Comparison

Simple Machines by Tinybop vs Sight Reading Pro

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

Head to head
About

Simple Machines by Tinybop

Explore the playful side of physics and learn about simple machines through interactive experiments. Kids can discover how levers, pulleys, and other mechanisms work by building and testing them in a digital sandbox environment. This app is designed to spark curiosity and understanding of scientific principles.

Highlights
  • Explore 6 simple machines
  • Experiment with real-world physics
  • Investigate physics at work
  • Learn about force and motion
  • Kid-friendly design
  • Interactive labels in 40+ languages
Features
Read full description

Explore the playful side of physics! “I just love how apps like these get kids genuinely excited about science." — COOL MOM TECH Experiment with levers, pulleys, inclined planes, inclined planes, wedges, wheel and axles, and screws. Discover how they work and investigate the invisible forces behind them in this sandbox app. Destroy a castle, make music, send satellites into orbit & more! *** App Store Editor's Choice *** *** Parents’ Choice Gold Award winner *** Simple Machines integrates with STEM curriculum: kids can alter and test each machine to learn about force and motion, actions and reactions, inputs and outputs, conservation of energy, mechanical advantages, and tradeoffs. Get free activity sheets at tinybop.com. Simple Machines is No. 4 in Tinybop’s Explorer’s Library series, designed for curious kids ages 4+ to dive deep into big ideas. The apps in this series have won Best of the App Store, App Store Editors’ Choice, Parents’ Choice, and Children's Technology Review Editor’s Choice awards. Features: * Explore 6 simple machines: levers, pulleys, inclined planes, wedges, wheel and axles, and screws. * Experiment with real world physics, actions and reactions, inputs and outputs. Learn about force and motion. * Investigate the physics at work behind each machine. * Sophisticated sound design rewards experimentation. * Original artwork by James Gilleard. * Smart features use your device’s camera to bring your kids’ world into the app. * Learn new vocabulary in 40+ languages with interactive labels. * Intuitive, safe, and kid-friendly design. * Entertaining for kids and adults alike. FREE handbook Our expert-reviewed handbook is full of facts, interaction hints, and discussion questions to support learning in this app, in the classroom or at home. Download in your app or at: http://tinybop.com/handbooks. Privacy Policy We take your and your child’s privacy very seriously. We do not collect or share personal information about your child, nor do we allow any third-party advertising. When the camera, microphone, and other services are used within an app, your information is neither collected nor distributed outside of the app. Read our complete privacy policy at tinybop.com. Tinybop, Inc. is a Brooklyn-based studio of designers, engineers, and artists. We make toys for tomorrow. We’re all over the internet. Visit us: www.tinybop.com Follow us: twitter.com/tinybop Like us: facebook.com/tinybop Peek behind the scenes: instagram.com/tinybop We love hearing your stories! If you have ideas, or something isn’t working as you expect it to, please contact us: hi@tinybop.com. Compatible with iPhone 5, 5s, 5c, 6, 6 Plus, iPod touch (5th generation), iPad 2, 3, mini, and Air. **This app is optimized for iPad 2 and iPhone 5 or higher. Requires iOS 7.0 or later. psst! It's not Tiny Bop, or Tiny Bob, or Tiny Pop. It's Tinybop.

About

Sight Reading Pro

Features
Read full description

Learn to read and play notes easily on your instrument. Learn to hear the notes when you see them on the staff and be able to play them by hearing their sound in your head. This builds upon our revolutionary method of learning instruments by ear, allowing you to become musically literate in the way that is much more effective as is done through imagining sounds that you are going to play when you see a note - not mere mechanical playing. And all that without too much thinking - you just will learn to sight-read and play with our app.

Screenshots

Simple Machines by Tinybop4 screens
Sight Reading Pro4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Simple Machines by Tinybop at $2.99 against Sight Reading Pro's $12.99. On update cadence, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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

Simple Machines by Tinybop costs $2.99 and Sight Reading Pro $12.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
Simple Machines by Tinybop versus Sight Reading Pro: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSimple Machines by TinybopSight Reading Pro
Price$2.99 — better$12.99
Rating3.7 (62 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews37.4% of reviews—
Number of ratings62 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 4 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaid—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.011.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size112 MB53 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTinybop Inc.Oleg Sokolov

Bugs and requests

Simple Machines by Tinybop

Reported bugs

8 issues
  • Crashes immediately on launch
  • Cannot install after purchase
  • App crashes after loading screen
  • No sound
  • Does not work
Show 3 more
  • Download issues
  • Does not open
  • Chinese language not displayed

Requested features

8 requests
  • Add a creative building mode
  • More levels and modules
  • Sandbox mode
  • Ability to build own machines
  • More interactive elements
Show 3 more
  • Add more complex mechanisms
  • Improve wheel and axle interaction
  • Allow bringing up planets in pulley game

Sight Reading Pro

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Simple Machines by Tinybop

No in-app purchases

None

Sight Reading Pro

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Simple Machines by Tinybop free?
Simple Machines by Tinybop costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Sight Reading Pro free?
Sight Reading Pro costs $12.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do Simple Machines by Tinybop or Sight Reading Pro have ads?
Neither Simple Machines by Tinybop nor Sight Reading Pro shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Simple Machines by Tinybop or Sight Reading Pro?
Simple Machines by Tinybop ships an update every 4 months, and Sight Reading Pro every 4 months. Most recently, Simple Machines by Tinybop was updated on October 15, 2026 and Sight Reading Pro on September 21, 2026.

Other comparisons