Comparison

Simple Machines by Tinybop vs Early School Math

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

Early School Math

Features
Read full description

This is a free resource for math teachers of PreK to Grade 3 around the world. This all-in-one-place teaching assistant can be a mentor for inexperienced math teachers, and a large instructional resource for all math teachers. Once you have the app in your phone, there is nothing further to download or link to. The app has short descriptions of 100 topics covering all areas of early math education. The topics are organized by strands and substrands in whichever math standard you prefer. The topics can also be displayed as part of a collection of learning pathways to aid in understanding how each topic relates to other topics. The 100 topics are linked to associated resources through the Resource Finder, which greatly reduces the time it takes to find ideas for your class. The resources are: - dozens of short 2-10 minute instructional routines - dozens of 1 to 3-period rich tasks - 150 math puzzles - 75 math games for the classroom - 59 annotated storybooks - a glossary of about 150 math terms This version of the app supports the math standards of Australia (vers. 9.0), US Common Core State Standards for Math, Ghana (2019), India NCRT Math, Kenya (2024), Texas (2012), and the UK (2020). This app is co developed by Early Family Math and IDEMS International.

Screenshots

Simple Machines by Tinybop4 screens
Early School Math4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Early School Math at Free against Simple Machines by Tinybop's $2.99. Simple Machines by Tinybop's advantage is iOS requirement (12.0 vs 14.0). 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

Early School Math is free to download; Simple Machines by Tinybop costs $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Simple Machines by Tinybop ships an update every 4 months, Early School Math every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 9, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Simple Machines by Tinybop versus Early School Math: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSimple Machines by TinybopEarly School Math
Price$2.99Free — better
Rating3.7 (62 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews37.4% of reviews—
Number of ratings62 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaid—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.0 — better14.0
Further details — not scored
Size112 MB108 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTinybop Inc.IDEMS International Community Interest Company

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

Early School Math

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Simple Machines by Tinybop

No in-app purchases

None

Early School Math

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Simple Machines by Tinybop free?
Simple Machines by Tinybop costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Early School Math free?
Early School Math is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Simple Machines by Tinybop or Early School Math have ads?
Neither Simple Machines by Tinybop nor Early School Math shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Simple Machines by Tinybop or Early School Math?
Simple Machines by Tinybop ships an update every 4 months, and Early School Math every 2 months. Most recently, Simple Machines by Tinybop was updated on November 6, 2026 and Early School Math on November 9, 2026.

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