Monster Mingle vs DNA Play
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Monster Mingle
Design and build your own unique, friendly monster by combining various body parts. Explore magical islands, discover creatures, and interact with the environment in a free-play imaginative landscape. This app encourages creativity and exploration without any goals or objectives.
- Combine diverse body parts (eyes, mouths, limbs, wings, etc.)
- Explore land, sea, and sky environments
- Discover and interact with creatures
- Feed your monster
- Free play sandbox environment
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Build your own friendly monster! Choose different body parts to help explore the world and uncover each unique island. Discover fun creatures, musical scenery and hidden surprises as your monster plays in this magical kingdom. A free play imaginative landscape helps children to be creative, building the creatures they want and learning what is needed to fly high, swim fast or simply walk around. Can you find all 40 body parts? Features: - Combine different eyes, mouths, noses, beaks, arms, legs, wings, fins, horns and bodies - Hop and walk on land, swim under the sea or fly in the sky - Find food to feed your hungry monster - Talk and sing to the other creatures - No goals or objectives, just a free play sandbox Child friendly app: - No in-app purchases - No third-party advertising - No social media Created by Cowly Owl, a British micro-studio creating playful digital toys and educational games. http://www.cowlyowl.com/
DNA Play
Design and mutate unique creatures by solving DNA puzzles and altering genes. Interact with your creations in real-time through various activities, discovering their personalities and evolving their forms.
- Create over 200 billion unique monsters
- Solve DNA puzzles to build creatures
- Alter genes for real-time mutations
- Interact with monsters in various activities
- Discover monster personalities and quirks
- Save monster creations and DNA blueprints
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Create your own funny monsters and transform them in real-time by building and tweaking their DNA! Over 200 billion unique life forms at your fingertips! Feed your monsters, dance with them, watch them skate, get to know their quirks. • App Store "Best of 2015" • Reached #1 in Kids & Education on the App Store in US, UK & many more countries • Digital Ehon Award - Prize Winner 2017 • Tutora Award - Best Educational App 2017 • "App of the Week" by BBC Focus Magazine • Featured in "Apps of the Month" by The Guardian • "Learning about genetics becomes child’s play" - Cool Mom Tech • "A playful and amusing introduction to a big STEM concept!" - Madison Public Library • "Sneak scientific knowledge under a child’s radar by turning it into a game" - The Sunday Times This fun monster maker game introduces kids to the basic science of DNA in an easy pure-play style. Learn how to build creatures by completing a series of simple DNA puzzles. Get creative and experiment with quirky mutations of different body parts by altering genes. Have fun playing with your monsters and change their form in real-time while they dance, skate, eat or sleep! CREATE & MUTATE Start with a basic unformed figure and complete the gene puzzles to give it a fully grown torso, face and limbs. Then tweak the genes or simply tap on the monster's body parts to trigger mutations. Observe how the tiniest change in the DNA code can lead to unimaginable new characteristics. Watch your monster turn from yellow to red, grow pink hair and 6 eyes, have its ears transform into fish fins and its belly pop out and crave for food. Best of all, these are emotional creatures with vivid personalities, so prepare to be surprised! PLAY & EXPLORE Once you complete all 6 body parts it's time to play with your monsters and have fun! Feed them, tweak them, push them, squeeze them, make them jump or slide! Go for a skateboard ride with them! Get to know their quirks. Do they enjoy being chased by an elephant, being hypnotized or listen to music? Are they afraid of the dark? Discover what makes them sneeze, laugh or cry, how their voice changes after mutating their faces! Try, experiment and evolve! Why stick with 2 short legs when 4 tall ones are so much better for flamenco dancing? Keep transforming and observe which forms look better in various activities! Take photos and share your genetic blueprints so friends can clone your beasts. Build your personal library of ready-to-play, cute little monsters. Science has never been so fun! MAIN FEATURES • A playful introduction to DNA, biology and genetics • Build over 200 billion unique monsters! • Complete the DNA puzzles, swap their pieces to mutate • Tap on body parts to trigger random mutations • Plenty of unexpected and hilarious interactions • Transform monsters in real-time while they dance, sleep, eat, skate & more! • Save your monsters in a ready-to-play library • Save snapshots of your creations stamped with their DNA code • Parents' section includes basic info on DNA, illustrated tutorial, interaction hints & play ideas • Ideal for kids 4-9 years old • Perfect for STEM education (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) • Language neutral game-play • No time limits, free-play style • Exceptional graphics, superb music & original sound design • Safe for kids: COPPA compliant, no 3rd party ads, no in-app purchases PRIVACY POLICY We respect your privacy! We do not collect, store, or share any personal information. Our app does not contain 3rd party ads or in-app purchases and is completely safe for young children. Read our privacy policy here: http://avokiddo.com/privacy-policy. ABOUT AVOKIDDO Avokiddo is an award-winning studio, creating top quality apps for education and playful learning. We think that when you enjoy something, you become one with it; and it is in this creative state that learning takes place. More about us at: avokiddo.com
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: DNA Play at 4.4 against Monster Mingle's 4.0. DNA Play also leads on ratings volume (2.2K vs 28). Monster Mingle's advantage is review sentiment (89% vs 68%) and price ($3.99 vs $4.99). On update cadence, 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
Monster Mingle costs $3.99 and DNA Play $4.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
DNA Play holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: DNA Play has 2.2K ratings behind it against 28, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 89% of Monster Mingle's written reviews are positive against 68% of DNA Play's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 6 months. The most recent releases landed on September 18, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Monster Mingle | DNA Play |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $3.99 — better | $4.99 |
| Rating | 4.0 (28 ratings) | 4.4 (2.2K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 89.2% of reviews — better | 67.6% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 28 | 2.2K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 6 months | Every 6 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 | 11.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 300 MB | 155 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Cowly Owl Ltd | AVOKIDDO |
Customer experience
Monster Mingle
DNA Play
Bugs and requests
Monster Mingle
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
DNA Play
Reported bugs
2 issues- Food items hard to pick up
- Glitches and crashes on some devices
Requested features
4 requests- More gameplay options and activities
- Ability to name and save monsters
- Additional customization options
- Improved controls and responsiveness
In-app purchases
Monster Mingle
No in-app purchases
DNA Play
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Monster Mingle free?
Is DNA Play free?
Which has better reviews, Monster Mingle or DNA Play?
Do Monster Mingle or DNA Play have ads?
Which is updated more often, Monster Mingle or DNA Play?
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