Pairmoji vs Balatro
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Pairmoji
A fun take on the classic pair matching card game, featuring a vast selection of emojis. Enjoy single-player modes or local multiplayer for up to four people. Universal app for all Apple devices with a simple, one-time purchase.
- Huge emoji selection
- Single player modes (turn-based, timed)
- Local multiplayer (up to 4 players)
- Adjustable grid sizes
- Universal app support
- No ads or in-app purchases
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No matter what you call it (Concentration, Pairs, Match, Pelmanism or even Pexeso), this fun new take on the classic "pair matching" card game will have you and the whole family hooked. • A huge selection of emoji to match. • Single player turn-based or against the clock - try to beat the best on the Game Center leaderboards. • Local multiplayer with up to 4 people. • Pick from a range of different grid sizes. • Great emoji SFX. • Universal app - buy once to play on macOS, Apple TV, iPhone or iPad. • Simple, pay up-front gameplay. No ads, in-app purchases or hidden costs. If you like Pairmoji, please take a few seconds to leave us a nice review. It really helps! A big shout out to the awesome Twemoji project. The Twemoji artwork in this app is licensed under CC-BY.
Balatro
This game blends poker and solitaire mechanics with unique rule-bending twists. Build powerful poker hands, discover game-changing Joker cards, and create exciting combos to defeat challenging Boss Blinds. Explore different decks and game modes for endless replayability.
- Poker and Solitaire hybrid gameplay
- Rule-bending mechanics
- Collect over 150 unique Joker cards
- Create powerful combos
- Campaign and challenge modes
- Pixel art visuals
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Welcome to the official Balatro mobile game! Hypnotic and endlessly satisfying, Balatro is a magical mix of card games like Solitaire and Poker, that lets you twist the rules in ways never seen before! Your goal is to beat the Boss Blinds by making strong poker hands. Find new Jokers that change the game and create awesome and exciting combos! Win enough chips to beat tricky bosses, and find hidden bonus hands and decks as you play. You’ll need all the help you can get to beat the big boss, win the final challenge, and win the game. Features: * Remastered controls for touch screen devices. * Each run is different: every pick-up, discard and joker can dramatically alter the course of your run. * Multiple game items: discover over 150 Jokers, each with special powers. Use them with different decks,upgrade cards and vouchers to boost your scores. * Different Game modes: Campaign mode and challenge mode for you to play. * Beautiful Pixel Art: Immerse yourself in the CRT fuzz and enjoy detailed, hand-crafted pixel art.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Balatro at 5.0 against Pairmoji's 3.7. Balatro also leads on update cadence (every 5 days vs every 23 months) and ratings volume (108K vs 3). Pairmoji's advantage is price ($2.99 vs $9.99) and review sentiment (100% vs 81%). On ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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
Pairmoji costs $2.99 and Balatro $9.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Balatro holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Balatro has 108K ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 100% of Pairmoji's written reviews are positive against 81% of Balatro's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Pairmoji ships an update every 23 months, Balatro every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and October 21, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Pairmoji | Balatro |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $2.99 — better | $9.99 |
| Rating | 3.7 (3 ratings) | 5.0 (108K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better | 81.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 3 | 108K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 23 months | Every 5 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Best chart rank | — | #2 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac, Apple TV — better | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | 13.5 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 23 MB | 93 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Whisk Mobile Development Pty Ltd | Playstack Ltd |
Customer experience
Pairmoji
Balatro
Bugs and requests
Pairmoji
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Balatro
Reported bugs
3 issues- Unlocks and achievements not registering properly
- Crashes and freezes on certain devices
- Joker and card interactions not working as expected
Requested features
3 requests- Cloud save sync across devices
- Portrait mode option
- Customizable UI and accessibility settings
In-app purchases
Pairmoji
No in-app purchases
Balatro
No in-app purchases
