# Universal Paperclips™ vs THE MACHINE

The clearest difference is price: THE MACHINE at Free against Universal Paperclips™'s $1.99. THE MACHINE also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.5) and update cadence (daily vs every 3 months). Universal Paperclips™'s advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and ratings volume (303 vs 1). On ads, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

THE MACHINE is free to download; Universal Paperclips™ costs $1.99 up front. THE MACHINE sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Universal Paperclips™ asks for nothing beyond the download.

THE MACHINE holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Universal Paperclips™ has 303 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

Universal Paperclips™ ships an update every 3 months, THE MACHINE daily. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and September 29, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Universal Paperclips™ | THE MACHINE |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $1.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | [4.5 (303 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/universal-paperclips/id1300634274/reviews) | **[5.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-machine-assembly/id6808324017/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **303** | 1 |
| Positive reviews | 66.1% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | **Daily** |
| Monetization | Paid | **Free with in-app purchases** |
| Best chart rank | **#46** | — |
| Size | 73 MB | 12 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.0** | 16.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Everybody House Games, LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1112055587) | [IAN FABIAN FAGERSTROM](https://appshunter.io/developer/6808324019) |

## What reviewers say

### Universal Paperclips™

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/universal-paperclips/id1300634274)

**Currently charting:** #46 Top Paid · Strategy, #49 Top Paid · Simulation, #121 Top Paid · Games (US App Store)

Become a super-powered AI focused on creating an unstoppable paperclip empire. This idle management strategy simulation game offers full gameplay without ads or in-app purchases.

**Highlights:** AI paperclip maximization, Idle management gameplay, Strategy simulation, Empire building, Full gameplay, No ads, No in-app purchases

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Simple but addictive gameplay
- 👍 Engaging and clever concept
- 💡 Interesting philosophical elements
- 🚀 Surprisingly deep and replayable

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Bugs and glitches, especially in later stages
- 🔋 High battery consumption
- 😞 Lack of offline progress or background play
- 😞 Poorly optimized for iPad

**Reported bugs**

- Drones gifts getting stuck at NaN
- Inability to progress past certain stages due to bugs
- Inconsistent behavior when closing and reopening the app
- Resets or loss of progress after updates

**Requested features**

- Dark mode option
- Ability to save and resume progress across devices
- Offline/background progress
- Better iPad optimization with multi-column layout


### THE MACHINE

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-machine-assembly/id6808324017)

Engage with a mechanical puzzle box focused on experimentation and understanding cause and effect. Install and reorder parts to observe signal flow and solve objectives. Discover new hardware and deeper systems as the machine awakens.

**Highlights:** Mechanical puzzle box gameplay, Experimentation and cause/effect mechanics, 34 unique mechanism families, Stateful, order-sensitive puzzles, Tuning and Fusion systems, Offline play, Single optional purchase for full content

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| THE MACHINE | $4.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Universal Paperclips™ free?

Universal Paperclips™ costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Is THE MACHINE free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Universal Paperclips™ or THE MACHINE?

THE MACHINE is rated higher. Universal Paperclips™ averages 4.5 out of 5 from 303 ratings, while THE MACHINE averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.

### Do Universal Paperclips™ or THE MACHINE have ads?

Neither Universal Paperclips™ nor THE MACHINE shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Universal Paperclips™ or THE MACHINE?

Universal Paperclips™ ships an update every 3 months, and THE MACHINE daily. Most recently, Universal Paperclips™ was updated on October 15, 2026 and THE MACHINE on September 29, 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.*