Comparison

Scout Elf® Ideas vs Elf Studio®

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

Head to head
About

Scout Elf® Ideas

This app provides daily photo inspiration and creative ideas for Scout Elves during the Christmas season. Discover crafts, clothes, and instructions to recreate scenes and enhance your holiday traditions. Get alerts from the North Pole to prepare for elf arrivals and departures.

Highlights
  • Daily photo feed with inspiration
  • Idea Spinner for random suggestions
  • Filterable ideas and photos
  • Materials and instructions included
  • North Pole alerts for preparation
  • Elf arrival and departure notifications
  • Kids Mode with North Pole activities
Features
Read full description

AN OFFICIAL, AWARD-WINNING ELF ON THE SHELF® APP Scout Elves always match the unique personalities of their families! Some are playful and creative, while others are sporty and adventurous. This app offers fun daily photos to inspire every Scout Elf during the Christmas season. Discover fun ideas for spending time with your family along with pictures of Scout Elves that come with materials and instructions. From quick and easy ideas to creative and complex ones, this app has them all! You can find links to printable crafts and Scout Elf clothes to enhance certain designs. Filter to find tons of different ideas for your Scout Elf and get special daily reminder alerts from the North Pole. Find fun ideas for the Scout Elves and get into the holiday spirit with The Elf on the Shelf® Ideas! The Elf on the Shelf® Ideas App Features: DAILY PHOTO FEED — During the holidays, receive new daily photos from the North Pole for your family and every Scout Elf to enjoy. — Click on each for more details along with a list of materials and instructions! IDEA SPINNER — Not sure what you are looking for? Check out the new feature: Scout Elf Idea Spinner! — Tap the spin button for a fun random Scout Elf Idea! FILTER PHOTOS AND IDEAS — Santa wants to make sure you can find the right inspiration for your Scout Elf. — Use the filter to narrow down what photos display on the feed. — Feel inspired and help your Scout Elf decorate scenes! MATERIALS, INSTRUCTIONS AND MORE! — Not only were these elves captured in action, they also helped us put together a list of what your Scout Elf might need! — Recreate each photo and the Scout Elf challenges by spending time with your family. — Look at pictures and enjoy making fun arts and crafts with your Scout Elves! NORTH POLE ALERTS — Santa wants to make sure his favorite helpers have everything they need to be creative! — Check the special daily alerts from Santa so your family can remember to prepare your home. ELF ARRIVAL + DEPARTURES — Receive alerts from the North Pole before the Scout Elves depart for their annual visits and when it’s time to return to the North Pole. — Make sure your home is ready for the elves and know when they have to return to the North Pole to help Santa get ready for next year. FAREWELL MESSAGE — Santa likes to teach the Scout Elves to be polite and courteous! — Keep an eye out for a special farewell letter from your Scout Elf, thanking you for all the fun they've shared with your family. Find fun ideas and pictures of the Scout Elves before they visit your home for Christmas. Make sure your home is ready for tons of fun this holiday season with The Elf on the Shelf® Ideas App! KIDS MODE —Toggle over to the Kids experience! Your little one can be directed to Santa's North Pole, our official website with games, activities, videos and more! Download now to find holiday ideas for the scout elves! — Don't forget to RATE THIS APP! Santa wants to make sure families everywhere have access to this great inspiration for Scout Elves.

About

Elf Studio®

Create magical videos and photos of Santa and his elves visiting your home using augmented reality. Place characters in any environment, customize their appearance and animations, and record your own festive scenes.

Highlights
  • Add Santa Claus and elves
  • Unlimited elves and recording time
  • Create custom elves with Elf Workshop
  • Customize elf outfits and accessories
  • Elves with walking and dancing animations
  • Pre-plan or perform animations
  • Customize lighting, shadows, and camera filters
Features
Read full description

Welcome to Elf Studio®! The latest marvel from the Software Elves here at the North Pole Command Center (Creators of Speak to Santa)! Turn your elf's Christmas mischief into photos and videos set in your own home! Put them under the tree, send them towards the cookie jar, or dream up a surprise of your own. - SCAN YOUR OWN ELF! Start with one photo of your elf toy, with room for up to four views. Every account includes one elf scan. Elf Studio Pro includes ten a month, with no additional credit charge. - NO TOY? DRAW OR DESCRIBE ONE! Sketch your elf on the drawing pad or describe it in words, and the AI turns it into an elf you can cast in any scene. - QUICK CREATE OR STUDIO! Pick an elf and a photo, then describe the action, or stage your photo by dragging elves and props into place, choosing poses and adjusting sizes. - GET HELP WITH THE WORDS! Studio builds a scene script from your layout. Get Ideas suggests actions for your photo, and Improve helps rewrite your prompt. - AI PHOTOS & VIDEOS! Make photo takes, compare them and animate your favorite. Cast up to three elves with their own roles in the scene. - DIRECT THE SHOT! Create five-second AI videos with Natural, Stop Motion or Storybook styling, camera movement, portrait or landscape framing and optional generated sound. Use start and end images to guide the action. - MAKE AN EXAMPLE YOUR OWN! Browse scene ideas and use an example recipe with your chosen elf and your own photo. - THE ELF WORKSHOP! Choose ready-made elves in classic and felt styles, or design one in 3D with hair, hats, outfits, gloves, shoes, glasses and colors, with a live preview. - ENHANCE WITH AI! Give your elf a lifelike look and keep different looks to choose from. - BRING THE PROPS! Pick from the prop shelf, scan a toy or describe a prop for the AI to create reference pictures. - STICKERS & POSES! Make AI stickers of your elf striking new poses, then use those poses in your Studio photos. Add a bust sticker of any custom elf, made right on your device. - SEND THEM IN MESSAGES! Open Elf Studio® in the Messages app drawer to send the cast, your own elves and the stickers you have made. - HOME SCREEN WIDGETS! Count the sleeps until Christmas or until your elf arrives, with a posed elf of your choice keeping watch. - MAKE THEM AR-READY! Generate a 3D model of a scanned elf or prop before placing it in your room. - FILM IN AUGMENTED REALITY! Place AR-ready elves and props on your floor, draw walking routes, add stops and choose animations. Capture AR photos and videos, with Look at Camera, footsteps, lighting and actions you can trigger while filming. AR needs a compatible device. - CATCH THEIR FACES! Record the viewer's reaction as your video plays. Reaction recordings stay on your device and are not uploaded to Elf Studio®. - ADD THE FINISHING TOUCH! Apply eight video looks and filters without changing the original. Find your creations in the Gallery, save them to Photos and share the files. AI generation needs an internet connection. Once a job is sent, it can continue on our servers while you leave the app. Enable notifications to hear when it is ready. Your Gallery is stored on this device. Elf Studio® does not provide cloud library backup, so export the memories you want to keep. AI or AR. Photo or video. Your elf, your home, your Christmas story! Elf Studio® is created by North Pole Command Centre Limited and works with any toy. Elf Studio® is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by Elf on the Shelf®, but many families use Elf Studio® alongside their existing Elf on the Shelf traditions. Made by the software elves here at the North Pole Command Center! Elf Studio® is a registered trademark in the United Kingdom, the European Union and the United States. All rights reserved.

Screenshots

Scout Elf® Ideas4 screens
Elf Studio®4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Scout Elf® Ideas at none against Elf Studio®'s 14. Scout Elf® Ideas also leads on review sentiment (65% vs 45%). Elf Studio®'s advantage is update cadence (every 3 days vs monthly). On price, rating, ratings volume and ads 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. Elf Studio® sells 14 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Scout Elf® Ideas asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for Scout Elf® Ideas against 4.7 for Elf Studio®. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3.6K and 3.8K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 65% of Scout Elf® Ideas's written reviews are positive against 45% of Elf Studio®'s.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Scout Elf® Ideas ships an update monthly, Elf Studio® every 3 days. Both last shipped on October 19, 2026.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Scout Elf® Ideas versus Elf Studio®: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterScout Elf® IdeasElf Studio®
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (3.6K ratings)4.7 (3.8K ratings) — better
Positive reviews65.0% of reviews — better45.5% of reviews
Number of ratings3.6K3.8K — better
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 3 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size145 MB350 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperThe Elf on the Shelf CCA & B LLC.North Pole Command Centre Limited

Customer experience

Scout Elf® Ideas

All ratings3,610 ratings
Positive89.5%
Neutral5.2%
Negative5.3%
Written reviews157 reviews
Positive65.0%
Neutral10.8%
Negative24.2%

Elf Studio®

All ratings3,778 ratings
Positive90.8%
Neutral3.3%
Negative5.9%
Written reviews99 reviews
Positive45.5%
Neutral6.1%
Negative48.5%

User reviews

Scout Elf® Ideas

From 3.6K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🎅 Fun and creative elf ideas
  • 👍 Helpful for keeping Christmas traditions alive
  • 🎨 Inspires family creativity and bonding
  • 🕰️ Useful reminder for elf activities

Room to improve

  • 🔒 Concerns about app access for children
  • 🤔 Some ideas too complex or require extra purchases
  • 🐛 Bugs and glitches with app functionality
  • 🔍 Lack of ability to easily switch between kid and adult modes

Elf Studio®

From 3.8K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🎅 Elf-themed game
  • 👍 Fun for kids
  • 💡 Ability to create elf scenes

Room to improve

  • 💰 Many features locked behind paywall
  • 🐛 Glitchy performance
  • 🚫 Limited free functionality

Bugs and requests

Scout Elf® Ideas

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • App crashing or freezing
  • Inability to delete the app
  • Saved favorites/ideas not persisting
  • Videos and images not loading properly

Requested features

4 requests
  • More original and simple elf ideas
  • Ability to save/share custom elf ideas
  • Password protection for adult section
  • Expanded content for international users

Elf Studio®

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Unable to scan surfaces for elf placement
  • Crashes and freezes when trying to use app

Requested features

3 requests
  • More free customization options
  • Ability to save and share created scenes
  • Improved surface detection for elf placement

In-app purchases

None

Scout Elf® Ideas

No in-app purchases

14 purchases

Elf Studio®

Subscriptions5
  • Unlock Elf Studio$1.991 Month
  • Elf Studio™ - Monthly$2.991 Month
  • Unlock Elf Studio$3.991 Year
Show 2 more
  • Elf Studio™ - Annual$6.991 Year
  • Elf Studio Pro - Annual$9.991 Year
One-time9
  • 50+ Elf Dance Animations$0.99
  • 1 Credit - Pro Price$1.99
  • 5 Credits - Pro Price$5.99
Show 6 more
  • 5 Elf Video Credits$7.99
  • 10 Credits - Pro Price$9.99
  • Elf Studio - Lifetime Pass$19.99
  • 25 Credits - Pro Price$22.99
  • 50 Credits - Pro Price$34.99
  • 50 Credits$39.99

Questions

Is Scout Elf® Ideas free?
Scout Elf® Ideas is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Elf Studio® free?
Elf Studio® is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Scout Elf® Ideas or Elf Studio®?
Elf Studio® is rated higher. Scout Elf® Ideas averages 4.6 out of 5 from 3.6K ratings, while Elf Studio® averages 4.7 from 3.8K ratings.
Do Scout Elf® Ideas or Elf Studio® have ads?
Neither Scout Elf® Ideas nor Elf Studio® shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Scout Elf® Ideas or Elf Studio®?
Scout Elf® Ideas ships an update monthly, and Elf Studio® every 3 days. Most recently, Scout Elf® Ideas was updated on October 19, 2026 and Elf Studio® on October 19, 2026.

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