Comparison

ScratchJr vs Scratch Tutorial

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • Program interactive stories
  • Create games
  • Snap-together programming blocks
  • Develop problem-solving skills
  • Foster creative expression
  • Learn coding fundamentals
Features
Read full description

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.

About

Scratch Tutorial

This app offers an innovative, step-by-step programming course designed for children aged 4-14. It uses engaging content to foster a love for coding and allows kids to create their own games while learning fundamental programming concepts.

Highlights
  • Step-by-step programming guidance
  • Interactive learning system
  • Create own programming games
  • Courses designed by experts
  • Gradual concept mastery
Read full description

The latest scratch course - easy to use, let children fall in love with programming. ----Innovative design intelligent system guides children to learn step by step. 4-14-year-old children can easy to accept, and they will learn as soon as they learn. ----Interesting programming courses stimulate children's interest in learning and let them design their own programming games while learning and playing. Love programming, learn to program. ----Senior program designer and educator cooperate to design the course, and gradually master the programming concept from shallow to deep. New intelligent programming course, open the road of children's programming enlightenment!

Screenshots

ScratchJr1 screens
Scratch Tutorial4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: ScratchJr at none against Scratch Tutorial's 1. ScratchJr also leads on review sentiment (67% vs 35%). Scratch Tutorial's advantage is update cadence (every 4 weeks vs every 6 months) and rating (4.2 vs 3.9). On price, ratings volume, ads 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Scratch Tutorial sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. ScratchJr asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Scratch Tutorial holds the better App Store score, 4.2 against 3.9. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1.8K and 4.6K respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 67% of ScratchJr's written reviews are positive against 35% of Scratch Tutorial's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ScratchJr ships an update every 6 months, Scratch Tutorial every 4 weeks. Both last shipped on September 22, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
ScratchJr versus Scratch Tutorial: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterScratchJrScratch Tutorial
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.9 (1.8K ratings)4.2 (4.6K ratings) — better
Positive reviews66.8% of reviews — better34.6% of reviews
Number of ratings1.8K4.6K — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 monthsEvery 4 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better
Requires iOS11.0 — better12.0
Further details — not scored
Size51 MB254 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperScratch Foundation, Inc.海涛 赵

Customer experience

ScratchJr

All ratings1,812 ratings
Positive72.5%
Neutral7.1%
Negative20.4%
Written reviews584 reviews
Positive66.8%
Neutral10.8%
Negative22.4%

Scratch Tutorial

All ratings4,632 ratings
Positive78.2%
Neutral6.9%
Negative14.9%
Written reviews231 reviews
Positive34.6%
Neutral5.2%
Negative60.2%

User reviews

ScratchJr

From 1.8K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use for kids
  • 🚀 Great for coding and creating animations
  • 💡 Allows customization of characters and backgrounds
  • ⭐ Fun and engaging for young users

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Glitchy drawing/editing tools
  • 🔧 Limited number of frames/scenes per project
  • 🎨 Lack of color options and customization
  • 🔊 Poor audio quality and limited sound options

Scratch Tutorial

From 4.6K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Helpful tutorials
  • 🤗 Good for learning to code
  • 😊 Fun and engaging

Room to improve

  • 💰 Paywall for advanced content
  • 🤔 Outdated or incompatible blocks
  • 😕 Repetitive and restrictive
  • 🙄 Poor graphics and UI

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

Scratch Tutorial

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Lessons get stuck or freeze
  • Inability to edit or correct mistakes

Requested features

3 requests
  • Allow more free-form coding
  • Improve compatibility with latest Scratch version
  • Add more game-making options

In-app purchases

None

ScratchJr

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Scratch Tutorial

One-time1
  • Scratch lessons$4.99

Questions

Is ScratchJr free?
ScratchJr is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Scratch Tutorial free?
Scratch Tutorial is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, ScratchJr or Scratch Tutorial?
Scratch Tutorial is rated higher. ScratchJr averages 3.9 out of 5 from 1.8K ratings, while Scratch Tutorial averages 4.2 from 4.6K ratings.
Do ScratchJr or Scratch Tutorial have ads?
Neither ScratchJr nor Scratch Tutorial shows ads.
Which is updated more often, ScratchJr or Scratch Tutorial?
ScratchJr ships an update every 6 months, and Scratch Tutorial every 4 weeks. Most recently, ScratchJr was updated on September 22, 2026 and Scratch Tutorial on September 22, 2026.

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