# Star Traders vs Gladiabots

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Star Traders at none against Gladiabots's 5. Star Traders also leads on chart position (#21 vs unranked) and ratings volume (673 vs 90). Gladiabots's advantage is review sentiment (87% vs 73%) and price ($3.99 vs $6.99). On rating, update cadence, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Star Traders costs $6.99 and Gladiabots $3.99 up front. Gladiabots sells 5 one-off in-app purchases. Star Traders asks for nothing beyond the download.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for Star Traders against 4.5 for Gladiabots. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Star Traders has 673 ratings behind it against 90, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 73% of Star Traders's written reviews are positive against 87% of Gladiabots's.

Star Traders ships an update every 3 weeks, Gladiabots every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 27, 2026 and October 26, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Star Traders | Gladiabots |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $6.99 | **$3.99** |
| Rating | **[4.6 (673 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/star-traders-frontiers/id1442583232/reviews)** | [4.5 (90 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/gladiabots/id1469623947/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **673** | 90 |
| Positive reviews | 73.0% of reviews | **87.2% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | **Every 2 weeks** |
| Monetization | Paid | **Free with in-app purchases** |
| Best chart rank | **#21** | — |
| Size | 316 MB | 182 MB |
| Requires iOS | 12.1 | **9.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 12+ | 17+ |
| Developer | [Trese Brothers](https://appshunter.io/developer/528949265) | [Sebastien Dubois](https://appshunter.io/developer/1469623946) |

## What reviewers say

### Star Traders

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/star-traders-frontiers/id1442583232)

**Currently charting:** #21 Top Paid · Role Playing, #62 Top Paid · Strategy, #187 Top Paid · Games (US App Store)

Command your own starship and crew in a vast, procedurally generated open universe. Forge your path as a pirate, merchant, bounty hunter, or explorer, influencing factions and shaping your crew through your choices in this epic sci-fi RPG.

**Highlights:** Open universe exploration, Multiple captain careers (26 jobs), Spaceship customization (350+ upgrades), Crew assembly and talent management, Dynamic narrative and faction influence, Crew molding based on player choices, Varied difficulty options including permadeath

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🌟 Impressive depth and complexity
- 🌍 Vast open-world with endless possibilities
- 🔍 Engaging story and lore
- 🤖 Diverse gameplay options (trading, exploration, combat, etc.)
- 🕹️ Satisfying ship and crew management

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🤔 Steep learning curve, lacks clear tutorials
- 🔍 Repetitive or tedious aspects in late game
- 📱 UI/UX issues on smaller mobile devices
- 🎲 Frustrating RNG elements and difficulty spikes
- 🔒 Lack of cloud save functionality

**Reported bugs**

- Crew combat screen UI issues causing accidental input
- Reputation/faction system bugs leading to unexpected outcomes
- Crashes and freezes when navigating certain screens
- Inconsistent behavior with ship component upgrades

**Requested features**

- Ability to customize ship colors and appearances
- Option to command/control multiple ships as a fleet
- More end-game content and progression systems
- Improved UI scaling and optimization for larger screens
- Cloud save/sync functionality across devices


### Gladiabots

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/gladiabots/id1469623947)

Design the AI for your robot squad and deploy them in strategic combat. Refine your tactics through a single-player campaign and online multiplayer modes. Customize your robots and compete in various game modes without ads or pay-to-win mechanics.

**Highlights:** Create and program robot AI, Customize robot crew, Single player campaign, Online multiplayer modes, Multiple game modes, Tournament creation, Asynchronous multiplayer

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

**In-app purchases (5)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Hello World Pack | $0.99 | one-time |
| Script Pack | $1.99 | one-time |
| Algorithm Pack | $4.99 | one-time |
| Automaton Pack | $8.99 | one-time |
| Neural Network Pack | $17.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 💡 Innovative programming concept
- 🧠 Great for learning logic/programming
- 👍 Satisfying to see AI work
- 🚀 Deep and complex gameplay
- 😊 Rewarding when AI works

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Steep learning curve
- 🤔 UI can be confusing
- 📚 Tutorials can be complex
- 💸 Some find it expensive
- ⚠️ English-only wiki/hints

**Reported bugs**

- iOS version not up-to-date
- AI logic bugs/unexpected behavior
- Screen not fitting iPad Pro
- Game not running on older iPads

**Requested features**

- Korean language support
- Option to toggle FPS (30/60)
- Add more robots
- "Quit" confirmation button in training


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Star Traders free?

Star Traders costs $6.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Gladiabots free?

Gladiabots costs $3.99, and also offers in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Star Traders or Gladiabots?

Star Traders is rated higher. Star Traders averages 4.6 out of 5 from 673 ratings, while Gladiabots averages 4.5 from 90 ratings.

### Do Star Traders or Gladiabots have ads?

Neither Star Traders nor Gladiabots shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Star Traders or Gladiabots?

Star Traders ships an update every 3 weeks, and Gladiabots every 2 weeks. Most recently, Star Traders was updated on October 27, 2026 and Gladiabots on October 26, 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.*