# Dead Cells vs ZedZapper

The clearest difference is price: ZedZapper at Free against Dead Cells's $8.99. ZedZapper also leads on update cadence (fortnightly vs every 2 months). Dead Cells's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and chart position (#9 vs unranked). On in-app purchases and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

ZedZapper is free to download; Dead Cells costs $8.99 up front. Dead Cells sells 4 one-off in-app purchases and ZedZapper sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Dead Cells ships an update every 2 months, ZedZapper fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 1, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Dead Cells | ZedZapper |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $8.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | **[4.8 (12K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/dead-cells/id1389752090/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **12K** | — |
| Positive reviews | 88.5% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | **Fortnightly** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Best chart rank | **#9** | — |
| Size | 1.8 GB | 126 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15 | 15.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV** | iPhone, iPod |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Playdigious](https://appshunter.io/developer/1041387229) | [Filipe Santos](https://appshunter.io/developer/6781273317) |

## What reviewers say

### Dead Cells

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/dead-cells/id1389752090)

**Currently charting:** #9 Top Paid · Role Playing, #32 Top Paid · Action, #94 Top Paid · Games, #155 Top Paid (US App Store)

Explore a sprawling, ever-changing castle as a failed alchemic experiment. Master frantic 2D combat with a variety of weapons and skills against dangerous foes. Death is not the end; learn from each attempt to progress through this roguevania action platformer.

**Highlights:** Roguevania exploration, Frantic 2D action combat, Nonlinear progression, Permadeath with learning, Unlockable weapons and skills, DLC content packs

**In-app purchases (4)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| The Bad Seed | $3.99 | one-time |
| Fatal Falls | $3.99 | one-time |
| The Queen and the Sea | $3.99 | one-time |
| Return to Castlevania | $6.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Smooth gameplay
- 👍 Excellent controls
- 💎 High-quality graphics
- 🎮 Great controller support
- 🔥 Addictive and challenging

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Audio glitches and bugs
- 🤔 Lack of custom mode
- 📱 Finicky touch controls
- 🔇 No background music support

**Reported bugs**

- Saves not compatible across platforms
- Texture and graphical issues on some devices
- Persistent memory leaks causing performance drops

**Requested features**

- Add Chinese language support
- Implement cross-save functionality
- Introduce online multiplayer mode
- Optimize for older devices


### ZedZapper

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/zedzapper/id6781272865)

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

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Go to level | $0.29 | one-time |
| Remove ads | $8.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Dead Cells free?

Dead Cells costs $8.99, and also offers in-app purchases.

### Is ZedZapper free?

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

### Do Dead Cells or ZedZapper have ads?

ZedZapper shows ads; Dead Cells does not.

### Which is updated more often, Dead Cells or ZedZapper?

Dead Cells ships an update every 2 months, and ZedZapper fortnightly. Most recently, Dead Cells was updated on October 14, 2026 and ZedZapper on October 1, 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.*