Verithiathe honest score on any app
Updated July 2026 · real, multi-region App Store reviews
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The verdict on

BrainPOP

60
User verdict / 100 High confidence Divided

BrainPOP is generally praised for its educational content and engaging format, but recent user reviews highlight significant issues with its subscription model, technical glitches, and limited free content, leading to frustration despite its long-standing positive reputation.

4.7★ lifetime (34,246) Free + in-app purchases since 2010 by BrainPOP updated 11.7 mo ago recent negative 8% 120 reviews across 4 regions
Cost & Paywall Educational Value Technical Issues Content Limitations Account & Subscription Issues Content Bias/Accuracy
5★558
4★86
3★23
2★18
1★42
recent reviews across 4 regions, vs the 4.7★ lifetime average

BrainPOP is an educational app that provides videos and quizzes across various subjects, widely appreciated by students and teachers for making learning fun and accessible R1R4R56. However, recent reviews frequently criticize the app's paywall, technical problems like videos not playing or accounts not working, and a perceived lack of free content, which contradicts its 'free + in-app purchases' model R2R5R15R21.

What users like

  • Educational and engaging content, making learning fun for kidsR1R4R19R52
  • Helps with school subjects and homework, improving gradesR13R32R56R220
  • Videos explain complex topics clearly and are suitable for various age groupsR44R52R566

What users complain about

  • Requires payment or subscription for most content, despite being listed as 'free'R2R5R6R8
  • Users experience technical issues like videos not playing, connection errors, or app crashesR2R9R20R21
  • Difficulty with account creation, sign-in, or subscription managementR10R11R22R29
  • Limited free content, leading to repetitive viewing and frustrationR10R13R31R37
  • Some users report political bias or 'propaganda' in contentR16R27R103R165
  • Family plans are restrictive, only allowing two children per planR30
  • Lack of language options, specifically French, is a concern for some usersR356R386R392

Latest update · v4.0.8

What the developer says changed (the verdict above weighs this against what reviewers report):

Bug fixes and improvements

Recurring themes

Cost & Paywall negative
Many users express frustration that the app, advertised as 'free', requires significant payment or a subscription to access most educational content, leading to disappointment and deletion.R2R5R6R8
Technical Issues negative
A significant number of recent reviews report various technical problems, including videos not playing, connection errors, app crashes, inability to type in text fields, and sound issues. This contradicts the developer's vague 'bug fixes and improvements' note.R2R9R10R11
Educational Value positive
Despite the negative feedback on other aspects, many users, including children and teachers, consistently praise BrainPOP for its high educational value, engaging format, and ability to explain complex topics in an understandable way.R1R4R13R19
Content Limitations negative
Users frequently mention the limited number of free videos, leading to repetition and a desire for more diverse topics or an increased variety of free content. Some also note a lack of detail in videos or a need for more specific regional content.R10R13R31R37
Account & Subscription Issues negative
Problems with creating accounts, signing in, or managing subscriptions are common, with users reporting issues like not being able to type, subscriptions not porting across devices, or family plans being too restrictive.R10R11R22R29
Content Bias/Accuracy negative
A notable, though less frequent, concern is the perceived inclusion of political agendas or inaccuracies in some videos, such as the use of 'octopi' as a plural for octopus, or the portrayal of certain topics.R7R16R27R103

Who it's for

BrainPOP is for elementary and middle school students who enjoy learning through animated videos and quizzes, especially those whose schools provide access R1R4R19R32. It is not for users seeking entirely free educational content or those who are easily frustrated by technical glitches and subscription paywalls R2R5R15R21.

Evidence note: The recent reviews skew significantly more negative than the lifetime rating, with a strong focus on the paywall and technical issues. While the positive educational value is still acknowledged, the user experience for new or recent users appears to be hampered by these problems. The developer's notes of 'bug fixes and improvements' are not reflected in the recent user reports of ongoing technical issues.

Frequently asked

Is BrainPOP free to use?
BrainPOP is listed as 'Free + in-app purchases,' but recent reviews indicate that most content requires a paid subscription or in-app purchase, with only a limited number of free videos available R5R6R8R15.
What kind of content does BrainPOP offer?
BrainPOP offers educational animated videos and quizzes across various subjects like mathematics, science, social studies, and health, designed to make learning fun and easier to understand for students R1R13R32R44.
Are there technical issues with the BrainPOP app?
Yes, many recent reviews report technical issues such as videos not playing, connection errors, the app crashing, sound problems, and difficulties with typing in text fields or signing into accounts R2R9R10R11.
Can I use BrainPOP for multiple children?
The 'family' plan for BrainPOP only allows for two child profiles, and users with more than two children would need to purchase an additional family plan R30.

What reviewers actually said

Built only from these 120 real reviews (foreign ones translated). Superscripts jump to the quote here. Apple has no per-review links, so [ref] opens that app's reviews on the App Store.

  1. [R1] 5/5 · US Appppppp=/gooiood: It’s a great app especially for a 9 year old like me! So good I neeed a fake name……
  2. [R4] 5/5 · US Brain pop is awesome: I love brain pop it is so fun for me
  3. [R19] 5/5 · US What a great app!: I have gotten this game since I was very young. Each episode is educational and the quizzes for each video are very good. Also, I like the new Nat character, makes a great part of the team!
  4. [R52] 5/5 · US BrainPOP: This app is great and makes complicated things easier to understand. Definitely a 10/10
  5. [R13] 4/5 · US Improved my story writing AND my grades: The history section is so interesting!I also had fun with all the health videos.Writing historical fiction is so easy now!The book report video was very helpful,as well as the outline video.However, could you increase the variety of free videos?I didn’t buy the whole version for a while and it became monotonous watching the same videos over and over.There i
  6. [R32] 5/5 · US BrainPOP: BrainPOP is a good app because it helps me to learn and quiz myself on topics such as mathematics, science, and social studies in a fun way. Also if I’m slagging in school when I get home I can go watch a movie on the topic I’m stuck on.
  7. [R56] 5/5 · US Great and fun educational movies: I teach sick students as a hospital school teacher from K-12.The enjoy watching brain pop movies and taking quizzes. Please I need to know how to access brain pop jr.
  8. [R220] 2/5 · GB 😐: It really helps on h/w but it's a shame that you have to pay for it and when I wanted to create an account it wouldn't let me 😖
  9. [R44] 5/5 · US Good for Learning: BrainPop is so good for learning because the characters are funny. The videos also explain things well.
  10. [R566] 3/5 · AU Thank you BrainPOP!: Have just looked at the story of Helen Keller.It was simple ,inspiring and easy to read! Thanks again Rosemary
  11. [R2] 1/5 · US Horrid: Lots of money + did not work do not get!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  12. [R5] 1/5 · US Straight up lie: So I went to go download some learning games and then I downloaded it and it said it had a free trial and I’m not allowed to have games that cost money so I deleted it and searched games that don’t cost money for learning and it came up and it’s literally a straight up lie
  13. [R6] 5/5 · US More more more more more more more: Pls make it free
  14. [R8] 5/5 · US Brain pop: YALL NEED TO MAKE THIS APP FREE WITHIN THE APP NO SUBS COME ONE YALL BEEN AROUND FOR YEARS I LIVE BRAIN POP BUT I DONT WANNA PAY FOR IT
  15. [R9] 4/5 · US Discovered a new bug: I can’t hear anything. I checked my sound and it is on. Please fix it.
  16. [R20] 1/5 · US Crashed: After SO long, BrainPOP crashed suddenly!
  17. [R21] 3/5 · US Error: There is a connection error and it won’t let me play any videos
  18. [R10] 5/5 · US Two things I’m here: Hi, it’s me again. First I wanna see how is my email doing I sent you an email about the riots of the black Lives Matter movement I sort of wanna see how that’s doing. That’s the first reason I talk to you is I watch brain pop all the time to my computer that my school bought for me all the way to my phone, but I have the app on my phone and tablet, but there’s only limited am
  19. [R11] 1/5 · US Why can’t I type?: Basically when I am trying to make an account, it immediately goes out of the text box and doesn’t let me type at all.
  20. [R22] 1/5 · US DIDNT WORK DO NOT BUY: We were using the free trial, I was so excited to add this to our homeschool curriculum once the free trial was up, so we did all the steps. And then once we got an account we were getting error messages from all the videos, then I checked the Wi-Fi, full bars, restarted the app, and eventually restarted my IPad, and guess what? Still not working. If they want you to pay 350
  21. [R29] 2/5 · US Boring: My kid said it is boring and likes super teacher better and I can’t sign in so plz do something about it.but it is still fun and educational my other kid likes it so plz make it unboring
  22. [R31] 4/5 · US A suggestion maybe? 🤔: Y’all I love this app<3💕 but there not two many free videos 😩so BrainPOP if you see this please add more free videos! But overall this app is pretty good ⭐️!
  23. [R37] 2/5 · US The reason I gave this a 2 ⭐️ rating: I gave its two star rating because I’m stuck with the movies everyday! Please do something. Annoyed Izzy
  24. [R16] 1/5 · US 🤬Disease my foot!!!!!🤬: ADHD is not a disease it’s a wonderful way to think, and learn and be a person, so you better make autism and ADHD more positive because it is!
  25. [R27] 2/5 · US Political agenda: Manage to squeeze their political stuff into every video.
  26. [R103] 1/5 · US So… are we gonna talk about the propaganda?: As a young kid, I loved this app. It was super interesting and fun. And a way for a kid who just wants to play video games all the time like my eight year old self to enjoy school. Then soon before I quit this garbage,… oh what’s that a new catigory? “ news” I guess I’ll check it out. BEHOLD THE PROPAGANDA!!!
  27. [R165] 1/5 · US Doesn’t support LGBTQA+: Title says it all
  28. [R30] 2/5 · US 2 kids only!: I have 3 Kids and the “family”plan only allows for 2 kids. When you go to their website it states, “ Is it possible to set up a Family plan with more than two child profiles? Not at this time. However, if you have more than two children, you can purchase a second Family plan.” Seriously!? I am not paying 20 more dollars for another family plan. Ill be back when i can add all my kid
  29. [R356] 3/5 · CA This software should implement other languages: I will be proud to help to implement French. As French teacher, I will use it in classroom.
  30. [R386] 3/5 · CA French version: A French version any time soon? Would be greatly appreciated. Merci!
  31. [R392] 3/5 · CA S.v.P pouvez vous ...: Mettre brain pop pour quon choisi notre langue svp
  32. [R7] 3/5 · US Octopi is not a word: I was working with my elementary school students and was doing a “quiz” with them and stopped because your company used the word octopi for the plural of octopus. That is not a correct plural. Please fix this ASAP
  33. [R15] 1/5 · US It was free for me but then I had to pay I don’t think you should use this: It used to be free but then I had to pay so much money

Synthesized from 120 recent App Store reviews · updated July 2026 · View on the App Store