Comparison

ScratchJr vs ScratchUP

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

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
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

ScratchJr1 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: ScratchJr at Free against ScratchUP's $0.99. ScratchJr also leads on ratings volume (1.8K vs 4) and device support (3 vs 1). ScratchUP's advantage is review sentiment (75% vs 67%). On rating, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

ScratchJr is free to download; ScratchUP costs $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 3.9 for ScratchJr against 4.0 for ScratchUP. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: ScratchJr has 1.8K ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 67% of ScratchJr's written reviews are positive against 75% of ScratchUP's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ScratchJr ships an update every 6 months, ScratchUP every 9 months. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and September 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
ScratchJr versus ScratchUP: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterScratchJrScratchUP
PriceFree — better$0.99
Rating3.9 (1.8K ratings)4.0 (4 ratings) — better
Positive reviews66.8% of reviews75.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1.8K — better4
Update frequencyEvery 6 months — betterEvery 9 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPad
Requires iOS11.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size51 MB397 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperScratch Foundation, Inc.Ulrich PICAUD

Customer experience

ScratchJr

All ratings1,812 ratings
Positive72.5%
Neutral7.1%
Negative20.4%
Written reviews594 reviews
Positive66.8%
Neutral10.9%
Negative22.2%

ScratchUP

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

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

ScratchUP

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

ScratchJr

No in-app purchases

None

ScratchUP

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is ScratchJr free?
ScratchJr is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is ScratchUP free?
ScratchUP costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, ScratchJr or ScratchUP?
ScratchUP is rated higher. ScratchJr averages 3.9 out of 5 from 1.8K ratings, while ScratchUP averages 4.0 from 4 ratings.
Do ScratchJr or ScratchUP have ads?
Neither ScratchJr nor ScratchUP shows ads.
Which is updated more often, ScratchJr or ScratchUP?
ScratchJr ships an update every 6 months, and ScratchUP every 9 months. Most recently, ScratchJr was updated on October 13, 2026 and ScratchUP on September 30, 2026.

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