# Monster Box vs Idle War.app

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Monster Box at none against Idle War.app's 27. Monster Box also leads on review sentiment (87% vs 60%) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). Idle War.app's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and rating (4.7 vs 4.5). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Idle War.app sells 27 in-app purchases, starting at $8.99 per month. Monster Box asks for nothing beyond the download.

Idle War.app holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.5. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 212 and 148 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 87% of Monster Box's written reviews are positive against 60% of Idle War.app's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Monster Box ships an update every 3 months, Idle War.app every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 12, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Monster Box | Idle War.app |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.5 (212 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/monster-box-simple-strategy/id1163319075/reviews) | **[4.7 (148 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/idle-warapp/id1542564543/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **212** | 148 |
| Positive reviews | **87.1% of reviews** | 60.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | **Every 2 months** |
| Monetization | **Ad-supported** | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 7 MB | 277 MB |
| Requires iOS | **13.0** | 15.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 9+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [DAN-BALL](https://appshunter.io/developer/348592290) | [Randy Ficker](https://appshunter.io/developer/597467998) |

## What reviewers say

### Monster Box

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/monster-box-simple-strategy/id1163319075)

Engage in strategic battles against waves of monsters. Upgrade your stickman characters with gold and jewels to enhance their power and defeat increasingly formidable foes. Enjoy a simple yet engaging combat experience.

**Highlights:** Monster battles, Stickman upgrades, Gold and jewel currency, Strategic combat, Monster evolution

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

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 😊 Highly addictive and engaging gameplay
- 👍 Simple and easy to learn mechanics
- 🎮 Fun physics-based interactions with stick figures
- 💰 No pay-to-win mechanics
- 📱 Works well on mobile devices

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Game crashes occasionally
- 📏 UI elements too small on high-resolution phones
- 🎮 Limited character variety (only 4 classes)
- ⚠️ Game resets completely on game over
- 🔄 Repetitive gameplay loop

**Reported bugs**

- Stick figures drift to the right when revived repeatedly
- Game crashes for no apparent reason
- Certain medals are unobtainable (Ohagi medal)
- iPhone X notch cuts off progress bar
- Game data loss when too many monsters spawn

**Requested features**

- More character classes (especially from Stick Ranger)
- Landscape/horizontal mode support
- Zoom feature to see action better
- Cloud save and cross-device progress transfer
- Sandbox mode with infinite monsters


### Idle War.app

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/idle-warapp/id1542564543)

An incremental empire-building game where you conquer territories, manage resources, and upgrade your empire. Progress even while offline with automated features and discover new maps and challenges.

**Highlights:** Army generation and upgrades, Resource mining and smelting, Item crafting with recipes, Territory conquest and bonuses, Technology upgrades, Artifact discovery and upgrades, Advancement Points for permanent boosts, Auto-play features

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

**In-app purchases (27)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Idle Premium | $8.99 | per month |
| Day against Nuclear Tests | $2.99 | one-time |
| Mothers Day Bundle | $3.99 | one-time |
| Father's Day Bundle | $3.99 | one-time |
| 500 Coins | $5.99 | one-time |
| Super Camp | $9.99 | one-time |
| 1,000 Coins | $9.99 | one-time |
| Spring Bundle | $9.99 | one-time |
| Cyber Monday Bundle | $9.99 | one-time |
| Summer Solstice Bundle | $9.99 | one-time |
| Holiday Bundle | $14.99 | one-time |
| New Years Bundle | $14.99 | one-time |
| January Jumpstart Bundle | $14.99 | one-time |
| World Kindness Day Bundle | $14.99 | one-time |
| Autumn Bundle | $14.99 | one-time |
| International Day of Peace | $14.99 | one-time |
| World Chess Day Bundle | $14.99 | one-time |
| World Environment Day Bundle | $14.99 | one-time |
| Day of Human Spaceflight | $19.99 | one-time |
| World Water Day Bundle | $19.99 | one-time |
| Summer Sale | $19.99 | one-time |
| 2,500 Coins | $23.99 | one-time |
| Birthday Bundle | $29.99 | one-time |
| Valentine's Day Sale | $29.99 | one-time |
| Auto Artifact Swapper | $34.99 | one-time |
| 5,000 Coins | $46.99 | one-time |
| 10,000 Coins | $89.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Monster Box free?

Monster Box is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Idle War.app free?

Idle War.app is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Monster Box or Idle War.app?

Idle War.app is rated higher. Monster Box averages 4.5 out of 5 from 212 ratings, while Idle War.app averages 4.7 from 148 ratings.

### Do Monster Box or Idle War.app have ads?

Monster Box shows ads; Idle War.app does not.

### Which is updated more often, Monster Box or Idle War.app?

Monster Box ships an update every 3 months, and Idle War.app every 2 months. Most recently, Monster Box was updated on October 12, 2026 and Idle War.app on October 13, 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.*