Comparison

Grindstone vs Zookeeper World

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

Head to head
About

Grindstone

Engage in a challenging puzzle-battle game where you slash your way up a treacherous mountain. Cleave through swarms of enemies, battle bosses, and discover blueprints for powerful gear. Over 200 levels of intense puzzle-battling await.

Highlights
  • Sword-slashing puzzle battles
  • Over 200 levels
  • Battle bosses
  • Loot resources
  • Discover gear blueprints
  • Cleave deadly foes
Features
Read full description

GRINDSTONE is a game of sword-slashing puzzle battles from the award-winning creators of Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP, Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes and Critter Crunch! Grindstone Mountain is overrun with vicious Creeps! Slay your way up its treacherous peak where fortune, glory (and death) awaits! It’ll take sharp puzzle skills and an even sharper blade to cleave your way through the swarms of bloodthirsty Creeps dwelling within Grindstone’s dungeons. Battle bosses, loot resources, discover long-lost blueprints for powerful gear, all while cleaving the innards from your deadly foes! Now with more than 200 levels of intense puzzle-battling madness!

About

Zookeeper World

Solve match-3 puzzles to build and customize your unique zoo. Collect coins to acquire animals and decorations, increasing your zoo's appeal. Upgrade animals into unique cosplay versions and defend your zoo from MECHA BOSS attacks to earn gems. Regular updates add new content and events.

Highlights
  • Match-3 puzzle gameplay
  • Zoo building and customization
  • Animal collection and upgrades
  • Cosplay animal transformations
  • MECHA BOSS challenges
  • Visitor requests and zoo ranking
  • Weekend multiplayer events
Features
Read full description

Weekend-exclusive multiplayer events are underway! Zookeeper, the definitive action-puzzle game played by more than 30 million people, is now available as a Apple Arcade exclusive! Solve simple match-3 puzzles to create your own zoo. Make it the only one of its kind in the world! Get through a variety of puzzles and collect Coins to fill your zoo with cute animals, plants and more! They’ll increase your zoo’s Charm and attract all sorts of visitors! As you complete requests from these visitors as well as the Boss, your zoo rank will increase. Before long, you'll be expanding and customizing your zoo with various designs and decorations! You just might come across a family of ducks or a calico cat, or even cruise around in a UFO! With endless ways to spice things up, there’s never a dull moment as a zookeeper! You can upgrade the animals you’ve collected, too. Increase their Charm and turn them into cosplay animals! Hula Dance Rabbit, Punk Monkey, Tanned Giraffe, Afro Panda, Santa Fennec, Tuxedo Penguin, Franken-Lion, Muay Thai Polar Bear, Sailor Crocodile, Pancake Elephant, Witch Flamingo… Can you collect them all? To upgrade your animals though, you’ll need gems. You can get them by defeating MECHA BOSS, who will occasionally attack your zoo! There are lots of puzzle stages with innovative gimmicks like "One Move All Challenge," where you have to match all the animals in one move, and "MECHA BOSS Challenge," where you go all out against MECHA BOSS! You can get gems in several ways, such as by scoring EXCELLENT in "Star Collection Quest." All you have to do is complete the puzzles and collect stars! New animals, puzzle stages and events will be added and updated on a regular basis. Come join the fun! Don't forget to feed your animals when they get hungry!

Screenshots

Grindstone4 screens
Zookeeper World4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: Zookeeper World at free against Grindstone's paid. On price, rating, review sentiment and ratings volume 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Grindstone against 4.7 for Zookeeper World. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 6.7K and 4.8K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 78% of Grindstone's written reviews are positive against 74% of Zookeeper World's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Grindstone ships an update every 6 weeks, Zookeeper World every 3 weeks. Both last shipped on September 26, 2026.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
Grindstone versus Zookeeper World: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGrindstoneZookeeper World
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (6.7K ratings)4.7 (4.8K ratings)
Positive reviews78.1% of reviews — better74.2% of reviews
Number of ratings6.7K — better4.8K
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeksEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TViPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac, Apple TV — better
Requires iOS13.013.0
Further details — not scored
Size988 MB1.1 GB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperCapybara Games Inc.KITERETSU INC.

Customer experience

Grindstone

All ratings6,673 ratings
Positive91.5%
Neutral3.2%
Negative5.3%
Written reviews1,127 reviews
Positive78.1%
Neutral7.3%
Negative14.6%

Zookeeper World

All ratings4,759 ratings
Positive92.8%
Neutral3.7%
Negative3.5%
Written reviews519 reviews
Positive74.2%
Neutral13.7%
Negative12.1%

User reviews

Grindstone

From 6.7K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Addictive gameplay
  • 👍 Unique and charming art style
  • 🎨 Excellent soundtrack and sound effects
  • 💡 Satisfying chain combos
  • 🕹️ Intuitive and challenging mechanics

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional crashes and bugs
  • 🔋 High battery consumption
  • ⏱️ Unskippable animations
  • 🔄 Progress loss when switching apps
  • 🤔 Difficulty spike in later levels

Zookeeper World

From 4.8K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Relaxing and enjoyable gameplay
  • 🚀 Unlimited retries without time limits
  • 💎 No in-app purchases or ads
  • 🎨 Cute and charming animal designs
  • 🏆 Variety of challenges and events

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Buggy path editor and camera controls
  • ⏱️ Frustratingly long loading times
  • 🔋 High battery drain
  • 🤔 Difficulty spikes and luck-based puzzles
  • 🤖 Intrusive and distracting hint system

Bugs and requests

Grindstone

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Freezing on black screen after intro
  • Inability to complete certain levels due to glitches
  • Disappearing save data after updates

Requested features

5 requests
  • More levels and content updates
  • Ability to save progress mid-level
  • Option to disable animations
  • Landscape mode support on iPad
  • In-game enemy encyclopedia

Zookeeper World

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Levels with impossible objectives
  • Inconsistent star rewards and scoring
  • Freezing and crashes on certain devices

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to customize zoo layout more freely
  • Option to turn off notifications and hints
  • Increased inventory and item limit for zoo
  • Faster animal upgrade and costume unlocking
  • More levels and content updates

In-app purchases

None

Grindstone

No in-app purchases

None

Zookeeper World

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Grindstone free?
Grindstone is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Zookeeper World free?
Zookeeper World is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Grindstone or Zookeeper World?
Grindstone and Zookeeper World are both rated 4.7 out of 5 on the App Store, from 6.7K and 4.8K ratings respectively.
Do Grindstone or Zookeeper World have ads?
Neither Grindstone nor Zookeeper World shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Grindstone or Zookeeper World?
Grindstone ships an update every 6 weeks, and Zookeeper World every 3 weeks. Most recently, Grindstone was updated on September 26, 2026 and Zookeeper World on September 26, 2026.

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