# Beholder vs Strange Horticulture

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Strange Horticulture at none against Beholder's 1. Strange Horticulture also leads on update cadence (weekly vs every 2 months). Beholder's advantage is price ($4.99 vs $5.99) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 15.6). On rating, review sentiment, ratings volume and ads there is nothing between them.

Beholder costs $4.99 and Strange Horticulture $5.99 up front. Beholder sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Strange Horticulture asks for nothing beyond the download.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Beholder against 4.9 for Strange Horticulture. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1.7K and 1.5K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 69% of Beholder's written reviews are positive against 75% of Strange Horticulture's.

Beholder ships an update every 2 months, Strange Horticulture weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 11, 2026 and November 12, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Beholder | Strange Horticulture |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | **$4.99** | $5.99 |
| Rating | [4.8 (1.7K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/beholder/id1205486761/reviews) | **[4.9 (1.5K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/strange-horticulture/id6450008138/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **1.7K** | 1.5K |
| Positive reviews | 69.2% of reviews | **75.3% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | **Weekly** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Ad-supported** |
| Best chart rank | #83 | **#38** |
| Size | 770 MB | 522 MB |
| Requires iOS | **11.0** | 15.6 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 12+ | 12+ |
| Developer | [CM Games OU](https://appshunter.io/developer/463706169) | [Plug In Digital](https://appshunter.io/developer/608306412) |

## What reviewers say

### Beholder

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/beholder/id1205486761)

**Currently charting:** #83 Top Paid · Role Playing, #160 Top Paid · Adventure (US App Store)

In a totalitarian state, you manage an apartment building while secretly spying on tenants. Your choices impact their lives and the unfolding story, leading to multiple endings. Explore a grim future where privacy is a luxury and every decision has consequences.

**Highlights:** Moral choice-driven narrative, Tenant surveillance and profiling, Multiple story endings, Character personality development, Apartment management simulation, Additional story content available

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Blissful Sleep DLC | $2.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Great game mechanics
- 🚀 Engaging and addictive gameplay
- 💡 Interesting moral dilemmas
- 🎨 Excellent visuals and atmosphere
- 🕹️ Unique and challenging gameplay

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Bugs and glitches
- 🔁 Repetitive gameplay
- 💰 High price for the content
- 🕹️ Difficult and unforgiving at times
- 🔍 Limited replayability

**Reported bugs**

- Game freezing during tutorial or conversations
- Inability to progress past certain points
- Inconsistent language settings
- Tenants not appearing as expected

**Requested features**

- More randomized events and content
- Additional locations and apartments to manage
- Ability to delete save files
- Improved cloud save functionality
- Optimization for newer devices


### Strange Horticulture

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/strange-horticulture/id6450008138)

**Currently charting:** #38 Top Paid · Puzzle, #59 Top Paid · Adventure (US App Store)

Manage an occult plant store in a mysterious town. Discover and identify strange plants, using their unique properties to influence an unfolding narrative. Explore the surrounding lands to find new flora and unravel ancient secrets.

**Highlights:** Manage an occult plant store, Discover and identify strange plants, Use plant effects to influence story, Explore surrounding lands, Unravel dark mysteries, Pet your cat

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

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Cozy and relaxing gameplay
- 🧠 Clever and engaging puzzles
- 🎨 Lovely art style and graphics
- 📚 Interesting and well-written story
- 🕹️ Unique and novel gameplay mechanics

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Bugs and glitches (viewing device issues, plant movement problems)
- 🔋 Battery drain and overheating issues
- 📱 Suboptimal mobile experience (small text, lack of Apple Pencil support)
- 🕰️ Short playtime, not much replayability

**Reported bugs**

- Viewing device bug preventing progress
- Plants getting stuck and unable to be moved
- Crashes and freezes on certain devices

**Requested features**

- More content and expanded gameplay
- Shelf/storage option for plants
- Improved mobile optimization (larger text, better controls)


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Beholder free?

Beholder costs $4.99, and also offers in-app purchases.

### Is Strange Horticulture free?

Strange Horticulture costs $5.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Beholder or Strange Horticulture?

Strange Horticulture is rated higher. Beholder averages 4.8 out of 5 from 1.7K ratings, while Strange Horticulture averages 4.9 from 1.5K ratings.

### Do Beholder or Strange Horticulture have ads?

Neither Beholder nor Strange Horticulture shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Beholder or Strange Horticulture?

Beholder ships an update every 2 months, and Strange Horticulture weekly. Most recently, Beholder was updated on November 11, 2026 and Strange Horticulture on November 12, 2026.

### Which is more popular, Beholder or Strange Horticulture?

Beholder currently peaks at #83 in the App Store charts, and Strange Horticulture at #38. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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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.*