Yoto Player Review: Is This Kids Audio Player Worth It?
You might be wondering whether the Yoto audio players are worth the investment. We’ve owned a Yoto player for about 4 years now, and have bought two Yoto Mini players since then. Here’s our detailed Yoto player review!
In this blog post I compare the Yoto player to the Yoto Mini, but you might also be interested in my full Yoto Mini player review.
When parents ask me what one toy they should buy for their kids, my answer is always the same – a Yoto player! Without a doubt, the Yoto players in our house get the most use and they are well worth the money.
Our children, who are 7, 5 and 3, use them throughout the day from the moment they wake up to last thing at night. The huge range of audio cards that are available means they never grow bored, and the independence the players offer means they’re completely in control of what they want to listen to.
Just a little note to say that the pixel screens on the front of the Yoto photographed a little strangely – in real life they appear much brighter and clearer, without missing pixels!
What is a Yoto player? How does the Yoto player work?
Yoto is a UK brand that makes screen-free audio players for children, designed with Montessori principles in mind. The players work by inserting cards, about the size of credit cards, each of which plays a different audiobook, podcast or music album, into a small slot on the top of the player. It’s really easy for kids to switch what they’re listening to by taking out and putting in different cards.
There are currently two versions of the Yoto player – the original Yoto and the Yoto Mini. If you’re interested in the Yoto Mini you can find my review of that here.
The same cards are used for all versions of the Yoto, so you can use them interchangeably. The player has two knobs which change the volume and skip backwards and forwards through tracks.
You can connect headphones if you’d like to, but the sound quality is also great if you’re playing through the built-in speakers. Wonderfully, you don’t need to be connected to WiFi for Yoto to work. The first time you load a card it will download it from WiFi, but after that it will play even without an internet connection.
Yoto also doesn’t need batteries. The player comes with a USB charger and the player will provide up to 24 hours of play per charge.
To protect your Yoto, there are ‘adventure jacket’ covers for both sizes.
Yoto also has a fantastic app where you can access hundreds of free podcasts and audiobooks, as well as playing any of the content you own without needing the physical cards.
What we love about the Yoto Player
1.Screen free
One of the great things about the Yoto player is that it’s a screen-free audio player. This makes them a great option if you want to make sure your children don’t have too much screen time.
If you’re a family that likes to limit the impact of screens, the Yoto is a great way to provide your child with entertainment without resorting to a TV or tablet.
In our family, we find that playing audiobooks and music on the Yoto is just about as engaging for little ones as the TV. They will turn something on in the background while they play or draw, helping them to stay focussed and engaged without being overstimulated.
2. Wide range of choices
In our house the children grow bored of most toys fairly quickly. We use toy rotation to help with this, but one toy that we find never falls out of fashion is the Yoto player.
The main reason the Yoto is always loved is that there is such a wide range of different listening options that it’s nearly impossible for a little one to grow bored.
There are over 800 Yoto cards available to buy, with all sorts available, from audio books to music and non-fiction. Also available are the ‘Make Your Own’ cards (also known as MYO cards), which are blank cards that allow you to record your own audio to play through the player. Our children particularly love listening to stories recorded by their grandparents.
On top of this, you can access a huge range of podcasts and radio stations through the Yoto app, including our favourites: Yoto radio, the daily podcast Yoto Daily and the Cbeebies station. Over the years we’ve found that any time one of our kids is listening to their Yoto less, we can just introduce a new story card and they’re off again!
3. Grows with your child
Unlike most other toys, Yoto has the unique ability to grow with your child. The range of listening options is so varied that there are options for toddlers right the way up to older kids.
Our 7 year old currently loves listening to the Roald Dahl audiobooks, while the 5 year old and 3 year old enjoy shorter stories like the Julia Donaldson books. Some cards have been loved for many years – like the one we made with the soundtrack to the film Wall-E.
Because you can keep introducing new cards, the Yoto really keeps on being interesting to them for many years. Unlike some toys that get forgotten about, the love for their Yoto players has lived on.
4. Durability
Being designed for children, it is important that the players are durable and able to withstand boisterous kids. Thankfully, both Yoto and Yoto Mini are designed to withstand little hands.
Our Yoto players have been dropped down the stairs accidentally several times, and we’ve never yet had an issue caused by them being dropped or thrown.
We do find that the front of the original Yoto player can become a little scratched over time, but this can be prevented by buying one of the adventure jackets.
5. Ease of use
Yoto Players are designed to be used by children, and they do this really well. All the Yoto players are really easily used by all of our children, even the 15 month old who doesn’t (yet!) have his own. This makes Yoto players excellent for encouraging independent play.
When our kids go for a little quiet time by themselves in the afternoons we can simply send them off with their Yotos and they will be happily entertained for up to an hour. For the older children it can even be longer!
6. Improves Bedtime
One time of day where the Yoto has become invaluable in our house is at bedtime. Having three active and curious little ones, it is sometimes hard helping them to wind down. Now all the children fall asleep easily with their Yoto players playing quietly next to them.
For bedtime, they love listening to gentle bedtime stories like Peter Rabbit, or Yoto Sleep Radio.
The Yoto also has the ability to act like an ok to wake clock, letting children know when it’s time to sleep and when to wake. In the app you can set bedtime and wake time, and the Yoto will display either a sun or a moon on the front to show your little one whether they need to stay in bed.
And if you have children that need waking in the morning (I’m jealous!) there’s also an alarm clock feature. While they’re asleep, you can tip the Yoto Player over to turn it into a night light, and you can even change the colour of the light!
Finally, the Yoto also has the ability to act as a white noise machine, by playing the white noise sound through the app. There are also a range of other sleep sounds too. This makes it perfect for younger children who need a little background noise to stay asleep.
8. Safety
Unlike other forms of entertainment, you can completely trust that the Yoto player is safe for children. They can only listen to the things you’ve allowed them to, and there are no microphones or cameras that could be accessed by the wrong people.
9. Travelling
Our Yoto players are an essential part of any journeys we take these days. While we used to resort to screens to keep children entertained on long road trips, they will now be happily occupied in the back of the car each listening to their Yoto.
You can use any headphones with Yoto, including their own pair which is great for little ears. Both the original Yoto and the Yoto Mini can connect to wireless headphones as well as through a headphone jack.
Whatever brand of headphones you opt for, I’d recommend choosing ones that can be ‘daisy-chained’ where one pair is connected to the other, so that they can listen to the same thing if they want to.
10. Customer Service
While this isn’t strictly a comment on the players themselves, it’s worth saying that Yoto’s customer service is fantastic.
We have had a couple of minor issues with our Yoto players – one when my son stuck a marble into the hole in the back of his, and another when one of the knobs stopped working on one of the Yoto Minis.
In both cases, Yoto gave us a swift and helpful solution, and in the second case they even replaced the whole Yoto Mini even though it had just gone out of warranty.
Comparison of Yoto Player and Yoto Mini
Longer battery life
One of the noticeable differences between the Yoto Player and the Yoto Mini is the battery life.
The Yoto Player has a longer battery life of up to 24 hours, while the Yoto Mini has only 14 hours. However, we think both give plenty of time for listening, even on long journeys.
Better sound quality
The sound quality on the Yoto Player is louder and clearer than on the Yoto Mini. The Mini is still very good, but will struggle to be heard in a loud room, or where multiple people are trying to listen at a distance.
In other words, if you’re getting one Yoto player for lots of children to listen to, then I would suggest getting the original Yoto. On the other hand, if you’re buying a Yoto for one child to listen to buy themselves, then the Mini is likely to be better for you.
Charger
Both the Yoto and Yoto Mini players come with a standard USB-C charging cable. You can also buy a wireless charging dock for the original Yoto, which could be a nice option to have at home.
Size
Naturally, the Yoto Mini is quite a bit smaller than the full-size Yoto player. We actually prefer the Yoto Mini for this reason – its smaller size makes it easier for little hands to manage.
It also makes it really portable both at home and on the go. The Yoto Player, on the other hand, can be a little cumbersome.
Additional Features
There are a few additional features on the original Yoto as compared to the Mini, most notably the night light that is available on the Yoto.
We don’t personally use the night light enough for that to be worth the extra money, but if that’s a feature you’re looking for, it’s worth bearing in mind that the Mini doesn’t have it.
Price
The Yoto Player is £89.99 while the Mini is only £59.99. Overall, I think this makes the Yoto Mini much better value. You get just about all the features of the Yoto player, with slightly reduced battery life, and it’s £30 cheaper.
We personally don’t feel the Yoto Player is worth the extra cost.
This is the main reason why we’ve gone on to buy Yoto Minis for our younger children – we just think they’re much better value!
Safety
One thing that’s bearing in mind is that there have been some safety issues with the Yoto Mini.
In April 2024, Yoto recalled its Mini Players across the world, due to a few isolated incidents of the battery within the Yoto Mini catching fire while charging. The issue has now been resolved, and we have never personally had any safety issues with the Yoto players we own. I also felt that Yoto dealt with the problems quickly and diligently.
The last Yoto Mini that we bought was after the battery incidents, and we still chose to buy another one, since the issues were isolated to a very small number of players. However, if you are particularly concerned about safety, that might tip you over into buying the original Yoto.
Yoto Player vs Yoto Mini Comparison Table
The table below shows the main differences between the Yoto player and the Yoto Mini player.
| Yoto Player | Yoto Mini | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | £89.99 | £59.99 |
| Battery Life | Up to 24 hours | Up to 14 hours |
| Charging | USB-C and wireless | USB-C |
| Capacity | 32GB | 32GB |
| Headphones | Wired (3.5mm jack) and wireless | Wired (3.5mm jack) and wireless |
| Nightlight | Yes | No |
| Size | 11 x 11 x 10.5cm | 7 x 7 x 4cm |
Which is better – Yoto or Toniebox?
In my view Yoto is better than the Tonie Box for a number of reasons:
1. The Toniebox is limited to younger children whereas the Yoto is designed for children all the way up to age 12.
2. It’s much easier to store Yoto cards than Tonie figures.
3. The Creative-Tonies (recordable figures) are much more expensive than MYO Yoto cards.
4. There is no mini version of the Toniebox.
5. The battery life of the Toniebox is significantly less than the Yoto.
Where can I buy a Yoto player?
You can buy the Yoto player, accessories and cards on the Yoto website here.
The Yoto Player, Yoto Mini and Yoto cards featured were gifted to me for review, however all opinions are my own. This page contains affiliate links, which earn me a little bit of commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.
