Comparison

PlayKids Learning Games vs Elmer’s Photo Patchwork

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

Head to head
About

PlayKids Learning Games

This app offers a safe, ad-free environment for children aged 2-12 to learn and play. It features over 1,000 educational cartoons, songs, and games developed by child development experts, covering subjects like math, phonics, and arts. Parents can control content and screen time for peace of mind.

Highlights
  • 1,000+ cartoons, songs, and games
  • Ad-free and KidSAFE certified
  • Content and screen time controls
  • Offline access with downloads
  • Original and exclusive content
  • Covers literature, math, music, and more
Read full description

Learning games, educational videos and creative activities for kids aged 0-8. 100% ad-free, works offline, trusted by over 70 million families since 2014. PlayKids Learning brings 18,000+ videos and 150+ learning games into one safe, ad-free app. Your child learns the alphabet, counts, solves puzzles, draws, paints, listens to stories and watches educational cartoons - while you get parental controls, screen-time limits and complete peace of mind. WHAT YOUR CHILD LEARNS - Alphabet and phonics: letters, sounds and first words - Numbers and math: counting, shapes and early problem solving - Logic and focus: puzzles, memory games and challenges - Drawing and coloring: creative activities that build fine motor skills - Stories and reading: interactive books that grow with your child - Kindness and teamwork: social-emotional learning in every episode WHY PARENTS CHOOSE PLAYKIDS - 100% ad-free: no ads, no pop-ups, no links out of the app - kidSAFE certified and COPPA compliant - Offline access: download videos and games for the car, the plane or anywhere without Wi-Fi - Parental controls for content filters and screen time - Works on every device in the house, for every child in the family - Built by specialists in early-childhood education and pedagogy - Recognized by Parents' Choice, NAPPA Awards and the Michael Cohen Group MADE FOR EVERY AGE - Babies and toddlers (0-2): songs, colors, first words and simple touch games - Preschool (3-5): alphabet, numbers, shapes, drawing and early reading - Kindergarten and up (5-8): math, logic, reading and creative projects SHOWS AND CHARACTERS KIDS LOVE Original PlayKids series including I Love to Learn, Junior on the Job, Kantala, SuperHands, ABC, Tiny Balloon and Lupi Club, plus favorite characters: Baby Shark, Talking Tom, Pocoyo, Masha and the Bear, Numberblocks, Hot Wheels and Bob Zoom. BEYOND THE SCREEN PlayKids encourages off-screen play too, with DIY projects, dancing and family activities, so learning does not stop when the app closes. SUBSCRIPTION DETAILS PlayKids Learning is a subscription that unlocks every video, game and activity. - Choose a monthly or annual plan - Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase - Subscriptions renew automatically unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period - Manage or cancel anytime in your Apple Account settings - Any unused portion of a free trial is forfeited when a subscription is purchased Privacy Policy: policies.playkidsapp.com/en/privacy Terms of Service: policies.playkidsapp.com/en/tos Help Center: help.playkids.com Content availability may vary by country.

About

Elmer’s Photo Patchwork

Decorate elephants for a parade by taking photos of the world around you. Use your camera to capture colors, shapes, and textures to create unique patchwork patterns for each of the ten elephants. This app encourages creativity and helps children develop an eye for composition and design.

Highlights
  • Decorate elephants with custom photo patterns
  • Use camera to capture real-world textures and colors
  • Create unique designs for ten different elephants
  • Develop an eye for composition, color, and pattern
  • Save and share creations
  • Ideal for children aged 3-8
Read full description

It’s nearly time for Elmer’s Parade, and his elephant friends need your help to get ready. Get creative, take inspiration from the world around you and use your camera to decorate the elephants with your own bright, beautiful patchwork pattern. Have fun making each of Elmer’s friends unique and ready to take part in the parade. “This is a brilliant app for getting your children out and about in the real world...Ideal for exploration to find interesting colours and shapes in the outside world.” – The Guardian “Elmer deserves a place in everyone’s childhood.” – Angels & Urchins “A deserved favourite.” – Sunday Times FILL PATCHES WITH YOUR CAMERA Use your camera to take photos of interesting shapes, colors and textures and add them to your elephant’s patchwork pattern. Make every one of Elmer’s friends colorful and unique. Each of the ten elephants has four patchwork patterns to choose from – combined with the photos you take, your parade will be truly one-of-a-kind! TELL A STORY WITH PATCHWORK The only limit to each photo-patchwork is your imagination. Try telling the story of your day in a series of photos. Capture your trip to the park or your visit to the museum in an unforgettable way. This way, like Elmer, each one of your elephants will be different and special. CREATE YOUR OWN PARADE Once you’ve decorated Elmer’s friend, save your creation to your camera roll. Then you can share them with your friends and family, or print and keep your patchwork creation with you. You could even fill your room with parading elephants! PARENTS AND EDUCATORS This app is ideal for children aged 3–8. While your child is having fun with this app, they will naturally be developing a photographer’s eye for composition, color, pattern and texture. We made this app so that children could fall in love with patchwork and photography as we have, and see the world as a work of art and an endless source of inspiration.

Screenshots

PlayKids Learning Games4 screens
Elmer’s Photo Patchwork4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: PlayKids Learning Games at Free against Elmer’s Photo Patchwork's $1.99. PlayKids Learning Games also leads on rating (4.2 vs 3.5) and review sentiment (52% vs 14%). Elmer’s Photo Patchwork's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 11) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.0). On ads 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

PlayKids Learning Games is free to download; Elmer’s Photo Patchwork costs $1.99 up front. PlayKids Learning Games sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Elmer’s Photo Patchwork asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

PlayKids Learning Games holds the better App Store score, 4.2 against 3.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: PlayKids Learning Games has 19K ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 52% of PlayKids Learning Games's written reviews are positive against 14% of Elmer’s Photo Patchwork's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PlayKids Learning Games ships an update weekly, Elmer’s Photo Patchwork every 19 months. The most recent releases landed on October 27, 2026 and October 19, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 2 level
PlayKids Learning Games versus Elmer’s Photo Patchwork: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPlayKids Learning GamesElmer’s Photo Patchwork
PriceFree — better$1.99
Rating4.2 (19K ratings) — better3.5 (2 ratings)
Positive reviews51.9% of reviews — better14.3% of reviews
Number of ratings19K — better2
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 19 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreemium — betterPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.012.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size206 MB66 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSandBox GroupNatureGuides Ltd.

Customer experience

PlayKids Learning Games

All ratings19,328 ratings
Positive79.8%
Neutral7.0%
Negative13.2%
Written reviews968 reviews
Positive51.9%
Neutral7.0%
Negative41.1%

Elmer’s Photo Patchwork

All ratings2 ratings
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%
Written reviews7 reviews
Positive14.3%
Neutral28.6%
Negative57.1%

Bugs and requests

PlayKids Learning Games

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Crashing on startup
  • Echoing audio
  • Tiny screen and controls in Voxel
  • Subscription issues

Requested features

5 requests
  • Bring back old features
  • More free content
  • Family sharing option
  • Improved parental controls
  • Better customer support

Elmer’s Photo Patchwork

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

10 purchases

PlayKids Learning Games

Subscriptions10
  • PlayKids Club$3.991 Month
  • PlayKids Club7 Days trial$3.991 Month
  • PlayKids Club$4.991 Month
Show 7 more
  • PlayKids Club7 Days trial$5.991 Month
  • Monthly Membership7 Days trial$6.991 Month
  • PlayKids Premium - UNLIMITED access to content across four apps7 Days trial2 variants$6.991 Month
  • Monthly Membership14 Days trial$7.991 Month
  • PlayKids Premium - Monthly3 Days trial$7.991 Month
  • PlayKids Premium - Monthly3 Days trial$8.991 Month
  • PlayKids Club7 Days trial$9.991 Month
None

Elmer’s Photo Patchwork

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is PlayKids Learning Games free?
PlayKids Learning Games is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Elmer’s Photo Patchwork free?
Elmer’s Photo Patchwork costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, PlayKids Learning Games or Elmer’s Photo Patchwork?
PlayKids Learning Games is rated higher. PlayKids Learning Games averages 4.2 out of 5 from 19K ratings, while Elmer’s Photo Patchwork averages 3.5 from 2 ratings.
Do PlayKids Learning Games or Elmer’s Photo Patchwork have ads?
Neither PlayKids Learning Games nor Elmer’s Photo Patchwork shows ads.
Which is updated more often, PlayKids Learning Games or Elmer’s Photo Patchwork?
PlayKids Learning Games ships an update weekly, and Elmer’s Photo Patchwork every 19 months. Most recently, PlayKids Learning Games was updated on October 27, 2026 and Elmer’s Photo Patchwork on October 19, 2026.

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