The reference box
What KiwiCo’s Kiwi Crate and Tinker Crate offer
KiwiCo sells eight crate lines sorted by age. The two that matter here are the school-age STEM lines. Both run on the same monthly format: everything needed to engineer one new build, an instruction booklet with ways to play and bonus challenges, and online videos and activity ideas that take the topic further.
- Kiwi Crate, ages 6–9. Science, art, and more, in KiwiCo’s words. Examples on kiwico.com: an archery set, a motorized spin art studio, and a desktop pinball machine.
- Tinker Crate, ages 9–12. Science and engineering, leaning mechanical and electrical. Examples: a radio-controlled delivery robot and a giant jointed hand.
One well-engineered project with a payoff you keep is the format, and it is the thing every box below has to answer for.
- Contents
- One themed build with all its parts, the booklet, and online videos and activity ideas. Reviewers on kiwico.com also mention a magazine in the crate.
- Price and billing
- KiwiCo advertises crates “starting at $24” in U.S. dollars. An email signup offer of 40% off a first crate was showing, with exclusions.
- Delivery
- Monthly.
- Shipping and fees
- Free shipping on any U.S. order, listed as a member perk on the crate pages. Tax and international rates were not checked.
- Customization
- Choose the line by age: Panda (0–36 months), Koala (3–6), Kiwi (6–9), Atlas and Doodle (6–12), Tinker (9–12), and Maker and Eureka (12 and up). KiwiCo says you can switch or cancel anytime and give a crate as a gift.
- On Cratejoy
- No. KiwiCo sells direct at kiwico.com, and none of the Cratejoy STEM listings checked for this article came from KiwiCo.
Start with what you liked about KiwiCo
Name the part of the crate you’d miss most, then start with the box that keeps it.
| You liked | Start with | Why it carries over |
|---|---|---|
| One engineered toy a month, every part in the box | CrunchLabs Build Box | A single build-it-yourself toy each month with parts and batteries included, plus a video on the mechanism behind it. |
| Science and art in the same month, with a booklet to read after | Green Kid Crafts | Four to six science and craft activities and a 12-page magazine of puzzles, games, and book picks in every Discovery Box. |
| Tinker Crate’s how-things-work projects | STEM Discovery Boxes | Three projects a month across electronics, chemistry, physics, coding, and hydraulics, all supplies included. |
| A teacher’s lesson to go with the activities | GIGIL STEM Kits | One streamed lesson per box taught by a California-credentialed teacher, alongside up to five activities. |
| The price | Kitsville | $20 per box month to month on under KiwiCo’s advertised starting rate of $24, before shipping and checkout fees. |
| The story the booklet tells | Little Passports Science Expeditions | A comic book carries each month’s theme alongside the experiments and activities. The example on the site follows Sam and Sofia through a pinball build. |
Compare the boxes
Scroll across the table to compare every field. The first column stays put.
| Box | Best fit | Cost and commitment | Delivery | Difference from KiwiCo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| KiwiCo Kiwi Crate and Tinker Crate Reference box |
Kiwi Crate ages 6–9. Tinker Crate ages 9–12. | “Starting at $24” per crate, an advertised rate with no billing term shown. Free U.S. shipping stated. Switch or cancel anytime. | Monthly. | One engineered build per month with a booklet and online videos. Eight age lines from one company. |
| Green Kid Crafts | Closest to Kiwi Crate. Discovery Box ages 5–10+. Junior Box ages 3–4 for preschoolers. | About $40 per box month to month. Seller’s policy states free U.S. shipping. | Monthly. | Four to six shorter science and craft activities instead of one build. A 12-page magazine replaces the booklet. |
| STEM Discovery Boxes | Closest to Tinker Crate. Ages 7 and up. Listing says 7 through teen, one bullet says 7–12. | $35 per box month to month. Shipping cost not stated on the listing. | Monthly. | Three projects a month across electronics, chemistry, physics, coding, and hydraulics. No video component listed. |
| GIGIL STEM Kits | A taught lesson. Ages 4–11 in two bands, PreK–1st grade and 2nd–5th grade. | About $45 per box month to month at the regular price. Shipping cost not stated on the listing. | Monthly. Seller’s listing says boxes ship on the 10th. | Up to five activities and one streamed lesson from a credentialed teacher. No single engineered build is listed. |
| Kitsville | Lowest box price here. Ages 6–8 or 9–12. | $20 per box month to month. Shipping cost not stated on the listing. | Monthly. | One to three maker projects with tools included. No magazine or video listed. |
| CrunchLabs Build Box | Mark Rober fans. Ages 8–12+. Sold direct, not on Cratejoy. | About $33 per box on the quarterly plan, billed every three months, shipping extra. | Monthly. | One toy build plus a Mark Rober video each month. No month-to-month plan. |
| Little Passports Science Expeditions | Science with a story. Ages 8+. Sold direct, not on Cratejoy. | $32 a month on the monthly plan. Free shipping in the contiguous U.S. | Monthly. | Experiments, activities, and a comic book each month. Lab notebook in the first box. |
The alternatives
Closest match to Kiwi Crate
Green Kid Crafts vs KiwiCo
Green Kid Crafts trades KiwiCo’s one build for a themed handful: four to six science and craft activities per Discovery Box (ages 5–10+), plus a 12-page magazine. A Junior Box covers ages 3–4.
What feels familiar
Science with art built in and something to read once the glue dries. The 5–10+ band covers Kiwi Crate’s 6–9 with a year to spare.
What changes
Four to six shorter projects instead of one engineered build, so the payoff is variety. The magazine replaces the booklet.
Closest match to Tinker Crate
STEM Discovery Boxes vs KiwiCo
Three projects a month instead of one is the headline difference. STEM Discovery Boxes covers electronics, chemistry, physics, coding, and hydraulics, every supply included. The listing says ages 7 through the teen years in one place and 7–12 in another, so read it as 7 and up.
What feels familiar
A parts kit and instruction cards for each project keep the open-the-box-and-start-building habit, as close as this list gets to Tinker Crate’s how-things-work month.
What changes
The projects are smaller, and the mix runs to experiments as much as engineering. No video is listed, so the cards carry the build.
Best for a taught lesson
GIGIL STEM Kits vs KiwiCo
The difference here is a taught lesson. Each GIGIL box carries up to five hands-on experiments and activities, plus access to stream one pre-recorded lesson on the month’s theme from a California-credentialed teacher. You pick PreK–1st or 2nd–5th, and the listing puts the range at ages 4–11.
What feels familiar
Themed materials plus a video that extends the month is the KiwiCo shape. The two grade bands run from Koala Crate ages into Tinker Crate ages.
What changes
The video teaches the theme instead of walking through a build, and it streams, so plan on a screen and a connection. No single engineered build is listed.
Lowest box price here
Kitsville vs KiwiCo
Kitsville is here for the price: $20 per box month to month, before shipping, tax, and checkout fees, under KiwiCo’s advertised “starting at $24,” which names no billing term. Seller Alicorn sends one to three maker projects a month with materials, tools, and instructions, in a 6–8 or 9–12 version.
What feels familiar
Building something that works by month’s end is the KiwiCo promise, and the 6–8 and 9–12 bands map almost one-to-one onto Kiwi (6–9) and Tinker (9–12).
What changes
Fewer extras. The listing mentions no magazine or video, and some months send one project rather than three. Reviews mention tiny screws and parts that didn’t fit, so expect some builds to need adult hands.
Best for a Mark Rober fan
CrunchLabs Build Box vs KiwiCo
If the single engineered toy is what your kid would miss, CrunchLabs Build Box is the closest format here. One build-it-yourself toy a month for ages 8–12+, with a Mark Rober video on the engineering behind it. CrunchLabs says everything is in the box, batteries included.
What feels familiar
The full parts kit, one toy, and a named STEM principle per build are Tinker Crate habits.
What changes
The video is as much the product as the toy. Each box unlocks a Mark Rober episode, which needs internet and a kid-safe device, though CrunchLabs says the build itself does not.
Before you switch: the shortest commitment is a quarter, with no month-to-month plan, and free U.S. shipping comes only with the pay-annually plan. Renewal is automatic, and CrunchLabs says you can turn it off up to three days before the term ends.
Best for science with a story
Little Passports Science Expeditions vs KiwiCo
The comic is the difference. Little Passports Science Expeditions is for ages 8+. After a first box with a lab notebook, each month pairs hands-on experiments and activities with a comic book. The site’s example, Pinball Party, is a working pinball machine you build and decorate.
What feels familiar
A monthly build with a booklet is the Kiwi Crate rhythm, and the pinball machine could have come out of a Kiwi Crate box.
What changes
The comic carries the month’s theme, so a kid who skips KiwiCo’s booklet will skip more here. Little Passports says you can cancel or pause anytime.
Before you switch: ages 8+ leaves out Kiwi Crate’s 6- and 7-year-olds. Little Passports points them to its Science Junior line for ages 5–8, outside this comparison.
Want more than the four Cratejoy picks above? See more STEM subscription boxes on Cratejoy →
The honest part
When KiwiCo is still the better fit
Keep KiwiCo if what you liked was one company covering every age: Panda for the toddler, Kiwi for the 7-year-old, Eureka for the teen, and a switch between lines as kids grow. Nothing here covers 0–3, and only Green Kid Crafts’ Junior Box reaches down to age 3. None of the six is a dedicated 12-and-up line like KiwiCo’s Maker and Eureka crates, either. All six aim at school-age kids, with CrunchLabs listing ages 8–12+ and STEM Discovery Boxes 7 through the teen years.
Keep it, too, if the one larger build each month is the point and your kid is 6 or 7. CrunchLabs has the one-toy format but is designed for ages 8–12+, and the four Cratejoy picks send one to six projects a month instead. If free shipping matters to your math, KiwiCo, Green Kid Crafts, and CrunchLabs’ pay-annually plan state free U.S. shipping, Little Passports includes it in the contiguous U.S. only, and the other three listings don’t state a shipping charge either way. For a kid under 5 or over 12, our roundup of kids’ subscription boxes for ages 0–13 is the better starting point.
How we chose these boxes
This list covers substitutes for Kiwi Crate and Tinker Crate only, which means school-age hands-on STEM and making. It does not look for replacements for KiwiCo’s baby, toddler, art, geography, or teen lines. To make the cut, a box needed a live way to buy (an enabled Add to cart with current term choices on Cratejoy, or a live plan page on the brand’s site), a stated age band inside roughly 5–12, materials included in the box, and a stated project count or format. Three other STEM listings on Cratejoy were left out because their public pages say the box has wrapped up. Everything here is desk research, drawn from each Cratejoy listing’s public page and Shopify record and from the KiwiCo, CrunchLabs, and Little Passports plan and FAQ pages. We did not build the kits or test them with children, and the reviews mentioned come from the listings. The KiwiCo, CrunchLabs, and Little Passports links go to the brands’ own sites.
Questions before switching
Which alternative is closest to KiwiCo?
It depends on the line. For Kiwi Crate’s science-and-art month with a booklet, Green Kid Crafts Discovery Box is the closest on contents and age band. For Tinker Crate’s how-things-work projects, STEM Discovery Boxes is closest on contents, and CrunchLabs Build Box is closest on format if the single engineered toy is what your kid wants.
Which option costs less on comparable terms?
Kitsville’s $20 per box month to month is the lowest advertised box price here, before shipping and checkout fees. KiwiCo’s only advertised figure is “starting at $24,” with no billing term attached, so check kiwico.com for its monthly rate before you compare like with like. On 12-month prepaid terms the per-box prices are Kitsville $14, Little Passports $25 with free shipping in the contiguous U.S., CrunchLabs $27.45 paid annually with free U.S. shipping, STEM Discovery Boxes $30, Green Kid Crafts $31.95 with free U.S. shipping per the seller, and GIGIL $37.82 showing at $32.15 on sale. Three of the Cratejoy listings don’t state shipping, so this is a box-price list, not a delivered-cost comparison.
Can I send one of these as a gift?
All four Cratejoy listings show a Give as a Gift option next to For Myself. Cratejoy’s FAQ says “Gift orders are non-recurring” and “Some sellers let you pick a gift length.” Gift notes vary by seller, so check the listing. KiwiCo, CrunchLabs, and Little Passports each offer their own gift paths on their sites. Sellers ship marketplace orders on their own schedules, so we can’t promise an arrival date for any of them.
Which of these need a screen?
GIGIL streams its monthly lesson, and CrunchLabs unlocks a Mark Rober video per box, though CrunchLabs says the build itself does not need it. KiwiCo’s videos and activity ideas are online. Green Kid Crafts, STEM Discovery Boxes, Kitsville, and Little Passports don’t list a video component. Whether their printed instructions point to one online is not something the listings say.
Does this list cover every KiwiCo line?
No. It covers substitutes for Kiwi Crate (6–9) and Tinker Crate (9–12) only. Green Kid Crafts’ Junior Box (3–4) and GIGIL’s PreK–1st band reach younger, and this list does not offer substitutes for Panda, Koala, Atlas, Doodle, Maker, or Eureka.