Comparison

Comics Studio vs PBS KIDS ScratchJr

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

Head to head
About

Comics Studio

Features
Read full description

Creating comics has never been so easy. With the Comics Studio iPad application, children and adults can now create their own comics in no time. Come meet Sam, Marry, Bob, Joe and Jane. You can tell their story, using your own words and imagination.

About

PBS KIDS ScratchJr

This app allows children ages 5-8 to create their own interactive stories and games using simple programming blocks. Kids can make characters move, jump, and sing, while learning foundational coding concepts and problem-solving skills. It features beloved PBS KIDS characters and offers creative tools like painting and voice recording.

Highlights
  • Create interactive stories and games
  • Learn basic coding concepts
  • Use colorful programming blocks
  • Incorporate PBS KIDS characters
  • Paint and edit characters/backgrounds
  • Record voice for projects
  • Utilize story starters for inspiration
Read full description

With PBS KIDS ScratchJr, kids can create their own interactive stories and games through programming activities and lessons. Learn the basics of coding through fun games and activities featuring characters from Wild Kratts, Lyla in the Loops, Odd Squad, Work it Out Wombats, and more! The storytelling possibilities are endless with this creative coding app for children ages 5-8. Children can express their creativity and make characters move, jump, dance and sing by snapping together colorful programming blocks. This app helps kids learn the foundation of programming and coding concepts in a way that’s fun and easy to learn. As kids play, they’ll learn to solve problems, design projects and express themselves creatively. With PBS KIDS ScratchJr, young kids can play and practice early school concepts at home. Download this fun educational app to get started! PBS KIDS ScratchJr Features: Programming Games - Colorful Programming Blocks teach basic coding concepts - Play and learn by snapping together the color-coded motion, sound, look, trigger and control blocks - Use programming concepts to create sequences that cause characters to animate - Program characters to interact in fun and exciting ways - Learn problem solving techniques PBS KIDS Characters and Backgrounds - 150+ PBS KIDS characters to mix and match - Children can create projects based on their favorite shows, including: - Wild Kratts - Lyla in the Loop - Work It Out, Wombats - Molly of Denali - Odd Squad - Arthur - Nature Cat - Peg +Cat - Ready Jet Go - And more! Paint Editing - Create characters and backgrounds - Painting made simple on illustration grids - Paint characters from PBS KIDS shows - Express creativity by painting Voice Recording - Use the recording tool to add sounds and your voice to projects - Voice characters from PBS KIDS shows Story Starters - Looking for inspiration? Eight Story Starters in the app are a great place to start - Each Story Starter features a different set of characters from PBS KIDS shows - Kids can create the stories they want with Story Starters - Encourage children to edit and complete the story however they’d like Introduce children to the basics of coding while having fun with PBS KIDS characters. Start learning, programming, painting, drawing and creating interactive stories. Download PBS KIDS ScratchJr today! PBS KIDS ScratchJr is only available for iPad. ---------------------- For more PBS KIDS apps, visit http://www.pbskids.org/apps For more on ScratchJr, visit http://www.scratchjr.org Privacy Across all media platforms, PBS KIDS is committed to creating a safe and secure environment for children and families and being transparent about what information is collected from users. To learn more about PBS KIDS' privacy policy, visit pbskids.org/privacy PBS KIDS ScratchJr is a collaboration between PBS, Scratch Foundation and the DevTech Research Group at Boston College. The PBS KIDS logo & PBS KIDS® PBS. Used with permission. ScratchJr logo is used with permission. PBS is not affiliated with Scratch Foundation and Boston College.

Screenshots

Comics Studio2 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: PBS KIDS ScratchJr at none against Comics Studio's 4. Comics Studio's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 12 months) and device support (3 vs 1). On price and ads 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

Both are free to download. Comics Studio sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. PBS KIDS ScratchJr asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Comics Studio ships an update every 3 weeks, PBS KIDS ScratchJr every 12 months. The most recent releases landed on October 5, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Comics Studio versus PBS KIDS ScratchJr: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterComics StudioPBS KIDS ScratchJr
PriceFreeFree
Rating—4.0 (356 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—62.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—356 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 12 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
Monetization—Free
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPad
Requires iOS8.0 — better11.0
Further details — not scored
Size45 MB138 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperGreenShpitsPBS KIDS

Bugs and requests

Comics Studio

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

PBS KIDS ScratchJr

Reported bugs

13 issues
  • Home button causes character to revert to previous position
  • Projects fail to load when creating or opening
  • Voice recording feature not working or missing
  • How-to tutorial videos don't play
  • Drawing tool corrupts custom characters
Show 8 more
  • Timer block doesn't function correctly
  • Drag-and-drop programming blocks unresponsive
  • App crashes when using certain blocks
  • Dot character won't disappear from new slides
  • Performance slowdown during projects
  • Paint editor labels incorrectly aligned with icons
  • Microphone feature doesn't show up or work
  • Text rendering issues with fonts and handwriting

Requested features

13 requests
  • Add more PBS Kids shows (Let's Go Luna, Dinosaur Train, Elinor Wonders Why, Hero Elementary, Wordgirl, Rosie's Rules, Alma's Way)
  • Unlimited pages/slides instead of 4-slide limit
  • More coding blocks from original Scratch (text-to-speech, etc.)
  • Custom character creation on blank canvas
  • Level maker and world maker features
Show 8 more
  • 2D and 3D options
  • Editable PBS backgrounds
  • Search bar for projects
  • More sound effects (crashing, slipping, sliding)
  • Page titles/naming system
  • More characters for existing shows
  • Offline functionality
  • Bring back Kart Kingdom game

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Comics Studio

One-time4
  • one month pro version subscription$1.99
  • 3 months pro version subscription$4.99
  • 6 months pro version subscription$4.99
Show 1 more
  • 12 months pro version subscription$9.99
None

PBS KIDS ScratchJr

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Comics Studio free?
Comics Studio is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is PBS KIDS ScratchJr free?
PBS KIDS ScratchJr is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Comics Studio or PBS KIDS ScratchJr have ads?
Neither Comics Studio nor PBS KIDS ScratchJr shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Comics Studio or PBS KIDS ScratchJr?
Comics Studio ships an update every 3 weeks, and PBS KIDS ScratchJr every 12 months. Most recently, Comics Studio was updated on October 5, 2026 and PBS KIDS ScratchJr on October 24, 2026.

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