Comparison

The Binding of Isaac vs Dead Cells

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

Head to head
About

The Binding of Isaac

Embark on a procedurally generated action RPG shooter adventure as a young boy escaping into a dangerous basement. Discover bizarre treasures that alter your form and grant abilities to battle monstrous enemies, uncover secrets, and fight for survival. Experience a vast world with countless replayable runs and unique challenges.

Highlights
  • Procedurally generated dungeons
  • Hundreds of unique items
  • Multiple playable characters
  • Over 500 hours of gameplay
  • 2-player local co-op
  • Controller support
  • Animated endings
Features
Read full description

"When Isaac’s mother starts hearing the voice of God demanding a sacrifice be made to prove her faith, Isaac escapes into the basement, where he faces droves of deranged enemies, lost brothers and sisters, his fears and eventually his mother. Gameplay The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth is the randomly generated action RPG shooter that started the new roguelike era. Following Isaac on his journey, players will find bizarre treasures that change Isaac’s form, giving him superhuman abilities and enabling him to battle droves of mysterious creatures, discover secrets and fight his way to safety. Key Features: Over 500 hours of gameplay 4 BILLION Seeded runs! 20 Challenge runs 450+ items Integrated controller support for popular control pads Analog directional movement and speed Tons of feature film-quality animated endings Over 100 specialized seeds 2-player local co-op Over 100 co-op characters Dynamic lighting, visual effects and art direction Multiple Save slots Poop physics! A bunch of achievements The ultimate roguelike Uber secrets including: 10 Playable Characters 100+ enemies Over 50 bosses Mystic Runes Upgradeable shops Rooms FULL OF POOP!"

About

Dead Cells

Explore a sprawling, ever-changing castle as a failed alchemic experiment. Master frantic 2D combat with a variety of weapons and skills against dangerous foes. Death is not the end; learn from each attempt to progress through this roguevania action platformer.

Highlights
  • Roguevania exploration
  • Frantic 2D action combat
  • Nonlinear progression
  • Permadeath with learning
  • Unlockable weapons and skills
  • DLC content packs
Read full description

Death is not the end. Play as a failed alchemic experiment and explore the sprawling, ever-changing castle to find out what happened on this gloomy island…! That is, assuming you’re able to fight your way past its keepers. Dead Cells is a roguevania action platformer that will require you to master frantic 2D combat with a wide variety of weapons and skills against merciless minions and boss. Kill. Die. Learn. Repeat. First available on PC and consoles, the indie hit Dead Cells is now slaying foes on mobile! Main Features • Roguevania: The progressive exploration of an interconnected world, with the replayability of a rogue-lite and the adrenaline-pumping threat of permadeath • Frantic and Dynamic 2D Action: Learn your enemies’ patterns to stay alive, or prepare to be sent back to your cell before you can say “baguette” • Nonlinear Progression: Unlock new levels with every death, opt for the path that suits your current build, your playstyle or just your mood. Surely, the ramparts can’t be as bad as the sewers, right? • Play at your own pace: Will you explore every nook and cranny of the castle, or rush to the end? *Latest updates are available: Clean Cut & The End is Near* RETURN TO CASTLEVANIA DLC Time for some vampire slaying • New storyline - overcome the Ruler of Darkness alongside Alucard and Richter Belmont, • 2 new biomes - Explore Dracula's Castle and its outskirts • 9 new monsters - Werewolves, haunted armors, and medusas are waiting for you • 14 new weapons - wield the Vampire Killer or the Holy Water to defeat creatures of the night, • 3 new bosses - go fangs to fangs against Death and Dracula himself • 20 new outfits - dress as your favorite Castlevania characters such as Simon and Richter Belmont or Alucard • Alternative soundtracks - play along 51 Castlevania original tracks and 12 tunes reimagined in the style of Dead Cells THE BAD SEED DLC You reap what you sow • New levels to lose your head in the not-so-peaceful Dilapidated Arboretum and the noxious Morass of the Banished • New monsters to rip to pieces: get to know the locals, such as the Jerkshroom and the Yeeter • New weapons to play with: trim sticking-out heads with the Scythe Claw, or make them dance to the sound of the Rhythm n' Bouzouki • New boss to fight against: Mama Tick is dying to meet you FATAL FALLS DLC Ready for a leap of faith? • 3 new biomes - Get some fresh air at the Fractured Shrines, splash around at the Undying Shores and take a picture at the Mausoleum • 8 new monsters - The Cold Blooded Guardians and their friends would love to teach you about their culture. ... Wait, aren't those relatives of yours in the Undying Shores...? • 7 new weapons - Lil' Serenade is perfect for breaking the ice with the locals, although the Snake Fangs would make for a perfect souvenir... • 1 new boss - The Scarecrow is very proud of his gardening skills and won't hesitate to show off QUEEN AND THE SEA DLC Take it to the sea! • 2 new biomes - Battle your way through a rotten shipwreck, or scale a burning lighthouse and confront your deadliest foe yet. • 9 new weapons, including a throwable shark, a trident and a pirate hook hand (eyepatch not included). • 2 new bosses - Don't lose your head before you meet the Queen! This DLC also gives you the usual extras: - A not-so-cute pet. - Loads of new outfits. - New enemies to bash. WARNING: Devices with less than 2 Gb of RAM may not be able to run this content correctly. We recommend not to take this DLC if your device is under 2gb of RAM. Carefully redesigned for mobile with a revamped interface • Two game modes available: Original & Auto-Hit • Custom controls & More touch controls options available: Change the buttons’ position and size to your liking, swipe to dodge… • MFi external controller support • No ads, no F2P mechanics! If you run into a problem, please contact us at support@playdigious.mail.helpshift.com with as much information as possible on the issue.

Screenshots

The Binding of Isaac4 screens
Dead Cells4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Dead Cells at 89% against The Binding of Isaac's 61%. Dead Cells also leads on price ($8.99 vs $14.99) and rating (4.8 vs 4.5). On ratings volume, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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

The Binding of Isaac costs $14.99 and Dead Cells $8.99 up front. The Binding of Isaac sells 6 one-off in-app purchases and Dead Cells sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Dead Cells holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4.2K and 12K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 61% of The Binding of Isaac's written reviews are positive against 89% of Dead Cells's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

The Binding of Isaac ships an update every 3 months, Dead Cells every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
The Binding of Isaac versus Dead Cells: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterThe Binding of IsaacDead Cells
Price$14.99$8.99 — better
Rating4.5 (4.2K ratings)4.8 (12K ratings) — better
Positive reviews61.3% of reviews88.5% of reviews — better
Number of ratings4.2K12K — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 5 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#8#6 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple TViPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV — better
Requires iOS16.012.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size2.6 GB1.8 GB
Age rating17+12+
DeveloperNicalis, Inc.Playdigious

Customer experience

The Binding of Isaac

All ratings4,198 ratings
Positive86.1%
Neutral4.1%
Negative9.8%
Written reviews1,289 reviews
Positive61.3%
Neutral12.7%
Negative26.0%

Dead Cells

All ratings12,164 ratings
Positive95.6%
Neutral1.5%
Negative3.0%
Written reviews1,780 reviews
Positive88.5%
Neutral3.6%
Negative7.9%

User reviews

The Binding of Isaac

From 4.2K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Great game
  • 👍 Faithful port of PC version
  • 👍 Smooth performance
  • 👍 Lots of content
  • 👍 Worth the price

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Controls can be difficult to use
  • 🐛 Occasional crashes or progress loss
  • 🐛 Joystick movement issues
  • 🐛 Lack of full-screen support on newer devices

Dead Cells

From 12K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Smooth gameplay
  • 👍 Excellent controls
  • 💎 High-quality graphics
  • 🎮 Great controller support
  • 🔥 Addictive and challenging

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Audio glitches and bugs
  • 🤔 Lack of custom mode
  • 📱 Finicky touch controls
  • 🔇 No background music support

Bugs and requests

The Binding of Isaac

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Delirium fight crashes the game
  • Tainted character mechanics not working as expected
  • D Infinity item not functioning properly
  • Rerun feature not working

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add Afterbirth and Afterbirth+ DLC
  • Improve controls with more customization options
  • Implement full-screen support for newer devices
  • Add keyboard/controller support
  • Implement cloud save sync

Dead Cells

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Saves not compatible across platforms
  • Texture and graphical issues on some devices
  • Persistent memory leaks causing performance drops

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add Chinese language support
  • Implement cross-save functionality
  • Introduce online multiplayer mode
  • Optimize for older devices

In-app purchases

6 purchases

The Binding of Isaac

One-time6
  • Binding of Isaac: Afterbirth$14.99
  • Binding of Isaac: Afterbirth+$14.99
  • Binding of Isaac: Repentance$14.99
Show 3 more
  • Afterbirth and AB+$24.99
  • Afterbirth+ and Repentance$24.99
  • AB, AB+, Repentance$39.99
4 purchases

Dead Cells

One-time4
  • The Bad Seed$3.99
  • Fatal Falls$3.99
  • The Queen and the Sea$3.99
Show 1 more
  • Return to Castlevania$6.99

Questions

Is The Binding of Isaac free?
The Binding of Isaac costs $14.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is Dead Cells free?
Dead Cells costs $8.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, The Binding of Isaac or Dead Cells?
Dead Cells is rated higher. The Binding of Isaac averages 4.5 out of 5 from 4.2K ratings, while Dead Cells averages 4.8 from 12K ratings.
Do The Binding of Isaac or Dead Cells have ads?
Neither The Binding of Isaac nor Dead Cells shows ads.
Which is updated more often, The Binding of Isaac or Dead Cells?
The Binding of Isaac ships an update every 3 months, and Dead Cells every 5 weeks. Most recently, The Binding of Isaac was updated on September 23, 2026 and Dead Cells on September 24, 2026.
Which is more popular, The Binding of Isaac or Dead Cells?
The Binding of Isaac currently peaks at #8 in the App Store charts, and Dead Cells at #6. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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