# Star Traders vs Northgard

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Star Traders at none against Northgard's 12. Star Traders also leads on review sentiment (73% vs 61%) and price ($6.99 vs $7.99). Northgard's advantage is ratings volume (3.7K vs 674) and chart position (#15 vs #63). On rating, update cadence, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Star Traders costs $6.99 and Northgard $7.99 up front. Northgard sells 12 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 4.6 for Northgard. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Northgard has 3.7K ratings behind it against 674, 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 61% of Northgard's.

Star Traders ships an update every 3 weeks, Northgard every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Star Traders | Northgard |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | **$6.99** | $7.99 |
| Rating | [4.6 (674 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/star-traders-frontiers/id1442583232/reviews) | **[4.6 (3.7K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/northgard/id1533979882/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 674 | **3.7K** |
| Positive reviews | **73.0% of reviews** | 61.4% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 3 weeks** | Every 6 weeks |
| Monetization | Paid | **Free with in-app purchases** |
| Best chart rank | #63 | **#15** |
| Size | 316 MB | 892 MB |
| Requires iOS | **12.1** | 13.6 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 12+ | 9+ |
| Developer | [Trese Brothers](https://appshunter.io/developer/528949265) | [Playdigious](https://appshunter.io/developer/1041387229) |

## What reviewers say

### Star Traders

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

**Currently charting:** #63 Top Paid · Role Playing, #113 Top Paid · Strategy (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


### Northgard

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/northgard/id1533979882)

**Currently charting:** #15 Top Paid · Role Playing, #51 Top Paid · Strategy, #146 Top Paid · Games (US App Store)

Lead a Viking clan to explore, settle, and conquer a mysterious new continent. Manage resources, assign jobs, and survive harsh winters and dangerous foes. Choose your clan's path to victory through conquest, trade, or devotion.

**Highlights:** Build and manage settlements, Assign Vikings to jobs, Resource management and survival, Territory expansion and discovery, Multiple victory conditions, Story mode campaign, Multiplayer modes

**In-app purchases (12)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Clan of the Rat | $2.95 | one-time |
| Clan of the Squirrel | $2.99 | one-time |
| Clan of the snake | $2.99 | one-time |
| Clan of the Dragon | $2.99 | one-time |
| Clan of the Horse | $2.99 | one-time |
| Clan of the Ox | $2.99 | one-time |
| Clan of the Kraken | $2.99 | one-time |
| Clan of the Lynx | $2.99 | one-time |
| Clan of the Eagle | $2.99 | one-time |
| Scale Bundle | $6.99 | one-time |
| Fur Bundle | $6.99 | one-time |
| Winter Bundle | $6.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Great game
- 👍 Fantastic strategy game
- 👍 Challenging and fun
- 👍 Excellent port to mobile
- 👍 Lots of replayability

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent crashes
- 🐛 Buggy menus and UI
- 🔋 Battery draining
- 🐛 Glitchy audio
- 🐛 Saves getting deleted

**Reported bugs**

- Game crashes frequently
- Menus and UI are buggy
- Audio glitches and cuts out
- Saves get deleted unexpectedly
- Multiplayer is unreliable

**Requested features**

- Add multiplayer mode
- Improve tutorial and instructions
- Add controller support
- Optimize performance and stability
- Add Chinese language support


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Star Traders free?

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

### Is Northgard free?

Northgard costs $7.99, and also offers in-app purchases.

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

Northgard is rated higher. Star Traders averages 4.6 out of 5 from 674 ratings, while Northgard averages 4.6 from 3.7K ratings.

### Do Star Traders or Northgard have ads?

Neither Star Traders nor Northgard shows ads.

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

Star Traders ships an update every 3 weeks, and Northgard every 6 weeks. Most recently, Star Traders was updated on October 29, 2026 and Northgard on October 31, 2026.

### Which is more popular, Star Traders or Northgard?

Star Traders currently peaks at #63 in the App Store charts, and Northgard at #15. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

---

*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*