Comparison

Elba vs Pilots

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

Head to head
About

Elba

Embark on a text-based narrative adventure to uncover the secrets of an abandoned island. As you and an old friend explore, more questions arise about your shared past and the island's mysteries.

Highlights
  • Text-based gameplay
  • Narrative experience
  • Mystery uncovering
  • Story-driven
  • Chapter-based progression
Features
Read full description

Elba is a text based, narrative experience. Together with an old friend you uncover the mysteries of an abandoned island. More questions then answers arise as your common past unravels throughout the story. Content: Prologue Chapter I Chapter II Chapter III Chapter IV Chapter V

About

Pilots

An aviation idle and incremental strategy game where you build an airfield from scratch. Research new technologies, design aircraft, and manage pilots to progress through different flight eras. Enjoy offline progress and dynamic weather without timers or ads.

Highlights
  • Idle and incremental strategy gameplay
  • Fleet and route design
  • Dynamic weather system
  • Pilot experience and ranks
  • Prestige reset for permanent upgrades
  • Offline progress simulation
Read full description

Build from a grass airstrip to interstellar flight, one horizon at a time. Pilots: Ascension is an aviation idle and incremental strategy game. It starts with a hand-cranked fuel drum and a wood-and-fabric machine that has no business leaving the ground. Your job is to get it into the sky anyway. You are the quartermaster of a tiny airfield. Crank fuel, recruit crew and coax the first aircraft into the air. Then build an industry: depots, mines, smelters and workshops. Assign aviators to the jobs that suit them and research your way up the altitude spine through seven eras: Dawn of Flight, the Propeller Age, the Jet Age, the Rocket Age, Orbit, the Interplanetary frontier and the Interstellar Age. IT KEEPS THE LOOP YOU KNOW Gather, build, assign, research, trade, prestige. Then it adds mechanics built around flight: • Adventure campaign: five flight programs tie era research to real flying. Aircraft must be capable of their route, so your fleet choices matter. • Grand Expeditions: three voyages and 16 story legs with changing routes, flight modes and supply needs. Earn Bronze, Silver and Gold honors that stay with every future career. No deadlines. • Flight Operations: seven stories and 21 mission stages across all seven eras. Choose relief service or scientific survey. • Flight modes: Standard, Economy, Express and Survey trade speed, fuel, risk and science output for each aircraft. • Route mastery: successful landings earn better payouts and lower risk on familiar routes. • Simulated weather: four in-game seasons plus changing conditions. Tailwinds, fog and thunderstorms can ground flights and shift production. • Pilot ranks: aviators climb from Rookie to Wingman to Veteran to Ace, multiplying their output. • New Horizon: take a Final Flight, bank Legacy, Ace Points and Renown, pick a Founding Charter and, if you want, a challenge for your next run. Your career log remembers your last 50 runs. A CALMER, CLEARER AIRFIELD A compact home screen puts one crank button beside your crew and fuel stats. Tap any resource to see what produces it, what stores it and what consumes it. Fleets group by aircraft, route and mode, with bulk controls for dispatch. CLASSIC AND ADVENTURE New careers begin in Adventure. Existing careers keep the original rules as Classic, and you can choose Adventure at a voluntary New Horizon. Offline progress for up to three days: your fleet keeps flying while you are away. Your save lives on your device. No timers nagging you. No ads. No in-app purchases. No account or login. Start with a windsock and an empty field.

Screenshots

Elba4 screens
Pilots4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Elba at Free against Pilots's $0.99. Elba also leads on iOS requirement (10.0 vs 17.0). On rating, review sentiment, ratings volume and update cadence 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

Elba is free to download; Pilots costs $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Elba against 5.0 for Pilots. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 5 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Elba versus Pilots: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterElbaPilots
PriceFree — better$0.99
Rating5.0 (2 ratings)5.0 (5 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings25 — better
Update frequencyMonthlyMonthly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS10.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size131 MB4 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperSteffen DiesingDas Creative LLC

Customer experience

Elba

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews7 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Pilots

All ratings5 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Elba

No in-app purchases

None

Pilots

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Elba free?
Elba is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Pilots free?
Pilots costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Elba or Pilots?
Elba and Pilots are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 2 and 5 ratings respectively.
Do Elba or Pilots have ads?
Neither Elba nor Pilots shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Elba or Pilots?
Elba ships an update monthly, and Pilots monthly. Most recently, Elba was updated on November 2, 2026 and Pilots on October 31, 2026.

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