Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Christmas

From present ideas to party food, find all your Christmas inspiration here.

Original poster

Tonie vs Yoto

38 replies

Albgo · 21/08/2022 19:03

Is there much difference between them? How do you decide which one to get? Thoughts on if either are worth the money? Thanks!

OP posts:
BuffaloCauliflower · 21/08/2022 19:04

Yoto. Way more choice, easier to store the cards than little figures, the mini one they can use on the go in the car

NoNameIdeas · 21/08/2022 19:06

We have a tonies box for my now 5 year old, he absolutely loves it! We are going to get a second for our youngest who will be 2 soon. There's a great mix of stories etc available and it is used every day. Love that it is completely screen free too. Chose it just because I preferred the style and the characters but no direct comparison as haven't used a yoto one.

Blixem · 21/08/2022 19:07

I've only got the yoto but it also has a radio and can be a nightlight to. Yoto always have sales on the cards, they have a loyalty scheme where you can earn points to spend on cards and the customer service is brilliant. I only just realised the yoto I bought 8 months ago wasn't downloading the card so it can play offline. I contacted them and they immediately sent a replacement.

Benjaminsniddlegrass · 21/08/2022 19:11

Don't know about the Tonies but we love my DDs yoto, she got it for Christmas a couple of years ago and it has absolutely been her most used gift since then. We have the normal size one and it comes everywhere with us, she listens to it in the car, comes on holiday, she likes listening to it at bed time, when she is doing crafty stuff etc.
We're in the yoto club too so she gets two cards a month for £9.99, great choice of cards

bumpquestion · 21/08/2022 19:16

Yoto (the new, mini version) no doubt. Everyone normally says to get the Tonie if a toddler and yoto if an older (4+) child, but my 2.5 year old loves their yoto and so it will have far greater longevity.

Original poster
Albgo · 21/08/2022 19:23

More votes for yoto so far... but seems that people like whichever one they have?

OP posts:
Mustardbay · 21/08/2022 19:31

We have a tonie box, and a 4 year old, she uses it everyday and loves it. She plays with the little figures too, especially the princesses. I hadn't heard of the yoto so didn't do any research but they sound great too, although my daughter does love the figures. They are quite expensive though compared to the yoto cards.

obsessedwithsleep · 21/08/2022 19:35

I didn't know which to get and ended up with the yoto as the cards are cheaper and easier to store than the figurines. I'm really happy with it.

Original poster
Albgo · 22/08/2022 07:57

My boy will have just turned 3 before Christmas - still a yoto?

OP posts:
berksandbeyond · 22/08/2022 07:59

Yoto. Cards are cheaper, better range available and I didn't want my DD playing with the figures and them ending up all over the house / lost

Whinge · 22/08/2022 08:05

Another vote for the Yoto. The cards are cheaper, and there's a huge amount of choice.

I also agree with the poster who said the Yoto has greater longevity. A lot of people end up buying the Yoto after a year or 2 of the Tonie, as their children have already outgrown the Tonie

MotherWol · 22/08/2022 08:18

We have a Yoto (Mini), DD is 6; I chose it because the range of books is a better match for her interests and they're cheaper. It's great, she loves the radio stations and podcasts, it's small so good for car/train journeys, it's easy for her to use, and there's a good range of cards. Also a consideration was DD really loves small world play, and would be likely to use Tonie characters in her games and end up losing them!

If anyone's interested I have a referral code that gets 10% off a Mini or Classic Yoto: prz.io/gD863AQuO

DreamingofItaly2023 · 22/08/2022 11:41

We got DS a yoto last Christmas and it has been a massive hit. Has made bedtime and car journeys so much easier. We are in the yoto club which is great value. I like that yoto has more for older kids.

Fiddledeedeeee · 22/08/2022 11:43

We’ve bought a Yoto for DS for christmas (will be almost 3 at Christmas). I did that based on previous reviews of both and thinking the Yoto will be suitable for longer, cards easier to store than characters and the Yoto having more functionality than Tonies box (radio, clock, nightlight). I got a good deal when it was reduced from WHSmith with a Julia Donaldson card with (I think) 4 stories on. It was a month or so ago though.

Blixem · 22/08/2022 13:43

Albgo · 22/08/2022 07:57

My boy will have just turned 3 before Christmas - still a yoto?

DD was just 2 when we got hers, she could use it fine by herself.

EllenNeedsANap · 22/08/2022 17:59

We chose yoto because its also a bluetooth speaker, so now my DD (9) uses it to listen to Cloudaloud by connecting her ipad because she feels too old for the Yoto cards.

NameChange30 · 22/08/2022 18:03

We have both and I vote Yoto, hands down.

MuftiFriday2 · 22/08/2022 22:40

FWIW we went down a different path. My MIL bought my kids a Tonies. She didn’t buy any of the little figures to go with the player. So I went onto Amazon and realised the little figures cost over a tenner EACH. They do look really sweet but how do people afford this? We have the Cloudaloud app (my DSs are 8 & 6) so they can listen to lots of audiobooks and podcasts and it’s cheap as chips, unlimited streaming of books for £3.99 so you’re not paying £10 for just one card or (I think) £7.99 on audible for one book. So what do I do with the Toniebox? Do I sell it on eBay? I can't afford to feed the beast! Feeling a BIT FFS (THOUGH I KNOW SHE WAS BEING KIND!) But she does seem to forget I'm a SAHM snd not earning ATM.

MuftiFriday2 · 22/08/2022 22:41

I know it sounds ungrateful. She's lovely. No issues with her at all, just a bit of a WTF moment. :-(

EllenNeedsANap · 23/08/2022 11:21

@MuftiFriday2 Maybe your MIL is planning on buying figurines for each birthday & Christmas to go with the Tonie? But your DSs are getting on the older side to use it much longer. It is really frustraing that you can't use Tonies as a bluetooth speaker at the very least. Have they used it or could she exhcange it for something else? I'm sure she wants to get her grandsons somethign they can really use!

NameChange30 · 23/08/2022 12:57

MuftiFriday2
If you have a good relationship with MIL you could ask her to return it and buy a Yoto mini instead. (They're also cheaper).
If you don't feel comfortable asking her to do that, just sell the Tonie box on eBay or Facebook.

Yousee · 23/08/2022 13:08

I got DS2 a Toniebox using his Christmas money last year. I like that it does not have lights or a clock or anything else going on, and it's padded so it can stay in bed with him and he falls asleep listening to songs. He adores the little figures too.
If he had been a year or two older I would have gone with the Yoto, as there is much more choice and it's more pocket friendly! Baby due next week will inherit the Tonie and DS will graduate to a Yoto when he's older.

KBLondon · 12/09/2022 18:03

We love our Yoto! It is one of the best things we've bought for our (now) 5 year old. We bought it for her 4th birthday. She uses it every single day. I think it may have more longevity than a Tonie box.

Happy to share my referral discount of 10% off your first purchase of £59.99 or more 😊

prz.io/YQzQ9YxSE

Macmaccat · 17/09/2022 07:21

Yoto !!

we bought our first one last Christmas for our then 5 year old who doesn’t really play with toys. We’ve since bought 2 mini yotos ( one is hers the other for her 9 year old brother) to travel with during the summer.

they are the most used item on our house. Car journeys are now peaceful and there is usually one if not both in use at all times when we are home (currently 6 year olds music blaring out of hers and Harry Potter from my sons)

Mrsfussypants1 · 17/09/2022 07:57

Another Yoto thumbs up. Dgd (6) got hers last Christmas and its been used daily, we thought it might have been a 1 hit wonder. So many cards to choose from as she grows, her current favourites are the Worst whitch and matilda and we've just purchased Encanto, kids bopp 2022 and horrible histories.