# NPC For Hire vs ShadowGen

The clearest difference is price: NPC For Hire at Free against ShadowGen's $0.99. NPC For Hire also leads on ratings volume (81 vs 1). ShadowGen's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.3) and in-app purchases (none vs 13). On update cadence, ads, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

NPC For Hire is free to download; ShadowGen costs $0.99 up front. NPC For Hire sells 13 one-off in-app purchases. ShadowGen asks for nothing beyond the download.

ShadowGen holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: NPC For Hire has 81 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

NPC For Hire ships an update every 3 months, ShadowGen every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 10, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | NPC For Hire | ShadowGen |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | **Free** | $0.99 |
| Rating | [4.3 (81 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/npc-for-hire/id1182788017/reviews) | **[5.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/shadowgen-npc-creator/id6763323270/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **81** | 1 |
| Positive reviews | 75.6% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | **Every 2 months** |
| Monetization | **Free with in-app purchases** | Paid |
| Size | 75 MB | 191 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 | 15.1 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 12+ | 12+ |
| Developer | [Knights of Vasteel LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1182788016) | [Mini Leviathan](https://appshunter.io/developer/1884297556) |

## What reviewers say

### NPC For Hire

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/npc-for-hire/id1182788017)

This app assists Game Masters in creating and managing non-player characters (NPCs) for their tabletop role-playing games. It generates characters with unique personalities and provides hand-drawn portraits to enhance immersion.

**Highlights:** NPC generation, NPC builder, NPC management, Hand-drawn portraits, Story-driven aid, Fantasy world immersion

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (13)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Angels and Demons | $0.99 | one-time |
| Forest of Natlan | $0.99 | one-time |
| Deep Caverns | $0.99 | one-time |
| Diplomacy | $0.99 | one-time |
| Dragon Folk | $0.99 | one-time |
| Elves of Ilfelin | $0.99 | one-time |
| Heritage of Stone | $0.99 | one-time |
| Houses of Dimlodir | $0.99 | one-time |
| Leaders of the Occult | $0.99 | one-time |
| Lost Hills | $0.99 | one-time |
| Tales of Horror | $0.99 | one-time |
| The Call of Adventure | $0.99 | one-time |
| Thieves Guild | $0.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- ✨ Fantastic artwork and visuals
- 👍 Easy and quick NPC creation
- 🎨 Highly customizable characters
- 💡 Ability to upload custom pictures
- 💰 Reasonably priced character packs

**What reviewers complain about**

- 💸 Expensive to unlock all races/content
- 📦 Some purchased packs don't download
- 🖼️ Limited free content/races
- 🔄 Lack of recent updates/new packs
- 🎨 Some packs are incomplete

**Reported bugs**

- 🐛 Purchased packs won't download
- 🐛 Download promise timing out
- 🐛 App locked to portrait mode on iPad
- 🐛 Cannot write down stats
- 🐛 Downloading custom pictures not working with standard photo files

**Requested features**

- More job/occupation options
- More details like race/basic stats
- Landscape orientation support for iPads
- Export as PDF or other formats
- Ability to save photos for reuse within the app


### ShadowGen

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/shadowgen-npc-creator/id6763323270)

This app generates fully-featured non-player characters for tabletop role-playing games. It provides unique images, skills, equipment, and backstories for various character archetypes, saving game masters time during sessions. Users can save and reuse generated characters across campaigns.

**Highlights:** Instant NPC generation, Unique character images, Skills and abilities, Equipment and gear loadout, Rich backstory and personality, Save and reuse characters

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

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is NPC For Hire free?

NPC For Hire is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is ShadowGen free?

ShadowGen costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, NPC For Hire or ShadowGen?

ShadowGen is rated higher. NPC For Hire averages 4.3 out of 5 from 81 ratings, while ShadowGen averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.

### Do NPC For Hire or ShadowGen have ads?

Neither NPC For Hire nor ShadowGen shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, NPC For Hire or ShadowGen?

NPC For Hire ships an update every 3 months, and ShadowGen every 2 months. Most recently, NPC For Hire was updated on October 21, 2026 and ShadowGen on October 10, 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.*