Comparison

Arcaea vs Phira

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Read full description

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

About

Phira

A community-driven rhythm game inspired by Phigros, built using Rust. It offers a unique gameplay experience with more content, including competitive events and a story mode, planned for future updates.

Highlights
  • Community-driven gameplay
  • Inspired by Phigros
  • Developed with Rust
  • Competitive events (coming soon)
  • Official charts (coming soon)
  • Story mode (coming soon)
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Phira is a non-commercial community-driven rhythm game, inspired by Phigros, developed with Rust. More contents (competitive events, official charts and story mode) coming soon!

Screenshots

Arcaea4 screens
Phira2 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Phira at none against Arcaea's 3. Arcaea's advantage is update cadence (every 8 days vs every 2 months) and ratings volume (25K vs 847). On price, review sentiment, ads 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Arcaea sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Phira asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Arcaea holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Arcaea has 25K ratings behind it against 847, 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 70% of Phira's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Arcaea ships an update every 8 days, Phira every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 6 level
Arcaea versus Phira: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterArcaeaPhira
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (25K ratings) — better4.6 (847 ratings)
Positive reviews78.4% of reviews — better70.5% of reviews
Number of ratings25K — better847
Update frequencyEvery 8 days — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
Best chart rank#85#49 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.412.0.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size1.2 GB61 MB
Age rating12+4+
Developerlowiro知远 李

Customer experience

Arcaea

All ratings24,557 ratings
Positive96.6%
Neutral1.4%
Negative1.9%
Written reviews1,245 reviews
Positive78.4%
Neutral6.7%
Negative14.9%

Phira

All ratings847 ratings
Positive88.5%
Neutral2.8%
Negative8.6%
Written reviews271 reviews
Positive70.5%
Neutral9.2%
Negative20.3%

User reviews

Arcaea

From 25K App Store ratings

What 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

Phira

From 847 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Excellent music selection
  • 💡 Ability to create and import custom charts
  • 🚀 Clean and intuitive user interface

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and stability issues
  • 🔌 Connectivity problems and failed downloads
  • 🤔 Registration and account creation problems

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

Phira

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • TOS and privacy policy not loading properly
  • Issues with clearing cache and updating user info
  • Inability to download songs or access certain features

Requested features

3 requests
  • Update the app to the latest version
  • Add support for more languages
  • Improve performance optimization

In-app purchases

3 purchases

Arcaea

One-time3
  • 100 Memories$0.99
  • 510 Memories$4.99
  • 1020 Memories$9.99
None

Phira

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Arcaea free?
Arcaea is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Phira free?
Phira is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Arcaea or Phira?
Arcaea is rated higher. Arcaea averages 4.8 out of 5 from 25K ratings, while Phira averages 4.6 from 847 ratings.
Do Arcaea or Phira have ads?
Neither Arcaea nor Phira shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Arcaea or Phira?
Arcaea ships an update every 8 days, and Phira every 2 months. Most recently, Arcaea was updated on September 25, 2026 and Phira on September 22, 2026.
Which is more popular, Arcaea or Phira?
Arcaea currently peaks at #85 in the App Store charts, and Phira at #49. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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