Bitsbox is a monthly subscription targeted at elementary and middle school kids. It teaches one of the most important second languages that our kids can learn today, coding! This very simple program is a great way to help your kids discover a love for coding even if you don’t have any computer programming background or knowledge yourself as they create and build upon custom apps. Each set comes with a designated adult guide for teaching and assisting the learning process. “Each level introduces a new computer science concept with a set of crazyfun app projects that come every month.”

The website claims kids all over the world are learning to code using their products and has several testimonials, both written and video from a long list of parents raving about the product. The entire program is incredibly well thought out and produced. Everything is themed, brightly colored and very attractive to both kids and adults alike. Created by two ex-Googlers so that their own kids could learn a love of coding, Bitsbox has really created a top notch program with a simple subscription. 

The program is broken down into three different uses, home, school and home-school.

Home

Individual families can choose from three different subscription models. 

Basic Bitsbox starts at $24.95 per month if you pay for your 12 month subscription up front and is broken down into choices of monthly, 3 month, 6 month or 12 month payment options. 

With this basic Bitsbox your child will receive a custom “Apper Keeper” (see what they did there!) binder to keep everything organized; coding super cards which guide them thru the different app making projects; the grown up guide, which is exactly what it sounds like; stickers and a chart to help them keep track of all of the app progress they’ve made; and access to their “insanely simple” website that is accessible anytime you are online.

Deluxe Bitsbox starts at $37.95 per month with the 12 month prepaid subscription and like the Basic Bitsbox, you can customize your subscription timing. The Deluxe Bitsbox comes with everything included in the Basic Bitsbox but adds three extra components. The additions are: trading cards which are 5 extra super simple apps to build each month; temporary tattoos with sayings like, “I love to code”; and a mystery toy that relates to the monthly theme of the Bitsbox. 

Digital Bitsbox is all of the fun, none of the clutter and paper. This least expensive option may also be the least fun for your kids, although in homes with several kids, may be the most attractive to the parent who can’t stand the thought of one more thing to store. The Digital Bitsbox comes completely online and arrives monthly in PDF form in your inbox. This option starts at $16.95 per month if you prepay your 12 month subscription and like the other two Bitsbox models, is customizable. 

School

Teachers can utilize Bitsbox in their classrooms!

“Bitsbox Coding Project Books are perfect for classrooms, libraries, maker spaces, after-school programs, and other groups of students.” 

Bitsbox has recently revamped their classroom products. The original sets are considered one-time products.The boxes include 10 sets of 10 coding cards, 30 sheets of stickers and a teacher’s guide all for only $100. There are many themed sets from which you can choose, along with plenty of extra fun activities and classroom components. 

The new classroom set is broken down into 9 units, each unit builds on the skills learned in the previous unit. For $149 you receive 10 unit guides and an educator guide. You can also purchase coding workbooks/student journals for $49 for a set of 10. 

Homeschool

Homeschool parents can utilize the same products in the Home subscriptions as independent learning for computer science curriculum. The Bitsbox Homeschool curriculum has even earned 2 awards in 2019 for top educational resources for Homeschoolers! 

What we loved:

  • Bitsbox is affordable on any budget and with any timeframe in mind. You can use it as a one time project for your child’s extra-curricular group or as an ongoing learning opportunity at home or in the classroom. 
  • All of the subscriptions automatically renew but if you need to pause or cancel at any time you can do so. 
  • The projects are open ended so the more advanced your child becomes, the more unique he or she can make the apps. 
  • There are interesting, colorful and engaging YouTube instructional videos to help you along the way.
  • One time gift items. Bitsbox has made their program easy to gift thru one time purchases. 
  • Bitsbox works on all major computers, tablets and phones that connect to the internet so you don’t need to worry about what device your child has access to. 

What we didn’t love:

There really wasn’t too much not to love about Bitsbox! We didn’t find anything specific not to love.