The reference box
What makes Bitsbox different
Bitsbox sends printed app projects by mail each month. A kid picks a card, types its JavaScript into a virtual tablet on the Bitsbox website, and the app runs right there, ready to share on a phone or tablet. A Grownup Guide tells parents what each month teaches.
- Ages
- 6–12. Bitsbox says a 6- or 7-year-old does best with a grown-up nearby.
- What’s inside
- A binder, 10–12 coding cards, the Grownup Guide, and stickers.
- What kids need
- A computer with a physical keyboard and a web browser. Nothing to install.
Compare the options
| Box | Best fit | Cost and commitment | Delivery |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bitsbox Reference box |
Ages 6–12, typed JavaScript apps from printed cards | A monthly coding subscription. | Monthly cards by mail, or printable PDFs. |
| CodeMonkey | Typed code from age 8, in game-like levels | $30 a quarter or $84 a year for one child. | Online. Nothing ships. |
| STEM Discovery Boxes | Three hands-on projects a month, ages 7 and up | $35 a box month to month. | Monthly by mail, free shipping. |
| Tynker | Up to three kids, ages 5–18, blocks first, then typed code | $90 a quarter at list price. No monthly plan. | Online and in Tynker’s apps. |
| CodaKid | Minecraft and Roblox fans, JavaScript from age 6 | $29 a month after a 14-day free trial. Cancel anytime. | Online video courses, with teacher help. |
| TechCrate Pro | Ages 12 and up, coding real hardware | $39.99 a month. Cancel anytime. | Monthly by mail, free shipping. |
STEM Discovery Boxes, CodeMonkey, Tynker, and CodaKid all sell longer plans that lower the monthly price.
The alternatives
Typed code, one game at a time
CodeMonkey vs Bitsbox
See CodeMonkey’s home plans on codemonkey.com →
Best for: An 8- to 12-year-old who liked the typing part of Bitsbox best and wants each lesson to feel like a level to beat.
CodeMonkey is an online course where kids write code to solve game-style puzzles, then build games of their own. Its first text course, Coding Adventure, is for ages 8 to 12 and has kids typing code from the first challenge to help a monkey catch bananas. Python courses follow in middle school, and younger kids start with block puzzles.
What feels familiar
Coding Adventure uses CoffeeScript, which CodeMonkey describes as similar to JavaScript, the language Bitsbox teaches. A parent account shows each kid’s progress and finished projects, the job the Grownup Guide does for Bitsbox.
What changes
Nothing arrives in the mail, and there are no cards to collect. Plans bill every three months or once a year, not monthly. It’s the least expensive pick here, and a Family plan covers three kids.
A box in the mail every month
STEM Discovery Boxes vs Bitsbox
Best for: A 7- to 12-year-old whose favorite part of Bitsbox is the box itself, and who would trade typed code for wires, motors, and experiments.
Three projects arrive each month for ages 7 through the teen years. Coding is on the seller’s list of topics, next to electronics, chemistry, physics, and hydraulics.
What feels familiar
Mail that’s just for the kid, every month, with every supply for its projects inside, so there’s nothing to gather before starting.
What changes
The past boxes on the listing are builds and experiments, like a wiggling drawing robot, a solar-powered fan, and circuits made from conductive dough. None of them is a typed-code project. A 12-month prepay brings the price to $30 a box.
Siblings, or a beginner not ready to type
Tynker vs Bitsbox
Best for: A family with two or three kids at different levels, including a 5- or 6-year-old who can’t type code yet.
Tynker starts kids on drag-and-drop blocks, with picture-based coding for kids who can’t read yet, then moves them into typed JavaScript and Python. Courses run from game design to Minecraft mods, and a placement test chooses where each kid begins.
What feels familiar
Bitsbox is built so siblings can share one subscription, each with a coding account. Tynker plans cover up to three kids, and typed JavaScript is waiting once a kid moves past blocks.
What changes
Tynker bills by the quarter, by the year, or once for lifetime access, with a 30-day money-back guarantee. Blocks come before typing for most new coders, and nothing ships.
Month to month, with a teacher to ask
CodaKid vs Bitsbox
See CodaKid’s self-paced plan on codakid.com →
Best for: An 8-and-up kid who wants to make Minecraft mods or Roblox games, in a family that wants to be able to stop any month.
CodaKid’s self-paced plan opens more than 100 video courses taught by professional software developers. JavaScript and Scratch courses start at age 6, Minecraft and Roblox at 8, and Python at 10.
What feels familiar
JavaScript is on the menu from age 6, and help is close by. CodaKid’s teacher team answers questions from inside the course, much like the coding support in Bitsbox Premium.
What changes
Lessons are videos on a screen, with nothing in the mail. Most of CodaKid’s course tracks start at age 8 or older, so it fits the upper end of Bitsbox’s range best.
Ages 12 and up, ready for hardware
TechCrate Pro vs Bitsbox
See TechCrate Pro on protechtrader.com →
Best for: A Bitsbox graduate, 12 or older, who wants code that makes a real circuit light up, move, or sense the room.
ProTechTrader’s TechCrate Pro mails a programmable board every month, such as an Arduino-compatible, an ESP32, or a Raspberry Pi Pico, with three to five sensors or modules. Guides cover C++ in the Arduino IDE and MicroPython.
What feels familiar
Like Bitsbox, it comes every month with step-by-step projects and code a kid types, then changes to see what happens.
What changes
It’s built for 12 and up and adds wiring to the coding. TechCrate Pro is a new tier, with no reviews on its page yet.
The honest part
What none of these replace
Nothing on this list mails printed app cards with typed JavaScript, which is what sets Bitsbox apart. CodeMonkey comes closest on the typing, and STEM Discovery Boxes on the mail. A kid with a binder of Bitsbox cards can type them in on the Bitsbox website, which has free kid accounts.
How we chose these options
We started with what Bitsbox gives a 6- to 12-year-old: typed code, a new set of projects each month, and a grown-up guide alongside. Coding-focused boxes on Cratejoy are few, so we kept the closest hands-on STEM box and added four coding programs that sell direct, each for a different reason to look. The photo at the top is Bitsbox’s own image of its box.
Questions before switching
What’s the closest thing to Bitsbox?
For the typing, CodeMonkey: its Coding Adventure course has kids ages 8 to 12 type real code from the first challenge, in a language CodeMonkey describes as similar to JavaScript. For the monthly box, STEM Discovery Boxes sends three hands-on projects a month for ages 7 and up, though without typed code.
What coding language does Bitsbox teach?
JavaScript, through a short set of commands Bitsbox designed to be easy to type. Tynker and CodaKid both teach JavaScript. CodeMonkey teaches CoffeeScript and then Python.
Is there a way to try these before paying?
Yes. CodaKid has a 14-day free trial, CodeMonkey offers a free home trial, and Tynker lets kids start for free before choosing a plan.
My kid would rather build than type. Where should we look?
STEM Discovery Boxes is the hands-on pick on this list. For more monthly build kits, see our CrunchLabs alternatives and KiwiCo alternatives.
