Comparison

Pixel Plex vs Idle Mars Survival

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

Head to head
About

Pixel Plex

Collaborate with up to 40 players to build, trade, and expand a shared city. Design unique structures, manage resources, and engage in market trading to grow your collective cityscape. Participate in mayoral elections to influence city-wide decisions in this ad-free, relaxing simulation.

Highlights
  • Collaborative city building with up to 40 players
  • Resource trading and market management
  • Over 60 unique, evolving buildings
  • Land expansion and business growth
  • In-game mayoral elections
  • Ad-free gameplay
Features
Read full description

City Building with Friends! Build, trade, and chill with friends in a relaxing city-building game where up to 40 players shape one bustling city together. No ads, no stress. Just good vibes and creativity. Team Up and Build Your Plex Design and expand your Plex your way! Collaborate with friends to trade resources and create stunning city-wide projects, transforming your shared cityscape. Grow Bigger and Higher Choose from over 70 unique buildings that evolve as your city flourishes. Expand your Plex by buying more land and growing your businesses to new heights! Trade and Profit in a Lively Market Master the Plex Market by buying low and selling high. Trade resources at the Depot with your neighbors to maximize your wealth and influence. Become the Mayor Elections every two days keep things exciting! As mayor, your decisions shape the city, whether it's lowering taxes, boosting the market, or filling your pockets with extra cash. Join Pixel Plex today. Build your dream city and hang out with friends from all over the globe! In-App Subscription Info: Payment will be charged to your Apple ID account at confirmation of purchase. Subscriptions automatically renew unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current billing period. Your account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period. You can manage or cancel your subscription at any time in your Apple ID account settings after purchase. Any unused portion of a free trial, if offered, will be forfeited when you purchase a subscription. For more information, please review our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Support: support@toastmobile.com Privacy Policy & Terms: https://pixelplexgame.com/privacypolicy EULA: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Idle Mars Survival

Survive and thrive as an astronaut stranded on Mars. Generate power, secure vital resources, and expand your base to accommodate more survivors. Develop oxygen production systems and defend against dangerous spore invasions to establish a successful colony.

Highlights
  • Generate power from solar and wind sources
  • Secure food, water, and essential supplies
  • Expand base and recruit new astronauts
  • Produce oxygen for colonization
  • Defend against spore invasions
  • Explore for mineral resources
Features
Read full description

As an astronaut stranded on Mars, your main objective is to survive and thrive in this challenging game. Here's a guide on how to survive: Generate Power: Maintaining various devices is crucial, so you need to find a way to generate electricity. This can be achieved through solar panels, wind turbines, or other power sources available on Mars. Secure Resources: You must find food, water, and other essential supplies to sustain yourself. Explore the surroundings to gather resources like plants, minerals, and water deposits. Develop strategies to extract and store these resources efficiently. Expand Your Base: As you progress, expand your base to accommodate more survivors. This involves constructing additional structures, living quarters, and facilities to support the growing population. Each survivor brings unique skills and abilities, so recruit more astronauts to enhance your chances of survival. Produce Oxygen: Develop systems to produce sufficient amounts of oxygen to support the colonization plan. This can be achieved through the cultivation of plants or the utilization of oxygen-generating equipment. Defend Against Spore Invasions: Mars is inhabited by dangerous spores that can harm both humans and infrastructure. Build defensive structures and implement countermeasures to protect your base from spore invasions. Research and develop new technologies to improve your defenses. Remember, perseverance and resource management are key to your survival. Good luck in your journey to establish a successful colony on Mars! Features: 1.Combination of simulation (SIM) and light role-playing game (RPG) elements. 2.Simple and relaxed 2D graphics style. 3.Explore the map to collect various mineral resources. 4.Construct defensive fortifications to fend off spore invasions. 5.Recruit more astronauts as companions to aid in your survival.

Screenshots

Pixel Plex4 screens
Idle Mars Survival4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Pixel Plex at none against Idle Mars Survival's shown. Pixel Plex also leads on review sentiment (69% vs 35%) and update cadence (weekly vs fortnightly). Idle Mars Survival's advantage is iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.0). On price, rating, ratings volume 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. Pixel Plex sells 16 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and Idle Mars Survival sells 14 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for Pixel Plex against 4.6 for Idle Mars Survival. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2.1K and 1.5K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 69% of Pixel Plex's written reviews are positive against 35% of Idle Mars Survival's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Pixel Plex ships an update weekly, Idle Mars Survival fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 22, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Pixel Plex versus Idle Mars Survival: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPixel PlexIdle Mars Survival
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (2.1K ratings) — better4.6 (1.5K ratings)
Positive reviews69.0% of reviews — better34.8% of reviews
Number of ratings2.1K — better1.5K
Update frequencyWeekly — betterFortnightly
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.012.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size139 MB249 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperToast - Apps and Software LLCOneorwa Technology Co.,Ltd.

Customer experience

Pixel Plex

All ratings2,059 ratings
Positive91.9%
Neutral3.2%
Negative4.9%
Written reviews478 reviews
Positive69.0%
Neutral10.0%
Negative20.9%

Idle Mars Survival

All ratings1,474 ratings
Positive90.6%
Neutral5.2%
Negative4.2%
Written reviews233 reviews
Positive34.8%
Neutral15.5%
Negative49.8%

User reviews

Pixel Plex

From 2.1K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Chill and relaxing gameplay
  • 🤩 Great city building experience
  • 💪 Collaborative community aspect
  • 🎨 Appealing pixel art style

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Bugs and glitches
  • ⏱️ Slow progression and resource gathering
  • 💰 Paywall to create new cities
  • 🏠 Inactive players occupying city slots

Idle Mars Survival

From 1.5K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Engaging gameplay
  • 👍 Addictive and fun
  • 🚀 Smooth performance
  • 💡 Creative concept

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes
  • 🔋 Drains battery quickly
  • 🔒 Lack of customer support
  • 🔒 Buggy and glitchy
  • 💰 Monetization issues

Bugs and requests

Pixel Plex

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Buildings disappearing after upgrades
  • Incorrect countdown timers
  • Negative resource and money balances
  • Plex market crashing the game
  • Inability to create new cities after purchase

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to kick inactive players
  • More buildings and upgrade options
  • Faster resource generation
  • Shared trading depot between servers
  • Ability to switch servers without losing progress

Idle Mars Survival

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Incorrect resource calculations
  • Stuck on second planet with no way to progress
  • In-app purchases not working as expected
  • Freezing and crashing issues
  • Oxygen/resource production imbalance

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to move buildings
  • Improved resource balancing
  • Notifications for resource collection
  • Cloud save/sync across devices
  • Ability to listen to own music

In-app purchases

16 purchases

Pixel Plex

Subscriptions1
  • Pixel Club Monthly1 Month trial$4.991 Month
One-time15
  • Bundle 7$0.99
  • Pixel Pack 1$1.49
  • Change Username$1.49
Show 12 more
  • Bundle 1$2.99
  • Pixel Pack 2$4.99
  • Bundle 6$4.99
  • Bundle 4$4.99
  • Bundle 3$5.99
  • Bundle 2$5.99
  • Multiple Cities$5.99
  • Bundle 5$6.99
  • Pixel Pack 3$14.99
  • Pixel Pack 6$24.99
  • Pixel Pack 4$49.99
  • Pixel Pack 5$99.99
14 purchases

Idle Mars Survival

One-time14
  • Novice gift$0.99
  • 80 Power Stones$0.99
  • 500 Power Stones$4.99
Show 11 more
  • Limited Ad-free$4.99
  • Festival Gift No.1$4.99
  • Festival Gift No.4$4.99
  • Ad-free$9.99
  • Caretaker$9.99
  • 1200 Power Stones$9.99
  • Advanced Pass$9.99
  • Luxury gift package$14.99
  • 2500 Power Stones$19.99
  • 6500 Power Stones$49.99
  • 15000 Power Stones$99.99

Questions

Is Pixel Plex free?
Pixel Plex is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Idle Mars Survival free?
Idle Mars Survival is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Pixel Plex or Idle Mars Survival?
Pixel Plex is rated higher. Pixel Plex averages 4.6 out of 5 from 2.1K ratings, while Idle Mars Survival averages 4.6 from 1.5K ratings.
Do Pixel Plex or Idle Mars Survival have ads?
Idle Mars Survival shows ads; Pixel Plex does not.
Which is updated more often, Pixel Plex or Idle Mars Survival?
Pixel Plex ships an update weekly, and Idle Mars Survival fortnightly. Most recently, Pixel Plex was updated on October 29, 2026 and Idle Mars Survival on October 22, 2026.

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