Comparison

Pokémon GO vs TCGSim

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

Head to head
About

Pokémon GO

Explore your real world to discover and catch creatures. Train your companions, battle in gyms, and team up with others for epic raids. Your adventure begins as you move through your environment.

Highlights
  • Explore and discover creatures
  • Catch creatures to complete Pokédex
  • Journey with Buddy Pokémon
  • Compete in Gym battles
  • Team up for Raid Battles
  • Augmented reality gameplay
Read full description

Join Trainers across the globe who are discovering Pokémon as they explore the world around them. Pokémon GO is the global gaming sensation that has been downloaded over 1 billion times and named “Best Mobile Game” by the Game Developers Choice Awards and “Best App of the Year” by TechCrunch. _______________ UNCOVER THE WORLD OF POKÉMON: Explore and discover Pokémon wherever you are! CATCH more Pokémon to complete your Pokédex! JOURNEY alongside your Buddy Pokémon to help make your Pokémon stronger and earn rewards! COMPETE in epic Gym battles and... TEAM UP and UNITE with other Trainers to catch powerful Pokémon during Raid Battles! It’s time to get moving—your real-life adventures await! Let’s GO! _______________ With the player’s permission, Adventure Sync uses the Health app to enable the player to earn walking distance when the app is closed. Notes: - This app is free-to-play and offers in-game purchases. It is optimized for smartphones, not tablets. - It is recommended to play while connected to a network in order to obtain accurate location information. - Compatibility is not guaranteed for devices without GPS capabilities or devices that are connected only to Wi-Fi networks. - Compatibility information may be changed at any time. - Information current as of July 11, 2019. - Compatible with iPhone® 5s / SE / 6 / 6s / 6 Plus / 6s Plus / 7 / 7 Plus / 8 / 8 Plus / X devices with iOS Version 9 or later installed. - Not compatible with 5th generation iPod Touch devices or iPhone 5c or earlier iPhone devices. - Please visit PokemonGO.com for additional compatibility information. - Compatibility is not guaranteed for all devices. - Continued use of GPS running in the background can dramatically reduce battery life.

About

TCGSim

Practice popular trading card games solo with this easy-to-use app. It supports deck tuning, strategy research, and includes features like free card manipulation and dice rolls. Customize your experience with optional in-app purchases.

Highlights
  • Solo play for 1-2 player fields
  • Free card manipulation
  • Deck and card management
  • Import decks via codes/CSV
  • Dice roll and coin toss
  • Customizable backgrounds
Features
Read full description

A must-have app for TCG players! This app is a simple and easy-to-use solo play app for popular trading card games. Use it for deck tuning and strategy research. Supported TCG Examples: - Yu-Gi-Oh! - Pokémon TCG (Pokémon Card) - Duel Masters *This app is a non-official app for each TCG. Key Features: - Solo play (supports 1-player and 2-player fields) - Free card manipulation - Deck management (create/edit/delete) - Card management (create/edit/delete) – up to 500 cards - Download cards/decks from deck codes or CSV files - Dice roll / coin toss functions In-App Purchases (Optional): - Remove ads - Increase deck registration limit - Customize card back images Customize field background images *For the setting method, please refer to the X (old twitter) account below. https://twitter.com/TCGSim

Screenshots

Pokémon GO4 screens
TCGSim4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Pokémon GO at 4.0 against TCGSim's 3.0. Pokémon GO also leads on update cadence (weekly vs every 3 months) and ratings volume (656K vs 2). TCGSim's advantage is review sentiment (78% vs 44%) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.0). On price, 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

Both are free to download. Pokémon GO sells 21 one-off in-app purchases and TCGSim 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

Pokémon GO holds the better App Store score, 4.0 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Pokémon GO has 656K ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 44% of Pokémon GO's written reviews are positive against 78% of TCGSim's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Pokémon GO ships an update weekly, TCGSim every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and September 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Pokémon GO versus TCGSim: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPokémon GOTCGSim
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (656K ratings) — better3.0 (2 ratings)
Positive reviews43.6% of reviews77.8% of reviews — better
Number of ratings656K — better2
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 3 months
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#1 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.012.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size390 MB167 MB
Age rating9+4+
DeveloperScopely Explore, Inc.Kenta Hayakawa

Customer experience

Pokémon GO

All ratings656,026 ratings
Positive73.8%
Neutral5.6%
Negative20.6%
Written reviews8,678 reviews
Positive43.6%
Neutral9.7%
Negative46.6%

TCGSim

All ratings2 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral100.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews9 reviews
Positive77.8%
Neutral22.2%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Pokémon GO

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • GPS/location issues causing gameplay problems
  • Bugs with egg hatching and buddy Pokémon
  • Inconsistent performance across devices
  • Glitches with raid battles and rewards

Requested features

5 requests
  • In-game chat/communication system
  • Ability to trade items between players
  • More customization options for avatars
  • Improved tracking and spawn system
  • Easier access to rare/legendary Pokémon

TCGSim

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

21 purchases

Pokémon GO

One-time21
  • 100 PokéCoins$0.99
  • Event Bonus$0.99
  • Small Box$1.99
Show 18 more
  • Evergreen Ticket 1$1.99
  • Event Ticket3 variants$1.99
  • Event Ticket5 variants$4.99
  • 550 PokéCoins$4.99
  • Ticket$4.99
  • Event Ticket$7.99
  • 1,200 PokéCoins$9.99
  • Event Pass Deluxe Plus Points$9.99
  • Finale Pass$14.99
  • Event Pass Deluxe$14.99
  • GO Fest Ticket$14.99
  • Finale Pass Plus Points$19.99
  • GO Pass Deluxe$19.99
  • 2,500 PokéCoins$19.99
  • Event Pass Deluxe Plus Points$19.99
  • GO Pass Deluxe Plus Points$24.99
  • 5,200 PokéCoins$39.99
  • 14,500 PokéCoins$99.99
4 purchases

TCGSim

One-time4
  • Unlock Custom Field Image$1.99
  • Unlock Custom Card Back$1.99
  • Remove Ads$2.99
Show 1 more
  • Unlock Deck Slots$2.99

Questions

Is Pokémon GO free?
Pokémon GO is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is TCGSim free?
TCGSim is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Pokémon GO or TCGSim?
Pokémon GO is rated higher. Pokémon GO averages 4.0 out of 5 from 656K ratings, while TCGSim averages 3.0 from 2 ratings.
Do Pokémon GO or TCGSim have ads?
Both Pokémon GO and TCGSim show ads.
Which is updated more often, Pokémon GO or TCGSim?
Pokémon GO ships an update weekly, and TCGSim every 3 months. Most recently, Pokémon GO was updated on October 29, 2026 and TCGSim on September 30, 2026.

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