Comparison

Aquarium Sim vs Swarm Simulator

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

Head to head
About

Aquarium Sim

Create and manage your own virtual aquarium filled with a diverse range of marine and freshwater fish. Customize your underwater environment with various habitats and interact with your aquatic pets by feeding them. Enjoy a relaxing visual experience with realistic fish behaviors.

Highlights
  • 82 detailed fish species
  • Customizable aquarium environments
  • Realistic swimming behaviors
  • Interactive feeding and tapping
  • Marine and freshwater habitats
Features
Read full description

Aquarium Sim is an interactive virtual Aquarium for your phone & tablet. Sit back, relax and enjoy a variety of marine & freshwater fish swimming about in a colorful coral reef habitat. Setup your aquarium by choosing from 82 fish and 9 environments. Interact with your pets by taping on the glass and feeding them. Aquarium Sim Features: - 82 highly detailed Fish species - Create custom Aquarium Environments - 7 Pre-Made Coral Reef Environments - 2 Freshwater Environments - Realistic Swimming behaviors and appearance - No in-app purchases, all fish are free

About

Swarm Simulator

Evolve your insect colony from simple larvae to powerful hive minds in this 3D incremental idle clicker game. Conquer territory, sacrifice units for growth, and ascend to unlock new mutations and expand your swarm across the universe.

Highlights
  • Incremental idle clicker gameplay
  • Endless progression and unit evolution
  • Idle mode for offline growth
  • Ascend system with new mutations
  • All-new 3D graphics and units
  • Elixir buffs and Golden Bug bonuses
Features
Read full description

Over 2 MILLION PLAYERS! Swarm Simulator: Evolution brings the strategic, incremental, idle, clicker gameplay of the wildly successful web game into a new 3D world with dozens of new systems and extra features! Evolve your way from lowly larvae and drones to all-powerful hive Overminds and beyond in this idle masterpiece! Conquer territory with fearsome Stingers and Locusts to become a tycoon of unit production. Sacrifice smaller units for the greater good of the colony and Ascend over and over as you build your Swarm toward its ultimate goal of universe spanning conquest! == Swarm Simulator Features == Idle Clicker Gameplay • Endless progression - start with a few lowly units, evolve and hatch your way to unimaginable numbers. • Idle mode - the game will keep progressing whether it's open or not, take a break for a few hours and your Swarm will grow and grow! • Ascend your Swarm to start over on a new world but with powerful new Mutations. Evolution Upgrades • All new 3D graphics and new units, dozens of 3D bugs in a fully 3D world. • Elixirs give short term buffs to your Swarm, use a Rage elixir to capture more territory ... or a Warper elixir to speed up time itself! • Golden Bugs can be captured to give long-term bonuses to your Swarm. • Swarm Lord Invasions, the HFL, Carapace Shards, unlockable skins for your bugs and more! The classic text-based incremental game has been reborn in vibrant 3D. Download Swarm Simulator now and conquer EVERYTHING!

Screenshots

Aquarium Sim4 screens
Swarm Simulator4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Swarm Simulator at 4.7 against Aquarium Sim's 4.0. Swarm Simulator also leads on update cadence (every 9 days vs every 3 months) and ratings volume (2.7K vs 43). Aquarium Sim's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 11). On price, review sentiment, ads and device support 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. Swarm Simulator sells 11 one-off in-app purchases. Aquarium Sim asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Swarm Simulator holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Swarm Simulator has 2.7K ratings behind it against 43, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 83% of Aquarium Sim's written reviews are positive against 78% of Swarm Simulator's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Aquarium Sim ships an update every 3 months, Swarm Simulator every 9 days. The most recent releases landed on August 24, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Aquarium Sim versus Swarm Simulator: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAquarium SimSwarm Simulator
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (43 ratings)4.7 (2.7K ratings) — better
Positive reviews83.3% of reviews — better78.3% of reviews
Number of ratings432.7K — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 9 days — better
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationAd-supported — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.012.0
Further details — not scored
Size78 MB158 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developer1788918 Alberta LtdIron Horse Games LLC

Customer experience

Aquarium Sim

All ratings43 ratings
Positive74.4%
Neutral4.7%
Negative20.9%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive83.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative16.7%

Swarm Simulator

All ratings2,719 ratings
Positive93.3%
Neutral3.0%
Negative3.7%
Written reviews175 reviews
Positive78.3%
Neutral5.1%
Negative16.6%

Bugs and requests

Aquarium Sim

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Swarm Simulator

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Crashes on launch
  • Stuck on loading screen
  • Incorrect display of resources and upgrades
  • Issues with cloud save functionality

Requested features

4 requests
  • More content and updates
  • Offline mode
  • Customization options
  • Improved progression and endgame

In-app purchases

None

Aquarium Sim

No in-app purchases

11 purchases

Swarm Simulator

One-time11
  • Pouch of Crystals$4.99
  • Elixir Mega Pack$4.99
  • Swarm Supporter Pack$9.99
Show 8 more
  • Bag of Crystals$9.99
  • Crystalline King Pack$9.99
  • Arcane Amplifier Pack$9.99
  • Super Shards Pack$9.99
  • Challenge Crusher Pack$9.99
  • Barrel of Crystals$19.99
  • Elixir Ultra Pack$24.99
  • Storehouse of Crystals$49.99

Questions

Is Aquarium Sim free?
Aquarium Sim is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Swarm Simulator free?
Swarm Simulator is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Aquarium Sim or Swarm Simulator?
Swarm Simulator is rated higher. Aquarium Sim averages 4.0 out of 5 from 43 ratings, while Swarm Simulator averages 4.7 from 2.7K ratings.
Do Aquarium Sim or Swarm Simulator have ads?
Both Aquarium Sim and Swarm Simulator show ads.
Which is updated more often, Aquarium Sim or Swarm Simulator?
Aquarium Sim ships an update every 3 months, and Swarm Simulator every 9 days. Most recently, Aquarium Sim was updated on August 24, 2026 and Swarm Simulator on September 22, 2026.

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