Comparison

Merchant RPG vs Goblin's Shop

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Merchant RPG

Manage a fantasy shopkeeping empire by sending heroes on quests for materials and using crafters to create gear. Balance crafting, selling, and hero upgrades to build your trade empire and conquer foes. This offline idle RPG blends tycoon mechanics with traditional RPG elements.

Highlights
  • Send heroes on quests
  • Craft weapons and armor
  • Manage shop economy
  • Upgrade heroes and crafters
  • Raid bosses
  • Customize characters
Features
Read full description

Be the Merchant of your very own empire! Quest, Craft, Profit, Upgrade! As the Merchant, you are the commander of your own domain! Blending together traditional RPG systems, tycoon mechanics, and a fantasy overworld, Merchant aims to reimagine the traditional mobile RPG. In Merchant, players take the role of a shopkeeper who must manage a team of Heroes and Crafters. Heroes are sent out on quests in order to fight enemies and gather materials. Crafters then use those materials to create weapons and armor. As the shopkeeper, players must balance their micro-economies between selling items for gold and crafting items to better ensure success for the Heroes. * * * TAKE REIGN OF YOUR MARKET - Send Heroes out on epic adventures! - Pay Crafters to create gear! - Earn gold and dictate the direction of your economy! - Grow your inventory and profit from your trade empire! VICTORY THROUGH CONQUEST - Choose your cast of characters from multiple Hero classes! - Ride out to battle to bring back items and loot! - Customize your champions with weapons and armor! - Band together to raid powerful bosses as a party! - Better performance leads to greater rewards! CRAFT YOUR LEGACY - Utilize the unique Crafters to create items and gear to use and sell! - Train the Crafters to create better items, allowing them to master their trade! - Ensure the victory of your Heroes by outfitting them with superior items! * * *

About

Goblin's Shop

Run a fantasy shop in this pixel-art simulation game. Craft weapons, armor, and potions for monsters to help them defeat humans. Embark on RPG adventures to gather materials and upgrade your shop and team.

Highlights
  • Pixel-art simulation gameplay
  • RPG adventures with monster customers
  • Craft over 100 items
  • Customizable shop facilities
  • Monster skill trees and talents
  • 44 adventure territories
  • Multiplayer challenges
Features
Read full description

***** 2017 / 10, Featured by App Store globally ***** ***** 2018 / 3, Selected as Today's Game in China & Honk Kong ***** ● Introduction This is a pixel-art simulation game in which the player runs a shop, together with RPG adventures. In Goblin’s Shop, the player is a goblin who has been bullied by humans and he always wants to get it even. Unfortunately, however, Mr. Goblin realizes that he is too weak to beat any human soldier. Then the idea of opening a shop occurred to him, so he decided to sell weapons, armors and potions to other monsters. To take revenge against humans, he puts together an adventure team with other monsters. In the game, the player has to undertake adventures with his customers constantly, to acquire better crafting materials. During any adventure, the player might face fiery counterattack from human soldiers, so it is imperative to craft better equipment for customers, and then the customers can kill humans more efficiently. The ultimate goal is to attack humans’ castle and gain victory in the end. ● Features: - More than 100 items for crafting - Shop facilities with unique functions are accessible to set up - Various monsters are available for the player to adventure with - Skill tree for the player and random talent systems of the monsters - Random events and quests - 44 territories for adventure - The presentation of monsters are customizable - Player is able to adjust the color of shop objects and arrange various decorations - Challenge human hero together with the other players ● Login & Edit Account Info: http://fstoke.me/goblinxshop/player/ ● Help Translating Text: http://fstoke.me/goblinxshop/game_text/ ● FB Page: http://www.facebook.com/goblinxshop ● Twitter: https://twitter.com/goblinxshop ● Wiki: https://goblinxshop.fandom.com/zh-tw/wiki/Goblin's_Shop_Wiki ● TouchArcade Forum: http://forums.toucharcade.com/showthread.php?t=311644

Screenshots

Merchant RPG4 screens
Goblin's Shop4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Goblin's Shop at every 3 weeks against Merchant RPG's every 4 months. Goblin's Shop also leads on review sentiment (80% vs 69%). Merchant RPG's advantage is rating (4.6 vs 4.3) and iOS requirement (8.0 vs 12.0). On price, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Merchant RPG sells 10 one-off in-app purchases and Goblin's Shop sells 7 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Merchant RPG holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 276 and 193 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 69% of Merchant RPG's written reviews are positive against 80% of Goblin's Shop's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Merchant RPG ships an update every 4 months, Goblin's Shop every 3 weeks. Both last shipped on November 2, 2026.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Merchant RPG versus Goblin's Shop: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMerchant RPGGoblin's Shop
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (276 ratings) — better4.3 (193 ratings)
Positive reviews68.9% of reviews79.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings276 — better193
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS8.0 — better12.0
Further details — not scored
Size67 MB428 MB
Age rating9+9+
DeveloperRetora Game StudiosJUNG CHUN HUNG

Customer experience

Merchant RPG

All ratings265 ratings
Positive91.3%
Neutral2.3%
Negative6.4%
Written reviews161 reviews
Positive68.9%
Neutral10.6%
Negative20.5%

Goblin's Shop

All ratings192 ratings
Positive84.4%
Neutral6.3%
Negative9.4%
Written reviews212 reviews
Positive79.7%
Neutral7.1%
Negative13.2%

User reviews

Merchant RPG

From 276 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Addictive gameplay
  • 👍 Simple yet deep mechanics
  • 🎨 Lovely pixel art style
  • 💰 Fair monetization model
  • ⏱️ Quick progression

Room to improve

  • 🔇 Cuts off background audio
  • 🤔 Confusing for new players
  • 🤖 Lack of combat animations
  • 🧠 Repetitive gameplay loop

Goblin's Shop

From 193 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Addictive gameplay
  • 👍 Unique and charming pixel art style
  • 💰 Generous free-to-play model with no paywalls
  • 🎮 Satisfying RPG and shop management mechanics
  • 🕰 Offline playability

Room to improve

  • 🐢 Slow progression and leveling
  • 🕹️ Frustrating combat system and AI
  • 🏪 Limited shop customization and expansion options
  • 🔍 Unclear or missing information on game mechanics
  • 🤖 Buggy and unstable at times

Bugs and requests

Merchant RPG

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Ads not working properly
  • Inventory management issues
  • Progression-blocking bugs

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add save slots or cloud sync
  • Improve equipment visuals
  • Implement auto-repeat quests
  • Provide more guidance for new players

Goblin's Shop

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Crashes and freezes during gameplay
  • Inability to collect dropped items or resources
  • Inconsistent or broken quest/level progression
  • Graphical and UI issues on certain devices

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to equip and control the player character
  • Expanded shop customization and management options
  • Improved combat and enemy AI
  • Better resource gathering and progression systems
  • Clearer tutorials and in-game information

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Merchant RPG

One-time10
  • 16 Inventory Slots$0.99
  • 16 Additional Inventory Slots II$0.99
  • 16 Additional Inventory Slots III$0.99
Show 7 more
  • 16 Additional Inventory Slots$0.99
  • Unlock the Jeweler$0.99
  • Hero Slot I$0.99
  • Enchanter Unlock$1.99
  • Frozen Tome Expansion$2.99
  • Scribe Expansion$3.99
  • Unlocks Everything$14.99
7 purchases

Goblin's Shop

One-time7
  • 30 gems$0.99
  • Full Version$2.99
  • 200 gems$4.99
Show 4 more
  • 450 gems$9.99
  • 1000 gems$19.99
  • 2700 gems$49.99
  • 6000 gems$99.99

Questions

Is Merchant RPG free?
Merchant RPG is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Goblin's Shop free?
Goblin's Shop is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Merchant RPG or Goblin's Shop?
Merchant RPG is rated higher. Merchant RPG averages 4.6 out of 5 from 276 ratings, while Goblin's Shop averages 4.3 from 193 ratings.
Do Merchant RPG or Goblin's Shop have ads?
Both Merchant RPG and Goblin's Shop show ads.
Which is updated more often, Merchant RPG or Goblin's Shop?
Merchant RPG ships an update every 4 months, and Goblin's Shop every 3 weeks. Most recently, Merchant RPG was updated on November 2, 2026 and Goblin's Shop on November 2, 2026.

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