# Mars vs Rocket Control

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Rocket Control at none against Mars's 3. Rocket Control also leads on ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (daily vs every 2 months). On price and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Mars sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Rocket Control asks for nothing beyond the download.

Mars ships an update every 2 months, Rocket Control daily. The most recent releases landed on October 22, 2026 and October 17, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Mars | Rocket Control |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.1 (26 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mars-the-arrival/id1458927524/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **26** | — |
| Positive reviews | 65.6% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | **Daily** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Size | 2.6 GB | 76 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | **13.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Stefan Nyul](https://appshunter.io/developer/1458927523) | [MOHAMUD ADAN](https://appshunter.io/developer/1862037375) |

## What reviewers say

### Mars

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mars-the-arrival/id1458927524)

Engage in a scientific simulation of establishing a Mars colony. Manage a small group of settlers, research technologies, and build a thriving settlement from a single module. Compete with other human-controlled colonies for success on the Red Planet.

**Highlights:** Scientific Mars settlement simulation, Research and development of technologies, Exploration of the Red Planet, Building and managing specialized structures, Managing settler types and life cycles, 3D view of settlement and Mars surface, Offline playability

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

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Logistics contract | $0.99 | one-time |
| MAA Gold Membership | $1.99 | one-time |
| Sponsors contract | $2.99 | one-time |


### Rocket Control

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/rocket-control-target-strike/id6756270788)

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Mars free?

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

### Is Rocket Control free?

Rocket Control is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Do Mars or Rocket Control have ads?

Mars shows ads; Rocket Control does not.

### Which is updated more often, Mars or Rocket Control?

Mars ships an update every 2 months, and Rocket Control daily. Most recently, Mars was updated on October 22, 2026 and Rocket Control on October 17, 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.*