Circuit Playground vs Simple Circuit Builder
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Circuit Playground
This app serves as a comprehensive electronics reference and calculation tool. It helps makers and hobbyists by simplifying complex calculations for various circuits, deciphering component codes, and providing essential diagrams.
- Circuit value calculations
- Resistor and capacitor code deciphering
- Ohm's Law and power calculators
- Number and character conversions
- Series/parallel component calculations
- IC and connector pinout diagrams
Read full descriptionHide full description
Circuit Playground simplifies electronics reference & calculation – so you can have more fun hacking, making, & building your projects. Features: • Calculate component values for Op Amp, 555, RC Filter, Resistor Divider circuits & more • Decipher resistor & capacitor codes with ease • Calculate power, resistance, current, and voltage with Ohm's Law & Power Calculators • Quickly convert between decimal, hexadecimal, binary or ASCII characters • Calculate values for multiple resistors or capacitors in series or parallel • Pinout diagrams for widely-used ICs, connectors, & boards • Find color for LED wavelength • Detect a magnet's polarity • Show off your project by submitting pics to Adafruit's Show & Tell • Access exclusive deals from Adafruit Industries All that, plus more functions & enhancements to come!
Simple Circuit Builder
This virtual lab offers a hands-on experience for learning about resistors and circuit resistance. Easily build and test series and parallel circuits, measure voltage and current, and understand the impact of component changes in real-time.
- Build circuits with up to eight components
- Five component types
- Virtual volt and amp meters
- Adjustable resistor and voltage values
- Real-time circuit analysis
- Demonstrates 'Opens' and 'Shorts'
Read full descriptionHide full description
Description This is the BEST app to learn about Resistors and Circuit Resistance (Equivalent Resistance). This virtual lab provides an excellent environment for anyone who is interested in understanding series and parallel resistors, learning how to measure voltages across resistors, current through series and parallel circuits and solving simple circuits. Features - VERY SIMPLE and EASY TO USE, with up to eight component sections. - Component sections can easily be configured from five different types. - VIRTUAL "Hands On" experience using volt and amp meters. - Resistor values can easily be changed with a picker, keypad or using randomize button. - Circuit voltage can easily be changed from 1 to 1000 volts with a picker or a keypad. - The "Basics" screen make this app unique for the simplicity and speed of seeing the effects of "Opens" (resistor component with infinite resistance) and "Shorts" (resistor component with zero resistance). - FREE and NO ADVERTISEMENTS. - The circuit is always "LIVE" and immediately shows voltage, current and circuit resistance with any changes made to the circuit.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Simple Circuit Builder at Free against Circuit Playground's $2.99. Simple Circuit Builder also leads on update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 6 weeks). Circuit Playground's advantage is review sentiment (86% vs 53%) and rating (4.3 vs 4.0). On ratings volume, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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
Simple Circuit Builder is free to download; Circuit Playground costs $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Circuit Playground holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 4.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 19 and 28 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 86% of Circuit Playground's written reviews are positive against 53% of Simple Circuit Builder's.
Circuit Playground ships an update every 6 weeks, Simple Circuit Builder every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and June 4, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Circuit Playground | Simple Circuit Builder |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $2.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.3 (19 ratings) — better | 4.0 (28 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 86.0% of reviews — better | 52.6% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 19 | 28 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Best chart rank | #193 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 14.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 27 MB | 14 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Adafruit Industries | David White |
Customer experience
Circuit Playground
Simple Circuit Builder
Bugs and requests
Circuit Playground
Reported bugs
10 issues- App crashes when opening multiple capacitors section
- LED Resistor Help Menu crashes the app
- Wavelength to Colour slider inoperable until text field activated
- Capacitor code function broken (incorrect default values)
- Number converter only accepts value 50
Show 5 moreShow fewer
- Resistor color codes show conflicting color solutions
- iPad side-wiping error with page ghosting
- Calculator input issues requiring excessive fiddling
- Document folder missing in version 2
- Crashes on iPad mini 1st generation
Requested features
21 requests- Update USB Type-C connector information
- Add transistor pinouts and HFE values
- Transistor and op-amp calculators
- Voltage divider calculator
- Arduino and Raspberry Pi pinout references
Show 16 moreShow fewer
- More Adafruit board pinouts (HATs, KiPPAHs, TFT, Trinkets)
- LED parallel circuit handling
- Logic gate truth tables (NAND, AND, NOR, etc.)
- Function generator with sine, square, sawtooth, triangle waves
- Tuned LC circuit calculator
- NPN and PNP transistor calculator
- Mica capacitor color codes for vintage radios
- Better PDF datasheet import (via Safari/Dropbox instead of iTunes)
- Ability to rename datasheets for easier identification
- Breadboard templates for drawing
- Number keypad instead of full keyboard for inputs
- Power dissipation calculations on resistor calculator
- Schematic symbol reference
- iCloud syncing for datasheets
- Direct browsing of Adafruit store within app
- iOS 11+ compatibility updates
Simple Circuit Builder
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Circuit Playground
No in-app purchases
Simple Circuit Builder
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Circuit Playground free?
Is Simple Circuit Builder free?
Which has better reviews, Circuit Playground or Simple Circuit Builder?
Do Circuit Playground or Simple Circuit Builder have ads?
Which is updated more often, Circuit Playground or Simple Circuit Builder?
Other comparisons
