Comparison

Merchant RPG vs Guildmaster Idle

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

Guildmaster Idle

Manage and grow an interactive idle RPG guild. Engage in various minigames to gather resources, craft gear, and train adventurers for quests and dungeons. Attract new heroes and forge alliances to become a legendary guildmaster.

Highlights
  • Interactive idle gameplay
  • Professions minigames (mining, crafting, bartending, etc.)
  • Questing and dungeon crawling
  • Guild and hero progression
  • Talent tree upgrades
  • Ad-free option
Features
Read full description

With many immersive features including: Interactive Idle Gameplay: Break free from conventional clicker games as you actively personalise and grow your guild, making every decision count. A World of Minigames: Explore a rich tapestry of professions through completing various minigames such as mining, potion-crafting and bartending to gather the materials needed to equip your guild for missions. Their strength is forged through your skills, and the path to victory lies in your mastery of these professions. Quest for Glory: Embark on daring adventures of quests and dungeons. Rise to fame as you conquer challenges and complete feats, attracting new classes of adventurer to your guild, each bringing unique skills and abilities. Ad-Free Enjoyment: Bid farewell to intrusive ads with our optional ad system, ensuring uninterrupted gameplay. Take your gameplay a step above other idle games with interactive minigames for each profession: - Bartending: Serve drinks to the citizens for the gold needed to purchase upgrades for your guild. - Apothecary: Experiment with different herbs and other ingredients to discover magical potions, giving your adventurers the edge when fighting the powerful monsters scattered throughout the dungeon. - Foraging: Search through the forests to find wild vegetables and the herbs needed to craft potions. - Gardening: Manage your garden to grow the crops needed to cook the best food for your guild-members. - Cooking: Combine collected ingredients in the kitchen to provide food for your adventurers, granting them powerful buffs. - Hunting: Hunt wild beasts for meats to use in the kitchen, and hides to craft the armour needed by your adventurers. - Mining: Search through the mines for precious metals and gemstones to be used when crafting gear at the blacksmith. - Tree Felling: Chop trees for the building materials needed to expand your guild, with each new structure adding opportunities for your guild to prosper. - Blacksmithing: Craft enchanted weapons and armour at the forge to equip your adventurers with the tools they need to defeat the strongest foes. Use talent trees to upgrade each profession, dynamically changing each minigame to accelerate the growth of your guild. Grow your guild's fame to attract heroes with powerful spells and abilities from around the world to fight for you. Use the resources you gather from each profession to enhance your adventurers. Fight through quests, dungeons and tournaments, with advanced combat simulation. Gain the best loot possible as you progress through the game and use it to defeat powerful bosses. And that's just the beginning! Stay on the lookout for upcoming features that will expand your 'Guildmaster' experience in the next update. Forge alliances, conquer challenges, and become the legendary 'Guildmaster' you were destined to be. Are you ready for the challenge? Download now.

Screenshots

Merchant RPG4 screens
Guildmaster Idle4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Guildmaster Idle at weekly against Merchant RPG's every 4 months. Merchant RPG's advantage is iOS requirement (8.0 vs 13.0). On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume 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 12 one-off in-app purchases and Guildmaster Idle sells 9 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for Merchant RPG against 4.7 for Guildmaster Idle. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 265 and 533 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 69% of Merchant RPG's written reviews are positive against 75% of Guildmaster Idle's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Merchant RPG ships an update every 4 months, Guildmaster Idle weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and October 16, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Merchant RPG versus Guildmaster Idle: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMerchant RPGGuildmaster Idle
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (265 ratings)4.7 (533 ratings) — better
Positive reviews68.9% of reviews74.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings265533 — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsWeekly — better
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS8.0 — better13.0
Further details — not scored
Size67 MB314 MB
Age rating9+9+
DeveloperRetora Game StudiosElvenry Studios

Customer experience

Merchant RPG

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

Guildmaster Idle

All ratings533 ratings
Positive92.1%
Neutral2.1%
Negative5.8%
Written reviews87 reviews
Positive74.7%
Neutral5.7%
Negative19.5%

User reviews

Merchant RPG

From 265 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

Guildmaster Idle

From 533 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Practical idle game mechanics
  • 🚀 Smooth and responsive gameplay
  • 💡 Interesting concept and depth
  • 🔒 No forced ads or paywalls

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and freezes
  • 🐛 Bugs with certain features
  • 🔍 Lack of in-game information and guidance
  • ⏱️ Overly long dungeon timers

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

Guildmaster Idle

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Game freezes and crashes
  • Talent tree enhancements not working as expected
  • Gear enhancements have no material requirements
  • Unable to construct certain buildings

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add a wiki or knowledge base
  • Improve UI and accessibility
  • Reduce dungeon completion times
  • Introduce character/guild customization

In-app purchases

12 purchases

Merchant RPG

One-time12
  • 16 Inventory Slots$0.99
  • 16 Additional Inventory Slots II$0.99
  • 16 Additional Inventory Slots III$0.99
Show 9 more
  • 16 Additional Inventory Slots$0.99
  • Unlock the Jeweler$0.99
  • Hero Slot I$0.99
  • Hero Slot II$0.99
  • Enchanter Unlock$1.99
  • Unlock all Shop Themes$2.99
  • Frozen Tome Expansion$2.99
  • Scribe Expansion$3.99
  • Unlocks Everything$14.99
9 purchases

Guildmaster Idle

One-time9
  • 1000 Runes$1.99
  • 2500 Runes$4.99
  • Increase Max Offline Work$4.99
Show 6 more
  • Purchase Runes (Scrolls)$4.99
  • Purchase Rune Bundle$4.99
  • 7500 Runes$9.99
  • 15000 Runes$19.99
  • 50000 Runes$49.99
  • 100000 Runes$99.99

Questions

Is Merchant RPG free?
Merchant RPG is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Guildmaster Idle free?
Guildmaster Idle is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Merchant RPG or Guildmaster Idle?
Guildmaster Idle is rated higher. Merchant RPG averages 4.6 out of 5 from 265 ratings, while Guildmaster Idle averages 4.7 from 533 ratings.
Do Merchant RPG or Guildmaster Idle have ads?
Both Merchant RPG and Guildmaster Idle show ads.
Which is updated more often, Merchant RPG or Guildmaster Idle?
Merchant RPG ships an update every 4 months, and Guildmaster Idle weekly. Most recently, Merchant RPG was updated on October 13, 2026 and Guildmaster Idle on October 16, 2026.

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