Puppet Pals vs BrainPOP Jr.
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Puppet Pals
This app provides a complete toolkit for creating animated puppet shows, allowing students to draw custom characters, use photos, and access pre-loaded assets. It includes printable lesson plans for various subjects and is designed for safe, offline classroom use.
- Create animated puppet shows
- Draw custom characters and backdrops
- Use photos as characters/backgrounds
- Over 100 pre-loaded characters
- Printable lesson plans and resources
- Offline functionality
- No ads or in-app purchases
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The complete classroom storytelling toolkit Puppet Pals helps students bring learning to life through animated storytelling. Create book reports, historical reenactments, science explanations, and more — all with the magic of puppet theater. Everything included. No subscriptions. No in-app purchases. Unlimited characters! DRAW: Students can draw unlimited custom characters and backdrops, bringing any story to life. PHOTO: Students can turn any photo into a character or background. INCLUDED: Over 100 pre-loaded characters NEW: Printable Lesson Plans & Resources Ready-to-use activities aligned to curriculum standards: English Language Arts — Story structure, character development, dialogue History — "Interview a Historical Figure" projects, timeline presentations Science — Explain-a-concept projects, hypothesis presentations Social-Emotional Learning — Conflict resolution, feelings identification World Languages — Vocabulary skits, conversation practice Assessment rubrics included to evaluate student storytelling projects. Safe for schools: No online sharing or social features No accounts required No advertisements Works completely offline Perfect for elementary and middle school classrooms, homeschool families, speech therapy, and special education settings.
BrainPOP Jr.
This app offers engaging animated movies, interactive activities, and quizzes for K-3 learners. It aims to transform passive screen time into active, enriched educational experiences with relatable characters guiding children through various subjects. The platform is designed to foster critical thinking and independent learning.
- Animated movies
- Interactive activities
- Quizzes
- K-3 curriculum
- Critical thinking focus
- Independent learning
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Access BrainPOP Jr.’s award-winning animated movies, activities and quizzes made by educators and replace your kids’ passive screen time with active, enriched learning. The gentle, humorous, and relatable characters Annie and Moby serve as guides through each topic, empowering kids to form their own ideas. BrainPOP Jr. is designed to cultivate critical thinking skills and encourage children to ask questions and make connections. Start your free trial today to access content for grades K-3 across all subjects. BrainPOP Jr. 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/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: BrainPOP Jr. at Free against Puppet Pals's $6.99. BrainPOP Jr. also leads on rating (4.6 vs 4.1) and ratings volume (21K vs 13). Puppet Pals's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 5). On review sentiment, update cadence and ads 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
BrainPOP Jr. is free to download; Puppet Pals costs $6.99 up front. BrainPOP Jr. sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Puppet Pals asks for nothing beyond the download.
BrainPOP Jr. holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: BrainPOP Jr. has 21K ratings behind it against 13, 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 72% of BrainPOP Jr.'s.
Puppet Pals ships an update every 3 weeks, BrainPOP Jr. every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 10, 2026 and November 12, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Puppet Pals | BrainPOP Jr. |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $6.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.1 (13 ratings) | 4.6 (21K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 70.6% of reviews | 72.3% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 13 | 21K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks — better | Every 6 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | Free with in-app purchases — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 78 MB | 24 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Polished Play, LLC | BrainPOP® |
Customer experience
Puppet Pals
BrainPOP Jr.
Bugs and requests
Puppet Pals
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
BrainPOP Jr.
Reported bugs
3 issues- Crashes when trying to subscribe
- Videos not loading properly
- Quiz functionality not working
Requested features
5 requests- More free videos and content
- Lower subscription pricing
- Improved device compatibility
- Expanded topic coverage
- Better navigation and organization
In-app purchases
Puppet Pals
No in-app purchases
BrainPOP Jr.
- BrainPOP Jr. Explorer Subscription$3.991 Month
- Full Access Monthly14 Days trial$14.991 Month
- BrainPOP Jr. Monthly Combo14 Days trial$19.991 Month
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- Full Access Yearly14 Days trial$119.001 Year
- BrainPOP Jr. Yearly Combo14 Days trial$159.991 Year
Questions
Is Puppet Pals free?
Is BrainPOP Jr. free?
Which has better reviews, Puppet Pals or BrainPOP Jr.?
Do Puppet Pals or BrainPOP Jr. have ads?
Which is updated more often, Puppet Pals or BrainPOP Jr.?
Other comparisons
