ScratchJr vs Castle Blocks
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.
Castle Blocks
This app allows children to unleash their creativity by building and designing various structures like palaces, fortresses, and ancient cities. It's a fun way for kids to develop their imagination through drawing and construction.
- Castle creator
- Palace building
- Fortress design
- Ancient city construction
- Drawing and painting tools
- Develops creativity
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Castle creator for children who love to paint, draw and build. Let your kids develop creativity and impress you with their imagination. See how easy it is to make a beautiful palace, a medieval stronghold or an ancient city.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: ScratchJr at Free against Castle Blocks's $1.99. ScratchJr also leads on ratings volume (1.9K vs 261). Castle Blocks's advantage is rating (4.4 vs 3.9) and update cadence (every 2 months vs every 6 months). 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
ScratchJr is free to download; Castle Blocks costs $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Castle Blocks holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 3.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: ScratchJr has 1.9K ratings behind it against 261, 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 80% of Castle Blocks's.
ScratchJr ships an update every 6 months, Castle Blocks every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 22, 2026 and October 19, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | ScratchJr | Castle Blocks |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $1.99 |
| Rating | 3.9 (1.9K ratings) | 4.4 (261 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 66.9% of reviews | 80.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 1.9K — better | 261 |
| Update frequency | Every 6 months | Every 2 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 11.0 | 9.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 51 MB | 55 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Scratch Foundation, Inc. | Marek Dobrowolski |
Customer experience
ScratchJr
Castle Blocks
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
Castle Blocks
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
ScratchJr
No in-app purchases
Castle Blocks
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is ScratchJr free?
Is Castle Blocks free?
Which has better reviews, ScratchJr or Castle Blocks?
Do ScratchJr or Castle Blocks have ads?
Which is updated more often, ScratchJr or Castle Blocks?
Other comparisons
