# Pico Islands vs Achikaps

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Achikaps at none against Pico Islands's 5. Achikaps also leads on ads (none vs shown) and review sentiment (88% vs 71%). Pico Islands's advantage is update cadence (every 5 weeks vs every 3 months). On price, ratings volume and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Pico Islands sells 5 one-off in-app purchases. Achikaps asks for nothing beyond the download.

Achikaps holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 4.2. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 131 and 186 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 71% of Pico Islands's written reviews are positive against 88% of Achikaps's.

Pico Islands ships an update every 5 weeks, Achikaps every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and November 9, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Pico Islands | Achikaps |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.2 (131 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pico-islands/id1476541055/reviews) | **[4.4 (186 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/achikaps/id1515537717/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 131 | **186** |
| Positive reviews | 71.3% of reviews | **88.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | **Every 5 weeks** | Every 3 months |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Free** |
| Size | 102 MB | 54 MB |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 | **8.0** |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPod |
| Age rating | 9+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [BitSpree GmbH](https://appshunter.io/developer/1476541054) | [Ivan Yakovliev](https://appshunter.io/developer/1415296140) |

## What reviewers say

### Pico Islands

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pico-islands/id1476541055)

Lead settlers to build a thriving medieval city, manage resources, and expand your empire across islands. Engage in trade, conquest, and technological discovery to achieve global domination or enjoy a peaceful simulation.

**Highlights:** Build and expand your city, Manage resources and production, Trade with neighbors, Conquer new islands, Research new technologies, Optimize building placement and transportation

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases (5)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Buy 20 Gems | $0.99 | one-time |
| Buy 110 Gems | $4.99 | one-time |
| Remove ads | $13.99 | one-time |
| Buy 500 Gems | $19.99 | one-time |
| Buy 1500 Gems | $49.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Promising game
- 👍 Fun and addictive
- 👍 Charming game
- 👍 Interesting game
- 👍 Good game

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Steep learning curve
- 🔋 High battery drain
- 🐛 Purchase records lost
- 🐛 Crashes when changing islands
- 🐛 Unintuitive UI

**Reported bugs**

- Forester lookups result in 404 errors
- Inability to undo 10 map limit
- Crashes when redeploying roads
- Inconsistent cookie consent management

**Requested features**

- Add map selection/replay
- Improve tutorial and documentation
- Implement graphics settings
- Add more content and progression
- Introduce multiplayer/competitive modes


### Achikaps

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/achikaps/id1515537717)

Engage in a straightforward economic strategy game. Explore both a story-driven campaign and a freeform sandbox mode. Enjoy a user-friendly interface and fluid animations.

**Highlights:** Easy to learn, Campaign mode, Sandbox mode, Simple UI, Smooth animations

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

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Simple yet engaging gameplay
- 🚀 Smooth and responsive controls
- 💎 High-quality game with no ads or IAPs
- 🎨 Appealing minimalist art style

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Grey screen glitch when switching apps
- 🤔 Unclear tutorial and lack of in-game information

**Reported bugs**

- Screen turns grey when opening notifications
- Buttons and UI elements become unresponsive

**Requested features**

- Add multiplayer mode
- Improve enemy AI difficulty scaling
- Provide more building and unit options
- Allow renaming of saved files


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Pico Islands free?

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

### Is Achikaps free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Pico Islands or Achikaps?

Achikaps is rated higher. Pico Islands averages 4.2 out of 5 from 131 ratings, while Achikaps averages 4.4 from 186 ratings.

### Do Pico Islands or Achikaps have ads?

Pico Islands shows ads; Achikaps does not.

### Which is updated more often, Pico Islands or Achikaps?

Pico Islands ships an update every 5 weeks, and Achikaps every 3 months. Most recently, Pico Islands was updated on November 3, 2026 and Achikaps on November 9, 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.*