Comparison

PLAY vs Animate Me

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

Head to head
About

PLAY

This app uses virtual Play-Doh to teach children the alphabet. Kids can trace letters, learn new vocabulary, and create custom Play-Doh scenes. It also includes letter matching games and progress tracking for parents.

Highlights
  • Virtual Play-Doh letter tracing
  • Vocabulary association with letters
  • Customizable Play-Doh creations
  • Play-Doh scene building
  • Letter matching games
  • Progress tracking for parents
Features
Read full description

“Top 20 Best Apps of the Week” - The Guardian UK “The perfect blend of nostalgia and learning opportunities” - About.com “Fun, mess free way for learning”-Yahoo Voices “Well-thought out, educationally beneficial, colorful”- The Learning Treehouse “Completely transforms the way kids interact with technology” - Appshappens.com Learn your ABCs using ‘virtual’ PLAY-DOH modeling compound with this delightfully interactive educational app! PLAY-DOH Create ABCs application is designed to help children develop the essential skills required for reading and writing. Using this app, children will learn to: recognize letters, write letters using proper stroke order and associate letters with sounds. WRITE AND CRAFT! Learn how to write letters of the alphabet by using ‘virtual’ PLAY-DOH modeling compound. Discover new vocabulary words that start with the same letter. What starts with the letter A? An alligator! But be careful, it’s ready to chomp! When you successfully complete each letter, you are rewarded with a ‘virtual’ PLAY-DOH treat that you can create and customize. Want to change the color? Go ahead! Want to squish it? You can do that, too! CREATE AND SHARE! Build your own PLAY-DOH scenes with your PLAY-DOH creations. The PLAY-DOH gallery is just a click away on the ‘create and share’ button. There you can enjoy all the animated, colorful objects you make as you work your way through the letters of the alphabet. Select your favorite background and then bring PLAY-DOH scenes to life with custom PLAY-DOH pictures. Save your creations on your phone or tablet and share them with others! LETTER MATCHING Click on the ‘match’ button and you can enjoy a new activity: matching letters with the PLAY-DOH creations. The ‘match’ feature reinforces initial letter sounds by matching letters with objects that start with the same sound. A letter select screen allows you to play the activity on any letter you choose. Can you match the letters of the alphabet to the different PLAY-DOH creations? Give it a try! PLAY-DOH Create ABCs includes: -Tracing of uppercase and lowercase letters of the alphabet -Exciting ‘virtual’ PLAY-DOH treats -Poem and animations to re-enforce learning letter sounds -‘Squishable’ PLAY-DOH animations! -A matching activity to match letters with pictures -A letter select screen that allows children to choose any letter to play -A creativity zone, the PLAY-DOH gallery, where kids design custom PLAY-DOH scenes -A save-to-camera feature where parents can save and share their child’s colorful creations -Curriculum developed and reviewed by preschool education expert
s -Multiplayer profiles that allow more than one child to play and save their progress -Parental reporting to show progress PLAY-DOH Create ABCs will help children develop: -Language and pre-reading skills, including letter recognition and phonemic (sound) awareness and knowledge. - Fine motor skills and coordination -Their creativity via ‘learning by doing’ NOTE: Before you download this experience, please consider that this app contains in-app purchases that cost money. Additional content cannot be unlocked without spending money. ABOUT PLAYDATE DIGITAL PlayDate Digital Inc. is an emergent publisher of high-quality, interactive, mobile educational software for children. PlayDate Digital's products nurture children's emerging literacy and creativity skills by turning digital screens into engaging experiences. PlayDate Digital content is built in partnership with some of the world's most trusted global brands for kids. Visit us: playdatedigital.com Like us: facebook.com/playdatedigital Follow us: @playdatedigital Watch all our app trailers: youtube.com/PlayDateDigital1 HAVE QUESTIONS? We'd love to hear from you! Your questions suggestions and comments are always welcome. Contact us 24/7 at info@playdatedigital.com

About

Animate Me

Learn to create 3D animations with pre-built characters and intuitive controls. This app teaches the fundamentals of animation through video tutorials, allowing kids to showcase their creativity and storytelling skills. Share your animated creations with friends and family.

Highlights
  • Create 3D animations
  • Pre-built 3D characters
  • Simple controls
  • Intuitive workflow
  • Video tutorials
  • Share creations
Read full description

Create 3D animations of cartoons in a simple and intuitive manner on your tablet or phone. If you ever wondered how they bring characters to life in animation movies like Frozen or Toy Story, this app is for you. Kids can learn to make 3D animations that showcase their creativity and storytelling abilities. *9 Pre-built 3D cartoon characters lets kids quickly and effortlessly learn the basics of 3D animation. *Make 3D cartoons walk, run, jump and talk with simple controls and an intuitive workflow. *Designed by animators from the ground up, this app is an excellent way for kids to learn animation. *Contains video tutorials such as walking, talking and acting to teach the fundamentals of animation. *Upload to YouTube to share creations with your friends and family

Screenshots

PLAY4 screens
Animate Me4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: PLAY at Free against Animate Me's $4.99. PLAY also leads on rating (4.4 vs 3.0) and update cadence (every 2 months vs every 37 months). Animate Me's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and iOS requirement (9.0 vs 13.0). 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

PLAY is free to download; Animate Me costs $4.99 up front. PLAY sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Animate Me asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

PLAY holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: PLAY has 25 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PLAY ships an update every 2 months, Animate Me every 37 months. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
PLAY versus Animate Me: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPLAYAnimate Me
PriceFree — better$4.99
Rating4.4 (25 ratings) — better3.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews51.2% of reviews—
Number of ratings25 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 2 months — betterEvery 37 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.09.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size243 MB239 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPlayDate DigitalArjun Gupte

Customer experience

PLAY

All ratings25 ratings
Positive84.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative16.0%
Written reviews84 reviews
Positive51.2%
Neutral2.4%
Negative46.4%

Animate Me

All ratings1 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral100.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

2 purchases

PLAY

One-time2
  • Remove Ads$1.99
  • Unlock All Alphabets$3.99
None

Animate Me

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is PLAY free?
PLAY is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Animate Me free?
Animate Me costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, PLAY or Animate Me?
PLAY is rated higher. PLAY averages 4.4 out of 5 from 25 ratings, while Animate Me averages 3.0 from 1 ratings.
Do PLAY or Animate Me have ads?
Neither PLAY nor Animate Me shows ads.
Which is updated more often, PLAY or Animate Me?
PLAY ships an update every 2 months, and Animate Me every 37 months. Most recently, PLAY was updated on October 15, 2026 and Animate Me on October 7, 2026.

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