Animata vs Smithsonian
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Animata
This app allows children to create their own animated movies by tapping to move characters, adding effects, and inserting personal photos. It offers various weather effects, theme songs, and sound effects to enhance storytelling and creativity.
- Intuitive tap-to-animate controls
- Character creation with personal photos
- Add effects, animations, and speech bubbles
- Variety of weather effects
- Studio-quality theme songs and custom music
- Sound effects for immersive experience
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Animata makes it magical — and ridiculously easy — for kids to create their very own animated movies. Just tap the screen to send characters on an adventure, then bring the scene to life with effects, music, and a big dose of imagination. As featured on the App Store's “Best for Kids.” A blank screen becomes a movie in minutes. No rules, no wrong answers — just play, create, and watch the story come alive. WHAT KIDS CAN MAKE • Tap-to-move animation — decide where characters go with a simple touch • Star in their own movie — drop in personal photos and turn them into characters • Speech bubbles & emoticons — give every character something to say • Weather magic — add rain, snow, or a full-on meteor shower • A real soundtrack — six studio-quality theme songs, or add your own music • Sound effects — the finishing touch for a movie that feels alive WHY PARENTS & TEACHERS LOVE ANIMATA • Sparks creativity, storytelling, and confidence • Simple enough for preschoolers, open-ended enough for big kids • Designed for ages 4+ with a clean, friendly interface • Screen time that creates instead of just consumes Whether it's a silly cartoon, a heartfelt story, or an epic adventure, Animata hands kids the studio — and the spotlight. Made with love. We'd love to see what your child creates! Questions or feedback? Reach us anytime at hello@ting.rocks.
Smithsonian
Explore a prehistoric world by digging for fossils and uncovering facts about dinosaurs. Earn coins to unlock new tools and learn about over 15 dinosaur species through interactive scenes and quizzes. Develop literacy and critical thinking skills with engaging educational content.
- Dig for fossils with virtual tools
- Learn facts about 15+ dinosaur species
- Unlock dinosaur cards with information
- Interactive prehistoric world exploration
- Earn coins for better digging tools
- Prehistoric quiz to test knowledge
- Phonetic spelling for vocabulary building
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Welcome to Digging for Dinosaurs – a gorgeous interactive app brought to you by The ©Smithsonian and PlayDate Digital! This is a must-have app for dino explorers of any age, where you can dig up fossils and open up a prehistoric world filled with facts, pterosaurs, giant sea reptiles and every kind of prehistoric dinosaur! EXPLORE every layer of a vibrant and prehistoric world with virtual fossil hunter tools! LEARN fun and surprising facts about Dinosaurs! DISCOVER the reptiles that flew, swam and stalked the Earth! Explore the different time periods when Dinosaurs dominated the land, air, and sea, through guided play, puzzles and digging up fossils and facts. The more you dig, the more you will discover! Earning coins let’s you select new more powerful tools to dig up our prehistoric past. Each new dig is an opportunity for budding paleontologists to crack rocks, brush away dirt, assemble fossils and uncover new dinosaurs and new dinosaur facts! Each dinosaur discovery is rewarded with interactive scenes packed with learning moments and interesting information. Collect all the creature cards and then come back for more! Think you know your dinosaurs facts? Test your knowledge with a Prehistoric Quiz, earn more dino coins, and keep digging with even better fossil hunting tools! We’ll see you at the dig site! Features: • Learn about more than 15 dinosaur species including Tyrannosaurus rex, Triceratops, and the Velociraptor! • Unlock dinosaur cards, packed with interesting info about each prehistoric creature you dig up! • Explore a prehistoric and interactive world that fills with more dinosaurs as you discover them! • Dig up fossils, test your dino knowledge, and collect creature cards! • Earn dino coins to unlock better digging tools—without spending any additional ‘real’ money! • Phonetic spelling helps you sound out and learn exciting new words • Engaging educational content and beautiful illustrations based on the original Dinosaurs book! • Learn about all the different Dinosaur ages! There is something for kids at every level in Digging For Dinosaurs - from cracking rocks and digging up fossils to brushing up on the latest Dino knowledge! Learning goals: • Dinosaur knowledge: Learn the names of dinosaurs, what they ate and how they lived. • Literacy Skills: practiced through reading and creative play about dinosaurs! • Vocabulary: Learn new words with phonetic spelling and pronunciation. • Critical thinking: learn what life was like for all the different types of dinosaurs in all their different environments and ages! ABOUT THE SMITHSONIAN The ©Smithsonian is the world’s largest museum and research complex, dedicated to public education, national service, and scholarship in the arts, ©Smithsonian sciences, and history. The name of the ©Smithsonian Institution and the sunburst logo are registered trademarks of the ©Smithsonian Institution. For more information, please visit www.si.edu ABOUT PLAYDATE DIGITAL PlayDate Digital Inc. is a 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
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Smithsonian at 100% against Animata's 0%. Smithsonian also leads on update cadence (every 6 months vs every 38 months) and device support (3 vs 1). Animata's advantage is price ($2.99 vs $3.99). On ads, in-app purchases 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
Animata costs $2.99 and Smithsonian $3.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Animata ships an update every 38 months, Smithsonian every 6 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 4, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Animata | Smithsonian |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $2.99 — better | $3.99 |
| Rating | — | 5.0 (6 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 0.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | — | 6 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 38 months | Every 6 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Devices | iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 84 MB | 440 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Ting Tze Chuen | PlayDate Digital Inc. |
Customer experience
Animata
Smithsonian
In-app purchases
Animata
No in-app purchases
Smithsonian
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Animata free?
Is Smithsonian free?
Do Animata or Smithsonian have ads?
Which is updated more often, Animata or Smithsonian?
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