Toniebox Vs. Yoto: An Honest Review of Kid’s Best Audioplayers

Are you on the hunt for the biggest and best new audiobox toy for kids? This honest Toniebox vs. Yoto review compares two of the most popular brand audio players available for kids. Includes pros and cons, features, battery life, content availability, durability, price point information, and more for both audioplayers.

As a Mom of three and an early childhood professional, I’ve purchased and used both audio players for our children (ages 2, 4, and 6). Both are well loved and used by all of our children and this review shares some of the features that we love best about both of them.

The Yoto and Toniebox both have many similarities and a few major differences. They both have a ton of fun content for kids of all ages and would make the perfect gift idea for holidays or birthdays. If you’re unsure of which audio player to purchase head down for more information and recommendations on what may be best for your family.

For a much longer and full review solely on the Toniebox head over to our honest Toniebox review. If you’re interested in the many similarities and differences between Tonies and Yotos head down and check it out below.

This post may contain affiliate links and as an Amazon Associate as well as a member of other affiliate programs including Wonderfold, I may earn a small compensation from qualifying purchases. All opinions and recommendations are my own. 

Toniebox VS Yoto

Toniebox and Yoto Players are both screen-free audio players. They are both perfect for at home or on the go. The main differences between the Toniebox and Yoto players are the content capabilities, characters vs cards, and the fact that the Yoto player has a small screen (if you can call it that) that shows a few pictures, the time, and more.

What is a Toniebox?

A Toniebox is an audio player for young children. It is a cube shape with soft sides and a speaker on one of the sides. The Toniebox has a hard top with two ears that help control the volume and turn the box on. It comes with plastic characters that are put on top of the box and play stories and songs that go along with each character.

Hit the right side of the box to skip tracks and the left side of the box to jump tracks backward. Tilt the box to fast-forward and tilt it in the other direction to rewind. The Toniebox is charged by setting it on the corded charging base. It has a headphone jack so can be played out loud or quietly.

What is a Yoto Player?

The Yoto player is an audio player for children that has a small pixeled screen and cards that children can listen to. Push the button on the right side of the Yoto player to turn it on. Push a content card into the slot at the top and listen to the songs and stories that come out of the speaker.

There are two buttons on the top of the Yoto player. The one on the left spins to control the volume while the one on the right plays the Yoto radio or a daily podcast. You can also push or turn the right button when a card is in to skip through tracks. It has a charging cord (or you can purchase a wireless charging dock separately), a night light, and a room thermometer, and can even be used as an okay to wake clock.

It is marketed as an audio player and is mostly considered screen-free as it doesn’t have a typical screen like a TV or tablet. The screen on the front mostly just shows pictures, track numbers, and the time. It is made from a harder plastic but you can purchase an adventure jacket to help with durability if your children are rougher with things.

Tonies vs. Yotos Design and Ease of Use

The Toniebox is a soft sided cube with a speaker on one side and two ear buttons on the top. It is a simple design and comes in tons of different color options. Our Toniebox has been stepped on, thrown, and taken in the car and on many adventures and while I would not recommend doing this to your Toniebox it has lasted through all of this.

It is a super durable and very practical design that is easy to use for young children. At just 1 year old, my little guy was able to figure out how to place characters on the Toniebox and turn it on to be played with. He also figured out at a late one how to hit the side to change tracks.

The Yoto player is a cube shape and made out of a hard plastic material. It comes in one color option only but there is also an option for a Yoto mini player (a smaller more portable version of the audio player) as well. It has a small pixelated screen on the front and two large buttons on the top. While the hard sides make it easier to break (although without ones ours is still running strong) you can simply add a silicone adventure jacket and it becomes much more durable and better for little hands.

The cards are easy to slide in and out and once you get a hang of it is easy for children to understand. It is marketed for three and up and we find it runs pretty true to that age. It is still a little difficult for my young two year old to figure out how to turn on and adjust things like the volume or tracks on his own but he can still listen to the tracks and my four year old can figure it out with ease.

Setting Up Your Toniebox Vs Yoto Player

The set up for both the Toniebox and Yoto players is pretty similar. Both come with directions that show you how to download the app and turn your box on and off. Both connect to an app on your phone that you can get for free through your phone’s app store.

Just download the app and follow the directions on your phone to connect your audioboxes to the Wi-fi. From start to finish, set-up on both of our boxes took us only about 5 minutes for each. The directions are very straightforward and very simple.

Once you have your device set up and connected to the wifi you just put the cards in the slot or the characters on top and they pair up with your phone and show up in the character libraries. Your audio boxes do need to be connected to the internet for them to pair with the characters/cards but once you’ve paired them one time you are able to bring your audiobox places without internet (we bring ours in the car often) and they still work great.

Tonies Vs Yoto Features

Tonies Content Vs. Yoto Content

These two popular audio players both have great content available. While Tonies content comes in the form of characters that are placed on top of the Toniebox, Yoto content comes in the form of cards placed into the slot.

Each Tonies character plays a total of 20-40 minutes of content depending on which one you choose. Tonies characters come in all different age ranges. There are characters that are meant for younger children like toddler songs characters, PBS kids characters, and more. There are also characters that are meant for older children like the National Geographic Tonies and more.

Tonies has tons of options for different content, including songs, stories from movies and shows, and books. Some of the favorite Tonies characters in our house (with a 2, 4, and 6 year old) are all of the princess Tonies, the Trolls tonies, the Coco movie Tonie, Nemo, Playtime puppy Tonie, Daniel Tiger, and more. There are so many great choices for Tonies for all ages.

Each Yoto card has anywhere from 15-50 minutes of content on it. They come in all different age ranges as well. They have Yoto cards that are directed toward younger children like preschool songs, nursery rhyme cards, and more. They also have cards that are directed towards older children like Harry Potter, Kidz Bop, Magic Treehouse, and more.

Yoto also has tons of great options for content. They have great book content like the popular 5 minute stories collections, classic children’s chapter books, Kidzbop songs, Barbie, Disney, non-fiction learning cards, sleep and bedtime stories, and even Holiday ones as well.

With 2, 4, and 6 year olds at home, our favorite Yotos are anything Disney related, the 5 minute stories, the Magic Treehouse chapter books, Kidzbop, and more.

Record Your Own Content Tonies and Yoto

The creative Tonies are one of our favorite features of Tonies. They come in many different character options and are awesome and super easy to add your own content. Download the app and record your favorite songs on your phone. Then just send it to the Tonie and it plays from the box.

Each record your own creative Tonie has 90 minutes available. Our favorite part is that you can give others who have downloaded the app access to your creative Tonies and they can leave messages for you. This is an awesome way for Grandparents or friends who live far away to send messages to each other.

The Yoto works similarly. Just maneuver to the Create tab and add recordings or your favorite MP3 files. Then upload them to the recordable Yoto card of choice for your own fun songs and content.

Yoto Vs. Tonies Prices and Investment

Tonieboxes and Yoto players are typically similar in price, however, the Tonies characters typically cost a little more than the Yoto cards. A Toniebox starter set currently costs around $99 with 1 character while a Yoto starter player costs $99 with a record-your-own card. You can typically purchase the starter set for Yoto that comes with 6 cards for only $10 more. There are tons of options for starter kits for Tonies all ranging from $100-$150.

You can find some awesome sales on both Tonieboxes and Yoto players around Black Friday, Amazon Prime Day, Target deal days, and more. If you can wait until one of these big days they have some great deals that may be worth it.

Content Tonies typically cost $17.99 per Tonie. You can find some great sales during peak shopping times (like buy 2 get 1 free or a few dollars off each one) on Amazon or Target. You can also purchase from Tonies.com where you can get great coupon codes and referral bonuses for sharing with friends.

Yoto cards cost anywhere between $10 and $15 or you can purchase collections of cards and save a little money this way. We’ve been watching the sales often and don’t see as many sales on the Yoto cards but they typically cost a little less than the Tonies characters in the first place.

Tonies and Yoto Similarities and Differences

Toniebox Accessories VS Yoto Accessories

Both Tonieboxes and Yoto players have tons of fun accessories that you can add on at an additional cost.

Tonies sells Toniebox cases that will hold both your box and Tonies. Many of their cases have spots in the side so that the music can come through and be heard while in the carrying case. The cases are all soft-sided sided and they offer tons of different designs.

Tonies also sells headphones to go with their boxes. While they sell their own you do not have to use Tonie’s brand headphones if you already have your own or want to use some that were bought elsewhere.

Display shelves are also available for the Tonie content characters and boxes. There is a larger section to hold your box and smaller ones to make the content characters easier to find and see.

As far as Yoto accessories go, Yoto sells adventure jackets, headphones, and card cases for their products. The adventure jackets are made of soft silicone and make their boxes more durable for younger children. They also come in different colors and designs.

Yoto also sells headphones (although you can use your own brand for their boxes as well). They sell card boxes to help keep all of the cards in one place as well as card magnets if you want to hang your cards on the fridge or somewhere else for easier access.

Lastly, Tonies also sells different charging cords and even charging ports for their boxes on their site.

While those are the main accessories you can find through the Tonies and Yoto websites you can also find tons of additional accessories on Amazon like card binders and binder sleeves for storing Yoto cards, Tonies character carrying cases, and more. Head over to see more fun accessory options.

What are Tonies and Yoto’s Customer Service and Return Policies?

While we haven’t had to deal with Yotos customer service department, I can speak from experience that Tonies has a great customer service department. After two years we started to find our Toniebox wouldn’t charge or work anymore. After contacting them they gave some great suggestions to restart our Toniebox and see if it was fixable.

Once we determined that it was not fixable they gave a code for a new Toniebox. We were super happy with their customer service. This may not necessarily be your outcome but they are great to respond quickly so it doesn’t hurt to contact them if you have issues. Tonies also has a 100 day happiness guarantee and you can get a full refund within 100 days if not satisfied with their product.

While we haven’t had issues with our Yoto player yet (we’ve had it for about 6 months), they do have an awesome warranty policy online. It covers the repair or replacement of your Yoto player within 24 months of purchase (possible even 48 months depending on what the issue is).

Is a Yoto Player or a Tonie Better?

The answer to this question depends on what age group you are shopping for and where you plan to use your audioplayer. The Yoto player (the mini one in particular) is better for travel and on the go use while the Toniebox is my children’s first choice for everyday use. The Toniebox is preferred for younger children (ages 1-5) while the Yoto player is the more preferred option for older children (ages 6 and up).

When choosing between the Toniebox and the Yoto player my younger children (ages 2, and 4 ) would typically pick the Toniebox and the fun characters that go on top. It is easier for them to use and to maneuver and they love that they can look at and play with the characters like action figures while not in use.

My oldest (age 6) loves the Toniebox but prefers the Yoto player. The cards have more content that she enjoys like the Magic Treehouse stories and Kidz Bop songs and it is easy for her to use during quiet time or in the car. She loves the radio option as well.

Overall, we love both our Toniebox and our Yoto player. They are both awesome screen-free alternatives for our children. They both have awesome content options, are easy to use, and keep our children busy. They have their similarities and differences but we are so glad we have both for our children at their different ages. Our children love them and we love them and I would highly recommend either one for your next holiday gifts!

Head over and get your Toniebox or Yoto Player Today!