Makeblock－Play STEM Robots vs Spike™ LEGO® Education
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Makeblock－Play STEM Robots
Control and program robots with a user-friendly interface. Design custom controllers and explore STEM education through interactive robot play. Supports a variety of robot models and multiple languages.
- Robot control via official controller
- Create custom robot controllers
- Graphical programming for complex functions
- User-friendly interface
- Supports multiple Makeblock robot models
- Multi-language support
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Makeblock APP is a robot control software in smart devices. Everyone can directly control Makeblock robots using official controller in the software, or creates and programs a specific controller to achieve richer robotic functionality. Makeblock APP gives the user a way to grow. You can use the controller function to control directly, you can also drag the control to create a different multi-function console; advanced users can even programmatically through the control to achieve more complex functions. Features: -Brand New UI Design, User-Friendly Interface. -Stronger Controllability, Simpler Way to Learn STEM：STEM education becomes easy & fun as you can also master robot freely to sing, dance or light. -Create Customized Robot Controller with Graphical Programming: Realize your imagination and control your robot by simply dragging, dropping and programming the command blocks. -Supporting Makeblock Robots: Codey Rocky, MotionBlock, mBot、mBot Ranger、Airblock、Starter、Ultimate2.0 . -Multi-Language User Interface :Chinese, Traditional Chinese, English, Japanese, French, German, Spanish, Russian, Croatian,Polish,Romanian. Support: -You can visit the official website: www.makeblock.com for more information -support email: support@makeblock.cc -Support forum: we.makeblock.com
Spike™ LEGO® Education
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.
- 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
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Engage every student in playful STEAM learning with the LEGO® Education SPIKE™ App. Designed for use with the LEGO® Education SPIKE™ Portfolio, the SPIKE App is a powerful tool that helps teachers facilitate engaging, hands-on STEAM learning. When combined with SPIKE Essential or SPIKE Prime, the SPIKE App allows students to: - Develop computational thinking skills using a progression of icon-block, word-block, and text-based coding. - Build, tinker, and experiment - progressing from simple creations to complex structures. - Learn to program, test and tweak designs, debug and optimize, create stories with LEGO® Minifigures, prepare for FIRST® LEGO® League competitions, and more! *** IMPORTANT*** This is not a standalone educational app. This app is used to program LEGO® Education SPIKE™ Essential and LEGO® Education SPIKE™ Prime, which are sold separately. Please contact your local LEGO Education reseller for further information. LEARN MORE: LEGOeducation.com/Teacher-resources For app support, contact LEGO® Education at https://support.legoeducation.com. LEGO, the LEGO logo and the SPIKE logo are trademarks and/or copyrights of the LEGO Group. FIRST® LEGO® League is a jointly held trademark of FIRST® and the LEGO Group. ©2026 The LEGO Group. All rights reserved.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Spike™ LEGO® Education at 4.7 against Makeblock－Play STEM Robots's 3.7. Spike™ LEGO® Education also leads on review sentiment (68% vs 47%) and ratings volume (3.7K vs 206). Makeblock－Play STEM Robots's advantage is iOS requirement (10.0 vs 14.0). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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.
Spike™ LEGO® Education holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Spike™ LEGO® Education has 3.7K ratings behind it against 206, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 47% of Makeblock－Play STEM Robots's written reviews are positive against 68% of Spike™ LEGO® Education's.
Makeblock－Play STEM Robots ships an update every 6 weeks, Spike™ LEGO® Education every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 22, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Makeblock－Play STEM Robots | Spike™ LEGO® Education |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.7 (206 ratings) | 4.7 (3.7K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 46.6% of reviews | 68.2% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 206 | 3.7K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks — better | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPad, Mac |
| Requires iOS | 10.0 — better | 14.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 458 MB | 227 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Makeblock Co., Ltd. | LEGO Education |
Customer experience
Makeblock－Play STEM Robots
Spike™ LEGO® Education
Bugs and requests
Makeblock－Play STEM Robots
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Spike™ LEGO® Education
Reported bugs
3 issues- Bluetooth connection issues
- Unable to flash hub or connect
- Incompatibility with programs written in previous version
Requested features
5 requests- Hub-to-hub control
- RC features
- Merge Inventor app into one
- Add more color options for color sensor
- Bring back Python coding support
In-app purchases
Makeblock－Play STEM Robots
No in-app purchases
Spike™ LEGO® Education
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Makeblock－Play STEM Robots free?
Is Spike™ LEGO® Education free?
Which has better reviews, Makeblock－Play STEM Robots or Spike™ LEGO® Education?
Do Makeblock－Play STEM Robots or Spike™ LEGO® Education have ads?
Which is updated more often, Makeblock－Play STEM Robots or Spike™ LEGO® Education?
Other comparisons
