# ScratchJr vs Spike™ LEGO® Education

The clearest difference is rating: Spike™ LEGO® Education at 4.7 against ScratchJr's 3.9. Spike™ LEGO® Education also leads on update cadence (every 2 months vs every 6 months). ScratchJr's advantage is iOS requirement (11.0 vs 14.0). On price, review sentiment, ratings volume and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Spike™ LEGO® Education holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.9. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1.9K and 3.7K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 67% of ScratchJr's written reviews are positive against 68% of Spike™ LEGO® Education's.

ScratchJr ships an update every 6 months, Spike™ LEGO® Education every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | ScratchJr | Spike™ LEGO® Education |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [3.9 (1.9K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/scratchjr/id895485086/reviews) | **[4.7 (3.7K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/spike-lego-education/id6443545905/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 1.9K | **3.7K** |
| Positive reviews | 66.9% of reviews | **68.2% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 6 months | **Every 2 months** |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Size | 51 MB | 227 MB |
| Requires iOS | **11.0** | 14.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPad, Mac |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Scratch Foundation, Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1066012912) | [LEGO Education](https://appshunter.io/developer/708170734) |

## What reviewers say

### ScratchJr

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/scratchjr/id895485086)

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:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

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

**What reviewers complain about**

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

**Reported bugs**

- Freezing and crashing issues
- Incorrect character movements and positioning
- Saving and loading problems
- Microphone and recording bugs

**Requested features**

- 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


### Spike™ LEGO® Education

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/spike-lego-education/id6443545905)

This app facilitates playful STEAM learning for students, designed to work with specific LEGO® Education kits. It helps develop computational thinking through coding, encourages building and experimentation, and supports programming for various projects and competitions.

**Highlights:** Icon-block, word-block, and text-based coding, Develop computational thinking, Build, tinker, and experiment with LEGO® creations, Program and debug designs, Create stories with LEGO® Minifigures, Prepare for FIRST® LEGO® League competitions

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Awesome
- 🚀 Super good
- 🚀 Great app
- 👍 User friendly and easy to use
- 👍 Engineering Excitement in Kindergarten

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Restricted features due to LEGO's focus on profits
- 🐛 Missing basic quality of life functionality
- 🐛 Doesn't work on iPad
- 🐛 Slow loading and issues with connectivity
- 🐛 Tutorials have limitations

**Reported bugs**

- Bluetooth connection issues
- Unable to flash hub or connect
- Incompatibility with programs written in previous version

**Requested features**

- Hub-to-hub control
- RC features
- Merge Inventor app into one
- Add more color options for color sensor
- Bring back Python coding support


## Frequently asked questions

### Is ScratchJr free?

ScratchJr is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Spike™ LEGO® Education free?

Spike™ LEGO® Education is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, ScratchJr or Spike™ LEGO® Education?

Spike™ LEGO® Education is rated higher. ScratchJr averages 3.9 out of 5 from 1.9K ratings, while Spike™ LEGO® Education averages 4.7 from 3.7K ratings.

### Do ScratchJr or Spike™ LEGO® Education have ads?

Neither ScratchJr nor Spike™ LEGO® Education shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, ScratchJr or Spike™ LEGO® Education?

ScratchJr ships an update every 6 months, and Spike™ LEGO® Education every 2 months. Most recently, ScratchJr was updated on November 6, 2026 and Spike™ LEGO® Education on November 3, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*