Arcaea vs Sonolus
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Arcaea
Experience a unique rhythm game that blends challenging gameplay with an immersive story. Progress through a narrative driven by your performance, unlock new difficulties, and compete with others online. Enjoy a vast library of music, with more available through content packs.
- Novel gameplay mechanics
- Immersive sound and story
- High difficulty ceiling
- Over 350 songs
- 3 rhythm difficulty levels per song
- Real-time online multiplayer
- Rich Main Story and Side Stories
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New Dimension Rhythm Game - Experience sound and story unlike ever before. "A harmony of Light awaits you in a lost world of musical Conflict." In a world of white, and surrounded by “memory”, two girls awaken under glass-filled skies. Arcaea is a mobile rhythm game for both experienced and new rhythm game players alike, blending novel gameplay, immersive sound, and a powerful story of wonder and heartache. Experience gameplay that reflects the story’s emotions and events—and progress to unlock more of this unfurling narrative. Challenging trials can be discovered through play, higher difficulties can be unlocked, and a real-time online mode is available to face off against other players. Arcaea does not require an internet connection for play, and is fully playable both on smartphones and tablets. On install the game includes a large library of free playable songs, and more can be made available by acquiring additional songs and content packs. ==Features== - A high difficulty ceiling - experience personal growth as you develop skills in arcade-style progression - Over 350 songs from more than 200 artists famous across other games - 3 rhythm difficulty levels for every song - An expanding music library through regular content updates - Collaborations with other beloved rhythm games - Online friends and scoreboards - Real-time online multiplayer - A Course Mode that tests endurance through gauntlets of songs - A rich Main Story that features two protagonist’s perspectives across a powerful journey - Additional Side and Short Stories of varying styles and perspectives featuring the game’s characters that build upon the world of Arcaea - A vast array of original characters and guest characters from collaborations to accompany you, level up, and alter your play through many game-changing skills - Stunning, never-before-seen connections to storylines via gameplay, challenging the very paradigm of play ==Story== Two girls find themselves in a colorless world full of memory, and with no memory of themselves. Each alone, they set out into places often beautiful, and just as often dangerous. Arcaea’s story is interwoven throughout Main, Side, and Short stories which each focus on individual, playable characters. While separate, they all share the same space: the world of Arcaea. Their reactions to it, and its reactions to them, form an ever-shifting narrative of mystery, sorrow, and bliss. As they explore this heavenly place, follow their steps down paths of glass and grief. --- Follow Arcaea & News: Twitter: http://twitter.com/arcaea_en Facebook: http://facebook.com/arcaeagame
Sonolus
Dive into a vibrant rhythm game community. Play solo, with friends, or compete against others. Create and share your own custom levels and replays.
- Rhythm game exploration
- Multiplayer gameplay
- Level creation
- Replay sharing
- Community connection
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Explore the world of rhythm games, connect with other rhythm game lovers, create and share your own levels and replays, and more! Whether you are playing solo, together with other people, or competing against other people, there is a vibrant world of rhythm games waiting to be discovered!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Arcaea at 4.8 against Sonolus's 3.8. Arcaea also leads on ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 8 days vs every 2 months). On price, in-app purchases, monetization model and chart position 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
Both are free to download. Arcaea sells 3 one-off in-app purchases and Sonolus sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Arcaea holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Arcaea has 25K ratings behind it against 1K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 78% of Arcaea's written reviews are positive against 51% of Sonolus's.
Arcaea ships an update every 8 days, Sonolus every 2 months. Both last shipped on October 19, 2026.
| Parameter | Arcaea | Sonolus |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (25K ratings) — better | 3.8 (1K ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 78.3% of reviews — better | 51.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 25K — better | 1K |
| Update frequency | Every 8 days — better | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #62 | #37 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 12.4 — better | 13.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 1.2 GB | 151 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | lowiro | MACAU FOSFENES TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD. |
Customer experience
Arcaea
Sonolus
User reviews
Arcaea
From 25K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Unique gameplay mechanics
- 🎨 Beautiful visuals and art
- 🎶 Excellent music selection
- 👍 Smooth and responsive controls
- 💯 Challenging yet rewarding difficulty
Room to improve
- 💰 Excessive paywall for content
- 🔁 Repetitive grind in World Mode
- 🐛 Occasional note registration issues
- 🔊 Audio desync when multitasking
- 🤖 Lack of practice mode or tutorial
Sonolus
From 1K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Amazing app
- 👍 Great rhythm game
- 👍 Lots of custom content
- 👍 Fantastic experience
- 👍 Awesome game
Room to improve
- 🐛 Banned from server
- 🐛 Failed connections
- 🐛 Odd controls
- 🔒 Homophobic creators
- 🐛 Server issues
Bugs and requests
Arcaea
Reported bugs
3 issues- Login issues and account sync problems
- Compatibility problems on certain devices
- Crashes and freezes during gameplay
Requested features
5 requests- Multiplayer mode to compete with friends
- Ability to earn premium currency through gameplay
- More free song options to explore the game
- Customizable note speed and offset settings
- Improved story mode and character development
Sonolus
Reported bugs
2 issues- Chart preview keeps playing on loop
- Ads
Requested features
2 requests- More Project Sekai charts
- Kpop server
In-app purchases
Arcaea
- 100 Memories$0.99
- 510 Memories$4.99
- 1020 Memories$9.99
Sonolus
- Gem x500$4.99
- Gem x1000$9.99
- Gem x2200$19.99
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- Gem x6000$49.99









