Comparison

The Sandbox EDU vs ScratchUP

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

Head to head
About

The Sandbox EDU

This educational game allows children aged 6-12 to explore science, technology, art, and music through interactive play. It offers over 50 lessons and more than 150 elements for creative building and learning scientific concepts.

Highlights
  • Experiential learning of science, tech, art, music
  • Over 50 educational lessons
  • 150+ elements for creative building
  • Designed with classroom teachers
  • Save and share creations online
  • No in-app purchases or ads
Read full description

The Sandbox EDU is the perfect educational game for the “Maker” in you and your child. Specifically adapted for kids ages 6 to 12 and developed with classroom teachers as a complementary version of the popular game, The Sandbox (played by over 13 million people worldwide), The Sandbox EDU features original educative content supporting the experiential learning of science, technology, art and music! Your child can play, build and craft - whatever he/she wants - and learn to conduct scientific investigations and engineering design through inquiry-based problem solving in an open-ended world grounded by the laws of the universe. -= KEY FEATURES =- 1. Easy to install on your iPhone or iPad 2. Full Featured version with no additional in-app purchases or advertisements 3. 50+ lessons in Earth science ("Saving the EARTH"), lab science ("Inside the LAB"), electronic circuits ("Crazy Circuits"), pixel art ("Learn pixel ART") and music ("School of MUSIC") 4. Lessons designed with classroom teachers 5. Save and share your work in the online gallery 6. Explore 150+ elements in the open-ended CREATE mode -= WHAT CAN I LEARN WITH THE SANDBOX EDU? =- The Sandbox EDU can be used to support learning the following subjects: Environmental Science, Physics, Geology, Biology, Engineering, Mathematics, Electronics and Circuits, Pixel Art, Music, and Game Design. The Sandbox EDU promotes experiential learning, which is the process of making meaning from direct experience. Elemental interactions in the game serve as a foundation to enhance player understanding of the physical world. Some of the many reinforced concepts include: - Functions . Relationships between elements . Inputs and outputs for elementary reactions . Input/output machines - Chemistry experiments . States of matter: steam, water, ice . Water pollution: acid + water - Elemental reactions: climate change, pollution - Automated factories and clever contraptions with conveyor belts, lasers with many effects, pipes to move liquids, and led indicators. - Art projects . Pixel Art using 11 types of colored gems . Music using 5 different instruments: Piano, Guitar, Drums, Trumpet, Bass . Amazing light shows: with leds, metal and electrons, bright and bulbs, sensors that pulsate, and gamewall that changes colors. - Functional electronics projects with wireworld compliant rules (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wireworld) . Gates: and, or, xor, not, and more . More complex circuits: diodes, counters and memory - Probability/Random machines - Batteries — and battery chargers - Oil Lamps & Refineries - Operational Ecosystems: predator/prey relationships, habitats - Natural Phenomena: the water cycle, the weather system, erosion - Natural Disasters: volcanoes, earthquakes, tornados, tsunamis - Heat exchange: heating and cooling elements -= CRAFT, LEARN, PLAY AND SHARE! =- The open-ended nature of the game is reflected in the title. By enabling almost anyone to casually play and experiment with often advanced Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math (STEAM) concepts, it is a learning simulator as much as it is a world-building game, rewarding critical thinking, problem-solving, and risk-taking self-direction on the part of the player. The Sandbox EDU is a game that allows your kid to directly interact with STEAM concepts by solving problems, responding to scenarios, constructing or deconstructing environments, creating art, designing machines, tinkering with the elements, creating condensation & evaporation, and anything else you can image a digital sandbox of elements and tools would you let you do. -- PRIVACY POLICY -- Privacy is an issue that we take very seriously. This is why we are making sure The Sandbox EDU is COPPA compliant to protect the privacy of you and your children. -- FOLLOW US -- Twitter: http://twitter.com/thesandboxgame Facebook: http://facebook.com/thesandboxgame

About

ScratchUP

This app allows users to learn, teach, and play with code. It offers a variety of features for creating educational activities, including sensor integration, machine learning capabilities, and math tools. Compatible with Scratch files, it provides an offline coding experience for students and educators.

Highlights
  • Scratch file compatibility (.sb2, .sb3)
  • Sensor event integration (touch, keyboard, camera, Bluetooth)
  • Machine learning for object and sound recognition
  • Body detection, Handpose, and Facemesh
  • QRCode scanner
  • Math tools for learning
  • Offline app functionality
Features
Read full description

ScratchUP is the perfect app for students, teachers, and anyone who wants to learn coding. Use it in the classroom or at home to create interactive projects, explore programming concepts, and design educational activities with endless possibilities. Scratch-compatible: open and save .sb2 and .sb3 files with ease. Build richer projects by combining touch events, keyboard input, camera features, and Bluetooth sensor data. A fullscreen offline app packed with powerful features: - Virtual keyboard for managing key events - Bluetooth connection to devices such as micro:bit - Body Detection, Hand Pose, and Face Mesh powered by machine learning - QR code scanner - Train your own object recognition models with machine learning - Import Teachable Machine models to recognize objects and sounds - Built-in math tools for easier learning - Control the front and back cameras directly in code - New Function extension for creating more advanced programs - New option to hide blocks in the interface and in scripts for a cleaner workspace - Native iPadOS export to share projects instantly via AirDrop or email - Export scripts as images to easily add them to worksheets, lessons, or other documents Code, learn, teach, and play — all in one app. Enjoy!

Screenshots

The Sandbox EDU4 screens

Verdict

The call

The Sandbox EDU and ScratchUP both sit at 3.8 stars, but that hides the real split: 75% of ScratchUP's written reviews are positive against 38% of The Sandbox EDU's. ScratchUP also leads on price ($0.99 vs $1.99). The Sandbox EDU's advantage is device support (3 vs 1) and ratings volume (13 vs 4). On rating, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

The Sandbox EDU costs $1.99 and ScratchUP $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

ScratchUP holds the better App Store score, 4.0 against 3.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 13 and 4 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 38% of The Sandbox EDU's written reviews are positive against 75% of ScratchUP's.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
The Sandbox EDU versus ScratchUP: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterThe Sandbox EDUScratchUP
Price$1.99$0.99 — better
Rating3.8 (13 ratings)4.0 (4 ratings) — better
Positive reviews38.5% of reviews75.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings13 — better4
Update frequency—Every 4 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPad
Requires iOS5.1.1 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size99 MB476 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPIXOWL INC.Ulrich PICAUD

Customer experience

The Sandbox EDU

All ratings13 ratings
Positive61.5%
Neutral15.4%
Negative23.1%
Written reviews13 reviews
Positive38.5%
Neutral15.4%
Negative46.2%

ScratchUP

All ratings4 ratings
Positive75.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative25.0%
Written reviews4 reviews
Positive75.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative25.0%

In-app purchases

None

The Sandbox EDU

No in-app purchases

None

ScratchUP

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is The Sandbox EDU free?
The Sandbox EDU costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is ScratchUP free?
ScratchUP costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, The Sandbox EDU or ScratchUP?
ScratchUP is rated higher. The Sandbox EDU averages 3.8 out of 5 from 13 ratings, while ScratchUP averages 4.0 from 4 ratings.
Do The Sandbox EDU or ScratchUP have ads?
Neither The Sandbox EDU nor ScratchUP shows ads.

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