# Pickatale vs PictoBlox

The clearest difference is rating: Pickatale at 4.0 against PictoBlox's 3.4. Pickatale also leads on update cadence (monthly vs every 14 months). PictoBlox's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 7) and ratings volume (59 vs 6). On price, review sentiment, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Pickatale sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $8.99 per month. PictoBlox asks for nothing beyond the download.

Pickatale holds the better App Store score, 4.0 against 3.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: PictoBlox has 59 ratings behind it against 6, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 42% of Pickatale's written reviews are positive against 48% of PictoBlox's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Pickatale ships an update monthly, PictoBlox every 14 months. The most recent releases landed on October 17, 2026 and October 21, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Pickatale | PictoBlox |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.0 (6 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pickatale/id669433655/reviews)** | [3.4 (59 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pictoblox-coding-robots-and-ai/id1554839634/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 6 | **59** |
| Positive reviews | 42.3% of reviews | **48.1% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Monthly** | Every 14 months |
| Monetization | Subscription | **Free** |
| Size | 122 MB | 178 MB |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | **14.3** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Pickatale AS](https://appshunter.io/developer/602599556) | [STEMpedia](https://appshunter.io/developer/1472734454) |

## What reviewers say

### Pickatale

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pickatale/id669433655)

This app offers unlimited access to thousands of narrated and illustrated books for children aged 4-11, designed to improve reading confidence. It features curated reading stages, comprehension quizzes, and an AI-powered book creator for educators.

**Highlights:** Unlimited narrated books, Illustrated children's books, Reading stages categorization, Reading comprehension quizzes, AI-powered book creator, Teacher dashboard

**In-app purchases (7)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly subscription | $8.99 | per month |
| Pickatale Monthly Subscription | $8.99 | per month |
| Pickatale Pro Monthly Subscription | $17.99 | per month |
| Pickatale Yearly subscription | $43.99 | per year |
| Teacher Monthly | $69.00 | per month |
| Pickatale Pro Yearly Subscription | $87.99 | per year |
| Teacher Yearly | $690.00 | per year |


### PictoBlox

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pictoblox-coding-robots-and-ai/id1554839634)

Learn to code with a block-based platform that integrates robotics, AI, and machine learning. Create games, animations, and control hardware using intuitive drag-and-drop Scratch blocks. Ideal for beginners to develop 21st-century skills.

**Highlights:** Block-based coding, Robotics control, AI and Machine Learning, IoT projects, Game and animation creation, Hardware interaction

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Great for learning AI
- 👍 Good for robotics
- 👍 Intuitive block interface
- 👍 Fun for beginners
- 👍 Good for short projects

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Buggy and glitches
- 🐛 Projects not saving
- 🐛 Freezes and crashes
- 🐛 Lagging issues
- 🐛 Difficult to navigate

**Reported bugs**

- Birthday date not appearing during account creation
- Purple screen and reset when saving project
- Microphone activated unexpectedly
- Space instead of left arrow in hat block
- Projects not saving on iPad and laptops

**Requested features**

- Zoom in feature for drawing
- Pixelated text option
- Custom controls (thumbsticks, levers)
- Move variables with finger
- Drag code to other sprites


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Pickatale free?

Pickatale is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is PictoBlox free?

PictoBlox is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Pickatale or PictoBlox?

Pickatale is rated higher. Pickatale averages 4.0 out of 5 from 6 ratings, while PictoBlox averages 3.4 from 59 ratings.

### Do Pickatale or PictoBlox have ads?

Neither Pickatale nor PictoBlox shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Pickatale or PictoBlox?

Pickatale ships an update monthly, and PictoBlox every 14 months. Most recently, Pickatale was updated on October 17, 2026 and PictoBlox on October 21, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*