# Pico Islands vs Rubylands

The clearest difference is rating: Pico Islands at 4.2 against Rubylands's 2.9. Pico Islands also leads on review sentiment (65% vs 50%) and ratings volume (131 vs 33). Rubylands's advantage is ads (none vs shown). On price, update cadence, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Pico Islands sells 5 one-off in-app purchases and Rubylands sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

Pico Islands holds the better App Store score, 4.2 against 2.9. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 131 and 33 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 65% of Pico Islands's written reviews are positive against 50% of Rubylands's.

Pico Islands ships an update every 5 weeks, Rubylands every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on July 25, 2026 and June 1, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Pico Islands | Rubylands |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.2 (131 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pico-islands/id1476541055/reviews)** | [2.9 (33 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/rubylands/id1582162209/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **131** | 33 |
| Positive reviews | **65.5% of reviews** | 50.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | Every 5 weeks | **Every 3 weeks** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Size | 102 MB | 101 MB |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 | **12.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 9+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [BitSpree GmbH](https://appshunter.io/developer/1476541054) | [Artem Karpenko](https://appshunter.io/developer/1524283977) |

## 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


### Rubylands

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/rubylands/id1582162209)

Engage in real-time strategy with settlement building, resource management, and defensive combat. Build epic defenses, compose armies, and use magic to overcome enemies in this offline RTS experience.

**Highlights:** Real-time RTS strategy, Settlement building and defense, Resource gathering, Offensive and defensive combat, Survival sandbox mode, Magic system, Offline play

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Premium content | $0.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Pico Islands free?

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

### Is Rubylands free?

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

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

Pico Islands is rated higher. Pico Islands averages 4.2 out of 5 from 131 ratings, while Rubylands averages 2.9 from 33 ratings.

### Do Pico Islands or Rubylands have ads?

Pico Islands shows ads; Rubylands does not.

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

Pico Islands ships an update every 5 weeks, and Rubylands every 3 weeks. Most recently, Pico Islands was updated on July 25, 2026 and Rubylands on June 1, 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.*