Comparison

Stardew Valley vs DREDGE

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read full description

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.

About

DREDGE

Captain a fishing trawler to explore remote islands and their depths, selling catches and completing quests to uncover secrets. Upgrade your boat and research equipment to reach new areas, but beware of the dangers lurking in the dark.

Highlights
  • Explore remote islands and depths
  • Catch and sell over 125 sea creatures
  • Complete quests and uncover secrets
  • Upgrade boat with researchable equipment
  • Navigate treacherous waters
  • Survive encounters in the dark
Features
Read full description

*TRY BEFORE YOU BUY* Play the first area for free. One-time purchase unlocks the base game. DLC expansions available as additional in-app purchases. Captain your fishing trawler to explore a collection of remote isles, and their surrounding depths, to see what lies below. Sell your catch to the locals and complete quests to learn more about each area’s troubled past. Outfit your boat with better equipment to trawl deep-sea trenches and navigate to far-off lands, but keep an eye on the time. You might not like what finds you in the dark... Explore the Islands & Discover their Secrets Starting from your new home in the remote archipelago, ‘The Marrows’, take to the water and scour the depths for curious collectables and over 125 deep sea denizens. Explore each area while completing quests and visiting neighboring island regions – each with their own unique opportunities, inhabitants, and secrets. Dredge the Depths Someone wants you to dig up the past, but can you trust them and will it ever be enough? Beware the Fog Danger is everywhere, so watch for sharp rocks and shallow reefs, though the biggest threats of all lurk within the fog that cloaks the night-time seas... Game Features: - Unravel a Mystery: Captain your fishing trawler across a collection of remote islands, each with its own inhabitants to meet, wildlife to discover, and stories to unearth. - Dredge the Depths: Scour the sea for hidden treasures and complete quests to gain access to strange new abilities - Study Your Craft: Research special equipment and upgrade your boat’s capabilities to gain access to rare fish and valuable deep-sea curios. - Fish to Survive: Sell your discoveries to the locals to learn more about each area, and upgrade your boat to reach even more secluded locations. - Fight the Unfathomable: Strengthen your mind and use your abilities to survive trips out on the water after dark.

Screenshots

Stardew Valley4 screens
DREDGE4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: DREDGE at Free against Stardew Valley's $4.99. Stardew Valley's advantage is rating (4.8 vs 4.3) and in-app purchases (none vs 8). On ads and device support 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

DREDGE is free to download; Stardew Valley costs $4.99 up front. DREDGE sells 8 one-off in-app purchases. Stardew Valley asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Stardew Valley holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Stardew Valley has 64K ratings behind it against 1.1K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 73% of Stardew Valley's written reviews are positive against 60% of DREDGE's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Stardew Valley ships an update every 3 days, DREDGE every 3 weeks. Both last shipped on November 10, 2026.

Scorecard9 real differences · 2 level
Stardew Valley versus DREDGE: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStardew ValleyDREDGE
Price$4.99Free — better
Rating4.8 (64K ratings) — better4.3 (1.1K ratings)
Positive reviews73.4% of reviews — better59.9% of reviews
Number of ratings64K — better1.1K
Update frequencyEvery 3 days — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
Best chart rank#1 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Mac
Requires iOS13.0 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size442 MB768 MB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperConcernedApeBlack Salt Games

Customer experience

Stardew Valley

All ratings63,524 ratings
Positive95.6%
Neutral1.7%
Negative2.7%
Written reviews2,800 reviews
Positive73.4%
Neutral10.3%
Negative16.3%

DREDGE

All ratings1,100 ratings
Positive82.0%
Neutral3.8%
Negative14.2%
Written reviews1,148 reviews
Positive59.9%
Neutral10.2%
Negative29.9%

User reviews

Stardew Valley

From 64K App Store ratings

What 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

DREDGE

From 1.1K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Great game
  • 🚀 Excellent port to mobile
  • 🎮 Supports controllers
  • 🎨 Stunning graphics
  • 🕹️ Intuitive controls

Room to improve

  • 💰 Expensive for a mobile game
  • 🔍 Misleading 'free' description
  • 📱 Text/UI too small on phones
  • 🐛 Crashes and performance issues
  • 🎮 Controller support needs improvement

Bugs and requests

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
Show 1 more
  • Ability to move/delete certain furniture items

DREDGE

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Crashes on startup
  • Controller issues
  • Inventory/menu navigation problems

Requested features

5 requests
  • Larger text and UI options
  • Cross-save between devices
  • More content and DLC
  • Minimap or navigation aids
  • Ability to walk around boat/town

In-app purchases

None

Stardew Valley

No in-app purchases

8 purchases

DREDGE

One-time8
  • Blackstone Key$0.49
  • Blackstone Key$0.99
  • The Pale Reach$2.39
Show 5 more
  • The Iron Rig$4.79
  • The Pale Reach$5.99
  • Base Game Unlock$9.99
  • The Iron Rig$11.99
  • Base Game Unlock$24.99

Questions

Is Stardew Valley free?
Stardew Valley costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is DREDGE free?
DREDGE is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Stardew Valley or DREDGE?
Stardew Valley is rated higher. Stardew Valley averages 4.8 out of 5 from 64K ratings, while DREDGE averages 4.3 from 1.1K ratings.
Do Stardew Valley or DREDGE have ads?
Neither Stardew Valley nor DREDGE shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Stardew Valley or DREDGE?
Stardew Valley ships an update every 3 days, and DREDGE every 3 weeks. Most recently, Stardew Valley was updated on November 10, 2026 and DREDGE on November 10, 2026.

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