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What Is CrunchLabs Hack Pack?
CrunchLabs is an engineering and robotics subscription brand built by the YouTube engineering creator behind the channel. The Hack Pack is their flagship product aimed at teens: each month you receive a new robot kit to build, along with access to a companion video that walks through the engineering concepts and a coding environment where you can modify the robot’s behavior.
The pitch is clever. Instead of a dusty “STEM kit” that ends up in a closet, CrunchLabs leans hard on personality, production value, and the creator’s YouTube audience. For teens who are already fans, the branding alone is a significant motivator. That’s worth something — and we’ll get into exactly how much.
The Hack Pack is designed for ages 14 and up. There’s also a younger sibling product called Build Box (ages 8–12) that focuses on mechanical builds without coding. Both are subscription-based with auto-renewal.
What You Get — Pricing Breakdown
| Plan | Price per Box | Annual Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hack Pack — Annual | $66.65/box | $399.95/yr | Best per-box rate |
| Hack Pack — Monthly | ~$80/box | ~$960/yr | Cancel anytime |
| Build Box — Annual | $27.45/box | $329/yr | Ages 8–12, no coding |
Each Hack Pack box contains:
- A robot or gadget kit (laser-cut parts, motors, sensors)
- All required electronics and hardware
- Access to an online coding environment (block-based and Python)
- A companion video with engineering context
CrunchLabs also sells standalone products — the Crunchinator ($34.99) and Elephant Toothpaste Blast ($39) are available at Walmart, Target, and Amazon after the brand’s 2026 retail expansion via Moose Toys. These are solid lower-commitment entry points if you want to test the brand before committing to a subscription.
The Hack Pack was named a TOTY 2026 Award finalist (Toy of the Year) — a genuinely meaningful industry recognition, not a marketing badge.
The Good — What CrunchLabs Does Well
The brand actually works on teenagers
This is the most honest compliment we can give: CrunchLabs gets teenagers to build things. If you have a 15-year-old who rolls their eyes at anything labeled “educational,” the CrunchLabs brand — tied to a YouTube creator they already watch — lowers that resistance. We’ve seen this pattern repeatedly in parent communities. The box arrives, the teen builds it, it works.
That first working robot is genuinely powerful. It creates a positive feedback loop that cheaper, less polished kits often fail to generate.
Build quality is solid
The kits are well-engineered. Parts fit together cleanly, instructions are clear, and — critically — the robot works on first assembly. This sounds like a low bar, but many competing kits in this price range have tolerance issues, vague documentation, or components that require troubleshooting before you see any result. CrunchLabs largely avoids this.
Good gateway for total beginners
For teens with zero prior exposure to electronics or coding, Hack Pack is a legitimate on-ramp. The coding environment is approachable, the video content is entertaining, and the monthly cadence maintains interest better than a one-off purchase.
The Bad — Honest Problems You Should Know About
The price is high for a discovery purchase
$399.95 per year is a significant commitment to find out whether your teenager is actually interested in engineering. At $66.65 per box, you’re paying a substantial premium for the brand, the video production, and the convenience. If your teen builds two boxes and loses interest — which happens — you’ve spent $133+ on two robots and have 10 more months of subscription auto-renewing.
The auto-renewal complaints are real. CrunchLabs has a documented pattern of billing disputes in consumer forums and Better Business Bureau filings. The cancellation process has generated enough negative feedback that it’s worth flagging explicitly: set a calendar reminder before your renewal date and document your cancellation request in writing.
BBB complaints about fulfillment and support
CrunchLabs has received complaints through the Better Business Bureau related to fulfillment failures (boxes not arriving, wrong items shipped) and difficulty reaching customer support to resolve issues. Most consumer subscription companies have some BBB complaints, so this alone isn’t disqualifying — but the pattern of unresponsive support is consistent enough that it’s worth knowing before you buy.
If a box doesn’t arrive in time for a birthday or Christmas, your resolution path may be slow.
The educational depth has a ceiling — and it arrives quickly
This is the most substantive critique, and it comes from educators and developers who have analyzed the curriculum in detail.
The Hack Pack coding experience is built around modifying existing code: changing values, tweaking parameters, remixing behaviors. Teens don’t write programs from scratch. The environment is carefully scaffolded, which makes it approachable — but it also means that learners never encounter the underlying concepts that make programming transferable.
One software developer and educator summarized it bluntly in community discussions: “Builders modify existing code but never understand variables or function scope.” After 2–3 boxes, a motivated teen has essentially seen everything the curriculum offers in terms of conceptual depth. They can make the robot spin faster, but they can’t write a new program for a different project.
For a teen who is genuinely curious and self-directed, this ceiling arrives fast. The subscription keeps sending boxes, but the learning curve flattens.
What You Actually Learn (vs. What You Could Learn)
| Skill | CrunchLabs Hack Pack | Alternative path |
|---|---|---|
| Mechanical assembly | Strong — clean kits, good instructions | Similar quality at lower cost |
| Electronics fundamentals | Surface-level | Better with dedicated starter kits |
| Programming concepts | Remix/modify only | Full curriculum elsewhere |
| Debugging skills | Minimal | Core skill in alternatives |
| Project ownership | Low — prescribed builds | High with open platforms |
The Hack Pack teaches teens that engineering is cool and accessible. It does not teach them to engineer. That distinction matters at $400/year.
Better Alternatives
If your teen is genuinely interested in learning to build and code — not just build — these alternatives deliver more educational value at a fraction of the cost.
M5Stack Cardputer — $30
A credit-card-sized computer with a keyboard, screen, and WiFi. Runs MicroPython and has an active community of projects. At $30, it’s a throwaway buy — if your teen ignores it, no loss. If they engage, they’re writing real Python on real hardware immediately. See our full review →
ELEGOO Smart Robot Car — $76
One of the best value robotics kits available. Ultrasonic sensing, IR, line following, and Bluetooth control, all programmed in Arduino C++. The documentation is excellent, the community is large, and teens who complete it have actually written a real program. Check price →
Arduino Starter Kit — $35–$90
The canonical beginner electronics kit. Comes with a project book covering 15 projects that build on each other systematically — breadboards, sensors, motors, displays. No subscriptions, no auto-renewal. A teen who finishes the Arduino kit understands basic circuits and can write basic C++ programs. That knowledge transfers to every future project they’ll ever do. Check price →
BBC micro:bit — $20
Designed for education, the micro:bit is a small microcontroller that can be programmed with block-based code or MicroPython. It has Bluetooth, accelerometer, compass, and a 5x5 LED matrix. At $20, it’s accessible for every budget and used in schools worldwide. The online editor is polished and free. Check price →
Who Should Buy It
Buy the Hack Pack if:
- Your teen is a fan of the YouTube creator and that connection is your best lever to get them interested in STEM at all
- You’ve tried cheaper kits and they’ve gone untouched — the brand motivator is worth the premium in this case
- You want a zero-friction gift that will definitely work and impress
- You’re buying for a 14–16 year old who needs an on-ramp, not a deep curriculum
Consider the standalone products first ($34–$39 at Walmart/Target/Amazon) if you’re not sure the subscription will stick. The Crunchinator and Elephant Toothpaste Blast are lower-stakes tests of whether your teen engages with the brand.
Who Shouldn’t Buy It
Skip the Hack Pack if:
- Your teen is already into coding, Arduino, or any electronics — they will hit the ceiling fast and feel unchallenged
- Your budget is tight — $400/year for a subscription that may lose the teen’s interest after 2–3 boxes is a real financial risk
- You want them to learn programming concepts that transfer to other projects
- You’re not certain you’ll remember to cancel before the annual renewal
Verdict
CrunchLabs Hack Pack is a well-made product solving a real problem: getting teenagers who have zero interest in “STEM” to voluntarily sit down and build a robot. It succeeds at that. The build quality is solid, the branding is effective, and the first few boxes are genuinely engaging.
But $400/year is a lot to spend on a gateway drug. The educational ceiling arrives quickly, the subscription mechanics have generated real consumer complaints, and the alternatives deliver more transferable learning at a fraction of the cost.
Our recommendation: If the YouTube creator connection is your hook and you have the budget, buy the annual plan, set a cancellation reminder for month 10, and treat the subscription as a 12-month engagement tool rather than a long-term curriculum. If you want actual learning, spend $76 on the ELEGOO robot car and $35 on an Arduino kit — your teen will learn more, and you’ll have $289 left over.
Rating: 3.5 / 5 — Excellent gateway product, limited educational depth, expensive for what it teaches.
Where to Buy
- CrunchLabs.com — best pricing on annual plans, all subscription options → Shop CrunchLabs (10% off with our link)
- Walmart / Target / Amazon — standalone products (Crunchinator, Elephant Toothpaste Blast) for lower-commitment entry
Projects to build instead (or after)
If you want hands-on projects that teach deeper skills — at a fraction of the Hack Pack cost — try these:
| Project | What you’ll build | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Obstacle Avoidance Bot | Robot that dodges walls autonomously | ~2h |
| WiFi RC Car | Phone-controlled car with live steering | ~2h |
| Nerf Ammo Counter | Tracks shots fired on your blaster | ~1h |
| Beat Box Drum Machine | Tap-to-play electronic drums | ~2h |
| Jump Scare Box | Motion-triggered scare device | ~1h |
Total cost: an ESP32 starter kit (~$40) covers all five. That is $360 less than a Hack Pack annual plan.
Prices accurate as of October 2026. Subscription pricing subject to change.