Review & comparison of audio players - Tonies, Yoto or Voxblock

Screen free audio players such as Tonies box, Yoto Player or Voxblock Audio are very popular and deciding which to choose can be a minefield. They are all screen free devices for children that have transformed bedtimes making for a calm routine and a better night sleep.  I've gathered some honest reviews and comparison from parents and put this together to hopefully help make it a bit simpler for parents looking to choose which one would suit their child.

Parent 1:
We have had all three of these Audio players, but now currently own a Tonie box and the Voxblock as these are the two used the most. 
We started with the Tonie box, which is fabulous and we have used this for many years, every evening, since the children were under two.
The Tonies characters' are eye-catching and easy to set up and add to the box to play. There are so many Tonies characters, stories, and songs that you can pick from, so there is literally something for everyone.

However, as my daughter got older, she wasn't as interested in the tonie box and was in need of something slightly different, a bit more, grown up, and so we got the Yoto Player.

This actually didn't go down as well as I'd hoped, and she wasn't as keen on it. She didn't like the thin cards and struggle to work it, so after me trying for a few months, I gave up and sold it.

We then received the Voxblock, and this has been perfect for her and the younger two boys.

This audio player is not too big, but it is chunky for smaller hands.

The books are chunky too and just easily slot onto the top of the player.

There are no screens and it's simple to use for the child to chop and change what story they are listening to

What I personally like about the Voxblock over the Tonie and Yoto Player is that it's wifi free, so there is no need to have to load the books onto the Voxblock. Just charge the player and go. So, no hassel or faffing.

The battery on both the Tonie and the Voxblock lasts a long time after a single charge, which is helpful for travel.
But with this, the Tonie box is better for home as it is a big cube. whereas the Voxblock can be carried easily, when out and about.

There is an option on the Voxblock to enable bedtime mode, and this will stop the story after 20 minutes before entering stand-by mode.

As I stated previously, myself and my daughter weren't keen on the cards for the Yoto, especially being made from plastic so better suited to older children, but the Voxblock books are made from strong card and built to last.

Obviously, a big thing for me, like most parents, are costs:

You don't want to spend out a lot on something that you then have to add lots more money to, to make it work for your child/ren. So, I thought I'd show you here the approx cost comparisons too as I feel this is extremely important when you are deciding which to purchase.

• Voxblock  with Gruffalo & Friends Starter Pack: from £68.99 includes three stories and a protective bumper

• Yoto: £131.99 for a player, protective bumper, and phonics bundle.

• Tonies: £123.98 for a player, three Tonie characters, and one creative Tonie.

Buying the cards, books, or characters then have a big range of prices, and you can purchase each individually or in bundles.

• Tonies, the general prices are roughly around the £12-15 mark.

• Yoto cards are again roughly around £8-10 for individual stories

• Voxblock books are roughly around £10-12

I've asked my children to give their own opinions on these players.

Athena - I like the Voxblock, its good I can use it on my own and listen to my stories. I like listening at bedtime.

Demetri - I listen to the tonie box every night. I like the lion king. I like picking which person I'm putting on the box before bed.

A parent review of Tonie box versus Yoto

We are lucky enough in our house hold to own both a Tonie box and a Yoto player (mainly because I have two sons of different ages and at the time having one of each of these worked for us)

Let’s begin with the Tonie Box:
We have owned this for approx 4 years since my youngest son was 3 years old. He has honestly used his pretty much every night since and insists he has to go to sleep with an audio story on (which I can’t complain about). We love how interactive it is especially for the younger community - the box itself is soft and padded to protect it from short falls, the characters themselves are much more appealing and contain magnets underneath the make them easier to keep on top of the Tonie box when in use (and handy if you buy yourself a metal shelf to store the characters on, as they will stay put with the magnet underneath). I did, however find at the beginning when we first got the box that the variety of tonies were poor and there wasn’t much choice for the slightly older kids (most being more aimed at the younger generation) However, this has since changed especially with the new release of pocket book Tonies for a much more affordable price and for children who enjoy much longer content and chapter books.

Yoto player:
My eldest son has owned a Yoto player for around 4 years too when he was 7 years old. At the time as mentioned above I found the Tonie box was more aimed at the younger generation and there was not much content for the older children who wanted longer audios, My son and myself were amazed at the amazing variety of cards they had - there was so many for not only the older generation of kids but so many also for the younger generation meaning the box could equally be used for all ages. We loved the different functions on the Yoto player - having a screen so when in standby my son could access the time by looking at the clock, he was also able to set himself alarms in the mornings for school meaning he could have the bit more independence. The cards were much more affordable most ranging between £7-£10 compared to the price of the tonies figures being £14.99.
Yotos were much easier to transport out with us on car journeys too compared to taking the Tonie box with us.

Overall we have loved both the tonies and Yoto player with both my kids and can see lots of pros and cons between them both! Personally I feel like the Tonie box is more suited to the younger generation however with the latest release of the book tonies I believe this view could be changed with the more chapter books they release. Yoto players are versatile as there is content for all ages (even some I would say could be aimed for adults too) therefore getting the most for your money.

Which would you choose??

Voxblock                         Tonie box                      Yoto Player

Written by parents Sian, Kirtsy & Rachel