Swarm Simulator vs Ethos Idle
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Swarm Simulator
Evolve your insect colony from simple larvae to powerful hive minds in this 3D incremental idle clicker game. Conquer territory, sacrifice units for growth, and ascend to unlock new mutations and expand your swarm across the universe.
- Incremental idle clicker gameplay
- Endless progression and unit evolution
- Idle mode for offline growth
- Ascend system with new mutations
- All-new 3D graphics and units
- Elixir buffs and Golden Bug bonuses
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Over 2 MILLION PLAYERS! Swarm Simulator: Evolution brings the strategic, incremental, idle, clicker gameplay of the wildly successful web game into a new 3D world with dozens of new systems and extra features! Evolve your way from lowly larvae and drones to all-powerful hive Overminds and beyond in this idle masterpiece! Conquer territory with fearsome Stingers and Locusts to become a tycoon of unit production. Sacrifice smaller units for the greater good of the colony and Ascend over and over as you build your Swarm toward its ultimate goal of universe spanning conquest! == Swarm Simulator Features == Idle Clicker Gameplay • Endless progression - start with a few lowly units, evolve and hatch your way to unimaginable numbers. • Idle mode - the game will keep progressing whether it's open or not, take a break for a few hours and your Swarm will grow and grow! • Ascend your Swarm to start over on a new world but with powerful new Mutations. Evolution Upgrades • All new 3D graphics and new units, dozens of 3D bugs in a fully 3D world. • Elixirs give short term buffs to your Swarm, use a Rage elixir to capture more territory ... or a Warper elixir to speed up time itself! • Golden Bugs can be captured to give long-term bonuses to your Swarm. • Swarm Lord Invasions, the HFL, Carapace Shards, unlockable skins for your bugs and more! The classic text-based incremental game has been reborn in vibrant 3D. Download Swarm Simulator now and conquer EVERYTHING!
Ethos Idle
Guide humanity's progress from its earliest discoveries to the distant future. Manage your tribe's choices, develop over 200 unique ideas, and explore the world. Advance your civilization, unlock bonuses, and enjoy a single-player, offline experience with optional ads.
- Develop over 200 historic ideas
- Explore and exploit the world
- Manage tribe choices
- Unlock exploration bonuses and synergies
- Prestige mechanic upgrades
- Customizable challenge scenarios
- Offline single-player experience
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Chart the progess of Humanity through the ages, and guide their every discovery from the moment they kindle the first fire to the far future. Develop over 200 unique ideas across three different flavours of thought. Help your people to conquer or make peace with their enemies, explore and exploit the world, and develop projects to meet their needs. Manage your tribe's choices to squeeze out more strength, or sit back and idle as your clan develop on their own. Advance as far as you can take your people, and then collect bonuses to improve future runs. Select varied challenges that change the way the game plays, and combine these challenges to create your own unique scenarios with big rewards. Features: - Over 200 historic ideas to develop, across 3 flavours of thought - Dozens of exploration bonuses and synergies to unlock and exploit - Permanently power up your civilisation with prestige mechanic upgrades - Combine varied challenge conditions to create your own scenarios with powerful rewards - Optional, out-of-the-way ads won't interrupt your experience - A completely offline, single player experience - All game content is accessible for free
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ratings volume: Swarm Simulator at 2.7K against Ethos Idle's 239. Swarm Simulator also leads on iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.0). On price, rating, review sentiment and update cadence 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
Both are free to download. Swarm Simulator sells 11 one-off in-app purchases and Ethos Idle sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Swarm Simulator against 4.8 for Ethos Idle. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Swarm Simulator has 2.7K ratings behind it against 239, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 78% of Swarm Simulator's written reviews are positive against 84% of Ethos Idle's.
Swarm Simulator ships an update every 9 days, Ethos Idle fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 12, 2026 and September 29, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Swarm Simulator | Ethos Idle |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (2.7K ratings) | 4.8 (239 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 78.3% of reviews | 84.4% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 2.7K — better | 239 |
| Update frequency | Every 9 days — better | Fortnightly |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 158 MB | 101 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Iron Horse Games LLC | Graham Goldstein |
Customer experience
Swarm Simulator
Ethos Idle
User reviews
Swarm Simulator
From 2.7K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Fun and addictive gameplay
- 🚀 Smooth and responsive
- 💡 Unique incremental mechanics
- 🔒 Minimal ads, not intrusive
Room to improve
- 🐛 Bugs and glitches in recent updates
- 🔋 High battery consumption
- 💰 Expensive in-app purchases
Ethos Idle
From 239 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Fast progression
- 👍 Minimal ad interruption
- 👍 Simple and enjoyable design
- 👍 Great for relaxing and watching numbers go up
- 👍 Excellent incremental game design
Room to improve
- 🐢 Slower progression speed desired
- 🛒 IAP for 2x production doesn't eliminate video ads
Bugs and requests
Swarm Simulator
Reported bugs
4 issues- Crashes on launch
- Stuck on loading screen
- Incorrect display of resources and upgrades
- Issues with cloud save functionality
Requested features
4 requests- More content and updates
- Offline mode
- Customization options
- Improved progression and endgame
Ethos Idle
Reported bugs
2 issues- RNG for challenges is unfair and unfun
- Unlocking buffs for inaccessible technologies
Requested features
2 requests- Option to remove ads entirely
- Clarification on prestige warp gain multipliers
In-app purchases
Swarm Simulator
- Pouch of Crystals$4.99
- Elixir Mega Pack$4.99
- Swarm Supporter Pack$9.99
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- Bag of Crystals$9.99
- Crystalline King Pack$9.99
- Arcane Amplifier Pack$9.99
- Super Shards Pack$9.99
- Challenge Crusher Pack$9.99
- Barrel of Crystals$19.99
- Elixir Ultra Pack$24.99
- Storehouse of Crystals$49.99
Ethos Idle
- x2 Speed$6.99
Questions
Is Swarm Simulator free?
Is Ethos Idle free?
Which has better reviews, Swarm Simulator or Ethos Idle?
Do Swarm Simulator or Ethos Idle have ads?
Which is updated more often, Swarm Simulator or Ethos Idle?
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