RuneScape vs Stardew Valley
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
RuneScape
Embark on an epic fantasy adventure in a vast, evolving MMORPG world. Choose your path as a lone adventurer or raid with friends, mastering diverse skills and facing mythical creatures. Explore unique locations and interact with memorable characters in this enduring online experience.
- Vast open world exploration
- Player-driven progression
- Diverse skill system (29+ skills)
- Versatile combat options
- Rich NPC interactions
- Player trading system
- Optional membership for expanded content
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EXPLORE A VAST MMORPG WORLD LIKE NO OTHER RuneScape is a high fantasy open world MMORPG. Explore an ever changing and evolving living world where new challenges, skills, and quests await. Featuring unprecedented player freedom, you choose how to play, adventure, and grow. PLAY YOUR WAY It's all up to you. Will you explore the world and embark on a risky raid with friends, or seek fame and fortune as a lone adventurer? Whether you’re the hero of daring quests, quietly tending to your farm, a legend risking it all against a high-level boss or simply a gentle soul spending a night at the circus, RuneScape is the perfect AFK second-screen game. Play how you want, the choice is yours! Warrior or wizard, farmer or cook – what type of hero will you be? ENDLESS DISCOVERY With a world and story that’s been growing for an incredible 20 years, RuneScape continues to thrill players with a magic packed adventure unlike any other. With 270 million installations and cross-playability on PC and mobile, join the hundreds of millions of people who have explored the fantastic and mystical world of Gielinor. UNFORGETTABLE ENCOUNTERS Make friends – and perhaps sometimes enemies – with a rich roster of memorable NPC characters. From lovable companions and friendly rogues, to deceitful villains and vengeful gods, the many faces of Gielinor offer a deep fantasy experience unlike anything else. A THRIVING WORLD Visit dozens and dozens of unique and striking locations, from the medieval city of Burthorpe and the tranquil harbours of Catherby, to the dangerous dragon filled expanses of the Wilderness or the barren and parched Kharidian Desert. Own your own port! Run your own farm! Make a pretty penny trading with players at The Grand Exchange… but be sure to keep your exotic wares safe in the Bank! POWERFUL SKILLS With 29 skills to master, what will you become? Will you be one with nature by perfecting Woodcutting, Fishing, Herblore and Cooking? Or perhaps you prefer to be creative with Crafting, Farming, Smithing and Construction? Maybe your tastes lay elsewhere – with Hunting, Divination, Invention or Runecrafting? Or does your soul yearn for action, with Magic, Summoning, Slayer and Dungeoneering? VERSATILE COMBAT Do you want to get up close and personal with a sharp blade in your hand? Or will you take a tactical approach and attack from range? Or perhaps your skills are more mystical, and you prefer the arena of magic? Defeat a dazzling assortment of foes including an unimaginable array of epic bosses. From demons to dragons and rock monsters to serpents, nightmares beyond your wildest imagination lay in wait. MEMBERSHIP BENEFITS RuneScape can be played for free, but also offers optional membership that unlocks even more thrilling content, including 8 additional skills, over 120 extra quests and access to the entire world map! Enjoy RuneScape at its best! JOIN OUR COMMUNITY Add your unique voice to our vibrant RuneScape community. Enjoy a strong connection to RuneScape's independent development team by joining them for regular livestreams and share ideas on the forums. We shape RuneScape together! RuneScape supports EN, FR, DE and PT-BR languages. Not Supported: iPhone 5S (and older), iPhone 6/6 Plus, iPad Mini 2, iPad Mini 3, iPad Air (2013) Privacy Policy: https://legal.jagex.com/docs/policies/privacy Terms and Conditions: https://www.jagex.com/terms Do Not Sell Or Share My Personal Information: https://www.jagex.com/en-GB/terms/privacy#do-not-sell RuneScape is free to download and play, however, this game also offers players the opportunity to purchase in-game items such as Treasure keys. These keys can be used to unlock treasure chests, which contain random items. Please see the PEGI information page for more information: https://pegi.info/search-pegi?q=runescape
Stardew Valley
Cultivate a new life in this open-ended farming RPG. Build your dream farm, raise animals, grow crops, and explore mysterious caves. Customize your farmer, settle down, and become part of a vibrant community.
- Build and customize your farm
- Raise animals and grow crops
- Explore caves and battle monsters
- Develop relationships and start a family
- Participate in festivals and quests
- Fishing and foraging activities
- Mobile-specific controls and auto-save
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Move to the countryside, and cultivate a new life in this award-winning open-ended farming RPG! With over 50+ hours of gameplay content and new Mobile-specific features, such as auto-save and multiple controls options. **Winner of the Golden Joysticks' Breakthrough Award** **Nominee of Game of the Year 2017 - BAFTA Games Awards** --- BUILD THE FARM OF YOUR DREAMS: ■ Turn your overgrown fields into a lively and bountiful farm ■ Raise and breed happy animals, grow a variety of seasonal crops and design your farm, your way ■ Customize your farmer and home! With hundreds of options to choose from ■ Settle down and start a family with 12 potential marriage candidates ■ Become part of the community by taking part in seasonal festivals and villager quests ■ Explore vast, mysterious caves, encountering dangerous monsters and valuable treasure ■ Spend a relaxing afternoon at one of the local fishing spots or go crabbing by the seaside ■ Forage, grow crops and produce artisan goods to cook up as a delicious meal ■ Rebuilt for touch-screen gameplay on iOS with mobile-specific features, such as auto-select to toggle quickly between your farming tools and auto-attack to swiftly take down fiendish monsters in the mines ■ Continue farming from where you last left off with auto-save (even if you close the app!) ■ Play the game your way with multiple controls options, such as touch-screen and virtual joystick ■ Newly Updated Single Player Content - Including new town upgrades, dating events, crops, fishing ponds, hats, clothing, and new pets! Plus more to be discovered... --- “The best version of Stardew Valley is the one you have with you … This game is absolutely incredible, and will not disappoint.” - TouchArcade "Stardew Valley beautifully combines farm simulation with RPG elements to create an intriguing, absorbing rural world." - IGN “Far more than just a farming game... filled with seemingly endless content and heart.” Giant Bomb "Village life has never been so accessible and satisfying" - The Telegraph “Stardew Valley has been the most rich and heartwarming experience I’ve had in a game in years.” CG Magazine --- Note: Features new 1.6 update story content, multiplayer functionality not supported. No in-app purchases.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: RuneScape at Free against Stardew Valley's $4.99. Stardew Valley's advantage is rating (4.8 vs 3.8) and review sentiment (73% vs 31%). On device support and iOS requirement 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
RuneScape is free to download; Stardew Valley costs $4.99 up front. RuneScape sells 16 in-app purchases, starting at $10.99 per month. Stardew Valley asks for nothing beyond the download.
Stardew Valley holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Stardew Valley has 64K ratings behind it against 6K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 31% of RuneScape's written reviews are positive against 73% of Stardew Valley's.
RuneScape ships an update every 3 weeks, Stardew Valley every 3 days. Both last shipped on October 31, 2026.
| Parameter | RuneScape | Stardew Valley |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $4.99 |
| Rating | 3.8 (6K ratings) | 4.8 (64K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 31.0% of reviews | 73.4% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 6K | 64K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Every 3 days — better |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases — better | Paid |
| Best chart rank | #75 | #1 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 | 13.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 117 MB | 442 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Jagex | ConcernedApe |
Customer experience
RuneScape
Stardew Valley
User reviews
RuneScape
From 6K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🎮 Great mobile experience
- 🕹️ Smooth gameplay
- 🔥 Nostalgic throwback
- 🌐 Expansive content
- 👍 Enjoyable for long-time fans
Room to improve
- 🔍 Cluttered UI and small buttons
- 🔋 High battery consumption
- 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
- 🤖 Unresponsive controls
- 💰 Expensive membership and microtransactions
Stardew Valley
From 64K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Addictive and fun
- 👍 Engaging storylines
- 🌟 Beautiful game
- 🎮 Great gameplay
- 🕹️ Relaxing and calming
Room to improve
- 🐛 Crashes and freezes
- 🔍 Difficult to find/catch fish
- 🎮 Challenging controls, especially for combat
- 🔁 Repetitive dialogue/events
- 🔧 Bugs with furniture placement and interactions
Bugs and requests
RuneScape
Reported bugs
5 issues- Crashes during character creation
- Unresponsive tapping and input issues
- Dialogue and quest progression problems
- Incompatibility with certain iOS devices
- Networking and server connection issues
Requested features
5 requests- Customizable UI and interface
- Improved touch controls and navigation
- Better optimization for tablets and larger screens
- Joystick or controller support
- More tutorials and guidance for new players
Stardew Valley
Reported bugs
5 issues- Fishing rod sound bug
- Sewer key cutscene not triggering
- Furniture/building placement issues
- Inventory/interaction bugs
- Crashing when entering certain areas
Requested features
6 requests- Multiplayer support
- More NPC interactions and relationships
- Ability to grow up/customize children
- Joystick/controller support
- More end-game content and challenges
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- Ability to move/delete certain furniture items
In-app purchases
RuneScape
- 1 Month Membership + Trial7 Days trial$10.991 Month
- 1 Month Membership$12.491 Month
- 1 Month Membership2 variants$14.991 Month
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- Starter Membership Pack$14.991 Month
- 1 Day Membership$0.99
- 3 Day Membership$1.99
- 7 Day Membership$3.99
Show 9 moreShow fewer
- 15 Keys$5.99
- 1 RuneScape Bond$8.99
- 35 Keys$11.99
- 75 keys + Wrapping paper$19.99
- 75 Keys$23.99
- 3 RuneScape Bonds$26.95
- 200 Keys$59.99
- 10 RuneScape Bonds$89.99
- 450 Keys$119.99
Stardew Valley
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is RuneScape free?
Is Stardew Valley free?
Which has better reviews, RuneScape or Stardew Valley?
Do RuneScape or Stardew Valley have ads?
Which is updated more often, RuneScape or Stardew Valley?
Which is more popular, RuneScape or Stardew Valley?
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