependent sources, power jacks, and simulated antennas • Analog: Resistors, capacitors, inductors, diodes, BJTs, MOSFETs, thermistors, triodes, and tetrodes • Digital: Logic gates (AND, OR, NAND, NOR, XOR), JK and D flip-flops, and 60 4000/7400-series ICs (180+ available with Pro) • ADCs and DACs • Sensors and displays: LEDs, 7-segment, NeoPixels, matrix displays, thermistors • Electromechanical: Motors, servos, SPST/SPDT and DPST/DPDT switches, push buttons, relays, and speakers SPICE, VERILOG, AND VHDL Import vendor SPICE models and subcircuits and use them as components. Write Verilog or VHDL in the HDL element and wire it to the rest of your circuit. CREATE CUSTOM ELEMENTS Build sub-circuits and custom elements to componentize your designs and create reusable modules. Share your custom elements with others via the iCircuit Gallery. AUDIO SIMULATION Hear your circuits. Speakers, buzzers, and microphones produce real audio output. Perfect for students learning electronics, hobbyists prototyping projects, and engineers validating designs, all without burning out a single component. ABOUT ICIRCUIT PRO (OPTIONAL) iCircuit is a complete app with a one-time purchase. iCircuit Pro is optional and adds extra components (including more PICs and a larger 4000/7400 IC library) and helps fund ongoing development. Pro is not required for core simulation or everyday circuit design. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
VibeBlocks
This app offers a mobile-first solution for learning maker coding without a computer. It allows users to simulate and test Arduino projects, compile code directly, and learn through interactive block coding games and missions. Designed for both students and teachers, it supports various kits and provides comprehensive guidance.
- Computer-free Arduino project creation
- Smartphone-based block coding
- Circuit diagram identification and assembly guidance
- Code simulation and direct Arduino compilation
- Interactive coding games and missions
- Teacher guidance and class materials
- Support for multiple maker kits
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Turn an idea into a project you can run. VibeBlocks is a learning app where you practice using AI by making interactive art, Arduino circuits, micro:bit projects and games. Describe what you want, examine what AI creates, then run the result in the app. Use what you observe to ask for changes and make your instructions more precise. Start with a course or an idea of your own Follow lessons with a clear goal when you need a starting point. Read what a project should do, run it and observe the result. Then apply the approach to a project of your own, changing the colors, movement or response to an input. If you already have an idea, start a project and describe it to AI. Practice AI coding, step by step 1. Describe the behavior. Explain what you want to make and how it should respond. Your request becomes the prompt for the project. 2. Read what AI creates. Examine the code or blocks available in your project to see the sequence of actions, repeated behavior, and connections between inputs and outputs. 3. Run and check. Tap the screen, play the game or try a simulator input. Compare what happens with what you intended. 4. Ask for a change. Explain which part should behave differently, then run the project again. Practice reading, evaluating and improving AI-generated work. Make art that responds to a tap Create interactive visual effects, such as fireworks that respond when you tap the screen. Observe where and when the effect appears, and describe the colors or movement you want. Experiment with artwork that connects an input to a visible response. Try circuit projects in the Arduino simulator Build and run an Arduino circuit project without a physical board. For an LED that repeatedly turns on and off, observe how long each state lasts. Ask for a longer on-time or a faster blink, then compare the result. Explore how timing and repeated actions affect the circuit's behavior. Connect inputs and outputs with micro:bit Try button-and-LED projects in the micro:bit simulator. For example, start with a project that displays a heart when you press button A. Compare the LED display before and after the press to see how an input produces an output. You can practice in this simulator without a physical board too. Build a game and play it yourself Move the character and check whether the controls and difficulty feel the way you intended. Choose an element to adjust, describe the change to AI, and play again to examine the difference. Develop your idea through what you see and experience in the game. AI generation and Arduino simulation require an internet connection.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: VibeBlocks at Free against iCircuit's $12.99. VibeBlocks also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 2). iCircuit's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and ratings volume (156 vs 8). On rating, update cadence 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
VibeBlocks is free to download; iCircuit costs $12.99 up front. iCircuit sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. VibeBlocks asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 3.9 for iCircuit against 3.8 for VibeBlocks. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: iCircuit has 156 ratings behind it against 8, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 61% of iCircuit's written reviews are positive against 50% of VibeBlocks's.
iCircuit ships an update every 4 weeks, VibeBlocks every 2 weeks. Both last shipped on November 13, 2026.
| Parameter | iCircuit | VibeBlocks |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $12.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 3.9 (156 ratings) — better | 3.8 (8 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 61.2% of reviews — better | 50.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 156 — better | 8 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 weeks | Every 2 weeks — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Paid | Free with in-app purchases — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 179 MB | 149 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Krueger Systems, Inc. | Hayeon Jeong |
Customer experience
iCircuit
VibeBlocks
Bugs and requests
iCircuit
Reported bugs
4 issues- Oscilloscope and meter functions not working properly
- Saving and loading circuits can be unreliable
- Inconsistent behavior when rotating/flipping components
- Crashes when working with larger or more complex circuits
Requested features
5 requests- More components (e.g. transformers, triodes, MOSFETs)
- Ability to create custom components
- Frequency domain analysis (Bode plots, FFT)
- Improved wiring and component placement controls
- Better support for AC circuits and motors
VibeBlocks
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
iCircuit
- iCircuit Pro (Monthly)$1.991 Month
- iCircuit Pro (Yearly)$14.991 Year
VibeBlocks
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is iCircuit free?
Is VibeBlocks free?
Which has better reviews, iCircuit or VibeBlocks?
Do iCircuit or VibeBlocks have ads?
Which is updated more often, iCircuit or VibeBlocks?
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