Is the Yoto Player Worth It? This Kids' Audio Player Surprised Me
In a nutshell:
The Yoto Player is a unique audio player that both my daughter and I didn’t know we needed. After first-hand product testing, Yoto’s expansive audio collection, free daily podcast and 24-hour battery life hooked me in.
Not every gadget can keep a kid’s attention. And when a toy’s price starts creeping up on upwards of a hundred bucks, you want to know if that toy is worth it before buying. I don’t blame you—as a mom of two, I know the reality of scrolling through countless reviews as you sit there wondering, “Will my kid actually play with this? Or will they just use it once and be done?” The Yoto Player promises screen-free fun through simple, pop-in cards. But is it honestly worth it? My preschooler and I put it to the test, so you don’t have to wonder.
About the Yoto Player
- Over 1,000 card options
- Long battery life
- Can last through childhood into teen years
- Protective case sold separately
- Dials might be advanced for younger toddlers
The Yoto Player offers a unique audio experience for families, built to spark imagination and learning. It’s designed for kids aged 3 to 12 and up, with over a thousand stories, songs and educational experiences in Yoto’s card library. Overall, Yoto is loaded with features—including a pixelated clock, a room thermometer, endless free audio, a night light, Bluetooth functionality, a headphone jack, toggling dials and a daily podcast and music station—all with a shocking 24-hour battery life.
Using Yoto Player cards
Additional audio content can be purchased for the Yoto Player via supplementary cards. Playing with Yoto cards is as simple as a pop-in-and-go system. The player has a thin credit card-like opening on the top of the device where your cards easily slide in. Once your card is in, your content will start playing immediately and go through the card’s playlist until it reaches the end. At any time while your audio is playing, you can take the card out—when you put it back in, Yoto will pick right up where you left off.
When you add a brand new card to your collection, your Yoto must be connected to WiFi first so the player can download this new content. It takes less than a minute to download. Then, you can listen to your cards offline forever. The great part is that the Yoto can hold over a whopping 600 hours of audio for offline listening.
Your Yoto Player also comes with a blank Make Your Own card for creating personal recordings. This blank card can hold up to five hours of audio content on 100 different tracks. Personalized recording ideas are endless—grandparents reading bedtime stories, parents saying “I love you”, friends with sweet messages or your child’s favorite song—it’s all done through an app on the parent’s phone. You just press record, stop when done and tap a button to immediately send it to your blank Yoto card.
To find out how the Yoto Player worked in a real family setting, we took the following steps:
My 3-year-old and I used the Yoto Player multiple times, incorporating it into our daily routine. We used the audio player during the day while my daughter played in her typical setting and at night before bed to test it across different situations. We tested the Yoto Player with four cards, including a mix of popular kids’ stories and songs. My daughter also listened to the Yoto Daily podcast and music station multiple times. Lastly, we tested the Make Your Own card recording feature and recorded our family’s voices onto the card. I then rated the Yoto Player across multiple categories—including ease of use, play and entertainment, quality of content, durability, my child’s reaction, value and overall experience—on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the worst possible score and 10 being the best. Then, we combined my ratings with extensive research by our in-house editorial team to share this full-scale product review.
Editorial integrity is at the heart of everything we publish. Read about how The Bump develops and reviews all articles, including product reviews.
Ease of use
The great part about the Yoto Player is that you don’t need to read through any lengthy instructions when setting it up. It comes with an audio welcome card that gives you the full lowdown on using your Yoto Player. It’s like a full, detailed audio clip of everything you need to know—just pop the card in and immediately learn how to use the player. For the actual setting up part, there wasn’t much to it. You just download the Yoto app to your phone, which walks you through creating an account in minutes.
The two dials on the Yoto took a little playing with for me to figure out what they do. But after my daughter used each toggle once, she quickly understood how it worked. (Toddlers are smart!) I think younger kids under three might have a tougher time figuring out the dials for volume and switching stories in each card, but two and a half to three years old seems like a great starting age for the Yoto. Oh, and changing out cards is a breeze. All you have to do is take out the current card and insert whatever card you want next, and it will start playing automatically. If you want to pause a story, there’s a little button on the side of the device. But my toddler just takes the card out to pause it, easy peasy.
Recording our own audio on Yoto’s Make Your Own card was really neat. You do it all inside the parent app and send it straight to your blank card, which is included in your Yoto purchase. It literally took seconds to record, send it and start listening to our new personal playlist on the blank card. My toddler absolutely loves this feature because she can listen to her dad and grandpa talk before bedtime.
Overall, the Yoto isn’t difficult for me as a parent to figure out. There are two dials and one button on the side. One dial for the volume, one to skip through tracks on the card and the button pauses and turns the player off. I can’t express this enough, it’s really simple. The only thing that overwhelmed me was the initial welcome card. It has so much information on it, and when you’re just learning about the Yoto, it can seem like a lot. The good news is you don’t have to digest all the extra information yet if you don’t want to. Just download the app, and it will walk you through the setup so your child can start listening in minutes.
Rating: 9 out of 10
Play and entertainment
Oh my—my toddler loves the Yoto Player! When we first opened it, she played with it for hours. She set it on our coffee table in the living room and listened to it while she played with her toys. I usually have to run around and keep her busy during the day, but she started playing more independently as soon as we started using the Yoto. It’s truly a game-changer.
The best part about the Yoto Player is that she can play with it in so many different ways. There are the story cards, music channel and Yoto Daily (an interactive podcast with Jake—he’s awesome!). It feels like there are so many things she can do with it to stay entertained. Since we opened the package, she’s wanted to listen to her Yoto every day after.
Rating: 10 out of 10
Quality of content
Yoto has some pretty great content, and the stories are impressively written. Most Yoto cards are based on actual stories from real shows and movies. My daughter really liked connecting with the characters she already knew and loved, like Chase from PAW Patrol and all the Disney princesses. We listened to three story cards and one music card with cute songs on it. The stories are a mixture of a narrator and other character voices to make them more engaging. We actually have a few bedtime story cards for Yoto, too, and they sound more gentle, quiet and less stimulating. In fact, she will fall asleep to these bedtime stories at night.
It doesn’t just stop at stories and songs either—the Yoto card library also has educational and older kid content available. At first glance, they have many card options, like learning about the solar system, the human body and even Harry Potter stories. I can see my daughter using her Yoto Player until at least 10 years old with this wide range of content available, maybe even longer.
Rating: 10 out of 10
Durability
My 3-year-old has dropped the Yoto a few times—luckily, it’s still fine and works just like new. But if you have younger kids, I’d recommend purchasing the Yoto Adventure Jacket case because it’s a solid, hard device. Unfortunately, the case doesn’t come with the Yoto Player. You need to buy it separately for about $30, which is kind of on the pricier side, in my opinion—but worth it nonetheless.
One thing I will note is that the dials might pop off eventually if your kid ends up dropping it straight on them. Thankfully, this hasn’t happened yet. But I’m just thinking about future scenarios with my mom senses. Once, she got a little creative and started putting some cookies down in the card player slot—so I could see that potentially being an issue for younger kids. Luckily, I had a toothpick and could scrape the crumbs out fully.
All around though, this player is made with quality top of mind. I think it will last years, maybe even until she’s a teenager. Yoto has content she can use as she gets older, like educational cards and more advanced stories for older kids.
Rating: 9 out of 10
Child’s reaction
As soon as we gave her the Yoto cards, she was extremely excited. She even screamed when she saw her favorite characters on the front of the cards. “That’s Chase, mommy!” She lined the cards up and started naming all of them, one by one. And when she actually started listening to the stories and hearing her favorite characters, she was even more excited.
The Yoto lived up to her (and my) expectations. I sang and recorded Twinkle Twinkle Little Star on the Make Your Own card, and she hugged the Yoto—it was the cutest thing ever. The recording came in so clear and crisp. She even recorded her own song next and loved hearing her voice on the player and ran to her dad, saying, “That’s me, that’s me!” I don’t think any other toy has made her feel this excited or proud.
Rating: 10 out of 10
Value for money
As a parent of a preschooler, I think the Yoto Player is 100 percent worth the price. In my eyes, it’s one of the best gifts she’s ever gotten. Honestly, I’m shocked it’s not a little more expensive, considering the extra music station and the Yoto Daily channel—shhh, don’t tell Yoto that.
I would buy a Yoto Player for every single one of my kids, it’s a staple in our household now. Especially since Yoto has so much content for growing children. You can use this audio player for a long time compared to other toys and gadgets that seem to collect dust after one use.
Rating: 10 out of 10
Summary
Bottom line—get the Yoto Player. It’s worth every penny and more. It’s helped my daughter learn to play more independently, and she really looks forward to interacting with Jake on Yoto Daily. The player itself has such a sleek, modern design that she can grow with and use for so many years. The educational content in Yoto’s library looks top-tier, and the story options seem endless, with over 1,000 cards available.
Once the cards are downloaded onto the player in a WiFi setting, you can listen to them unlimitedly, forever. Luckily, the Yoto Player can hold over 600 hours of audio without needing WiFi. But if you want to take the cards while traveling, they’re small and easy to bring along. But if you have a younger toddler, I’d recommend getting the case for it. This player is rock solid, and the case will give that buffer it needs if it ever gets dropped.
If I’m being honest, TV was starting to turn my daughter into somewhat of a zombie kid. But the Yoto is finally bringing back her fun side and imagination. That’s a huge win for me!
Average rating: 9.6 out of 10
About the writer: Dani Wolfe is a senior marketer and motherhood writer who is newly postpartum with her second child. She’s spent the last four years researching and trying out dozens of toys and products for her kids to lock down what’s best. After first becoming a mom in 2021, she craved advocacy in this space and strives to help other women feel supported through her work. She has a bachelor’s degree in science and a certification in holistic nutrition. Dani lives on Lake Michigan with her husband, 3-year-old daughter and new baby boy.
Plus, more from The Bump:
Navigate forward to interact with the calendar and select a date. Press the question mark key to get the keyboard shortcuts for changing dates.
