Yoto vs. Tonie: Which Audio Player Is Best? a Kid-Tested Review

In a nutshell:

Based on first-hand testing, the Yoto Player and Toniebox both give kids a fun and independent audio experience. But while they seem very similar, the Yoto has more features for kids and is set up to last from childhood through their teen years, while the Toniebox is more limited and geared towards younger toddlers.

If you’re in any online parent groups, you’ve probably heard of parents swapping out their kids’ TV time with screen-free audio players. As a mom of two, I see this trend all over my social media feed, so if you’re like me, you’ve probably heard of the two most popular choices: the Yoto Player and the Toniebox. Both of these unique players use collectible figures or cards to offer children different audio experiences like short stories, interactive games and music. Mixing players like these into your kids’ routine can be a game-changer. I personally noticed my 3-year-old starting to play more independently after using hers.

But which audio player is best for your family? To find out, I put these two players up against each other head-to-head, Yoto vs. Tonie, to get a clear picture of what each brings to the table. Learn each player’s pros and cons and see my favorite by reading on!

How We Tested the Toniebox and Yoto Player

I used the Toniebox and the Yoto Player in a real family setting to compare each one. In the course of our product testing:

• My 3-year-old and I used the Toniebox and Yoto Player multiple times, fully incorporating them into our everyday routine. We used both audio players during the day while my daughter played in her typical setting and at night before bed to test them equally across different circumstances.
• We tested both the Toniebox and Yoto Player with four content accessories each, including a mix of popular kids’ stories and songs. We also tried out both players’ audio recording features and recorded family messages onto each one’s blank content accessory.
• I then rated the Toniebox and Yoto Player across a handful of categories—including ease of use, play and entertainment, quality of content, durability, my child’s reaction, value and overall experience. Then, we combined my ratings with extensive research by our in-house editorial team to share this full-scale product comparison review.

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Toniebox vs. Yoto Player

Ease of use

The awesome part about both the Toniebox and the Yoto Player is that younger kids can play with these audio players all on their own. The Toniebox has magnetic toys called tonies that easily sit on top of the player to play their audio content, while the Yoto has cards you slide into a slot on the top of its player. It’s simple, easy and many kids can quickly understand these systems. Each comes with a sample player, and additional content can be purchased separately.

The Yoto Player also comes with an audio welcome card that serves as instructions, and I’m a huge fan. When you’re first setting up the Yoto, there’s no need to read anything to figure it all out like with the Toniebox. You just pop Yoto’s welcome card into the player, and it reads off everything you need to know—how to use the player, what special features there are and how to record your own cards. With the Toniebox, I had to sort of figure everything out by reading the instructions or Googling how to do something. Not the worst thing in the world, but Yoto just made setting up a new toy that much easier.

The Toniebox is designed to be really simple for younger kids. There are cute ears you pinch for volume control, you whack the side of the box to change stories and tilt it to fast forward or rewind within tracks. It’s really foolproof once you figure it all out. But the whacking—my 3-year-old sometimes struggles to hit the Toniebox with the right amount of force to change a story. Either she hits too hard and the tonie toy flies off, or too gentle and I need to help her change stories. So, that was a drawback in my eyes. On the other hand, the Yoto Player’s has two toggle dials, one for volume and one for switching tracks, which made it much easier to change stories. You just twist them, and that’s it. Simply put, my daughter can change stories more easily with the Yoto Player than with the Toniebox. That being said, the Yoto doesn’t have a fast forward or rewind feature on the player itself like Toniebox does.

Another thing that stuck out to me was the device chargers for both players—the Yoto Player’s is more convenient. The Toniebox needs a very specific charger that’s unique to the player, while the Yoto has a universal type-C charger, which many households probably already have lying around.

Play and entertainment

There’s no doubt that the Toniebox and the Yoto Player will both keep your kids entertained—that’s almost a given. Both companies have classic Disney stories, childhood TV favorites and popular songs available in their content libraries. But it seemed to me like Yoto took it a step further. First up, they offer a daily kids’ podcast you can listen to on the player, and it’s such a great addition. Kids get to interact in a new way with the host Jake every single day, like participating in trivia, learning new facts and joining in on audible interactive games. Unfortunately, Toniebox has nothing like this. Secondly, Yoto has a pixelated light-up “screen” that shows kids a picture of what they’re currently listening to. My daughter loves this feature. She can quickly change to the exact story she wants by remembering the pixelated images that correspond to her favorite stories. With the Toniebox, she needs to just whack her way through the playlists and keep an ear out for the ones she likes. Lastly, the Yoto also has an alarm clock-like idle mode showing the time in pixelated blocks, and you can set up 10 different alarms on the player during the day to either wake your kids up, to remind them of something or to signal bedtime—the ideas are endless.

As for the audio content accessories—cards for Yoto Player and tonies for Toniebox—as your child gets more audio content, the more items you’ll have. And compared to small cards with the Yoto, the tonies toys will take up way more space. Kids already have so many toys to begin with (speaking from experience here), so the tonies might get a little more overwhelming as your kids build their library. To me, Yoto wins in that department. Thin cards are easier to hang onto and store away!

All in all, the Yoto and Toniebox both held my daughter’s attention just the same. But as an adult, I think Yoto offers her more in the play and entertainment department. But I have to say, she was initially more drawn to the Toniebox because of the tonies toys—I think the toys add an extra element of magic and fun for her.

Quality of content

The quality of audio content was fantastic for both players, with each offering a mix of narrators and real voices from popular kids’ shows and movies. But going by the specific audio content my daughter played with, I’d say the Yoto offered more story content. The Toniebox included a lot of songs in the Tonies, which my toddler and I didn’t really gravitate to. She just skips right through the songs and wants to hear the stories. For example, her Finding Nemo tonie featured four songs and only one story on it—kind of a let down.

There are hundreds of audio content options on the Yoto and Toniebox websites. Although when you’re looking at the different types, Yoto seems to have more options for older kids: Harry Potter stories, solar system and astrophysics lessons and even songs by Bob Marley and The Beatles. Surprisingly, I’ve seen some cards for 14-year-olds on there. This means more room to grow with your child, lasting much longer.

Durability

Durability with kids’ products matters. Especially when you’re spending almost a hundred bucks on a toy for your child. Looking at the Yoto Player, it has a hard outer design to it—it’s a rock-solid plastic player. It’s honestly really great quality, and I can see it lasting years, but I could also potentially see the dials popping off one day if it ever gets dropped in the right spot from a tall height. One way around this is to purchase a case for the Yoto—they make one, but it’s not included in your purchase. The Toniebox, on the other hand, was thoughtfully designed for durability. The entire player is toddler-proof with a well-padded, huggable outer case (included with your purchase). I don’t think you can ever break this thing. If it gets dropped, I feel like it would just bounce softly.

Zooming in on the audio accessories, Yoto’s cards are thicker like a credit card, so I have no doubt they’ll last a long time, just like the solid tonies figurines will. Although I do think the Yoto cards are less likely to get lost than the tonies toys because they likely won’t get mixed into the toy abyss. We’ve already had to search for some tonies because my daughter lost them in her toy box. But the great news is that both the Yoto cards and the tonies can get wet. (And I know my toddler likes to take her favorite toys in the bath.)

Child’s reaction

My 3-year-old was equally excited about each player at first. Both received excited screams, happy dances and huge smiles. The Yoto cards have photos of characters on them from the audio content, and the tonies toys are exact replicas of character figurines from the stories. Both the Yoto Player and the Toniebox content accessories gave her a twinkle in her eyes.

After a while, when I asked which she wanted to play with, she started gravitating more toward the Toniebox. She seriously loves playing with those tonies toys. Now she goes back and forth, really. It depends on the day, she loves them both!

Value for money

The Toniebox and the Yoto Player retail for almost the same price, about a hundred dollars. And they both give my daughter hours of independent entertainment. That’s worth a lot as a busy mom! The Yoto Player comes with more features and benefits like the daily podcast, an alarm clock, an all-day music streaming station, a room thermometer and 24-hour battery life. Plus, the make-your-own-recording card is included with the Yoto Player, but the equivalent tonie is sold separately. On the other hand, the Toniebox offers more durability with its toddler-proof, all-around padded design, and the tonies toys are like an extra bonus for the kids.

Overall, I think the value for money is spot on for the Toniebox. The Yoto Player goes far beyond the value, though, I think you get more than what you pay for with this audio player.

Final verdict

In the end, I’m going to have to give it up to the Yoto Player. My kid seems to get more with it—the room thermometer, alarm clocks, Bluetooth function, pixelated pictures, the daily podcast, an all-day, every day music station and more than three times the battery life. That’s a lot of huge features that the Toniebox doesn’t have.

While I do think the Toniebox has its place for younger toddlers and preschool-age kids, the Yoto Player can grow with your child more. Yoto’s content age range goes all the way up to 14 years old. And while there are a few older kid content options on the Toniebox, I can see kids probably growing out of the cute tonies toys as they get older. In my opinion, the Yoto cards are more appealing to older kids. Not to mention the physical space that the tonies toys will take up, the Yoto cards are that much easier to keep around.

There’s no doubt—the Toniebox is great for younger kids, but if you want your kid to grow with a player and have it last longer, the Yoto Player is the way to go.

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.