ScratchJr vs Pocket Code
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
ScratchJr
This app allows young children to create their own interactive stories and games by snapping together graphical programming blocks. It fosters problem-solving, creative expression, and develops early numeracy and literacy skills in a fun, motivating context.
- Program interactive stories
- Create games
- Snap-together programming blocks
- Develop problem-solving skills
- Foster creative expression
- Learn coding fundamentals
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With ScratchJr, young children (ages 5-7) learn important new skills as they program their own interactive stories and games. By snapping together graphical programming blocks, children can make characters move, jump, dance, and sing. In the process, children learn to solve problems, design projects, and express themselves creatively on the computer. They also use math and language in a meaningful and motivating context, supporting the development of early-childhood numeracy and literacy. With ScratchJr, children don’t just learn to code, they code to learn. ScratchJr was inspired by the popular Scratch programming language (http://scratch.mit.edu), used by millions of people (ages 8 and up) around the world. The ScratchJr interface and programming language were redesigned to make them appropriate for younger children’s cognitive, personal, social, and emotional development. ScratchJr is a collaboration between the Lifelong Kindergarten research group at the MIT Media Lab, the Developmental Technologies research group at Tufts University, and the Playful Invention Company. The ScratchJr project has received generous financial support from the National Science Foundation (NSF DRL-1118664), Scratch Foundation, LEGO Foundation, and British Telecommunications. If you enjoy using this free app, please consider making a donation to the Scratch Foundation (www.scratchfoundation.org), a nonprofit organization that provides ongoing support for ScratchJr. We appreciate donations of all sizes, large and small.
Pocket Code
Develop and play your own games, animations, and interactive applications directly on your mobile device. This visual programming tool is inspired by educational initiatives and offers a free, open-source platform for creative coding.
- Create games and apps
- Develop animations
- Interactive art creation
- Music video production
- Visual programming system
- Share creations
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Create, play, and share your own games, animations, interactive art, music videos, and many other kinds of apps, directly on your iPhone! Pocket Code is ideally suited for the Hour of Code during the Computer Science Education Week http://csedweek.org/ organized by code.org, the European Code Week http://codeweek.eu/ as well as other similar initiatives. Catrobat is a visual programming system and a free open source non-profit project. Catrobat and the software developed by the Catrobat team are inspired by the work of the Lifelong Kindergarten Group at the MIT Media Lab.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: ScratchJr at 3.9 against Pocket Code's 3.0. ScratchJr also leads on review sentiment (67% vs 34%) and ratings volume (1.8K vs 114). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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.
ScratchJr holds the better App Store score, 3.9 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: ScratchJr has 1.8K ratings behind it against 114, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 67% of ScratchJr's written reviews are positive against 34% of Pocket Code's.
ScratchJr ships an update every 6 months, Pocket Code every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | ScratchJr | Pocket Code |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.9 (1.8K ratings) — better | 3.0 (114 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 66.8% of reviews — better | 33.7% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 1.8K — better | 114 |
| Update frequency | Every 6 months | Every 3 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 11.0 — better | 13.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 51 MB | 60 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Scratch Foundation, Inc. | International Catrobat Association - Verein zur Foerderung freier Software |
Customer experience
ScratchJr
Pocket Code
Bugs and requests
ScratchJr
Reported bugs
4 issues- Freezing and crashing issues
- Incorrect character movements and positioning
- Saving and loading problems
- Microphone and recording bugs
Requested features
5 requests- Add more frames/scenes per project
- Improve drawing/editing tools
- Expand color and customization options
- Enhance audio features and sound library
- Integrate with the full Scratch platform
Pocket Code
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
ScratchJr
No in-app purchases
Pocket Code
No in-app purchases
