DRAWNIMAL vs Simple Machines by Tinybop
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
DRAWNIMAL
This app combines drawing and learning the alphabet by having children draw animals around a device. It encourages creative thinking and offers a fun, interactive way to practice letters with animations and audio.
- Draw and animate animals
- Learn the alphabet creatively
- Interactive drawing experience
- Supports 35 animals
- Available in 5 languages
- No internet or ads
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Draw funny animals! Learn the alphabet! Expand your device with pen and paper! DRAWNIMAL is a unique app where kids draw adorable animals while learning the alphabet. With your phone or tablet placed on paper, kids select an animal face from the alphabet menu and draw around the device. The app then instructs how to draw the rest of the animal body. The digital screen is inventively extended with a simple physical interaction, which encourages kids to think outside the box. Hilarious and delightful animations motivate to keep learning. Our primary goal with the app was to expand your device by using simple tangible tools like pen and paper. Features: + Play with up to 35 animals + Get the first 5 animals (A-E) for free + Draw animals and see them come alive with animation + Practice the alphabet in a creative and interactive way + Switch between 5 languages + Lively animations and impressive audio + No failing, no goal, no wrong or right + Supports all iPads and iPhones with iOS 16 or later + No internet access needed! + No advertisements! Available in 5 languages with full voice acting: English, Spanish, German, French and Italian! Learn more about YATATOY: yatatoy.com Contact us for assistance or to give feedback: https://yatatoy.com/info/ MADE BY YATATOY
Simple Machines by Tinybop
Explore the playful side of physics and learn about simple machines through interactive experiments. Kids can discover how levers, pulleys, and other mechanisms work by building and testing them in a digital sandbox environment. This app is designed to spark curiosity and understanding of scientific principles.
- Explore 6 simple machines
- Experiment with real-world physics
- Investigate physics at work
- Learn about force and motion
- Kid-friendly design
- Interactive labels in 40+ languages
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Explore the playful side of physics! “I just love how apps like these get kids genuinely excited about science." — COOL MOM TECH Experiment with levers, pulleys, inclined planes, inclined planes, wedges, wheel and axles, and screws. Discover how they work and investigate the invisible forces behind them in this sandbox app. Destroy a castle, make music, send satellites into orbit & more! *** App Store Editor's Choice *** *** Parents’ Choice Gold Award winner *** Simple Machines integrates with STEM curriculum: kids can alter and test each machine to learn about force and motion, actions and reactions, inputs and outputs, conservation of energy, mechanical advantages, and tradeoffs. Get free activity sheets at tinybop.com. Simple Machines is No. 4 in Tinybop’s Explorer’s Library series, designed for curious kids ages 4+ to dive deep into big ideas. The apps in this series have won Best of the App Store, App Store Editors’ Choice, Parents’ Choice, and Children's Technology Review Editor’s Choice awards. Features: * Explore 6 simple machines: levers, pulleys, inclined planes, wedges, wheel and axles, and screws. * Experiment with real world physics, actions and reactions, inputs and outputs. Learn about force and motion. * Investigate the physics at work behind each machine. * Sophisticated sound design rewards experimentation. * Original artwork by James Gilleard. * Smart features use your device’s camera to bring your kids’ world into the app. * Learn new vocabulary in 40+ languages with interactive labels. * Intuitive, safe, and kid-friendly design. * Entertaining for kids and adults alike. FREE handbook Our expert-reviewed handbook is full of facts, interaction hints, and discussion questions to support learning in this app, in the classroom or at home. Download in your app or at: http://tinybop.com/handbooks. Privacy Policy We take your and your child’s privacy very seriously. We do not collect or share personal information about your child, nor do we allow any third-party advertising. When the camera, microphone, and other services are used within an app, your information is neither collected nor distributed outside of the app. Read our complete privacy policy at tinybop.com. Tinybop, Inc. is a Brooklyn-based studio of designers, engineers, and artists. We make toys for tomorrow. We’re all over the internet. Visit us: www.tinybop.com Follow us: twitter.com/tinybop Like us: facebook.com/tinybop Peek behind the scenes: instagram.com/tinybop We love hearing your stories! If you have ideas, or something isn’t working as you expect it to, please contact us: hi@tinybop.com. Compatible with iPhone 5, 5s, 5c, 6, 6 Plus, iPod touch (5th generation), iPad 2, 3, mini, and Air. **This app is optimized for iPad 2 and iPhone 5 or higher. Requires iOS 7.0 or later. psst! It's not Tiny Bop, or Tiny Bob, or Tiny Pop. It's Tinybop.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: DRAWNIMAL at Free against Simple Machines by Tinybop's $2.99. DRAWNIMAL also leads on rating (4.2 vs 3.7) and review sentiment (64% vs 37%). Simple Machines by Tinybop's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 4) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 16.0). On ratings volume, update cadence, ads 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
DRAWNIMAL is free to download; Simple Machines by Tinybop costs $2.99 up front. DRAWNIMAL sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Simple Machines by Tinybop asks for nothing beyond the download.
DRAWNIMAL holds the better App Store score, 4.2 against 3.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 135 and 62 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 64% of DRAWNIMAL's written reviews are positive against 37% of Simple Machines by Tinybop's.
DRAWNIMAL ships an update every 3 months, Simple Machines by Tinybop every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on October 8, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | DRAWNIMAL | Simple Machines by Tinybop |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $2.99 |
| Rating | 4.2 (135 ratings) — better | 3.7 (62 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 63.9% of reviews — better | 37.4% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 135 — better | 62 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months — better | Every 4 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | 12.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 69 MB | 112 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | YATATOY | Tinybop Inc. |
Customer experience
DRAWNIMAL
Simple Machines by Tinybop
User reviews
DRAWNIMAL
From 135 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Engaging and creative app
- 🎨 Fun drawing experience
- 🌍 Available in multiple languages
- 🤗 Great for kids and adults
- 💡 Encourages creativity and imagination
Room to improve
- 🐛 Crashes and compatibility issues
- 📄 Requires physical paper and pen
- 🔍 Limited content (only up to letter C)
- 🔊 Inconsistent audio (e.g. 'zed' instead of 'zee')
- 🎨 Some animal illustrations not very recognizable
Simple Machines by Tinybop
From 62 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🎨 Beautiful graphics and design
- 🧠 Educational and informative
- 👨👩👧👦 Good for kids and learning
- 💡 Sparks curiosity and imagination
- 👍 Intuitive and easy to use
Room to improve
- 😴 Boring and repetitive
- 💸 Expensive for limited content
- 🤷♂️ Lacks clear goals or objectives
- 🤏 Limited interaction and content
- 🚫 Not a game, more of a toy
Bugs and requests
DRAWNIMAL
Reported bugs
4 issues- Crashes on launch
- Unable to progress past letter C
- Swipe gesture not working as expected
- Compatibility issues with newer iOS versions
Requested features
5 requests- Expand content to full alphabet
- Allow in-app drawing without physical paper
- Add more animal options
- Improve audio consistency across languages
- Introduce a 'sounds' mode to focus on letter sounds
Simple Machines by Tinybop
Reported bugs
8 issues- Crashes immediately on launch
- Cannot install after purchase
- App crashes after loading screen
- No sound
- Does not work
Show 3 moreShow fewer
- Download issues
- Does not open
- Chinese language not displayed
Requested features
8 requests- Add a creative building mode
- More levels and modules
- Sandbox mode
- Ability to build own machines
- More interactive elements
Show 3 moreShow fewer
- Add more complex mechanisms
- Improve wheel and axle interaction
- Allow bringing up planets in pulley game
In-app purchases
DRAWNIMAL
- Letter Pack 1$2.49
- Letter Pack 2$2.49
- Letter Pack 3$2.49
Show 1 moreShow fewer
- All letter packs$4.99
Simple Machines by Tinybop
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is DRAWNIMAL free?
Is Simple Machines by Tinybop free?
Which has better reviews, DRAWNIMAL or Simple Machines by Tinybop?
Do DRAWNIMAL or Simple Machines by Tinybop have ads?
Which is updated more often, DRAWNIMAL or Simple Machines by Tinybop?
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