Bilby vs Yoto vs Toniebox
Three music players that keep kids off a phone, and they all solve different problems for different ages. We’ve written up a comparison of all of them — including the two cases where the Bilby is the wrong pick.
Prices are US recommended retail, checked 5 September 2026. They change; the links at the bottom go to the makers’ own pages.
TL;DR
Bilby
A real music player. Spotify, Apple Music and the rest, or your own files. Headphone jack, Bluetooth, two speakers. Ten minutes of setup, then nothing else to buy.
Yoto Player
The best library of children’s audiobooks and stories, on physical cards. Beautifully made. Every card costs extra, and it does not play Spotify.
Toniebox 2
The most toddler-proof of the three. A soft cube, a figurine on top, squeeze the ears to change volume. Perfect for a two-year-old. Outgrown by about five.
Side by side
Same twelve points, same order, for each player.
Bilby
- Price — US$100, shipping and duties included
- Plays — Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Tidal, or your own MP3 and FLAC files
- Ongoing cost — None. Use the streaming account you already pay for, or free files
- Age — About 5 and up. It has a small touchscreen, so it suits kids who can tap a menu
- Battery — Up to 16 hours offline, 4 to 6 hours streaming
- Headphones — 3.5 mm jack and Bluetooth
- Speaker — Two built-in speakers
- Screen — 2.8-inch touchscreen. Not screen-free
- Storage — 16 GB, expandable with microSD
- Weight — 98 grams
- Controls — Android. You lock it down with a free app; our guide shows how
- Weak spot — Needs a parent to set it up, and a toddler will not manage it
Yoto
- Price — US$109.99 (Yoto Player) or US$79.99 (Yoto Mini)
- Plays — Yoto cards. Stories, audiobooks, music albums, podcasts. Make Your Own cards for your own audio
- Ongoing cost — Cards sold separately, typically US$10 to US$20 each. Optional Yoto Club from US$4.99 a month
- Age — 3 to 12+ according to Yoto
- Battery — Up to 16 hours (Player), up to 14 hours (Mini)
- Headphones — 3.5 mm jack and Bluetooth
- Speaker — Stereo 5 W (Player), mono 3 W (Mini)
- Screen — Small pixel display. Screen-free by design
- Storage — 32 GB for downloaded cards
- Weight — Player is a chunky home unit; Mini is pocket-sized
- Controls — Two knobs. Genuinely simple. Parent controls in the app
- Weak spot — No Spotify or streaming apps. The card library is the whole product, and it adds up
Toniebox 2
- Price — About US$140 to US$160 for a starter set
- Plays — Tonies figurines, about US$18 each. Creative-Tonies hold your own audio
- Ongoing cost — A figurine per story. Collections grow fast
- Age — 1 and up. The youngest audience of the three
- Battery — Up to 10 hours
- Headphones — Bluetooth only. The headphone jack was removed on the Toniebox 2
- Speaker — One built-in speaker
- Screen — None. Fully screen-free
- Storage — Content lives on the figurines and downloads to the box
- Weight — A padded cube. Made to be dropped
- Controls — Tap the sides, squeeze the ears. A toddler learns it in a minute
- Weak spot — No streaming, no wired headphones, and outgrown early
Which one should you buy?
Pick the Toniebox if…
Your child is under four. You want something they can operate alone from day one, that survives being thrown, and that plays a story when a figurine lands on top. Nothing else here is as simple for tiny hands.
Pick the Yoto if…
Audiobooks are the point. Yoto’s library of children’s stories is the best on the market, the players are lovely objects, and the pixel display is a nice touch. However you’ll need to add extra budget for the story cards.
Pick the Bilby if…
Your kid wants music — their music, the songs their friends know, the playlist you made together. They are five or older. You already pay for Spotify or have a folder of MP3s. You want the headphones you already own to plug straight in, and you do not want a second subscription.
When the Bilby is the wrong choice
We would rather you buy the right thing than buy ours. Two cases where it is not the Bilby:
Your child is a toddler
The Bilby has a 2.8-inch touchscreen and a menu. A two-year-old will probably not be ready for it. A Toniebox suits much more.
You want a sealed toy with nothing to set up
The Bilby runs Android. Locking it down to music only takes ten minutes with a free app, and our guide walks you through every screen. But it is a step. If you want zero steps, Yoto and Toniebox are ready out of the box.
Questions parents ask
Does the Bilby play Yoto cards or Tonies?
No. Those are closed systems that only work with their own hardware. The Bilby plays streaming apps and standard audio files.
Can the Bilby do audiobooks?
Yes. Spotify and Apple Music both carry children’s audiobooks, and any MP3 audiobook loads straight on. There is no curated library like Yoto’s, so you choose the titles.
Is the Bilby screen-free?
No, and we do not claim it is. It has a small 2.8-inch screen for choosing music. It is not a phone: no browser, no social apps, and with AppBlock set up, nothing but the music apps you allow.
What about the Mighty Vibe?
Mighty is a screen-free Spotify player with no speaker, around US$120. Good if your kid only uses headphones. The Bilby adds a screen, speakers, a headphone jack and other apps for less.
Which one lasts longest?
The Toniebox is built to be dropped. The Bilby is hardy and ships with a plastic case, but it is an electronic device with a screen. For a child who throws things, choose the Toniebox.
Which one is cheapest over two years?
The Bilby, if you already have a streaming account. Yoto and Toniebox start cheaper or similar, then add a card or figurine at a time. Twenty stories on Yoto is roughly US$200 to US$400 in cards; on the Bilby it is the account you already pay for.
Music first? Get the Bilby.
player, USB-C cable and case included. 90-day free returns.
Sources, checked 5 September 2026: Yoto Player, Yoto Mini, Yoto Club, Today’s Parent Toniebox 2 review. Yoto and Toniebox are trademarks of their respective owners. We are not affiliated with either company. If we have a fact wrong, tell us and we will fix it.
More comparisons and guides: Bilby vs an old iPod vs a cheap MP3 player · Bilby vs handing over a phone · A first music player for an 8-year-old · Music without a smartphone