Yoto Player
Kids audio player in Audio
Kids' audio player with offline story and music cards that parents praise for quality and easy custom cards. Common caveat: a walled content garden that depends on Yoto's servers.
21 people recommended Yoto Player in Hacker News comments, 2 had mixed feelings and 6 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026.
12 of the 21 people who recommend it commented in one thread, “Floppy disks turn out to be the greatest TV remote for kids”.
Summary written by Claude from 32 comments. It was written before the November 2026 recount, and 31 of those comments still count.
29 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 21
- mixed feelings
- 2
- warn against or regret it
- 6
The record
Recommended in 3 of 12 months
In 6 different threads.
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: recommended
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 21 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 3.5 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 3 of 12 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
- Recommended in 6 threadsNeeds 5 or more, met.
- 12 of its 21 recommenders came from one threadNeeds half or less, not met.
The same rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. Mixed feelings count toward neither side. How the badge works
What people say about it
Reasons grouped from a sample of 31 of the 33 opinions about it, picked in proportion to how many people recommend it, have mixed feelings and criticize it. Each mark is one comment in the sample. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Kids love it, long-term use
“+1 for Yoto, our kids (5-7) have abused them for years.”
Comment from 4 Jun 2026 in “Retro-Tech Parenting” “We got my daughter a Yoto and it's a great device.”
Comment from 2 Jun 2026 in “Toy Story 5 shows 'terror' of children's screen addiction, says Tom Hanks” “Our toddler absolutely loves her Yoto player”
Comment from 4 Jun 2026 in “Retro-Tech Parenting” Good for learning and entertainment
“absolutely invaluable for self directed learning and entertainment”
Comment from 12 Jan 2026 in “Floppy disks turn out to be the greatest TV remote for kids” “Looks like fun and educational toy, interesting find.”
Comment from 12 Jan 2026 in “Floppy disks turn out to be the greatest TV remote for kids” “Yoto is great for that age”
Comment from 22 Jan 2026 in “2 years building a kids audio app as a solo dev – lessons learned” Make your own cards
“their “make your own cards” system is pretty much open to whatever you want to do”
Comment from 31 Oct 2026 in “Show HN: Marelleo, an open-source story box I built for my kids using ESP32” “there is an API: https://yoto.dev/api/ . You can do all sorts of things”
Comment from 31 Oct 2026 in “Show HN: Marelleo, an open-source story box I built for my kids using ESP32” “I second the Yoto. My son and I have had much fun making our own cards”
Comment from 12 Jan 2026 in “Floppy disks turn out to be the greatest TV remote for kids” Well thought-out for parents and kids
“The concept is great though and the specific product, walled content garden notwithstanding, has been a net win for us.”
Comment from 12 Jan 2026 in “Floppy disks turn out to be the greatest TV remote for kids” “Yoto is quite amazing, well thought-out product, for both parents and kids.”
Comment from 13 Jan 2026 in “Floppy disks turn out to be the greatest TV remote for kids”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Limited features without the app
“the kids devices like Yoto are too limited (or require downloads”
Comment from 22 Jan 2026 in “2 years building a kids audio app as a solo dev – lessons learned” “it's a poor player (no shuffle without app, etc”
Comment from 23 Jan 2026 in “Tech Is Fun Again: The Tech Monoculture Is Finally Breaking”
What people recommend instead
The same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Mixed | Criticize | Approval | Months | Had for | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yoto PlayerThis page | 21 | 2 | 6 | 78% | 3 | — | — |
| Toniebox | 5 | 1 | 1 | 83% | 2 | — | — |
What people said
31 of the 33 opinions about it, picked in proportion to the three counts, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“their “make your own cards” system is pretty much open to whatever you want to do”
“solves so many of the issues I have with Yoto!”
“there is an API: https://yoto.dev/api/ . You can do all sorts of things”
“my kids have a personal music/story player (Yoto portable for those curious”
“they were unable to use their Yoto players to listen to them”
“having to manually manage her Yoto alarm on holidays and school breaks”
“pretty neatly reproduce the old experience of putting something physical into a player”
“As soon as Yoto's servers go dark, there goes any content not already cached on your machine.”
“+1 for Yoto, our kids (5-7) have abused them for years.”
“Our toddler absolutely loves her Yoto player”
“We got my daughter a Yoto and it's a great device.”
“They have Yotos (similar to Tonie) for bedtime, and iPads for school work, but those are not ideal for a number of reasons.”
“it's a poor player (no shuffle without app, etc”
“Yoto is great for that age”
“the kids devices like Yoto are too limited (or require downloads”
“It was a great stocking stuffer for our toddler”
“The audio quality itself is top notch, often talented and well known voice actors”
“I hear such good things about the Yoto”
“Yoto is quite amazing, well thought-out product, for both parents and kids.”
“Yoto daily (daily podcast for kids that my kids absolutely love”
“the audio is stored on the yoto itself for offline play”
“got a few of grandma reading favorite books, which my daughter loved”
“I second the Yoto. My son and I have had much fun making our own cards”
“This is one of those "I could easily DIY that" things that you really couldn't.”
“we've taken advantage of it somewhat”
“the process is relatively simple”
“The concept is great though and the specific product, walled content garden notwithstanding, has been a net win for us.”
“We have a yoto for our son, and its a great experience”
“absolutely invaluable for self directed learning and entertainment”
“Looks like fun and educational toy, interesting find.”
“It’s very popular in Charlotte Mason homeschool circles”
Counts come from 1,791,911 Hacker News comments labeled by Claude, November 2025 to October 2026, with data through October 31, 2026. Counts updated 2 Nov 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.