Comparison

Galactic Colonies vs Mars

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

Head to head
About

Galactic Colonies

Explore a vast, procedurally generated galaxy and build thriving colonies on alien worlds. Manage resources, establish production lines, and research new technologies to expand your civilization. Discover diverse planets and ensure your colonists survive in challenging environments.

Highlights
  • Procedurally generated universe exploration
  • Alien planet colonization
  • Technology research
  • Complex production pipelines
  • Colony ship upgrades
  • Diverse planet types
Features
Read full description

Download the game for free and start exploring the galaxy! Galactic Colonies is a game about exploring space and building colonies. Explore a procedurally generated universe with thousands of planets. Every colony starts small. Start by providing housing and food for your colonists before you exploit a planet’s natural resources. Set up factories and create advanced high-tech products to make your colony grow even bigger. Discover tropical, desert and ice planets and help your colonists survive on harsh, alien worlds. FEATURES: - Explore a procedurally generated universe - Find and colonize alien planets - Research new powerful technologies - Set up complex production pipelines - Beautiful 3D graphics - Upgrade and improve your colony ship - Endless hours of fun. How far can you explore?

About

Mars

Engage in a scientific simulation of establishing a Mars colony. Manage a small group of settlers, research technologies, and build a thriving settlement from a single module. Compete with other human-controlled colonies for success on the Red Planet.

Highlights
  • Scientific Mars settlement simulation
  • Research and development of technologies
  • Exploration of the Red Planet
  • Building and managing specialized structures
  • Managing settler types and life cycles
  • 3D view of settlement and Mars surface
  • Offline playability
Features
Read full description

Settle on MARS in a mixture of game and scientific simulation. Take control over a tiny group of 10 settlers and choose a landing site on the barren Mars. Develop your venture from one single landing module into a thriving settlement with hundreds of specialized buildings and even more inhabitants. Research & development of new technologies as well as exploration of the Red Planet are key for establishing a permanent presence in this hostile environment. And you are not alone. Other settlements, each one controlled by a real human somewhere on Earth, are starting to grow everywhere and a competition for being the most successful Mars colony has already begun. Features: - Scientific orientated building & simulation of a Mars settlement - Background story in 6 phases with according phase goals - Mars simulation in 30x real time (even running when app is not active) - Choosing one of 7 Earth organizations providing (dis-)advantages - Research & development of 152 individual technologies - Construction, maintenance & repair of 51 individual building - 35 individual building enhancements (no level 1,2,3...) - Sending Mars exploration teams and analyzing found soil samples - Production & dispatching of 23 different resource/module types - Assignment of 5 settler types to all activities in the settlement - Settler life cycle including children and elders - 3D view of own settlement in authentic Mars topography - Panning & zooming of the Mars surface in high resolution 3D - 100% usable without Internet connection - Optional online: ranking list & other settlements on Mars surface - Unlocking of advanced app functionalities step by step - Tutorial explaining all app functionalities - Contains some Ads but only after 15 Minutes of game and very decent - Contains In-App-Purchases but NO PAY TO WIN! - This is a peaceful app! NO FIGHTING, NO KILLING, NO WAR!

Screenshots

Galactic Colonies4 screens
Mars4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Galactic Colonies at 4.5 against Mars's 4.1. Galactic Colonies also leads on update cadence (every 10 days vs every 2 months) and ratings volume (297 vs 26). Mars's advantage is iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.6). On price, review sentiment, ads and in-app purchases 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. Galactic Colonies sells 11 one-off in-app purchases and Mars sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Galactic Colonies holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Galactic Colonies has 297 ratings behind it against 26, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 70% of Galactic Colonies's written reviews are positive against 66% of Mars's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Galactic Colonies ships an update every 10 days, Mars every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 18, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Galactic Colonies versus Mars: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGalactic ColoniesMars
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (297 ratings) — better4.1 (26 ratings)
Positive reviews69.8% of reviews — better65.6% of reviews
Number of ratings297 — better26
Update frequencyEvery 10 days — betterEvery 2 months
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS18.615.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size196 MB2.6 GB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMetalPop, LLCStefan Nyul

Customer experience

Galactic Colonies

All ratings297 ratings
Positive87.5%
Neutral7.1%
Negative5.4%
Written reviews126 reviews
Positive69.8%
Neutral14.3%
Negative15.9%

Mars

All ratings26 ratings
Positive69.2%
Neutral15.4%
Negative15.4%
Written reviews32 reviews
Positive65.6%
Neutral9.4%
Negative25.0%

Bugs and requests

Galactic Colonies

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Research projects getting stuck or going infinite
  • Inability to connect buildings properly
  • Inconsistent behavior of video rewards
  • Crashes when trying to watch ads

Requested features

4 requests
  • Ability to relocate or remove buildings
  • More varied mission objectives and planet types
  • Improved navigation and map UI for accessibility
  • Offline mode with background resource production

Mars

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

11 purchases

Galactic Colonies

One-time11
  • Small Pack Of Energy Cells$1.99
  • Star Racer$1.99
  • Welcome Bundle$1.99
Show 8 more
  • Cold Steel$2.99
  • Medium Pack Of Energy Cells$4.99
  • Skyward$4.99
  • Weekend Deal$4.99
  • Doubled Planet Boost Time$4.99
  • Colonizer's Bundle$7.99
  • A Large Pack Of Energy Cells$9.99
  • Huge Pack Of Energy Cells$19.99
3 purchases

Mars

One-time3
  • Logistics contract$0.99
  • MAA Gold Membership$1.99
  • Sponsors contract$2.99

Questions

Is Galactic Colonies free?
Galactic Colonies is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Mars free?
Mars is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Galactic Colonies or Mars?
Galactic Colonies is rated higher. Galactic Colonies averages 4.5 out of 5 from 297 ratings, while Mars averages 4.1 from 26 ratings.
Do Galactic Colonies or Mars have ads?
Both Galactic Colonies and Mars show ads.
Which is updated more often, Galactic Colonies or Mars?
Galactic Colonies ships an update every 10 days, and Mars every 2 months. Most recently, Galactic Colonies was updated on September 18, 2026 and Mars on September 22, 2026.

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