TCF Review of the Yoto Player

Everything I love about the best screen-free audio player for kids

As a devotee of daily quiet time, I’m always looking for screen-free activities that will keep our kids happy while alone in their rooms—especially before they can read. We’ve found that and so much more in the Yoto Player, and I’d love to tell you more about it today!

And keep reading to the bottom, because today’s post has a GIVEAWAY!

The Yoto Mini is pictured above - and throughout this post!

What is the Yoto Player?

The Yoto is a screen-free audio player that lets kids explore 1000+ stories as well as music, a dynamite radio station, a daily podcast, and more. To listen to a story, kids simply insert the Yoto card of their choice and adjust the volume and chapter as needed. There’s a headphone jack for solo listening (the sound quality is great on the player itself, too!).

In addition to playing audio, the original Yoto has a clock, an okay-to-wake feature, and can function as a white noise machine, among other features!

What age is the Yoto for?

The Yoto website says 3-12, and that sounds right! Each Yoto card has a picture on it, so even pre-readers can choose which story they’d like to listen to. The Yoto catalog includes everything from the simplest picture books to lengthy novels like Little Women (and I love that they give age ranges for each card on the website for ease of selecting).

June got our family’s first Yoto at age 6 and Shep received his for his fifth birthday. We plan to get Annie her own at age 4. (It’s good to be the youngest, ha!)

Why We Love the Yoto Player

 There’s so much to love! Here are a few things that stand out:

— It’s screen-free. There’s no microphone, no camera, no ads, no online catalog for kids to browse.

— It’s kid-led, which encourages independence. There’s delightful autonomy in getting to fully operate the machine themselves—no parents required! They can choose what to listen to, switch cards as often as they’d like, and tune into the radio or podcast as they please. I also think our kids feel the pride of ownership over having their own tech device to use and care for. I’m grateful we can do that in a worry-free way.

— It has an incredible library of content to choose from—800+ cards currently, and adding more all the time! It includes everything from short picture books and songs for the youngest listeners to lengthy novels for older kids and tweens. Think: Frog and Toad, The Chronicles of Narnia, Paw Patrol, Robert McCloskey, The Magic Tree House, and a robust collection of Disney favorites. Many are full-cast productions with musical scores! See below for some of our kids’ favorites.

— It’s the perfect complement to creative play. Our kids often listen as they keep their hands busy, most often drawing, crafting, or building something in their rooms.

— It gives them independent access to stories. Especially for our pre-readers, I love that they can take in great stories when we’re not able to read to them (though we do plenty of that, too!).

— It’s easy to listen on-the-go as a family, even when we leave the player at home. Every card we purchase gets loaded into the Yoto app, so we can listen to audiobooks through the car’s speaker via my phone while driving around town and on road trips.

— The in-house radio and podcast are excellent. The radio (they have both a day and night version) is a mix of classics, indie hits, kid versions of current songs, and little-known gems, while the podcast has a short new episode each day with interactive games, stories, jokes, and fun facts—all delivered by a host with a British accent.

Any drawbacks?

The price was the only drawback we saw as we debated buying our first player. As someone who’s not used to paying for audiobooks and loves the library, it was hard to swallow paying for each card. However, we’ve found the Yoto Club membership to be a great deal—for $99/year, you get credits for two free cards per month. Even just one year of membership is a great way to build a collection.

Also, our kids love re-listening to stories! They still have physical books, of course, and I remind myself they don’t need as much variety in their audiobooks as they do in the paper copies.

We’ve had a Yoto Club membership for two years now, and I think I’m going to cancel it after this year. We’ve built up a big collection, and I’d love to put that money toward a few more-expensive series that aren’t included in the Club. First up: The Chronicles of Narnia!

What’s the difference between the original Yoto and Yoto Mini?

It’s incredible—in my mind, the only significant difference is the size of the player and the price! Due to the smaller size, the display is smaller on the Mini.

June’s Yoto (the first one we bought, when she was 6), is an original; we bought Shep a Mini for his 5th birthday. I expect we’ll buy Annie a Mini for her fourth birthday when the time comes. If you’re debating between the original and Mini and price is a factor, I’d say you could definitely opt for the Mini and have no regrets.

Yoto or Toniebox? How does the Yoto compare to the Toniebox, and which do you prefer?

Yoto! Easy, hands down, no question. Here are a few reasons why:

— While both are screen-free and hands-on players, the Yoto uses credit-card-sized cards to play selections and the Tonie uses small figurines. The cards are SO much more efficient to store (we store ours in this small binder) and therefore less likely to get lost—plus, they’re easier to take on the go.

— It’s much easier to build a collection on Yoto. The cards are less expensive (Yoto cards range from $2 to $15, while most Tonie figurines are $18-20) and Yoto has a much larger catalog (800+ cards currently versus 200+ for Tonie).

— The Yoto is designed to grow with your child. The Toniebox seems more geared toward toddlers (for example, the box itself is padded, and the figurines are more childish), while the Yoto has a modern, sleek (but still sturdy!) design that appeals to older kids, too. If you invest in a system, you want it to last many years, and the Yoto definitely will.

— Finally, the Yoto offers a fantastic mini version at $69. The Toniebox only offers one size (which seems to only come bundled at $99), so I think the Yoto wins on price.

What are some of your kids’ favorite cards on the Yoto?

June (age 7), particularly loves Matilda, 101 Dalmations, Ratatouille, Stuart Little, and Aladdin.

Shep (age 5), loves Charlotte’s Web (he falls asleep listening to it every night), The Gruffalo, Frog and Toad, My First Fairy Tales, The Chicken Squad, Star Wars, and Finding Nemo.

Annie (age 2), usually doesn’t get to choose the card and will happily listen to anything her siblings choose :)

GIVEAWAY!

As a heartfelt thank you for coming along on this new adventure, I’m giving away one Yoto Mini! To enter, simply subscribe to The Connected Family (a free subscription is fine!) and leave a comment on this post. I’ll draw a winner from all subscribers next Friday, December 1, 2023. If you’d like to restack this post and giveaway on Substack, I’d be so grateful!

Updated to add: Danielle Wilson is our winner! Danielle, I’ve emailed you and hope you love your new Yoto Mini! :)

Thank you again for being here! More to come! :)