Plants by Tinybop vs BANDIMAL
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Plants by Tinybop
Explore diverse ecosystems like forests, deserts, and grasslands in an interactive digital sandbox. Discover plant and animal life, observe lifecycles, and experiment with weather and time. This STEM-aligned app encourages curiosity and open-ended learning for young explorers.
- Interactive ecosystem dioramas
- Observe plant and animal lifecycles
- Manipulate weather and time
- Explore above and below ground
- Learn vocabulary in 50+ languages
- Open-ended digital sandbox
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Unearth the secrets of the green kingdom! Explore interactive dioramas of the forest, desert, and grasslands. Dozens of species spring to life & new surprises arise with every adventure in this STEM-aligned digital sandbox. “If all apps were like Tinybop’s, we wouldn’t worry so much about our kids staring at screens.” — WIRED Plants is No. 2 in Tinybop’s Explorer’s Library series, designed for curious kids ages 4+ to dive deep into big ideas. The apps in this series have won Best of the App Store, App Store Editors’ Choice, Parents’ Choice, and Children's Technology Review Editor’s Choice awards. FEATURES: * Explore interactive dioramas of the forest, desert, and grasslands. * Detailed illustrations show plants and animals in their natural habitats. * Algorithmic animations yield new surprises in every play. * Spin through days, nights, seasons, and years, to uncover each biome’s lifecycles over time. * Conduct the weather, ignite a wildfire, and burrow with barking critters. * See plant and animal life above and below ground. * Learn new vocabulary with labels in 50+ languages, including scientific names (select languages on your device or in the dashboard). * Identify species with removable and affixable labels. * Digital sandbox encourages open exploration and learning. * Create a dashboard to learn about new updates and apps, delete accounts, change languages, and support your kids’ experiences in all Tinybop apps. * Smart-device features, including the microphone and gravity sensor, are employed for immersive effects. * Original artwork and sound design. * No rules or levels—curiosity is rewarded. FREE handbook Our expert-reviewed handbook is full of facts, interaction hints, and discussion questions to support learning in this app, in the classroom or at home. Download in your app or at: http://tinybop.com/handbooks. Privacy Policy We take your and your child’s privacy very seriously. We do not collect or share personal information about your child, nor do we allow any third-party advertising. When the camera, microphone, and other services are used within an app, your information is neither collected nor distributed outside of the app. Read our complete privacy policy at tinybop.com. Tinybop, Inc. is a Brooklyn-based studio of designers, engineers, and artists. We make toys for tomorrow. We’re all over the internet. Visit us: www.tinybop.com Follow us: twitter.com/tinybop Like us: facebook.com/tinybop Peek behind the scenes: instagram.com/tinybop We love hearing your stories! If you have ideas, or something isn’t working as you expect it to, please contact us: hi@tinybop.com. Requires iOS 9.0 or later. BTW. It's not Tiny Bop, or Tiny Bob, or Tiny Pop. It's Tinybop.
BANDIMAL
This app introduces children to music creation through an intuitive interface. Kids can experiment with different animal instruments, create drum loops, and add effects, all while enjoying amusing animations. It's designed to be a fun and pressure-free way to explore musical creativity.
- Nine animal instruments
- Create drum loops
- Change loop speeds and add effects
- Save compositions
- Lively animations and audio
- No ads
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Introduce your kid to the joy of making music! BANDIMAL is a fun and intuitive music composer that lets kids discover the creative world of making music. Set up a drum loop, swipe through animals to change instruments, compose melodies, change loop speeds and add a quirky effect on top. Amusing animals animate in hilarious ways as you perfect your song. Everything will sound great - we designed it that way! Features: + Play with 9 animals as instruments + Create catchy drum loops in the beat section + Switch between loop speeds and apply effects + Save compositions to your collection + Lively animations and impressive audio + No failing, no goal, no wrong or right + Supports all iPads and iPhones with iOS 14 or later + No internet access needed! + No advertisements! We recommend headphones to enjoy the full experience! Learn more about YATATOY: yatatoy.com Contact us for assistance or to give feedback: https://yatatoy.com/info/ MADE BY YATATOY
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: BANDIMAL at 4.7 against Plants by Tinybop's 4.3. BANDIMAL also leads on review sentiment (78% vs 55%) and ratings volume (2.3K vs 34). Plants by Tinybop's advantage is update cadence (every 2 months vs every 6 months) and price ($2.99 vs $4.99). On ads, in-app purchases, monetization model 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
Plants by Tinybop costs $2.99 and BANDIMAL $4.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
BANDIMAL holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: BANDIMAL has 2.3K ratings behind it against 34, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 55% of Plants by Tinybop's written reviews are positive against 78% of BANDIMAL's.
Plants by Tinybop ships an update every 2 months, BANDIMAL every 6 months. Both last shipped on October 26, 2026.
| Parameter | Plants by Tinybop | BANDIMAL |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $2.99 — better | $4.99 |
| Rating | 4.3 (34 ratings) | 4.7 (2.3K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 55.4% of reviews | 78.5% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 34 | 2.3K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months — better | Every 6 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 8.0 — better | 14.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 449 MB | 137 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Tinybop Inc. | YATATOY |
Customer experience
Plants by Tinybop
BANDIMAL
Bugs and requests
Plants by Tinybop
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
BANDIMAL
Reported bugs
4 issues- Crashes after adding multiple animals
- Glitches and visual bugs with animations
- Compatibility issues with certain devices
- Sound not working in some cases
Requested features
5 requests- Add more animals and sound options
- Ability to save and export compositions
- More customization options for music creation
- Tutorials or instructions for first-time users
- Support for older/less powerful devices
In-app purchases
Plants by Tinybop
No in-app purchases
BANDIMAL
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Plants by Tinybop free?
Is BANDIMAL free?
Which has better reviews, Plants by Tinybop or BANDIMAL?
Do Plants by Tinybop or BANDIMAL have ads?
Which is updated more often, Plants by Tinybop or BANDIMAL?
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