Shutterbugs vs Osmo Coding Jam
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Shutterbugs
Explore the Smithsonian's National Zoo and capture photos of animals in motion. This game teaches about movement and motion through interactive play with various zoo creatures. Printable coloring pages of your favorite animals are also included.
- Animal photography
- Learn about movement
- Explore National Zoo
- Printable coloring pages
- Interactive gameplay
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Lions! Pandas! Naked mole rats? Come visit them all at Smithsonian’s National Zoo. We are on the lookout for animals that are swimming, running, wiggling, and stomping. Grab a camera and take some pictures of animals on the move! Designed for the home and classroom by the Smithsonian Science Education Center and Filament Games, this game teaches students how to describe movement and motion while visiting rare animals at the Smithsonian National Zoological Park. Each animal has coloring-page printouts, so you can print and color your favorite critter.
Osmo Coding Jam
This app allows children to create original music by arranging physical coding blocks into patterns and sequences. It offers over 300 musical sounds and enables kids to record and share their compositions with others. It's a STEAM-based experience that teaches coding fundamentals through music.
- Create music with physical coding blocks
- Compose original tunes
- Over 300 musical sounds
- Record and share music
- Learn coding fundamentals
- Develop rhythm and melody skills
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Explore the creative side of coding with hands-on music-making! In Osmo’s Coding Jam, kids arrange physical coding blocks into patterns and sequences to compose original tunes. The game comes with over 300 musical sounds to produce the perfect song. Kids can safely record and share their music with friends, family and the Jam community. “a STEAM-based experience that promotes creative problem-solving.” - VentureBeat “Osmo Coding Jam teaches children coding with music” - Forbes About Osmo Coding Jam: 1. CREATE: Kids 5-12 use coding blocks to create explosive beats. 2. LEARN: Kids get to know coding’s creative side while developing an ear for rhythm, melody, and harmony. 3. SHARE: Once they’ve composed a jam, kids can safely share it with friends, family and the jam community. Learn with our hands-on coding language: Research shows that tangible blocks are a game changer when it comes to helping kids learn. Each of our blocks is a programming command kids can use to create unique jams. As they explore playing with coding blocks, the volume of fun — and learning — gets turned up! * Requires the Osmo Base and Coding Blocks. Each sold separately or as part of Osmo Coding Starter Kit or Osmo Coding Family Bundle. * Compatible with most iPads. Please see our device compatibility list here: https://support.playosmo.com/hc/articles/115010156067 About Osmo Osmo is using the screen to create a new healthy, hands-on learning experience that promotes creativity, problem-solving and social interaction. We do this with our reflective artificial intelligent technology.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is monetization model: Shutterbugs at free against Osmo Coding Jam's free with in-app purchases. Shutterbugs also leads on update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months) and iOS requirement (4.3 vs 15.0). Osmo Coding Jam's advantage is ratings volume (272 vs 6) and device support (3 vs 1). On price, rating, review sentiment 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.2 for Shutterbugs against 4.2 for Osmo Coding Jam. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Osmo Coding Jam has 272 ratings behind it against 6, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 75% of Shutterbugs's written reviews are positive against 68% of Osmo Coding Jam's.
Shutterbugs ships an update every 3 weeks, Osmo Coding Jam every 2 months. Both last shipped on November 6, 2026.
| Parameter | Shutterbugs | Osmo Coding Jam |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.2 (6 ratings) — better | 4.2 (272 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 75.0% of reviews — better | 68.3% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 6 | 272 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks — better | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 4.3 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 44 MB | 395 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Smithsonian Institution | Tangible Play |
Customer experience
Shutterbugs
Osmo Coding Jam
Bugs and requests
Shutterbugs
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Osmo Coding Jam
Reported bugs
16 issues- Not compatible with current generation of iPads
- App does not work after returning from a trip
- App crashes on opening
- Cannot play on iPad 10
- Glitches when coding a song
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- App no longer opens after last update
- App keeps crashing
- Pieces don't work and cameras glitchy
- Camera sensors different combos
- Loading stops halfway
- Does not recognize tiles
- Sound doesn't work on 2018 iPad
- Horrible detection of grey piece
- 4th level practice keeps crashing
- Blue coding blocks not recognized
- Songs not appearing in categories
Requested features
5 requests- Add more characters
- Add a trade character feature
- Add more updates
- Add a feature to create own musical characters
- Add engineer feature
In-app purchases
Shutterbugs
No in-app purchases
Osmo Coding Jam
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Shutterbugs free?
Is Osmo Coding Jam free?
Which has better reviews, Shutterbugs or Osmo Coding Jam?
Do Shutterbugs or Osmo Coding Jam have ads?
Which is updated more often, Shutterbugs or Osmo Coding Jam?
Other comparisons
