Comparison

Subway Idle vs Idle Civilizations

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

Head to head
About

Subway Idle

Build and manage a subway network in a growing city. Connect stations, upgrade your lines, and earn money to expand your metro. Keep the city moving by strategically investing in your network.

Highlights
  • Upgrade and connect subway stations
  • Earn money while offline
  • Progress through multiple cities
  • Expand your metro network
  • Strategic cash flow management
Features
Read full description

Subway Idle tycoon, the idle metro simulator! Subway Idle is all about upgrading and maintaining a subway map for a growing city. Upgrade and connect stations between other stations and get your trains running. As new stations open, earn more money and upgrade your metro even further! Decide where to use your limited cash flow. Be sure to keep your city moving. • Multiple cities to progress through! • Earn while your offline to advance your metro! • Tons of upgrades to advance your network.

About

Idle Civilizations

Build and grow civilizations from the dawn of humanity to the future in this idle strategy game. Earn money, hire workers, and customize your character as you progress through different historical eras. Relax and watch your empire expand without pressure.

Highlights
  • Build and grow civilizations
  • Idle progression
  • Time travel mechanics
  • Resource management
  • Character customization
  • Tower building
Features
Read full description

Welcome to the future! … Or is it the past? You start off your empire building adventure as a worker in the distant future who, thanks to a rather unfortunate mistake, finds themselves thrown back in time all the way to the beginning of humanity. This fun strategy game will test your business acumen and tycoon tendencies as you build the world’s cities and civilizations from the ground up. History in the making After you’re thrown back in time, you’ll need to meet and work with locals to build and grow your way to the top and return to the future – you’ll also need to keep an eye out for time crystals to collect at the end of each level to keep moving through the ages. Experience the evolution of civilization in this fantastic idle style game as you get a feel for history up close and personal. Get your business plan on – At each step of your journey, you’ll need to earn money by selling items or resources to the locals. As you progress through the eras those items will change, evolving as you move up in time to reflect modernization. You’ll need to strike the right balance and find the best strategy to maximize profits while also hiring more workers and expanding your offerings each time to progress as fast as possible. Staycation time – While your character may have been haplessly thrown back in time and is now working in a Medieval town or prehistoric society, you’re able to just sit back and relax all while leveling up, no matter where you are. Chart your rise from your couch, from the train, or even from your work desk (shh, we won’t tell anyone!) – this is a chill game where there’s no crazy pressure to fight off invaders, timers that need to be beat, or anything stressful of the sort. Go down in history – Not only do you get the fun of experiencing different eras of civilization, but you also get to customize your character to enhance their abilities! Along the way, as you fashionably work through time, you’ll also take part in building a fantastic tower – don’t forget to click that build button every time you see it appear so that your momentum and tower keep rising. After all, you want to be remembered in history as the one who got it all done, right? And the rest is history Get ready to take a blast to the past and experience civilization and humanity’s evolution up close and personal – you’re the one leading it! Put Earth on the right path forward and leave your mark on history: Idle Civilizations ticks all the boxes for fun, relaxation, and excitement, so you won’t want to miss it. Privacy Policy: https://say.games/privacy-policy Terms of Use: https://say.games/terms-of-use

Screenshots

Subway Idle4 screens
Idle Civilizations4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ratings volume: Subway Idle at 24K against Idle Civilizations's 3.2K. Subway Idle also leads on iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.0). On price, rating, review sentiment and update cadence 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. Subway Idle sells 10 one-off in-app purchases and Idle Civilizations sells 18 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for Subway Idle against 4.7 for Idle Civilizations. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Subway Idle has 24K ratings behind it against 3.2K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 33% and 33% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Subway Idle ships an update every 3 weeks, Idle Civilizations every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Subway Idle versus Idle Civilizations: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSubway IdleIdle Civilizations
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (24K ratings)4.7 (3.2K ratings) — better
Positive reviews32.9% of reviews — better32.8% of reviews
Number of ratings24K — better3.2K
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterEvery 6 weeks
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS12.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size198 MB557 MB
Age rating12+4+
Developerseven technologies S.LSayGames LTD

Customer experience

Subway Idle

All ratings23,991 ratings
Positive90.6%
Neutral4.5%
Negative5.0%
Written reviews343 reviews
Positive32.9%
Neutral10.8%
Negative56.3%

Idle Civilizations

All ratings3,205 ratings
Positive91.0%
Neutral4.4%
Negative4.5%
Written reviews128 reviews
Positive32.8%
Neutral10.2%
Negative57.0%

User reviews

Subway Idle

From 24K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Fast gameplay
  • 👍 Fun and addictive
  • 💡 Potential for more content

Room to improve

  • 🔍 Too many ads
  • ⏱️ Slow progression
  • 💰 Expensive premium subscription

Idle Civilizations

From 3.2K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Fast progression
  • 👍 Cute graphics and animations
  • 🔒 No forced ads
  • 🚀 Satisfying gameplay loop

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Crashes and freezes
  • 💰 Expensive ad removal
  • 🔁 Repetitive progression
  • 🤑 Excessive microtransactions
  • 🔍 Lack of instructions/tutorials

Bugs and requests

Subway Idle

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Game freezing and crashing
  • Progression issues and level locks
  • Inconsistent ad experiences

Requested features

3 requests
  • More subway lines and cities
  • Ability to customize subway routes
  • Offline progress tracking

Idle Civilizations

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Inability to craft higher rarity event items
  • Offline progress not working
  • Purchased ad removal not working

Requested features

3 requests
  • More levels and content updates
  • Save/load game progress
  • Improved balance and progression

In-app purchases

10 purchases

Subway Idle

One-time10
  • Gem Pack 1$1.99
  • Ad Free$2.99
  • Limited Deal$3.99
Show 7 more
  • Gem Pack 2$4.99
  • Starter Pack$4.99
  • Holiday Pack$5.99
  • Gem Pack 3$9.99
  • Gem Pack 4$19.99
  • Gem Pack 5$49.99
  • Gem Pack 6$99.99
18 purchases

Idle Civilizations

One-time18
  • Mini Gem Package$0.99
  • Gem Pack$0.99
  • Starter Pack$0.99
Show 15 more
  • Fortune Wheel Pack 1$0.99
  • Better Starter Pack$1.99
  • Piggy Bank$2.99
  • Welcome pack$2.99
  • Skip Ad Tickets Offer$2.99
  • Small Gem Package$4.99
  • Greatest Starter Pack$4.99
  • Piggy Bank 2$4.99
  • Fortune Wheel Pack 2$4.99
  • Remove ADS$5.99
  • Income Boost x2$5.99
  • Medium Gem Package$9.99
  • Dragon slayer pack$9.99
  • Free Rewards Pack$19.99
  • Upgraded Epic Pack$19.99

Questions

Is Subway Idle free?
Subway Idle is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Idle Civilizations free?
Idle Civilizations is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Subway Idle or Idle Civilizations?
Idle Civilizations is rated higher. Subway Idle averages 4.6 out of 5 from 24K ratings, while Idle Civilizations averages 4.7 from 3.2K ratings.
Do Subway Idle or Idle Civilizations have ads?
Both Subway Idle and Idle Civilizations show ads.
Which is updated more often, Subway Idle or Idle Civilizations?
Subway Idle ships an update every 3 weeks, and Idle Civilizations every 6 weeks. Most recently, Subway Idle was updated on November 1, 2026 and Idle Civilizations on October 30, 2026.

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