I can’t stop talking about the kids’ Yoto players. For devices we’d never even heard about a year ago, they’re now such a big part of our life. So a bunch of friends and family have asked me about whether we like them. I figured it was time to write a detailed Yoto player review!

Here’s our experience with them as a family that travels a lot (all the time!), doesn’t do much screen time, and values low-lift educational opportunities in our homeschool life.

Yoto Player Review: how does the Yoto even work?

First things first — what even are these things? Essentially, a Yoto player is a fancy speaker. But what makes it really magical is that it works with Yoto cards that kids can control completely independently. Even our two-year-old can manage her own Yoto player.

These cards can play audiobooks, music playlists, kid podcasts, schoolwork, and even interactive games. You have the option to buy the cards from the Yoto store or to purchase “Make Your Own” cards. Make Your Own cards can have any mp3 linked to them, which really makes the possibilities endless.

You can purchase a Classic Yoto player (UK link!) or a Yoto Mini (UK link!). The main difference is the size of the pixel screen for the icons and a nightlight feature on the bigger Yoto player. We have three Minis, and I highly recommend them. They’re easy for little hands to tote around.

Yoto Player Review: the short version!

Okay, the short version of my Yoto player review is that I’m obsessed. Here’s why:

• My kids adore these things. Like truly adore them. We started with just one for my early reader and ended up with one for each kid within six months.
• They are the perfect family travel accessory. My kids will listen to them for a couple of hours of each travel day, and that is worth any amount of money to a frazzled parent towing an RV.
• They’re relatively affordable. The cards will add up fast if you let them, but our strategy for keeping them affordable was 1. To join the Yoto Club for $10/month and get two new cards every month that way and 2. Make a lot of our own cards with library content and recording ourselves reading the kids’ favorite stories. You also can connect any kid podcast to a Make Your Own card for hours of totally free content.
• They’re a screen-free way for our kids to be independent. We use them on travel days and at “quiet time” for our kids to have some quiet downtime by themselves. We don’t do a whole lot of screen time in our house (no judgement, just a preference), and this gives us tired parents a break.
• They’re so educational if you want them to be. Our kids like to re-listen to the audiobook version of whatever read-aloud book we’ve just finished reading together. I think it really helps cement the story for them. We’ve also used a Make Your Own Card for our oldest to listen to multiplication facts. And last year when she was going through a mythology obsession, I took a bunch of mythology books out from the library and read stories from around the world for her card. My middle child was reciting Shakespeare after listening to the Shakespeare card. Nothing more hilarious than hearing, “We’re under siege by the Scots!!” coming from your 5-year-old’s mouth.
• They help extended family and friends stay in touch. We’ve asked people we love to record themselves reading stories to the kids so they can hear their voices. And this year, we’re asking people to email us happy birthday greetings to put on a birthday card for them. This feature is especially lovely for kids who live far away from people they love.

Yoto Player vs. Toniebox

Some of you might have heard of a Toniebox (or even have one!). They’re somewhat similar to a Yoto player, but there are 3 reasons why I think Yoto is a way better choice for our family:

1. Yoto content is better suited to grow with children in my opinion. Tonies are great for toddlers, but won’t age with kids as well.
2. Tonieboxes are larger, and the characters that play stories and music are WAY larger than Yoto cards. For a family that needs things to be compact, Yoto wins by a mile.
3. Tonie characters are way more expensive than Yoto cards, which makes building a collection a much bigger investment.

What are some of your favorite Yoto cards?

First, you just have to get a pack of Make Your Own cards. You can swap out what’s on there at any time, which allows you to save money and always keep things fresh.

For Toddlers, we like Kids Bop, Daniel Tiger, and Who’s In Your Audiobook.

For Preschoolers, we recommend The Chicken Squad, Hotel Flamingo, and Funny Stories for 5 Year Olds.

For Older Kids, we love Esperanza Rising, Minecraft the Island, and Shakespeare.

Okay, what else should I know?

In my opinion, a case for the Yoto is essential if you’re going to be taking it anywhere. We have these. You’ll also definitely need headphones if you plan on using more than one Yoto at a time in the car.

There are a whole lot of options for how you can store the cards. Lots of people choose card storage like this, but I prefer to attach the cards directly to the Yoto. We use sticky tabs and rings looped through the Yoto case loop so that we can’t lose the cards.

One great option for getting audiobook content for Make Your Own cards is Libro. You can get a free audiobook when you first join:

I’ll end with the fact that Yoto has amazing customer service, which we’ve used several times. I’ve always been really satisfied.

Feel free to leave any other questions in the comments and I’ll write back!

Disclaimer: Product links in this blog post may be Affiliate links, and I will earn a small commission for each purchase made through these links at no extra cost to you. Affiliate income helps fund our family travel and allows me to keep creating inspiring family travel content for you. I so appreciate when you use my links to make purchases you would have made anyway.

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