Comparison

ScratchJr vs Builda

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

Builda

Create and play games directly on your phone without coding. Collaborate with friends, draw and animate characters, and explore a vast library of community-made games. Share your own unique creations with a global community of builders.

Highlights
  • Create games without coding
  • Collaborate with friends
  • Draw and animate characters
  • Remix games with level builder
  • Play community-made games
  • Share creations globally
Features
Read full description

Join the Builder Community. Builda is the updated version of Julian's Editor with tons of new features to help you create and make anything you want. You can now team up with friends to create fun games together, draw and animate your favorite characters and oc with new drawing canvas and tools, play games made by the community and share your creations with everyone. ● Create your own games together with friends even if you can't code ● Draw, animate and record characters and your OC ● Remix games with a level builder, animation editor, custom character creator and more ● The best 2D mobile game creator to make anything you want on your phone CREATE ANYTHING Use your own style to make your games, stories, scenes, sprites, levels, doodles, stickman, memes and more. Turn ideas into fun experiences. PLAY & SHARE GAMES Explore tons of games made by the community and make friends around the world. Invite and play with friends. DRAW CHARACTERS Draw your own or choose from thousands of cosmetics in the marketplace! After designing your characters, enter the Editor and create your own games, scenes and stories or just share your drawing with the world. COMMUNITY Discover games & stories made by other creators, publish your own games, drawings, memes. Chat and collaborate with creators around the world. NO PROGRAMMING REQUIRED Use easy block coding to make cool game mechanics. Animate sprites with onion skinning, draw your OC, pixels and really anything. 【EULA】 https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

ScratchJr1 screens
Builda4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: ScratchJr at none against Builda's 25. ScratchJr also leads on ads (none vs shown) and rating (3.9 vs 3.7). Builda's advantage is update cadence (fortnightly vs every 6 months). On price, review sentiment, ratings volume 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. Builda sells 25 in-app purchases, starting at $2.69 per month. ScratchJr asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

ScratchJr holds the better App Store score, 3.9 against 3.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1.9K and 869 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 67% of ScratchJr's written reviews are positive against 61% of Builda's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ScratchJr ships an update every 6 months, Builda fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 27, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
ScratchJr versus Builda: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterScratchJrBuilda
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.9 (1.9K ratings) — better3.7 (869 ratings)
Positive reviews66.9% of reviews — better61.3% of reviews
Number of ratings1.9K — better869
Update frequencyEvery 6 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS11.0 — better14.0
Further details — not scored
Size51 MB264 MB
Age rating4+9+
DeveloperScratch Foundation, Inc.Beijing Hortor Interactive Technology Co., Ltd.

Customer experience

ScratchJr

All ratings1,812 ratings
Positive72.5%
Neutral7.1%
Negative20.4%
Written reviews598 reviews
Positive66.9%
Neutral10.9%
Negative22.2%

Builda

All ratings863 ratings
Positive67.0%
Neutral7.0%
Negative26.1%
Written reviews540 reviews
Positive61.3%
Neutral10.6%
Negative28.1%

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

Builda

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

ScratchJr

No in-app purchases

25 purchases

Builda

Subscriptions4
  • Monthly$2.691 Month
  • Quarterly$7.693 Months
  • Pro - 1 Month Auto-renewal$9.691 Month
Show 1 more
  • Yearly$29.991 Year
One-time21
  • 6 Sparks$0.99
  • 35000 GCoins$0.99
  • 1 Month$2.99
Show 18 more
  • 1 Month Friend Gift$2.99
  • 1 Month Friend Gift - Repay$2.99
  • 30 Sparks$4.99
  • 175000 GCoins$4.99
  • 3 Months Auto-renewal - Repay$7.69
  • 3 Months$7.99
  • 3 Months Friend Gift$7.99
  • 3 Months Friend Gift - Repay$7.99
  • 68 Diamonds$9.99
  • Pro - 1Month$9.99
  • 355000 GCoins$9.99
  • 128 Sparks$19.99
  • 715000 GCoins$19.99
  • 12 Months$30.99
  • 12 Months Friend Gift$30.99
  • 12 Months Friend Gift - Repay$30.99
  • 1800000 GCoins$49.99
  • 3650000 GCoins$99.99

Questions

Is ScratchJr free?
ScratchJr is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Builda free?
Builda is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, ScratchJr or Builda?
ScratchJr is rated higher. ScratchJr averages 3.9 out of 5 from 1.9K ratings, while Builda averages 3.7 from 869 ratings.
Do ScratchJr or Builda have ads?
Builda shows ads; ScratchJr does not.
Which is updated more often, ScratchJr or Builda?
ScratchJr ships an update every 6 months, and Builda fortnightly. Most recently, ScratchJr was updated on October 26, 2026 and Builda on October 27, 2026.

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