# Mini Mine vs REI Empire

The clearest difference is price: Mini Mine at Free against REI Empire's $4.99. Mini Mine also leads on update cadence (every 5 days vs every 3 months) and iOS requirement (9.0 vs 15.1). REI Empire's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 6). On ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Mini Mine is free to download; REI Empire costs $4.99 up front. Mini Mine sells 6 one-off in-app purchases. REI Empire asks for nothing beyond the download.

Mini Mine ships an update every 5 days, REI Empire every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Mini Mine | REI Empire |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | **Free** | $4.99 |
| Rating | **[4.1 (143 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mini-mine/id1121121404/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **143** | — |
| Positive reviews | 72.7% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 5 days** | Every 3 months |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Size | 94 MB | 36 MB |
| Requires iOS | **9.0** | 15.1 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Apps4Life, LLC.](https://appshunter.io/developer/293274590) | [Dwayne Woodson](https://appshunter.io/developer/1832615088) |

## What reviewers say

### Mini Mine

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mini-mine/id1121121404)

Tap to mine rocks and earn money in this addictive idle game. Unlock rarer resources, upgrade your equipment, and expand your mining empire across different planets. Explore new worlds and discover valuable elements.

**Highlights:** Tap to mine rocks, Unlock rare rocks, elements, and ores, Upgrade mining equipment, Travel to new planets, Build a mining empire, Explore galactic elements

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (6)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Small bag of Crystals | $1.99 | one-time |
| Tote full of Crystals | $4.99 | one-time |
| Crate full of Crystals | $9.99 | one-time |
| Chest full of Crystals | $19.99 | one-time |
| Dungeon full of Crystals | $49.99 | one-time |
| Empire's worth of Crystals | $99.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Fun and addictive
- 👍 Simple and easy to play
- 💎 Great time-killer
- 🕰️ Keeps you entertained for long periods

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
- 🔍 Difficult mini-games
- 💸 Excessive ads and monetization
- 🔌 Slow performance as you progress

**Reported bugs**

- Achievements not registering properly
- Offline earnings not always credited
- Freezing and lagging issues
- Compatibility problems on older devices

**Requested features**

- Reduce frequency of ads
- Improve mini-game difficulty and fairness
- Add more variety to gameplay
- Optimize performance for longer play sessions


### REI Empire

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/rei-empire/id6752371144)

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Mini Mine free?

Mini Mine is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is REI Empire free?

REI Empire costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Do Mini Mine or REI Empire have ads?

Neither Mini Mine nor REI Empire shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Mini Mine or REI Empire?

Mini Mine ships an update every 5 days, and REI Empire every 3 months. Most recently, Mini Mine was updated on November 6, 2026 and REI Empire on October 28, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*