ScratchJr vs Blockly for Dash & Dot robots
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.
Blockly for Dash & Dot robots
Learn coding fundamentals through interactive play with robots. This app uses a visual drag-and-drop interface to create programs for Dash and Dot robots, offering challenges and creative freedom for young learners.
- Visual drag-and-drop coding
- Robot programming challenges
- Create custom robot behaviors
- Learn coding concepts (sequencing, loops, variables)
- Bluetooth connectivity to robots
- Playful storylines and puzzles
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PLEASE NOTE: This app requires a Wonder Workshop robot (Dash or Dot) to play. To find out more, please visit our website: https://www.makewonder.com. This app is FREE to play. Blockly is a visual drag-and-drop programming tool developed by Google that allows children to snap together commands like puzzle pieces. This app includes dozes of coding challenges for kids to tackle. They can also invent their own creations using Blockly to program Dash & Dot! Learn concepts like sequencing, events, loops, algorithms, operations, and variables through self-directed play and guided challenges. A series of puzzles teach the concepts of coding through playful storylines, allowing kids to learn and explore all on their own. Kids can confidently embark on their own coding adventures with their newfound knowledge, a dash of creativity, and robot buddy - Dash. For ages 6 and up. As seen on the New York Times, USA TODAY, WIRED, Engadget, BBC, and more. “Thoroughly absorbing.” - New York Times “Both kids begged me to take out the robots and start playing with them again.” - Business Insider “Wonder Workshop's notion that kids need to learn twenty-first century skills (and can have fun doing it) flips the industry paradigm on its head, putting kids first.” - James Oppenheim "They are designed to encourage kids to explore and be curious while also learning problem solving." - VentureBeat HOW TO PLAY - Connect Dash and/or Dot to the Blockly app using Bluetooth Smart/4 - Start with a sample project or start your own projects from scratch - Navigate Dash through a maze or around the room, using object detection to avoid walls - Dash knows when it's being picked up and moved. Program Dash to sound the alarm when there is a disturbance! - Program Dash to do synchronized dance moves with lights, motion, and sounds If you have any questions or suggestions, we would love to hear from you! Contact us at any time at https://help.makewonder.com. ABOUT WONDER WORKSHOP Wonder Workshop, an award-winning creator of educational toys and applications for children, was founded in 2012 by three parents on a mission to make learning to code meaningful and fun for children. Through open-ended play and learning experiences, we hope to instill a sense of wonder while helping kids develop their creative problem solving skills. We play test with children throughout our product and app development process to make sure our experiences are frustration free and fun. Wonder Workshop takes children's privacy very seriously. Our apps do not include any third-party advertising or collect any personal information. For more details, please see our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. Privacy Policy: https://www.makewonder.com/privacy Terms of Service: https://www.makewonder.com/TOS Make Wonder: https://www.makewonder.com/make-wonder
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Blockly for Dash & Dot robots at 4.3 against ScratchJr's 3.9. Blockly for Dash & Dot robots also leads on update cadence (every 2 months vs every 6 months). ScratchJr's advantage is review sentiment (67% vs 53%) and ratings volume (1.8K vs 168). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Blockly for Dash & Dot robots holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 3.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: ScratchJr has 1.8K ratings behind it against 168, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 67% of ScratchJr's written reviews are positive against 53% of Blockly for Dash & Dot robots's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
ScratchJr ships an update every 6 months, Blockly for Dash & Dot robots every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 17, 2026 and October 16, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | ScratchJr | Blockly for Dash & Dot robots |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.9 (1.8K ratings) | 4.3 (168 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 66.8% of reviews — better | 53.3% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 1.8K — better | 168 |
| 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 — better | 12.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 51 MB | 142 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Scratch Foundation, Inc. | MORAVIA Consulting, spol. s r.o. |
Customer experience
ScratchJr
Blockly for Dash & Dot robots
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
Blockly for Dash & Dot robots
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
ScratchJr
No in-app purchases
Blockly for Dash & Dot robots
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is ScratchJr free?
Is Blockly for Dash & Dot robots free?
Which has better reviews, ScratchJr or Blockly for Dash & Dot robots?
Do ScratchJr or Blockly for Dash & Dot robots have ads?
Which is updated more often, ScratchJr or Blockly for Dash & Dot robots?
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