Comparison

Factory 4.0 vs Starward

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

Head to head
About

Factory 4.0

Build a toy factory startup and grow your business into a global corporation. Produce various items, upgrade production lines, and hire managers to increase income and accelerate growth. Reset progress for significant bonuses.

Highlights
  • Idle gameplay with offline earnings
  • Build and manage a duck toy factory
  • Produce 20 different types of products
  • Hire managers to automate production
  • Use boosts for faster income
  • Reset progress for bonuses
Features
Read full description

Wanna build a startup? Looking for idle games? Download and play Idle Factory 4.0 for free! In Idle Factory 4.0, you start as a duck toy factory and build your business to become the biggest corporate in the world! Grow your business and make different kind of products: Duck toys, Popcorn, Thug Life hats, Canned food, Biscuit bags and more! Upgrade your product lines, hire managers, use the boosters to get more income and grow faster. Reset your progress to gain huge bonuses FEATURES - Idle game - Offline earnings - 20 different kind of products - Hire managers - Boosts HOW TO PLAY - Employ more employees - Buy more product lines - Get manager to automate product chains - Upgrade products to get better incomes

About

Starward

Features
Read full description

Fling glowing orbs around a gravity well, merge nine celestial tiers, and chase a Supernova — without letting the well breach the horizon. Drag around the launcher ring, release to fire, and collide matching orbs. Dust becomes Sparks, then Comets, Moons, Planets, Giants, Stars, Novas, and Quasars. Bring two Quasars together to trigger a Supernova. PLACEMENT MATTERS The well is not a passive container. Reusing one launch sector builds dangerous strain, crowded orbits get harder to control, and a careless shot can end the run. Cross-orbit merges score more and relieve pressure, so moving around the ring beats tapping from one safe spot. BUILD MOMENTUM Merges charge a timed Star Rush for double score. Starting a Rush banks an Orbit Shift — a limited rescue that repositions the pile without deleting any pieces. A three-orb lookahead queue and Swap make every launch a decision. WHAT'S INSIDE • Endless runs you can pause and resume • A ranked Daily with a mission, leaderboard, and streak — every player gets the same board • Reach Nova and Reach Quasar goal modes • Gravity Well, Twin Suns, and Pulsar arenas, each with its own physics • A nine-tier Star Atlas, achievements, and arena mastery • Flight School tutorial, replayable How to Play, and a clear reason every time a run ends • Sound, haptics, and result sharing • No ads, ever FREE AND PRO The ranked Daily is always free for everyone. Free players also get three casual runs a day, and those runs can use any mode or arena — Endless, both goal modes, and all three arenas — with the full Star Atlas, achievements, and the standard orb palettes included. GO PRO Unlimited casual runs with no daily cap (Pro), the premium Nebula, Prism, and Obsidian orb palettes (Pro), and a cumulative prestige rank on your menu (Pro). Unlock Starward with a one-time purchase, or take the StackForge Play Pass subscription to unlock Pro in every StackForge game, plus One Good Thing. Prices and terms are shown before you buy, and you can manage or cancel a subscription anytime in your Apple ID settings. Terms: https://stackforgestudios.com/terms Privacy: https://stackforgestudios.com/privacy Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Factory 4.04 screens
Starward4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Starward at none against Factory 4.0's shown. On price, update cadence, in-app purchases 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

Both are free to download. Factory 4.0 sells 11 one-off in-app purchases and Starward sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Factory 4.0 ships an update every 3 weeks, Starward fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
Factory 4.0 versus Starward: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFactory 4.0Starward
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.2 (31 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews33.3% of reviews—
Number of ratings31 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksFortnightly — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.615.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size351 MB52 MB
Age rating17+4+
DevelopervmogaStackForge Studios

In-app purchases

11 purchases

Factory 4.0

One-time11
  • Fistful Of Gems$1.99
  • Starter Pack$2.99
  • Special Offer 1$4.99
Show 8 more
  • Special Offer 2$9.99
  • Diamond Pack 3 Promo$9.99
  • Special Offer Presale 4$11.99
  • Special Offer 3$19.99
  • Diamond Pack 4 Promo$19.99
  • Special Offer Presale 5$24.99
  • Special Offer Presale 3$39.99
  • Special Offer Presale 6$49.99
3 purchases

Starward

Subscriptions2
  • StackForge Play Pass Monthly$2.991 Month
  • StackForge Play Pass Annual$14.991 Year
One-time1
  • Starward Full Game Unlock$4.99

Questions

Is Factory 4.0 free?
Factory 4.0 is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Starward free?
Starward is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Factory 4.0 or Starward have ads?
Factory 4.0 shows ads; Starward does not.
Which is updated more often, Factory 4.0 or Starward?
Factory 4.0 ships an update every 3 weeks, and Starward fortnightly. Most recently, Factory 4.0 was updated on October 24, 2026 and Starward on October 25, 2026.

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