# Monster Box vs Mars 2501

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Monster Box at none against Mars 2501's 1. Monster Box also leads on iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). Mars 2501's advantage is ads (none vs shown). On price, update cadence and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Mars 2501 sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Monster Box asks for nothing beyond the download.

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 12, 2026 and October 9, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Monster Box | Mars 2501 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.5 (212 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/monster-box-simple-strategy/id1163319075/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **212** | — |
| Positive reviews | 87.1% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Every 3 months |
| Monetization | Ad-supported | — |
| Size | 7 MB | 111 MB |
| Requires iOS | **13.0** | 15.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 9+ | 12+ |
| Developer | [DAN-BALL](https://appshunter.io/developer/348592290) | [Janek Soomets](https://appshunter.io/developer/1315295062) |

## 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


### Mars 2501

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mars-2501/id6746960028)

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

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Upgrade Mars 2501 | $4.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Monster Box free?

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

### Is Mars 2501 free?

Mars 2501 is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Do Monster Box or Mars 2501 have ads?

Monster Box shows ads; Mars 2501 does not.

### Which is updated more often, Monster Box or Mars 2501?

Monster Box ships an update every 3 months, and Mars 2501 every 3 months. Most recently, Monster Box was updated on October 12, 2026 and Mars 2501 on October 9, 2026.

---

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