Comparison

Playground Physics vs PhET Simulations

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

Head to head
About

Playground Physics

Record videos of motion, trace paths, and analyze physics concepts like forces and energy. This tool helps educators bring Newton's Laws to life with interactive graphs and slow-motion playback. Ideal for middle and high school science.

Highlights
  • Record and analyze motion in videos
  • Trace paths and examine movement
  • Interactive scrubbable graphs
  • Slow-motion playback
  • Calculate forces and energy
  • Save and share performance videos
Read full description

Discover and explore the physics in your own movements. Record a video of you or your friends, tap points along the way to trace a path of motion, and discover the motion, forces, and energy involved. Educators can make Newton’s Laws of motion come alive with an app that was named one of Fast Company’s Top 10 mobile apps! Join a community of educators making inspiring learning experiences with Noticing Tools. “Playground Physics is one of the most fun units that I’ve done in a long time. I’ve been teaching about 12 years, and everybody had a great time.” - Stacey, 8th grade science teacher In Playground Physics, you can: * Record a video of a performance or choose a stock video. * Tap points along the video to trace a path of motion. * Examine your performance closely with scrubbing video controls. * Enter known measurements (height of an object, mass of the object being tracked) in English or metric units to reveal accurate data of your performance. * Explore interactive, scrubbable graphs synchronized to the video playback. Graphs display the distance traveled and speed along the path in horizontal and vertical vectors. * Add stickers to mark important moments in the performance (and for a laugh!). * Play your video back in slow motion to closely examine your movements. * Explore how distance, speed, and direction changes when things move. * Understand how a person's or object's potential and kinetic energy change as they move. * Save your performance as videos with data overlays or editable scenes. * Share your performance videos or transfer editable scenes to other cloud services and apps through use of the Files app. Ideal for middle and high school school science classrooms, Playground Physics and accompanying curriculum activities are aligned to and embody the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) by integrating core ideas, scientific practices, cross-cutting concepts, and delight! The new 2023 edition of the curriculum is freely available at: https://noticing.nysci.org/apps/playground-physics/ Playground Physics is one of the Noticing Tools (TM) from the New York Hall of Science. The full suite includes Choreo Graph, Fraction Mash, Size Wise, Volumize, and Picture Dots. Noticing Tools were developed in collaboration with Local Projects, an award-winning media design firm based in New York. http://localprojects.com/

About

PhET Simulations

Explore science and math concepts through interactive simulations. This app provides over 75 HTML5 simulations for learning about atoms, energy, multiplication, and more. It's ideal for students, parents, and educators, offering offline access and multiple language support.

Highlights
  • Interactive science and math simulations
  • Offline play capability
  • Multiple language support
  • Customizable favorites collection
  • Automatic simulation updates
  • Easy simulation sorting
Features
Currently charting
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Engage in learning science and math with the award-winning PhET simulations! Whether understanding atoms, exploring energy, or mastering multiplication, there is a sim for every learner. Perfect for at home, in class, or on the road, this app delivers all PhET HTML5 sims (over 75 sims) in one easy-to-use package. Developed by experts at the University of Colorado Boulder, PhET sims are used by millions of students every year. The PhET iPad app delivers these exclusive features: • Offline play: learn on the bus or at the park without a WiFi connection. • Multiple languages: app translate in many languages (great for bilingual learners). • Favorites: pick your favorite sims and create your own custom collection. • Automatic updates: get the latest HTML5 sims as soon as they are released. • Easy sorting: find the right sims for you. • Fullscreen: maximize your screen real estate for optimal sim exploration. PARENTS: Engage your child in science and math discovery. TEACHERS: Your favorite HTML5 sims at your fingertips, even without internet access. ADMINISTRATORS: Optimized for school use, so your teachers will be seamlessly up to date. STUDENTS: Tell your parents there’s an exciting app for learning science and math. Note: The app does not include PhET’s Java or Flash sims. In addition, although we are currently working on improving the accessibility of our sims, most of the sims included in this app do not include keyboard navigation or screen reader access. As accessible sims become available, they will be updated within the app. Proceeds from the app support the development of more HTML5 sims. On behalf of the PhET team and the students whose lives you have helped improve — Thank you!

Screenshots

PhET Simulations3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Playground Physics at Free against PhET Simulations's $0.99. Playground Physics also leads on update cadence (every 5 months vs every 14 months). PhET Simulations's advantage is review sentiment (66% vs 40%) and ratings volume (49 vs 5). On rating, ads, in-app purchases and iOS requirement 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

Playground Physics is free to download; PhET Simulations costs $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for Playground Physics against 4.5 for PhET Simulations. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: PhET Simulations has 49 ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 40% of Playground Physics's written reviews are positive against 66% of PhET Simulations's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Playground Physics ships an update every 5 months, PhET Simulations every 14 months. The most recent releases landed on September 13, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Playground Physics versus PhET Simulations: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPlayground PhysicsPhET Simulations
PriceFree — better$0.99
Rating4.6 (5 ratings) — better4.5 (49 ratings)
Positive reviews40.0% of reviews65.5% of reviews — better
Number of ratings549 — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 months — betterEvery 14 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterPaid
Best chart rank—#44 — better
DevicesiPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS15.015.0
Further details — not scored
Size45 MB125 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNew York Hall of ScienceUniversity of Colorado Boulder

Customer experience

Playground Physics

All ratings5 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews15 reviews
Positive40.0%
Neutral6.7%
Negative53.3%

PhET Simulations

All ratings49 ratings
Positive87.8%
Neutral0.0%
Negative12.2%
Written reviews145 reviews
Positive65.5%
Neutral4.1%
Negative30.3%

In-app purchases

None

Playground Physics

No in-app purchases

None

PhET Simulations

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Playground Physics free?
Playground Physics is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is PhET Simulations free?
PhET Simulations costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Playground Physics or PhET Simulations?
Playground Physics is rated higher. Playground Physics averages 4.6 out of 5 from 5 ratings, while PhET Simulations averages 4.5 from 49 ratings.
Do Playground Physics or PhET Simulations have ads?
Neither Playground Physics nor PhET Simulations shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Playground Physics or PhET Simulations?
Playground Physics ships an update every 5 months, and PhET Simulations every 14 months. Most recently, Playground Physics was updated on September 13, 2026 and PhET Simulations on September 23, 2026.

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