Comparison

BrainPOP Jr. vs DreamBox Math

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • Animated movies
  • Interactive activities
  • Quizzes
  • K-3 curriculum
  • Critical thinking focus
  • Independent learning
Read full description

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/

About

DreamBox Math

This digital math program offers interactive, game-like lessons for PreK-8 students. Its adaptive technology personalizes learning, while parent and educator dashboards provide insights into progress and proficiency. Available in English and Spanish, it supports conceptual understanding and critical thinking.

Highlights
  • Adaptive learning technology
  • Interactive game-like lessons
  • Personalized learning paths
  • Conceptual understanding development
  • Parent and educator dashboards
  • Bilingual (English/Spanish) lessons
  • Aligned to state standards
Read full description

DreamBox Learning Award-winning PreK-8 digital math program developed by educators with proven effectiveness. Awarded Best Math Learning Solution in 2019 by the EdTech Breakthrough Awards and scoring the highest privacy rating by Common Sense Media, DreamBox is meaningful screen-time that kids love! What You Need to Know About DreamBox: • Independent studies from Harvard and SRI found that kids who use DreamBox 60 minutes per week improved their math scores by 60% more than kids who don’t use DreamBox. • Interactive lessons with a game-like experience keep kids engaged – serious learning that’s seriously fun! • Adaptive technology meets each learner right where they are and adjusts based on how kids are solving problems for a truly personalized learning experience that’s age and grade agnostic. • Rigorous curriculum and rich learning pathways develop conceptual understanding, critical thinking, mental math skills, and procedural fluency. • Students learn independently with built-in help and in-the-moment scaffolding for “just in time” support tailored to their unique needs. • All student lessons are available either in English or Spanish and have closed captioning. • Parent and Educator Dashboards provide insight into each child’s growth and proficiency to help identify learning needs and celebrate learning milestones. • Using math proficiency insights, parents and educators can assign specific concepts or skills based on areas where additional support is needed. • Reporting aligned to all state standards. • Available for either school or home accounts. For school accounts, a school login is required. Contact your school for set-up instructions. By downloading the DreamBox Math app, students will have access to its full preK-8 curriculum. “DreamBox is such a fun platform for learning math for my kids. We have been using it for three years, sometimes as a primary resource and sometimes as a supplement to another program. Even when choosing another program, we keep the DreamBox subscription as a "go to" when the kids are feeling less motivated for book work.” — Fonda, Parent “DreamBox is awesome! My kiddo loves it and looks forward to playing on it. I love that they are learning so much, and that they think it's a game!” — Jules, Parent “DreamBox helps students understand the background information; making them stronger mathematically, conceptually, and helping them fully understand the material. That’s what I like. They’re walking away with a deeper understanding of math.” — Amber, Teacher “DreamBox allows our teachers to really provide in-the-moment differentiation to reach each student where they are.” — Leia, Principal

Screenshots

BrainPOP Jr.4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: BrainPOP Jr. at 72% against DreamBox Math's 23%. BrainPOP Jr. also leads on rating (4.6 vs 3.0) and ratings volume (21K vs 673). DreamBox Math's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 5). On price, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. BrainPOP Jr. sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. DreamBox Math asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

BrainPOP Jr. holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: BrainPOP Jr. has 21K ratings behind it against 673, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 72% of BrainPOP Jr.'s written reviews are positive against 23% of DreamBox Math's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

BrainPOP Jr. ships an update every 6 weeks, DreamBox Math every 2 months. Both last shipped on October 16, 2026.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
BrainPOP Jr. versus DreamBox Math: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBrainPOP Jr.DreamBox Math
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (21K ratings) — better3.0 (673 ratings)
Positive reviews72.3% of reviews — better22.7% of reviews
Number of ratings21K — better673
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeks — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterSubscription
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV — betteriPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size24 MB4 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBrainPOP®DreamBox Learning, Inc.

Customer experience

BrainPOP Jr.

All ratings20,857 ratings
Positive90.3%
Neutral4.2%
Negative5.6%
Written reviews188 reviews
Positive72.3%
Neutral8.5%
Negative19.1%

DreamBox Math

All ratings673 ratings
Positive48.1%
Neutral5.6%
Negative46.2%
Written reviews309 reviews
Positive22.7%
Neutral6.1%
Negative71.2%

User reviews

BrainPOP Jr.

From 21K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 💡 Makes learning fun
  • 👍 Engaging videos and quizzes
  • 👍 Helpful for homeschooling and supplemental learning
  • 👍 Informative and educational content
  • 👍 Funny and entertaining

Room to improve

  • 💰 Expensive subscription
  • 💰 Lack of free content
  • 🐛 Crashes and technical issues
  • 👎 Limited content selection

DreamBox Math

From 673 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🤗 Fun and engaging
  • 💡 Adaptive to user's level
  • 👍 Helps improve math skills

Room to improve

  • 🤖 Annoying AI assistant
  • 🤯 Lessons too difficult or confusing
  • 🕰️ Lessons take too long to complete
  • 🙄 Lack of clear explanations
  • 🤬 Incorrect answers marked as wrong

Bugs and 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

DreamBox Math

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • App crashes and freezes
  • Glitches with lesson progress tracking
  • Compatibility issues on certain devices

Requested features

4 requests
  • Allow skipping of explanations
  • Provide more detailed feedback on mistakes
  • Offer different difficulty levels for lessons
  • Improve game mechanics and mini-games

In-app purchases

5 purchases

BrainPOP Jr.

Subscriptions5
  • BrainPOP Jr. Explorer Subscription$3.991 Month
  • Full Access Monthly14 Days trial$14.991 Month
  • BrainPOP Jr. Monthly Combo14 Days trial$19.991 Month
Show 2 more
  • Full Access Yearly14 Days trial$119.001 Year
  • BrainPOP Jr. Yearly Combo14 Days trial$159.991 Year
None

DreamBox Math

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is BrainPOP Jr. free?
BrainPOP Jr. is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is DreamBox Math free?
DreamBox Math is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, BrainPOP Jr. or DreamBox Math?
BrainPOP Jr. is rated higher. BrainPOP Jr. averages 4.6 out of 5 from 21K ratings, while DreamBox Math averages 3.0 from 673 ratings.
Do BrainPOP Jr. or DreamBox Math have ads?
Neither BrainPOP Jr. nor DreamBox Math shows ads.
Which is updated more often, BrainPOP Jr. or DreamBox Math?
BrainPOP Jr. ships an update every 6 weeks, and DreamBox Math every 2 months. Most recently, BrainPOP Jr. was updated on October 16, 2026 and DreamBox Math on October 16, 2026.

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