# Garden Eel Pet vs AquaPlants

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Garden Eel Pet at none against AquaPlants's 7. Garden Eel Pet also leads on ratings volume (393 vs 43) and review sentiment (78% vs 67%). AquaPlants's advantage is update cadence (fortnightly vs every 6 weeks). On price, rating, ads and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. AquaPlants sells 7 one-off in-app purchases. Garden Eel Pet asks for nothing beyond the download.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for Garden Eel Pet against 4.7 for AquaPlants. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Garden Eel Pet has 393 ratings behind it against 43, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 78% of Garden Eel Pet's written reviews are positive against 67% of AquaPlants's.

Garden Eel Pet ships an update every 6 weeks, AquaPlants fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Garden Eel Pet | AquaPlants |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.6 (393 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/garden-eel-pet/id1271052707/reviews) | **[4.7 (43 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/aquaplants/id1545761159/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **393** | 43 |
| Positive reviews | **77.8% of reviews** | 66.7% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks | **Fortnightly** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 123 MB | 157 MB |
| Requires iOS | **11.0** | 15.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Hiroki Yamada](https://appshunter.io/developer/491381849) | [Filmo inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/914425393) |

## What reviewers say

### Garden Eel Pet

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/garden-eel-pet/id1271052707)

Raise a virtual Garden Eel on your smartphone. This simple game allows you to feed and clean your pet, watch its cute movements, and even name it. It's a therapeutic and time-killing experience perfect for all ages.

**Highlights:** Raise a virtual Garden Eel, Feed and clean your pet, Watch cute pet movements, Name your pet, Take and share photos, Receive feeding/cleaning reminders

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 😊 Relaxing and therapeutic gameplay
- 🎮 Simple, easy-to-understand mechanics
- 🐠 Cute and adorable animal designs
- 💰 Free-to-play with no paywall
- 🧠 Stress-relieving and calming experience

**What reviewers complain about**

- 💸 Expensive in-game store items
- 📺 Excessive ads and ad-watching requirements
- ⚠️ Pets die too easily/frequently
- 🔊 Cannot disable music
- ⏱️ Requires frequent check-ins

**Reported bugs**

- Pets dying unexpectedly after short absences
- Pets coughing/showing illness symptoms
- Pets hissing and fighting with newly added animals
- Snake pet not functioning properly
- Screen partially cut off by ads after updates

**Requested features**

- Breeding/reproduction system
- More decorations and customization options
- Frog pet variant
- Additional activities and gameplay mechanics
- Faster currency earning methods


### AquaPlants

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/aquaplants/id1545761159)

Cultivate a vibrant underwater world by growing aquatic plants and observing their photosynthesis. As your plants flourish, attract a variety of beautiful tropical fish to your aquarium. This idle game offers a relaxing experience with charming animations and detailed plant information.

**Highlights:** Idle incremental gameplay, Grow aquatic plants, Attract tropical fish, Collect various fish and plants, Detailed plant encyclopedia, Cute fish animations, Realistic 3D plant models

**In-app purchases (7)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Decoration Item (TreeStamp) | $1.99 | one-time |
| ガチャアイテム（ネオンテトラx5） | $1.99 | one-time |
| AmazonFrogPit | $1.99 | one-time |
| シンガブルーネオンタキシードリボンx5 | $3.99 | one-time |
| グリーンコブラグッピーx5 | $3.99 | one-time |
| ショップチケット×5 | $9.99 | one-time |
| ショップチケット×20 | $24.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Garden Eel Pet free?

Garden Eel Pet is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is AquaPlants free?

AquaPlants is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, Garden Eel Pet or AquaPlants?

AquaPlants is rated higher. Garden Eel Pet averages 4.6 out of 5 from 393 ratings, while AquaPlants averages 4.7 from 43 ratings.

### Do Garden Eel Pet or AquaPlants have ads?

Both Garden Eel Pet and AquaPlants show ads.

### Which is updated more often, Garden Eel Pet or AquaPlants?

Garden Eel Pet ships an update every 6 weeks, and AquaPlants fortnightly. Most recently, Garden Eel Pet was updated on September 22, 2026 and AquaPlants on September 23, 2026.

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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.*